When You Read This

When You Read This: a Novel / Mary Adkins, 376 p.

Thanks to Christa for blogging about this.  Iris Massey wrote a blog while she was dying of cancer at 33.  After she's gone, her old boss Smith and her sister Jade disagree on the fate of the blog, with lots of help from the worst intern ever, Smith's protege Carl.  Sounds like a horribly sad story, and some of it is, but most of it is sweet, and, thanks to Carl and the hapless commenters on Iris' blog, hilarious.  A very worthwhile and quick emailolary novel.

When you read this

When you read this / Mary Adkins, read by Sarah Naughton, 376 pgs.

A lovely epistolary novel following the emails, texts and blog posts of an interesting group of people who know or are Iris or her boss Smith.  Iris died tragically young and Smith is trying to figure out how to get by without her.  Add Smith's new intern, the go-getter Carl, Iris's sister Jade and some of the PR firm's clients.  What you get is funny, surprising, with a little bit of romance (some you WON'T predict).  I feel like this is an unexpected treasure.  The narration by Sarah Naughton is great but I didn't love having to listen to her read each email header in its entirety...but that is a small detraction. 

Republic of Spin

Republic of spin: an inside history of the American presidency / David Greenberg, 557 pgs.

An interesting history of the the American presidency and the efforts of presidents to communicate with the public. Starting with FDR and ending with Obama, the book details the professional efforts of PR and media consultants that have aided every president to make their case to the public. I liked learning how the various presidents tried to deny that they hired and depended on people to help them look better, sound better, and be more persuasive. Not an easy read but a reminder about how the technology has changed but not the intent.

Damage Control by Denise Hamilton 372 pages

So, this is the first book that I read byHamilton. The book jacket says that she also has an Eve Diamond mystery series and I will put that on my "To Read" list. Maggie Silver has an intense job working for a major PR company. She is called on to help put a lid on breaking news involving celebrity clients. She juggles several cases at once, although the most important case pulls her back down memory lane revisiting her best friend from high school who might have murdered her husband. The friend is the daughter of a senator with presidential aspirations. The murder of his aide pulls Maggie back to the family. She would prefer not to get involved, but her company knows everything about her (like how strapped she is for money for her mother's health treatments) and insists. Maggie has her own demons (like her reliance on a certain pill) but feels guilt when she thinks back to a traumatic incident involving Anabelle and her handsome brother. Lots of twists -- I should have guessed the villain's identity earlier. Enjoyable.