Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby

My friend Natalie lent me Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby on my Nook. Lending books on Nooks is super duper fun. Not only is the lending process streamlined and effortless, there is no chance that I will have the shame of returning the book to its owner in a-little-more-worser condition than I received it, which is the fate of all inanimate objects that spend any appreciable time in my home. (Thanks, kids). Also, I won't accidentally keep the book for two years. The exchange is strictly cyber, and the book returns itself. I'm glad something takes responsibility for itself around here. Be quiet, Home Girl's subconscious! You think people can't hear you??

What were we talking about? Oh yes. Nick Hornby. On the Nook.

In the novel, a middle-aged ex-rock star, Tucker Crowe, confronts the reasons behind a fifteen year jag of creative silence after re-releasing a stripped down, unedited version of his most lauded record. When Annie, a-nearing-forty-year-old fan whose life is also stuck on "pause" for other reasons, posts an unflattering, probing critique of his new (old) material online, both of them find themselves staring at the stripped down, unedited truth about their lives.

The book is full of searing hilarity and wit. Hornby digs into the minds of a washed-up 80's rock star and a stalled, single woman trapped in a Nothing Job with a cocktail of sensitivity and self-deprecation. We end up defending them, rooting for them, forgiving them, understanding them, and--yes--laughing at them. Juliet, Naked is a thoughtful, pleasantly neurotic tale of risks and ruts, creativity and complacency. I read it as I lounged by the pool, drinking diet tonic water and answering my splashing children's questions with vague, one-word answers. The book was a perfect fit.