If all were to go swimmingly…

Deciding which of the millions of books in the world I should choose as the first book in my top thirty-one was nearly impossible.  I fretted and I fretted, and then eventually I just picked one.  The point is not to judge my book preferences or compare them to yours or anything of the sort.  The point is to share some of my favorite books, and explain why I felt that they were notable enough to share with you.

The first on my list is Lucia, Lucia, by Adriana Trigiani.  Adriana is a great author in the Chicklit realm, and she’s important to me for a couple of reasons.  Just look at the wallpaper of her website.  It’s perfect and lovable.

There’s a load of stuff going on with feminism right now.  Indeed, I described it as a “load,” because there is hardly another way to describe it.  Policies are changing, for the better or for the worse, and women are shouting.  Gloria Steinem is shouting (and writing) and Hillary Clinton is shouting and people are shouting at Hillary Clinton.  The meaning- the connotation, to be more specific- of the word “feminist” is changing, and I’m not sure that it’s a good thing.  What is a word anyway, but a randomly assigned string of letters?  At times, I don’t believe it  should mean as much as it does.  Don’t we all just want the best for women and the world and women in the world?

I recently joined a Goodreads reading group created by Emma Watson (Yes, Hermione!) and it’s themed around and for women, since she is a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador.  I’m not sure if that title is right.  I’ll try to remember to check on it, but I might not.  That happens.  Simply following the comments and discussions in the group has been really interesting.  There are discussions and sometimes heated arguments daily, if not hourly, with participants from all over the world.  I’d recommend joining just to check it all out.

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Now on to “Lucia, Lucia.”

This book was one of the first books that I read that ended in this particular way.  The way, I won’t elaborate on explicitly, but it’s a way that I believe that the aforementioned reading group would both appreciate and analyze thoroughly.  I think that if you continue with Adriana Trigiani, you’ll find that she often ends her books in this way, and I for one, love it.  Don’t get me wrong, I might be making it seem like all of her books end in the same way, but that is most certainly not true.

I’ve found that many people believe that “Chicklit” or “Women’s Fiction” has a formula, but I disagree.  Not once you’ve started reading Adriana Trigiani.  In this particular novel, besides the story, there’s Italiano, recipes that you’ll want to try making, a big interesting city, and of course, hope.

Start next weekend with “Lucia, Lucia” and a cup of tea.  I think you might enjoy it.