Books

I first read about Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, by Maria Semple, in People magazine – one of my favor- ite sources for book reviews. The cover art caught my eye and the review was glowing, but since I’m not a big fan of mixed media books, I didn’t pursue it. Then just recently I saw it mentioned again in Ladies Home Journal – or was it Oprah? – as one of the funniest books some famous person had read this year. I requested it from the library the next day. Bernadette Fox is a beau- tiful, vivacious creative genius, a former awarding- winning architect, the wife of a top Microsoft exec and a devoted mother to 15-year-old daughter Bee. The family lives on a hilltop in Seattle in an abandoned girl’s school that is slowly being overrun with black- berry vines.

When Bee earns perfect grades from an exclusive private middle school, she is promised anything she wants as a graduation pres- ent. She chooses a trip to the Antarctica. Preparation for the trip pushes the agoraphobic Bernadette to her limits and sets off a series of events that leads to her disappearance. Bee collects emails, letters and private correspondence to piece together the puzzle of her mother’s life in order to find her. These communications are woven together with a variety of flashbacks to form the backbone of this witty, satirical book.

Mixed-media fiction can seem bloggy or dull, but Semple keeps the pace up and weaves a unique quirky humor throughout the story. Bernadette’s mus- ings about Seattle and the gnats (the mothers of Bee’s classmates) are particularly amusing. I was caught up immediately in her wacky, anxiety-filled world and enjoyed the ride.

Tapestry of Fortunes

I’ve been a fan of author Elizabeth Berg since a local bookstore owner recommended her books as perfect vacation reading; that was 15 years ago. Berg worked as a nurse for 10 years before turning to writing full-time. She credits those years for teaching her about regret, love, loss, hu- man nature, hope, fear and relationships – all recurrent themes of her books.

Her newest book, Tap- estry of Fortunes, is about starting over and the impor- tance of friendships, old and new. Motivational speaker Cecilia Ross isn’t used to taking her own good advice, but after her best friend dies, she finds herself adrift and lost in her life. So she sells her house and everything in it and rents a room in a house with three other women. When a postcard arrives out of the blue from a former “love of my life,” she plucks up the courage to drive across several states to see him. Her housemates decide to come along, each for their own set of reasons.

I enjoyed all the charac- ters in Tapestry of Fortunes. Reading it made me want to bust out of my routine and hit the road with a car full of girlfriends. Berg’s books don’t revolve around huge, nail-biting, gut-wrenching conflicts – that’s why I like them. Instead, they explore matters of the heart; and after I finish one, I feel the same satisfaction as when I’ve spent several hours with a best friend sharing a bottle of wine. We all need more of that kind of “feel good” in our lives.