Open

Characterization is definitely one of this author's strengths. I've read three of her books ("Range of Motion" most recently) and have been able to identify with one or more characters in all of them. Friendships must be important to Elizabeth Berg because that theme is always strong and always well developed.

If you haven't read any of her books yet, "Open House" would be a good one to start with. While it deals with serious issues, it also is a bit "lighter" than the others I've read. Her books are easy to read because: they aren't real long, they don't get bogged down with details, and they are so darn compelling! Berg manages to tell a really good story in the time it takes some authors to get started.

I don't always agree with Oprah's choices, but this is one book she and I are seeing eye to eye about. Enjoy!

When David, (a wealthy Paul Newman look-alike) tells his wife that he is moving out, Samantha displays emotions that, while are sometimes beyond belief, you can see yourself doing. She goes on a shopping spree at Tiffanys, decides to take in boarders to supplement her income and signs up with a temporary agency in an effort to find a job. In the suspending belief department, each boarder she takes in immediately becomes a family member, King, an MIT graduate who majored in astrophysics, is working at menial jobs and Sam, who is separated from a "wealthy" husband, finds herself counting change in a laundromat as one of her part time jobs.

While I had a problem with the time frame -- never quite knowing how much time had passed from chapter to chapter -- I felt that the succession of events were true to form. David leaves Sam; Travis, her son, gives her a hard time; her best friend Rita arrives from California to help Sam get through this hard time; her mother Veronica starts setting her up on blind dates and Sam starts to realize that there is "light at the end of the tunnel." Reading about Sam arrive at this point was quite refreshing.

As much as we complain about Oprah's picks, I thank her for introducing me to this "new for me" author. From what I've read in the other reviews, she's obviously written books that her readers have enjoyed more than this one. Since I enjoyed this one, I can now look forward to some of her previous and perhaps better books.

What this book is about is how the United States Golf Association decided to bring it's prestigious Open Championship to a municipal golf course on Long Island, rather than the famed country clubs which have hosted this event since it's inception and what goes in to putting on such an event. The title says" Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black." What you really get is inside the workings of the USGA, what goes on behind the scenes, how decisions are made (or not),how catastrophes were avoided (or not)and in the end you may have learned more about what was involved in bringing this tournament to this course than you really wanted to know.

To those of us who follow golf closely and have attended a US Open, this is a very interesting read. Feinstein researches his subject exhastively and tells the story in an interesting manner, but at the end of the book I don't believe the reader has gotten a full measure of what has been promised. So, be aware of what the book is about and what it is not about, and if it is your cup of tea, read on.

Meet Ms. Daisy Miner, the librarian in a small town. She's in her late thirties, lives with her mom and aunt, dresses like an old maid, and is pretty much considered "on the shelf" in her mind and in the town's mind too. Daisy has finally decided that instead of giving up, she is going after what she wants, and what she wants is a man, and not just any man, but the marrying kind. Daisy is on the hunt for a husband! First Daisy has to figure out how to accomplish this. She realizes that first she needs to change her image, her "old fashioned" clothes are not going to cut it. With the advice of her mom and aunt, Daisy obtains the help of a friend who helps to whip her into shape in terms of her hair, makeup and clothes. Now, the hunt and the fun begins. Daisy decides that if you want to meet a man you have to go where the men will be, and that's the neighborhood bars and dance clubs. Now throw into this mix, tough ex city cop Chief Russo who is now the small time sheriff in this town. These two keep bumping into each other in town and the results are hilarious. All of Chief Russo's city experience has not prepared him for the small town innocence of Daisy. The dialogue is witty, and you can't help but fall in love with Daisy's innocence, and Chief Russo's interaction with her. I do not want to give this story away, but it truly is a cute fun novel that will keep you chuckling until the end. I would highly recommend.

Natalie has always had a Zen slant to her writing and it is even more evident here. The connection between the disciplines of writing practice and meditation really struck home with me. Especially as it addresses the ultimate point of writing. While this book does deal with issues of structure (and I disagree strongly that this book is just for prose writers), it addresses more the spiritual and personal nature of writing. Why write? it dares us to ask. Why write at all? As usual, Natalie is challenging our basic beliefs of ourselves and particulary ourselves as writers. Why do *you* write? This book will inspire you to seek the answer to that fearsome question for yourself.

I am indebted to Natalie for constantly opening herself up to an unknown and naturally critical audience. She does sound older and wiser here and that gives me pause too. It goes back to the fundemental question -- why write? This is not a writing instruction book per se, you can visit her previous books for help in that area. This book is something beyond that. Something almost intangible. I was deeply moved by the book and tremendously inspired. Thank you Natalie for giving so fully yet once again.

One thing I really love about the style of this book is that she doesn't simply lay the lessons out like you are back in grammar school learning everything by rote memorization. Instead, she takes you on the journey of how she learned each of the lessons herself -- which I think makes them more personal and more meaningful. She interviews her writer friends to learn how they find structure in their books as well as their methods of working. And you follow along as she struggles to understand plot.

It is a fascinating glimpse into the world of writing -- both the successes and failures. This is a book to come back to again and again. It's packed with rich insight and practical exercises. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who loves Natalie Goldberg!

Besides the plethora of social issues the novel attempts to address, the dialog is rife with cliches and stale wit, and reads like a sit com television show. It all ends on a positive note with Dee Dee finding Mr. Magic and one is left to assume is happy ever after. Yawn. It was work struggling to finish this novel -- I recommend that you spare yourself the effort.

Like the description reads, this is a sometimes witty story about love and relationships told from the point of view of a forty-something African American woman named Dee Dee.

The strength of this novel is the likeability and honesty of the main character. As a reader, one wants Dee Dee to be fulfilled, get the last word, and fall in love (even when she's acting slightly immature or unreasonable.)

Unfortunately, for a novel of this length, Sinclair doesn't really do a good job of tying all the ends together.

Most of her characters are intriguing but they never rise beyond the thumbnail sketches that Sinclair makes of them. With all the drama going on in the book (coming out, divorce, single-parenting, sexual harassment, incest, and problems in the Black community) Sinclair isn't mindfull enough to fully flesh out the dilemas and bring a satisfactory level of closure to the can of worms she's opened.

The most interesting exchanges in the novel take place at Dee Dee's work where we encounter her Chinese friend and co-worker, an older African American security guard who has "quit" being Black, a White male co-worker on the verge of a breakdown, and random callers to her radio show.

In her work setting, Dee Dee is at her best. Unfortunately, once her relationship with a new man takes off, her other relationships seems to struggle for lip service as once important characters pop in and out, serving no real purpose.

This isn't the best book I've read this year but it is an entertaining quick-read. I'd put April Sinclair is the mid-range of modern African American female writers. It's very easy to visualize a book like this one being made into a Alfre Woodard movie.