Literacy and Longing in L.A.

by Jennifer Kaufman, Karen Mack

Some women shop. Some eat. Dora cures the blues by bingeing on books—reading one after another, from Flaubert to bodice rippers, for hours and days on end. In this wickedly funny and sexy literary debut, we meet the beguiling, beautiful Dora, whose unique voice combines a wry wit and vulnerability as she navigates the road between reality and fiction.

Dora, named after Eudora Welty, is an indiscriminate book junkie whose life has fallen apart—her career, her marriage, and finally her self-esteem. All she has left is her love of literature, and the book benders she relied on as a child. Ever since her larger-than-life father wandered away and her book-loving, alcoholic mother was left with two young daughters, Dora and her sister, Virginia, have clung to each other, enduring a childhood filled with literary pilgrimages instead of summer vacations. Somewhere along the way Virginia made the leap into the real world. But Dora isn’t quite there yet. Now she’s coping with a painful separation from her husband, scraping the bottom of a dwindling inheritance, and attracted to a seductive book-seller who seems to embody all that literature has to offer—intelligent ideas, romance, and an escape from her problems.

Joining Dora in her odyssey is an elderly society hair-brusher, a heartbroken young girl, a hilarious off-the-wall female teamster, and Dora’s mother, now on the wagon, trying to make amends. Along the way Dora faces some powerful choices. Between two irresistible men. Between idleness and work. And most of all between the joy of well-chosen words and the untidiness of real people and real life.


From the Hardcover edition.

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Books About Books, Romance, Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Adult

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Jennifer Kaufman is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and a two-time winner of the national Penney-Missouri Journalism Award. She has co-authored three books with Karen Mack: most recently, Freud's Mistress, which received four stars from People and was on USA Today’s, Vanity Fair’s, and Marie Claire's best summer reading list for 2013; Literacy and Longing in L.A., which reached #1 on the Los Angeles Times Bestseller List and won the Best Fiction Award from the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association; and the Los Angeles Times bestselling novel, A Version of the Truth. Jennifer lives in Los Angeles with her family.

Reviews

[Dormouse · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book because I recently discovered that I enjoy chicklit. It looked promising - a woman who likes reading, and hides in reading binges when she is low!

It was bad.

I kept reading it, trying to find when the heroine becomes likeable. She likes pizza, she enjoys buying books, her favourite shop is a book-shop. But no. She doesn't become likeable.

She is a snob. She's biased against people who are not as rich as she is, who enjoy books differently than she does, who are not her.
She talks about her equally-rich and high-status friends, but the friends she actually sees and spends time with are people of lower status, or poorer than her, or who don't read the books she regards as good.

She has no sense of humour about herself. She mocks other people, but never seems to perceive herself as equally mockable.

The heroine spends a lot of time judging everyone she knows, but that judgemental tone isn't there when she talks about herself - including talking about her failures.

She has nothing bad to say about her own body, either. Even after weeks of hiding at home and living on pizza, and being too agoraphobic to go out. Oh wait, she does feel she is looking older and even considers surgery. Possibly that just didn't resonate with me, as I worry about other things about my looks.

The book is full of quotes from books, and there are little asterisks and footnotes, saying what book the quote is from. It felt very heavy-handed. It also felt as though the heroine's prejudice was reflected in it - obviously if a person is reading chicklit, she won't recognise quotes from 'real literature'.
I've seen quotes from books done better in Esau by Meir Shalev. The quote would come up, and a page or two later the book it was from would be mentioned, or come up in conversation. It felt much more organic and a lot less annoying and patronising.

[Kathrina · Rating 1 out of 5]

