Showing posts with label Parenting & Families. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parenting & Families. Show all posts

Thursday, July 12, 2018

Scottoline Does Funny, Too

"We take real life and make it funny."--Lisa Scottoline

Philadelphia lawyer turned courtroom/thriller novelist Lisa Scottoline has also been writing "true stories and confessions." I thought it was about time I read one of her humor books, which she co-authors with her daughter Francesca Serritella. I picked up I See Life Through Rose'-Colored Glasses through NetGalley.

My husband and I began reading Scottoline's novels for their Philadelphia locale. We kept reading for her characters and plotlines. I followed her on social media and discovered her humor writing. I looked forward to that laugh-out-loud moment her posts always brought.

Like the snake in the toilet news story that had her horrified. She writes, "Now, this is where I reveal that I go to the bathroom to pee approximately thirty-five times a day. Seventeen of those are at night." The only thing worse than worrying about finding snakes when you lift the toilet seat lid is, well, there is nothing worse.

Scottoline's 'true stories' are written in her own voice, with a wallop of self-depreciation and a no-holds-barred admittance of the plight of being a woman 'of a certain age' and the indignities of aging. The stories "chronicle our lives" as mother and daughter she writes, looking "at the upside of ups and downs."

Her daughter Francesca writes about being a 21st c thirty-something female in NYC. I loved her "Can You Hear Me Now?" about her mother's struggle with technology--WiFi, phones, Face-Timing. Yep. We have a thirty-something son who we rely on as our personal technology service rep.

"The Ad That Stole Christmas" is about a Match.com ad makes singles feel bad about, well, being single during the holidays. But as her mother knows, the worst thing is not ending up alone, it is ending up with people who make you feel alone.

Scottoline is an animal lover and I enjoy seeing her rescued dogs laying on quilts on the couch. "Animals make us human" she states. "Lint rollers can only do so much," Scottoline admits, and the evidence is apparent on their clothing.

Oh, I do know about that. Our Shiba Inus shed 9 months out of the year, and the other three they exploded fur. We did not have dust bunnies, but dust puppies, and they rolled on the hardwood like tumbleweeds. I once found my dachshund's wiry hairs woven into my brassiere. Francesca writes about deciding to cut her dog's hair herself, which she discovers is not for the faint-hearted or neatnick.

The stories are brief and I like reading them one a day, like a vitamin pill, a daily laugh or chuckle to maintain good health.

I received a free ebook from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

See Life Through Rosé-Colored Glasses: True Stories and Confessions
by Lisa Scottoline; Francesca Serritella
St. Martin's Press
Pub Date 10 Jul 2018
ISBN 9781250163059
PRICE $24.99 (USD)

Read my reviews of other Scottoline books:

Corrupted:
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2015/10/seeking-redemption-corrupted-by-lisa.html
Damaged:
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2016/08/guilty-until-proven-innocent-damaged-by_11.html
Exposed:
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2017/08/exposed-by-lisa-scottoline.html
After Anna:
https://theliteratequilter.blogspot.com/2018/04/after-anna-by-lisa-scottloine.html