Literacy and Longing in L.A. by Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack
This book is a fun read, but it's not totally chick-lit, as some other reviewers suggest.
Dora is in the midst of a separation from her husband. She retreats to the world of reading to forget about her problems.
She does venture out to buy new books and see her one friend and sometimes, her sister. In the process, she meets other people, and helps them out, and forgets some of her problems for awhile.
Dora doesn't have to worry about earning a living, because she has access to some money (although it's starting to run out), so she has time to read and not think too hard about her future.
Dora tells her sister, "Books teach you how other people think, and what they are feeling, and how they change from ordinary beings to extraordinary ones. Often they are so appealing and intelligent, you'd rather spend your time reading about them than doing anything else."
"And unlike life, if you don't like what you're reading, you can slam the book shut, and then...peace."
Later in the book, she says, "...I've come to the conclusion that for me, reading is not purely an escape. It's' more of a search for some kind of meaning in this world. Now, when I read, I think I might open to any page and find the truth. I just can't stand the fog of not knowing...."
Each chapter has a quote about reading or books from a famous author. If you like to collect quotations, you will find new ones here.
The quotations were also well chosen; after reading a chapter, I would go back and examine how well the quotation matched the actions in the chapter.
Give this book a try, and ignore all other reviews!
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