When life gets rough some girls shop, some girls drink, some get chatty with their girlfriends, and some girls do all of the above, and also grab a stack of novels and soak in the tub until their toes turn to raisins. I’ve been known to turn to a narrative or two when real life gets overwhelming, so I thought this title might be a nice way to ease myself in slowly to the world of chick lit. But nope. Turns out habitually reading books does not make you smarter or more insightful or more interesting. Just means you’re more likely to throw a book at the wall in the middle of your mid-life temper tantrum.
This book’s first chapter starts off with a poignant childhood trauma -- our narrator survives a harrowing car crash with her drunken mother at the wheel. The tone is set for a serious, introspective narrative concerning the repercussions of this tragedy throughout her life -- but wait, this is chick lit, that’s such a bummer, forget we started that way -- let’s talk about my ex-husband who’s wealthy and handsome and successful and, yeah, he’s still in love with me, but I’m so depressed and lonely reading books all the time I really haven’t picked up on it. But there’s this really cute bookseller at my local independent, I think I’ll slum it with the working class for a bit and see if he’ll go out with me. But it turns out he’s a jerk, but he has a really sweet mom and niece and bad shit keeps happening to them and it feels really good to take care of them, so screw the bookseller, but bring on the pseudo-family duties and let’s get back with my ex, ‘cause he is hot and super-rich and thinks it’s cute that I read a lot. Do these books make me look fat? Screw the books, who needs ‘em, I’m going to throw every book I own against the wall ‘cause that bookseller was such a jerk. And then I’m going to donate my busted-up bindings to the library. And then, two weeks later, I’m going to ask for them back, because I am an immature whiney bitch, and can’t figure out what point I’m trying to make, just shut up and let me read.
I can’t figure it out. Two authors who collaborate together, both seemingly having some knowledge of literature, and therefore, one hopes, an inkling of what makes literature good, decide together to write a chick lit novel that depends and relies on a love and respect for literature, and this is what they come up with?! This is what they squeezed from the genre? Is it that chick lit and a thoughtful narrative are irreconcilable? Were they taking on too much? Does anyone care? My surmise is: anyone who likes chick lit will not identify initially with the character (they’re reading chick lit, not McCarthy or Woolf or etc), and anyone who loves to read, as the character claims to, will be insulted by the book’s banality. Oil and water, right here.
I actually owned this copy in my collection. And a good thing to, as my cat shares my feelings on this particular title, and gave it a nice, wet, stinking piss all over the cover. It’s gone to the trash, and it’s the first time this booklover feels no qualms about throwing a book away.

[Elisabetta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mi sono sempre immaginato il Paradiso come una specie di biblioteca. - Borges -

Dora è una drogata di libri (come me!) e nei momenti di sconforto sta chiusa in casa e legge.
Giunta alla separazione dal suo secondo marito all'età di 35 anni sta evidentemente vivendo un momento infelice.

Ho adorato questo libro per due motivi in particolare: a ogni inizio di capitolo ci sono citazioni letterarie e la mia lista dei libri da leggere è cresciuta a dismisura!
Perchè ammettiamolo, i libri sono i protagonisti fondamentali di questo romanzo.
Senza di loro la trama sarebbe totalmente banale, una storia normalissima di una donna che si sta separando, che cerca di trovare la sua strada nella vita ricominciando, un passo alla volta, a tornare alle sue normali occupazioni.
Fortunatamente di libri ce ne sono eccome in questo romanzo, citati, elencati, letti, visti, acquistati e anche sulla vita degli scrittori ci sono molti dettagli.
Le gite letterarie sono infatti eventi del passato importanti per la protagonista che cerca di riviverli in un paio di occasioni.

Un bel libro letterario che è impossibile non apprezzare per un amante dei libri.

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

what the fuck? this book started out pretty good and then just completely fizzled. then ending is absolutely ridiculous. the main character sells out. the love interest falls into an plot scenario that has been written way too many times. i was so disappointed by this book i had to go out and buy several others just to make up for my lapse in judgement in buying this one.

in fact, i am now writing an update to this review because i am still upset over this book. i can't believe what a let-down it was. serves me right for trying the new fiction table at barnes and noble. if you pick this book up stop half-way through because it just goes downhill from there.

ugh. what the hell? no one understands my obsession with books so im just going to sell out and become mind-numbingly normal. screw that.

[Ainsley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Books about book lovers always seem a bit tricky to me - 'book lovers' aren't necessarily 'readers' and vice versa, and what do those terms mean anyway? etc. And if your 'book lover' heroine doesn't enjoy the same sort of books or have the same attitude to them as the reader, then what? I found the title character's (frankly snobbish) attitude to books annoying, though I envied her articulateness :) It probably says a great deal about me that the part of the book I really liked showed the heroine, in a low moment and unable to find a book of her own to suit her mood, resorts to the 'trash' fiction left on her shelves by a friend with 'inferior' taste, and discovers that (shock) genre fiction can be good! Other than that, the plot ran fairly true to chick-lit conventions and the heroine eventually ends up with the right bloke.

