I'm uncertain what it is about some of these books I've been reading recently, but they all seem to be blurring together. Not that the plots or characters are all the same, it's just they read with the same voice in my head and the same actors and actresses portraying different characters. It is a little bit disconcerting, to be honest.

Yeah, so, this book, the main character's life is completely falling apart just as she seems to be achieving her life's work. Her modern-stoic (versus the ancient definition of stoic) husband takes off with her two girls just before Christmas, leaving her to work over the Christmas break, and possibly leaving her, we aren't sure exactly what's going on because, well, that's the whole point of the book. Because it's on the back of the book, I don't feel I'm spoiling anything by saying, "She finds the phone from her childhood in her childhood bedroom, and discovers using it to call her husband dials her husband from 15 years ago, not her current day husband."

How... odd, and a clever premise for a book, for a story.

An opportunity for redemption.

An opportunity to make a different choice.

An opportunity to change a life.

Or is it?

So, yeah, it's a cute story. Given that it's similar to other stories I've read, I can't say that I'm all excited about it and bouncing to recommend it. I feel this is more because of the books I've already read and less because it's not a great book. It's a fun "I'm on vacation and need a nice story to read" book, but not a "buy it in hardcover and reread it in 10 years" book.

Unsurprising, to be honest, the basic premise of the book and the conflict of the story.

The third of three books I have by Jonathan Tropper from Mom. As predicted, I ripped through them in a week. I liked this book a lot. A large number of literally-laugh-out-loud parts that I laughed out loud to.

I currently have enough empirical data to state Tropper's style is first person narration of a guy who has had someone close to him die, has a screwed-up-in-some-way family, and is trying in some way to get his life back together in a way where he can move forward. 

In this book, yup, that's the plot. The narrator's wife died a year before and he is still grieving. He is rather sucking at moving on, despite his screwed up family attempts to help him. He has a twin sister, another little sister, an actress mom and a doctor dad. Things aren't particularly clean, though, as he's more than a little odd, even before he met his now deceased wife, his family is screwed up in odd ways (but still family), and, well, as the book shows so well about human nature, sometimes you just want to keep the pain, wrap yourself in it, and use that cloak of pain to keep everyone else away.

The book has enough truth in it about human nature and how we are all screwed up that I suspect anyone reading it will find himself in the book somewhere. Or maybe discover something new about human nature (as I did: that guys will trim their pubic hairs to make their penises look bigger. Who knew?).

This is the second of three Tropper books I have from Mom. I enjoyed the first one well enough that I am likely to rip through all three, maybe this week.

This one was much shorter than the previous one I read, the Book of Joe. It was a harder read than the first one, as the first person narrator (same as the Book of Joe, this might be the author's style) has a friend who died (come to think of it, so did Joe in the last book). 

The basic premise is that the narrator is engaged to be married to one woman, and in love with his dead best friend's widow. How's that for sucky?

Answer: way.

This was a shorter read, less amusing than the previous one, more talk talk talk, and that's okay, the book was a good read. I liked the ending, full of hope after a serious screw up. 

If you're ripping through Trooper books, include this one. Otherwise, skip it for one of the others. 

This is another one of those books my mom bought and I had around, so I figured I would go ahead and read it. It is the first of three books I have by Jonathan Tropper, having read nothing about the book or by this author before.

I was delightfully surprised by this book. It was tragic and amusing and entertaining and funny all. I really enjoyed the book. 

The basic plot is a guy has a crappy childhood in a small town where basketball is king, has no connection to his widowed dad, has no connection to his basketball-star older brother, moves away, writes a book about said small town (exposing everything, making up a lot of things), becomes a success with said book, and returns to the town 17 years later. 

Hilarity ensues. 

The book is written in the first person from the male perspective, in a light, self-effacing way. I enjoyed the book a lot, and lit in immediately to the second of three Tropper books I have from Mom.

Sound bite from the book that I keep coming back to: "you know [a past love] was true love when it hurts, time doesn't heal the pain, and it's too late."

Recommended. Fast read.