B.W.'s Book Report: Blue Shoe

Maybe it's my fault, for picking an easygoing Ann Lamott book as my followup to a fall and winter of Ayn Rand, Frank Chodorov and Murray Rothbard. Blue Shoe was a pleasant enough little book, but it felt a little bit like the cherry cheesecake dessert after a huge, satisfying meal of meat and potatoes.

Lamott is a nice writer, and she made me care enough about a small pile of quirky characters to putter through 300 pages of their trials and tribulations. But when it was over, I was hungry again.

You know, three days after finishing it, I can't think of the main character's name without prompting. I know that the declining health of her mother, Isa, plays a key role, along with an important reason why Isa's mental state is what it is, thanks to the man she chose to marry. There's Daniel, the married man our heroine finds herself oddly attracted to, and her ex-husband who is still in the picture because of their two children. It's an interesting story, and I am glad I met them.

But this one goes down as one of those books that was good eating but didn't stick to the ribs. I guess the brain needs one of those in the mix from time to time.

I'm printing out H.L. Mencken's Notes on Democracy now, though, courtesy of The Mises Institute. I suspect this one will linger a bit longer.