Amy's Book Nook

Review from Graffiti Blog:

A Day in the Life of Chelsea Handler

Chelsea Handler tells it like it is in her dryly sarcastic voice in her new book, "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea." From telling her third-grade class she is playing Goldie Hawn's daughter in the sequel to "Private Benjamin" somehow involving wild animals in the Galapagos Islands to working as a babysitter at age 12 and lying about her age, ending with her babysitting a 14-year-old, Chelsea's childhood stories are the stuff of comedic legend. And her family stories get even funnier and more strange as Chelsea spends a weekend with her parents and acts as her dadás good luck charm in selling his junker cars and takes a vacation with her father only to be mistaken as his new bride.

Chelsea changes it up with story of her time spent in prison for a DUI turned identity theft thanks to her snitching her sister's driver's license. As Chelsea tries to contact her aunt to make bail and bonds with her petite but frightening cellmate, the twisted laughs continue. From a prison kiss to her stint in dating Big Red, a red-haired guy that has a gorgeous body but terrible hair, to the guy who likes the dog sheás dog-sitting maybe a little too much, Chelsea's love life continues to be less than perfect and more than a little funny.

Chelsea's friends are ripe for story content too. While traveling with a friend to Britain, the two end up dining in the dark and getting kicked out for not wearing enough clothes. Then Chelsea tells about her quest for just a massage and getting mistaken for wanting something else while her friend ditched her and her use in regifting a bad present from a friend to a friend-of-a-friend who may have more issues than Chelsea.

And, of course, there's getting jumped at the airport. And migets.

These vignettes into the life of a comedienne are outrageous and hillarious. Handler has her own late-night show on E!, Chelsea Lately, and has written another book, "My Horizontal Life."

"Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" is published by Simon Spotlight Entertainment. It is $24.95 and 272 pages long.

 

From Graffiti Magazine:

My obsession with “Kitchen Nightmares” and “Hell’s Kitchen,” not to mention “Top Chef” when Chef Gordon Ramsay’s not on, has taken its toll. Not only do my friends tease me about my inappropriate crush on the hot-headed celebrity chef, but now I’m going out of my way to find books to feed my need to read about making the perfect salmon nicoise and roasted monkfish, both things I’ve never eaten and don’t plan to in the near future.

So since I don’t cook, I’ve turned to looking for fiction books set in restaurants. It was with this in mind that I headed down to my local bookstore on the appropriate Tuesday to pick up a copy of Heather and Rose MacDowell’s “Turning Tables,” which takes working in a restaurant and gives it the “Devil Wears Prada” spin.

Erin Edwards was a marketing executive until downsizing ended her job. Now someone who used to dine at the latest ‘it’ Manahattan hotspot is working at one thanks to a family friend — and seeing how the other half lives.

A would-be actor who is also a waiter at the up-and-coming Roulette, takes Erin under his wing, determined to teach her the ropes to help turn her from flop into fantastic. Erin soon learns how to deal with exacting customers, a demanding and feuding owner and his wife, a perpetually cranky chef and all the rest of the waitstaff, not to mention the dog her best friend dumped on her.

Erin’s soon becoming a competent waitress and crushing on one of the assistant chefs in the kitchen, Phil, despite the fact that generally the waitstaff and chefs do not mix. A handsome customer who also happens to be a television producer enters the mix, though Erin feels out of his league. As Erin deals with romantic complications, a critical review shakes her foundation at work and she finds herself in hot water with both the owner and the chef. Could Erin soon be out of a job?

A great addition to the ‘wicked boss’ genre, “Turning Tables” is sure to be relatable to anyone who has ever had to wait tables, whether for hip eateries or family restaurants, and people who watch way too many shows related to cooking. The authors are identical twins who have worked at restaurants so you know it’s realistic too. This book just might make you tip well next time you eat out.

“Turning Tables” is published by Dial Press. It is $24 and 324 pages long.

 Books Reviewed: I Want Those Shoes! and Many Bloody Returns

Books reviewed: I Wear the Maternity Pants in This Family by Susan Konig, American Diva by Julia London, Slacker Girl by Alexandra Koslow, Forget About It by Caprice Crane


Happy Reading!
AM

Books reviewed: "Creatures of the Night" by Neil Gaiman and Michael Zulli, 
"Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way!" by Bruce Campbell

Happy Reading!
AM