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What’s Rachel reading? Hungry Heart by Jennifer Weiner

I’ve always been an unrepentant reader, reading early, quickly, and indiscriminately: Books, magazines, cereal boxes, road signs, encyclopedia entries, restaurant menus — anything that could be read, I read it. One of my mom’s favorite stories to tell of a much younger Rachel is of our weekly trips to the public library, after which I’d generally stall out with an open book halfway up the stairs on the landing of our split-level house and force everyone to step over me while hauling up the rest of the books and groceries.

I remained a fairly indiscriminate reader well into my teen years, working my way through the children’s section, tiny “young adult section,” and then a good portion of the adult section in our small local library. While I of course had my favorite titles on repeat, this early and broad (for the time) exposure to books and reading eventually helped propel me into a career as a librarian — and left me with a deep and abiding love for libraries. Yes, I appreciate the programs and the technology and the databases and the resources, but at its core, it’s always been the books for me.

A section of my current pile from the library…

While I don’t read as broadly as I once did, on our weekly trips to the library I’ll wander through the new books section and rummage through different authors and genres from paranormal fantasy to cozy mystery to chick lit to memoir to business to cookbooks to… well, whatever looks interesting. So when I saw Jennifer Weiner’s new memoir Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing, that of course had to come home with me. I’ve never had much patience for the literary disdain for popular and genre fiction: What matters to me is the story. If the author can tell a good story, the fact that it’s set in contemporary New York, or on a spaceship, or in a small-town bookstore with a talking cat just adds context and provides a jumping off point.

In Hungry Heart, Weiner talks candidly about what it means for her and other writers of popular women’s fiction to be pigeonholed as “chick lit,” and so much more. I loved the first half of the book, and not just because so many of my childhood experiences roughly parallel hers (growing up Jewish in a mostly non-Jewish community without the kind of resources or know-how to buy the “right” clothes and shoes or act right to fit in). Jennifer Weiner knows how to tell a story, including the story of her own life. Plus: She’s darn funny!

The second half of Hungry Heart, however, started to stutter a bit for me. As she moves into the more current story of her life, the essays become a little more disjointed and uneven — while she’s still telling smaller stories, and telling them well, they don’t come together as smoothly into a coherent larger narrative and aren’t always as relatable. It feels as if in parts she’s being less honest, and distracting from the overall tale with less-relevant sidebars. It’s probably more difficult to talk about more recent events without the distance that time brings, but the second part of the book could have benefited from some tighter editing and a closer look as to what fits, what doesn’t.

That’s not to say that the second half was bad, however — I think it’s more that my expectations were built up so high from the fantastically gripping beginning. So if you’re a Jennifer Weiner fan, a chick lit fan, or a reader of memoirs, I highly recommend Hungry Heart. Weiner lays out the experiences that shaped her into the storyteller she is today, delving honestly into everything from abandonment to body image to how she became a writer. Her memoir brims with the same trademark humor, intelligence, and warmth as her bestselling novels, and after reading it I feel as if she could be my new best friend. (Or at least: I’m now following her on twitter.)

When I go back to the library this weekend I’m also going to check out the DVD of In Her Shoes. Weiner talks in her memoir about how the book was optioned into a movie, and how although it was a flop at the box office it gained traction later. I’ve never seen it but now am intrigued, and alas, it’s not available on Prime or Netflix.

What are you reading this week?

What have you been reading lately? Tell us about it! 🙂

Susan

Friday 30th of December 2016

I think I see a new blog for Rachel in the future: "Rachel's Reads"???

A couple of books that I read recently that I can't stop thinking about:

Station Eleven by Emily Mandel St John - talk about a good story, no matter WHERE it takes place The Circle by Dave Eggers - makes you think a LOT about how connected technology makes us

Thanks for the recommendation

rachel

Friday 30th of December 2016

Oh thanks! I just put a hold on The Circle, looks intriguing.

lynn

Thursday 29th of December 2016

I totally agree with your assessment of "Hungry Heart. . ..". It started out strong and got very inconsistent somewhere along the way. Currently, I'm working my way through a "A Man Called Ove" and am glad I stuck with it. It starts off oddly, but rewards you for sticking with it! I'm not quite through, so hope I don't have to eat my words . . . Over Christmas I read the latest Janet Evanovich (maybe it's #23?) and am sad to say that it's just not as fun as it used to be! After Ove, I'm going to read "The Whistler" by John Grisham and then I'll attempt to read something a bit more substantial to dive into 2017!

Debbie

Friday 30th of December 2016

I just finished "A Man Called Ove" (I can't wait to see the movie which I have saved on Netflix). Can't say I actually loved it but once I started it I just kept going. I borrowed it from my sister so I'm glad I didn't buy it (we live in the country so no library access here). I can get books pretty cheap on eBay but they have to be several years old or garage sales. I like reading Christmas stories especially Melody Carlson or Donna VanLiere.

Nora

Thursday 29th of December 2016

I really enjoyed The Whistler and agree with you about the Stephanie Plum series. She should have wrapped it up several books ago.

Diane

Thursday 29th of December 2016

I loved A Man Called Ove!

jane

Thursday 29th of December 2016

I liked "In Her Shoes"---hopefully you will enjoy it if you liked this book. The poetry is so lovely, and there are at least three very strong actresses in the film. On a side note, I have "The Whole 30" in my pile of books, I think by the same authors as "Real Food." :)

CarolS-T

Thursday 29th of December 2016

Just rediscovered an oldie but a goodie - Ruth Reichl's Tender at the Bone. Have you visited any Little Free Libraries? Great way to discover books on different topics.

Debbie

Thursday 29th of December 2016

Thanks for the book reading information! I love to read but have to work it in when I can. I found "In Her SHOES" on DVD on Netflix. Can't wait to watch that, too! :)

rachel

Thursday 29th of December 2016

Nice! We only have the streaming plan, but I put it on hold at the library. Let me know what you think. :)

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