[Saarah Niña · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book Lover is a quirky novel which follows a woman who frequently retreats into the world of bookish wonders, to stay afloat in the real world of emotional dramas and financial woes. Sounds like the ideal, but massively impractical, approach except the reader quickly learns of the downsides of this seemingly-heavenly lifestyle.

Not as serene as I hoped, but I understood the chaos, the interruptions, the hectic lifestyle drifting from one day to the next with no strict schedule. Living on someone else's terms: I think it's safe to say we've all been there. Life is rarely a breeze.

'Normally at this point I would go on yet another self-indulgent book bender. Hell, there's sure reason enough to do it. But I just don't feel like it, even if I could, which I can't, because I have houseguests.'[Pg 270.]

I sometimes have this same instinctual urge to retreat, as if I deserve it after 'socialising' or venturing outside the realm of my comfort zone. It's harmless but fascinating.

Written frankly, casually and with good humour: Book Lover did leave me feeling hopeful, but later dejected. It was, at times, a miserable read.

Must add, I've got a whole host of new books I want to read, as titles were casually thrown in for comic effect or to capture a characters' mood or give a small insight into the characters' personalities. There were also bookish quotes at the beginning of every chapter.

In its final pages, the authors also include their own recommendations, an 'If you loved this, you might like...' page as well as an insight into their 'Writing' lives. All of which was an unexpected surprise but also considerate of the book-loving reader. (More authors should do this!) Not only this, but the authors save you from the hassle of noting down all titles or references which interest you (a mind-boggling, tedious task I'm guilty of sometimes.) This means more time for reading, of course. I'm glad I discovered this only a short while after starting the book.

Small confession: I did select this book to read mainly on account of its title.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book took me forever to read...literally almost a year...mostly because it was so annoying, I kept putting it down and starting other books and only reading it when I was done with my new books and before I'd find something more interesting to read.

It was often incredibly ignorant too and very narrowly indicitive of the women who wrote it.

Long story short, the last 1/3 of the book was pretty good and I enjoyed FINISHING it finally.

I do not recommend it at all, EXCEPT for all of the very cool quotes used and literary history throughout the book. That was very cool and the first time I'd read anything like this. Some of the poems quoted are also nice.

[Lena · Rating 2 out of 5]

Sigh. I had such high hopes for this book. I got it because I was intrigued by the idea of a character who used books an escape from real life. I expected some thoughtful explorations of that topic from someone who loved literature. What I got was a pedestrian, chick-lit novel with a lot of lot of literary name dropping. A real missed opportunity.

[Vishwa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its simply a cute and wonderful book. It also produces a huge moral. U will love it.

[Anne Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

An unusual book and one I really rather enjoyed, in no small measure for its difference from any other women's fiction/romance book I've read recently.

Dora is obsessed with books and uses them to both hide from and try to make sense of her rapidly disintegrating life. I found it hard to get into the book and the character at first, partly due to the sheer numbers of literary allusions in the beginning - but something sparky in the story kept me going and I'm very glad I did.

After a while, I warmed to Dora and was very glad when things began (slowly!) to turn round for her. Her relationship with her ex, Palmer, is absolutely charming, and I loved him. In the course of the novel, Dora grows and begins to deal with friends and family more effectively, and I was really rooting for her by the time the story ended. The ending is almost perfect, although - being me! - I would have preferred a wee bit more emotion in those closing pages but, on the other hand, the subtlety works very well.

So good stuff and a book I recommend.

[Margherita Dolcevita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo spunto del libro è ottimo e per chi letteralmente ama, venera e divora i libri è ghiotto. E' impossibile per me non rispecchiarmi nella protagonista, mi sono ritrovata moltissimo nelle sue parole, nelle sue manie e nella sua sfrenata passione per i libri, visti come consolazione, come fuga, come evasione. Tuttavia la storia personale della protagonista, l'intreccio romantico insomma, non è dei migliori, non mi ha appassionato o soddisfatto, ho avuto spesso l'impressione che fosse una cosa posticcia messa per dare il contentino anche a chi ama le storie d'amore. Ma raramente ho trovato così tanta librofilia in un romanzo, azzeccate anche le citazioni all'inizio di ogni capitolo, si poteva fare di più ma promosso a pieni voti.

[Sandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you actually like reading real literature, this is one of those books that you're slightly embarassed to admit that you've read. It's okay --- I'd classify it as even slightly trashy --- it goes quickly, I would only recommend it if you need a little relief after a really intense novel, or you enjoy reading stories about the superficial L.A. living of spoiled women. I'm only on page 100 and I'm already anxious for it to end --- it kind of feels like when one of your friends goes up to do karaoke and you hope it goes quickly because you're expecting them to be humiliated. I don't forsee this becoming life-changing literature . . . luckily they use big font.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 2 out of 5]

"I collect new books the way my girlfriends buy designer handbags."

Despite a main character who could be construed as a kindred spirit, this book disappointed me. The blurb on the back described the plot as that of a woman who deals with the problems of her life by going on a book reading binge. Okay. Excellent strategy. And the authors (Why are there two? Two authors concerns me.) tossed into the story every wonderful book title, every wonderful book quote, every wonderful author...but it wasn't enough. A stew of things obsessive readers love, but it wasn't enough. The book still read like a rough draft. Disappointing.

[Kirsten McKenzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable literary romp, covering love, family, loss and lust. The only reason this is getting 4 stars instead of 5, is because many of the books referenced I'd just never heard of, so some of the symbolism was clearly lost on me. I love most books about bookshops or libraries, or bookworms, and this one didn't disappoint. An enjoyable and easy read.

[Corina · Rating 1 out of 5]

I REALLY wanted to like this book. It unfortunately felt pretentious, snobbish and like it was trying too hard. :(

[Janice · Rating 2 out of 5]

"...Mark Twain's brilliant The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn went through seventeen hundred revisions...."

"The humidity has now reached mythical proportions and I feel droplets of sweat trickling down my back. We chat for a while longer until it is pitch-dark. A cool breeze hits my face, gently rustling the reeds by the pond.

And so it begins. A single baritone note heralds the start. Other deep melancholy voices join, ushering in a symphony of enchanted music. There is a furious double fugue tempered with delicate, lyrical shading and then, suddenly, the voices soar and a burst of sound erupts like thunderous, cosmic cannon fire. I am spellbound as I listen to this majestic amphibian requiem with its triumphant grandeur."

[Kimberly Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I didn't finish this book. It started out well, and went down hill from there.

[J Oga · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like it! Cute, sometimes obvious and cliche but kept me entertained and it was nice to read about the places in LA and south

[Emily Szasz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read for the Fourth of July! Hard to tell when it was being purposefully satirical… after the author mentioned the main character looking like Nicole Kidman it read to me like the whole thing was written hoping to be picked up as a miniseries, which it wasn’t

[Paleomichi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ho comprato questo libro, come molte Anobiiane, attratta dalla copertina e dalla trama. La protagonista è una giovane donna divorziata, appassionata lettrice, quando qualcosa nella sua vita non va si chiude in casa e legge, legge, legge, legge. Praticamente il mio sogno (se solo non ci fosse il "problemino" del lavoro). Quando ho letto "Colleziono nuovi libri allo stesso modo in cui le mie amiche comprano borse firmate. A volte mi basta sapere di averli e non mi pongo il problema se riuscirò a leggerli. Non che alla fine non li legga tutti, a uno a uno. Lo faccio. Ma il solo gesto di comprarli mi rende felice: la vita diventa più promettente, più appagante. E' difficile da spiegare, ma io mi sento, in un certo senso, più ottimista. Tutta la trafila dell'acquisto mi mette allegria." mi ci sono ritrovata in pieno, e ho pensato che fosse il libro per me.
Le prime pagine sono piacevoli. Ma poi ha iniziato a darmi sui nervi. Intanto la protagonista non fa niente dalla mattina alla sera, campa di rendita. E si lamenta pure. Poi infila ogni due tre frasi una citazione, come se volesse far vedere quanto è colta. La maggior parte dei libri citati, però, sono di autori americani.
Poi c'è la difficile scelta fra due uomini affascinanti, dice la quarta di copertina. Il primo è a mio modesto parere un povero sfigato egoista, snob e presupponente e il secondo non mi ispira per niente. Mi sembra come se debba risultare simpatico a partire da un certo punto del libro solo per necessità di trama.
In generale si trova una superficialità irritante in tutte le vicende e i personaggi del libro. Alcune idee sono interessanti, ma svolte in modo talmente superficiale da risultare praticamente luoghi comuni.

