Wednesday, May 12, 2010

"Waiting on" Wednesday: How Did You Get This Number

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't wait to read" selection is:

How Did You Get This Number
by Sloane Crosley
Publication Date: June 15th

From Amazon:
Nine thoughtful, unfussy essays by the author of the collection I Was Told There'd Be Cake navigate around illusions of youth in the hope that by young adulthood they'll all add up to happiness. The account of Crosley's footloose adventure to Lisbon on the eve of her 30th birthday starts things off in rollicking fashion in Show Me on the Doll: without proficient language skills, getting hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of Bairro Alto, and panicking in front of the myriad QVC channels offered by her hotel, Crosley recognizes that Lisbon was a place with a painfully disproportunate self-reflection-to-experience ratio. There is the requisite essay about moving to New York and replacing her anorexic-kleptomaniac roommate with a more acceptable living arrangement: in Crosley's case, delineated in Take a Stab at It, she is interviewed by the creepily disembodied current occupier of a famous former brothel on the Bowery, McGurk's Suicide Hall. As well, Crosley delivers witty, syncopated takes on visiting Alaska and Paris, and finding much consolation from a two-timing heartbreak in New York by buying stolen items from her upholstery guy, Daryl, who found them fallen Off the Back of a Truck, as the delightful last section is titled. These essays are fresh, funny, and eager to be loved (from Publishers Weekly).

From me: I really enjoyed Crosley's first book, I Was Told There'd Be Cake; it was highly humorous and highly quotable. I'm looking forward to this next collection!

2 comments:

  1. I loved her first book...so excited about this one! Great pick...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Just an FYI -They are giving away 25 copies of this book on goodreads through their "First Reads" program! I won a book from them last month. :)

    To find this specific book, go to the "Explore" menu and choose "Books" and then click on the "Giveaways" tab. Then click on "more giveaways" and "popular authors." Sloane Crosley is on that list if you scroll down. (Is that enough steps for you? haha.)

    ReplyDelete