Hungry Heart Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing

Whenever I finish a book, I am usually good about jumping on the computer the same day and posting a review, or at least my rating. With this book, I had to take a while and noodle it over. On one hand the book felt like a good read...but the other hand had this nagging doubt that I couldn't put my finger on. I am a fan of Good in Bed, and I have read a couple of other books of Weiner's and enjoyed them. I have quite a few sitting on my bookshelves at home that I need to read (one day...). I also enjoy reading the snarky tweets of The Bachelor series she does, even though I don't watch the show. It's also interesting to see what is going on in the world of publishing that she brings attention to that someone like me would only assume. Picking up this novel after seeing her promoting it, I thought it would be a great insight into her mind. Enter a collection of essays on her life, that for some reason are not told in order. They mostly are, but a few times the timeline bounces around and I thought to myself, "oh we are going back to that again? Ok...." I went along for the ride though, because Weiner is a great storyteller (and isn't shy of saying so quite a few times throughout the book). Stories about her childhood. Stories about her mom. Grandma. Sister. We all have them and I am a sucker for them. As we progress we see how the relationships change all due to her father's spiral down and her feelings on them. We read about how Good In Bed came to be. How she found her agent and publisher. How In Her Shoes was a great novel but a not-so-well-received movie. We also read about her Twitter life and her relationships. (Be cautious with the miscarriage section as it can be quite graphic). So why was I so hesitant to jump online and boast about this? I love reading these types of stories - just look at Marian Keyes and Lauren Graham - love them! But Jennifer Weiner? Errrr...I just felt there were parts that were hypocritical and/or rubbed me the wrong way. In the chapters about her tweets, she spoke of Joan Didion's dog and explained how she saw an author who capitalized on tragedy in order to sell books. Uhhhhh....ummmm...isn't that what this whole novel is? Didn't you just explain earlier in the book how Good In Bed was based on your feelings and experiences in your life? Didn't you just explain earlier in the book how Little Earthquakes came to be after your stressful delivery and caring for a newborn? Isn't the whole premise about this book capitalizing on your tragedies to sell a book? Sooooo then shouldn't your dogs be worried about you? Your family? Then there was the section about her dad and how he made the news when a girlfriend of his ripped his *ahem* groin area open where he needed stitches. She made reference to the fact that because of their last name, a lot of news stations and people like Jay Leno picked up the story and used it for jokes. That's all well and good, until Weiner begins to complain about how it made her feel. Don't they realize that he has a family and his children are reading these things people are saying? What's good for the goose, isn't good for the gander for her, because she has no problems skewering the contestants on the reality tv shows she watches and live tweets about. Making fun of people who may not have the best grammar. Making fun of people for how they dress, what they say what they do...I love a good snarky read, as I do judge people, but I'm honest about it. Don't cry a river when people make fun of you, if you just turn around and do it to others. Little things like that really stuck out in this book, and I found myself saying "but wait...didn't you say xyz earlier in the book?" And because of that, I just can't recommend this. But if you're a fan of Weiner's books and tweets, then by all means pick this up (hey look! I recommended it after all! Must be contagious...)