Principalmente non sopporto questo libro per un motivo molto semplice. La protagonista non è un'amante dei libri, ma una persona con un difetto tipo ossessivo-compulsivo nei confronti della lettura. Dà un punto di vista deviato sull'amore per la lettura, come se chi legge lo facesse esclusivamente per sfuggire alla realtà circostante, e per tornare "normale" dovesse ridurre il ritmo delle sue letture.

In breve a mio parere è un'americanata idiota e superficiale. Orribile.

se ne discute sul mio blog: http://paleomichilibri.blogspot.com/2...

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

A beach read with greater aspirations. I'm always skeptical of people who just "looooooove books so much" and the heroine of this otherwise fairly standard chick-lit entry does just that. Separated from her second (wealthy and charming husband) and with a designer-wear addiction, whenever Dora goes into a funk she lies in her marble bath for hours and devours books. She falls for a rakish bookstore clerk, and rather abruptly finds herself enmeshed in the life of his family -- his earthy mother and adorable niece, who has just lost her junkie mother. Then, just as abruptly, she's headed back in the direction of her (still charming, still wealthy) not-quite-ex-husband. The literary pretensions (there is an extensive bibliography cataloging every book and author reference, and footnotes, for god's sake) don't do much of anything to mask the fact that the characters and their arcs don't make a lot of sense and there isn't much there there. (see, no footnote necessary)

[Starr Nordgren · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had very high hopes for this book - it seemed to have all of the good chick lit ingredients, along with intelligent writing and fun literary touches. Unfortunately, it just didn't live up to the hype.

As with many others, I loved the idea of book binges as a coping device and could completely relate to Dora’s desire to shut out world and lose herself in books. I also really enjoyed the part of the book that centered on Dora’s relationship with Bea and Harper. However, despite those aspects, the book was a disappointment. There were so many inconsistencies and the ending felt like a complete sell-out. I felt like the authors ran out of ideas and decided to just stick Dora and her ex back together for lack of anything else to write.

Overall, I didn’t completely hate it, but I definitely wouldn’t recommend it.

[Trin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book that left me somewhat confuddled. On the one hand, it's hard to resist a book that wallows in reading, and I enjoyed Kaufman & Mack's navigation of the L.A. book scene, including a little ode to the now sadly-deceased Dutton's Brentwood Books. (How wrong is it that that's gone? VERY.) Some of the narrative twists were surprising and well done, as well—I really liked how Dora, the protagonist, becomes involved in the lives of her boyfriend's mother and niece, and how those relationships evolve and change. However, I found it really hard to sympathize with Dora a lot of the time. Oh the poor dear! She's a trust fund baby with nothing to do all day but sit around and read! Lady, I wish I had your problems.

Well-written and at times moving, but also somehow off. *peers at it*

[Lightblue · Rating 3 out of 5]

Questo libro racconta la storia di Dora e di come affronti ogni problema e difficolta' della vita aiutandosi con i libri. Stupende le citazioni ad ogni inizio capitolo e meraviglioso il modo in cui Dora si rifugia nei libri (per la serie: si prepara un bagno caldo, sceglie dalla libreria un buon romanzo e chiude tutto il mondo fuori). Peccato che la trama sia un po' misera. Consigliato a chi, come me, ama i libri in cui si parla di libri!

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like a light read now and then. I didn't think Dora was a snob, she didn't like people who have nothing to say, rich or poor. Like me she'd rather read a book than go to a party. She always tried to be kind and do the right thing. Didn't like Jane Austen though so that's a mark against her :)

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book Lover was interesting. It comes across as potential for a high minded read and slowly devolves into chick lit with pretentious book quotes. Often the quotes fit the flow of the story, sometimes they are just confusing. I enjoy chick lit, so I enjoyed this book. It's a good rainy day read.

[Ashley Stringham · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just couldn't get into it. I didn't particularly like the protagonist and so I quit halfway through. Just not my thing.

[Roxanne]

I got about 50 pages into this and just couldn't go any further. Not the right book for me right now. Didn't care so much for the character.

[VJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the many literary allusions in this tale of angst and aimlessness in Los Angeles.

[Alison Goss]

Seems this story simply wants to prove the authors know a lot of quotes from other books.

The story is ok, but travels a little slow.