Rambling About.. Stella Newman's Leftovers

Title: Leftovers Author: Stella Newman Publication: 23 January 2015 - Bookouture First Line: I am a Leftover. Well, according to this ridiculous quiz in Style & Food Magazine I'm a Leftover... Favorite 5 Lines: (maybe not my FAVORITE favorite since there were a freaking ton of them ... )  Eating alfalfa is about as much fun as eating a handful of baby's hair. (Kindle p 2) This is what my life has come to: elation over a pack of stolen Post-it notes. (Kp 7) My grandma always told me that a bowl of pasta is the answer to most of life's problems. (Kp 13) Caffeine. Salt. Fat. Carb. Chair. Those five nouns : what more could a girl ask for? (Kp 34) Denial is a healthy psychological state, designed to protect us from ourselves, and should be respected accordingly. (Kp 35)

Ramble: I posted a public service announcement on Twitter about Leftovers. It should not be read on an empty stomach or too far away from a kitchen. Stella Newman (my new kindred spirit) is obviously a foodie and she'll make your mouth water and your stomach grumble... but you'll also likely shed a tear or two from laughing too hard ... and, maybe, in heartache/commiseration.

Until this past Christmas I had gone several years without reading "chick lit" because I found it difficult to relate much to the characters. (I know, I know. I can't really relate to the characters in my mysteries or paranormals, either. I don't expect to, though, so it's not the same. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) The main character in Leftovers? Definitely someone I could relate to.

Susie Rosen is 36, single, works at an ad agency, and is passionate about food. She's particularly passionate about pasta (and wine) and tweaking recipes to make them new ... which I totally get since I rarely follow a recipe without making a dozen changes to it.

She's NOT passionate about her life in general, though. She has horrible luck with men (up until I met Tom a big "here, too"). Her job is pretty awful outside of a couple of co-workers who aren't detestable (no comment). She's in a rut but is, for the most part, in denial about it. And I say "for the most part" because she knows that she's in denial... which is pretty much self-contradictory, but I get it. I've been there. In some aspects I'm still there. And after watching Susie navigate her rut I kind of feel like attacking my own somehow.

Some day.

Maybe.