In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner (#22)

I am now sad because I've read all of Weiner's novels. A collection of short stories will be released in stores September 5th, but it's anyone's guess when our local library will get ahold of a copy.

Weiner's stories get to me, even though I find myself wanting to discredit them for being such chick-lit reading. Sure, they're chick-lit, but they are bona-fide stories. I can't help but compare them to some books held out as fine literature (Wuthering Heights, I'm looking at you) where the story is so unappealing that I find myself placing small wagers as to how long I can keep my eyes moving across the page (three more lines, I get a coffee...three more pages, I get M&Ms with the coffee...). Take away my Good Reader card if you must, but I enjoy a book where something happens and the something that happens makes me think about my own life.

I like reading about women who are perceptive about their own lives and who are working damn hard to remind themselves that they are not broken. Let's be honest here, who doesn't have to give themselves the occasional stern talking-to in order to get out of bed and get on with the Job of Life. It's easy to shut down, to disconnect, to live in your own head to the point that your own head doesn't make any sense anymore. Weiner's heroines take risks with themselves, holding out hope that the Job of Life might, if faced bravely and with enough feigned aplomb, yield up to us a few Moments of Joy or Knowledge or Love.

So, despite the blue and pink covers featuring legs or ankles only, I think Weiner's books are worth reading because they remind us just how much story there is in our lives. Story that may be valuable only to ourselves, or story that may be shared with friends, family, or ultimately readers in many languages. Story that makes us who we are or who we want to be.