I read both The Song is You by Arthur Phillips and American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. I kind of had to stew on them before I had anything to say, and now that I am writing about them, my opinions are becoming even more clear to me. Both were good books, and I would lend them to a friend, but neither was a favorite.

On one hand, The Song is You was a page turner, but because it was so intense and obsessive, I kept being forced to take embarrassment breaks. Arthur Phillips seems really talented; but I think I might like other books he has written better than this one. I was hoping this book would be great, but it was not an exact fit for me. It was a little dark, and I didn't like a single character. Also, the title of this book grates on me. I hate saying it aloud, and can't make the syntax of it work in my head. Now that I think about it, I have kind of an unpleasant taste in my mouth from this book, but I still feel like it was good. Maybe you will like it better than I did.

American Wife was very well written. Compared to The Song is You, it was like a sunny vacation, much lighter and much less troubling. I really liked reading Curtis Sittenfeld's prose, especially in the first half of the book. However, once the main character grew into an adult and began to resemble Laura Bush, my interest waned. I may have imagined it, but I think the writing suffered in the later parts of the novel as well. I vaguely knew this book was based on a few facts of Laura Bush's life, but didn't pay much attention. It wouldn't have kept me from wanting to read this book, but I would have read the first half with different eyes. After this, I do want to read more of Sittenfeld's work.

Right now, I am laboring through Catch- 22 by Joseph Heller, and eyeing The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy which is on my bookshelf.