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8th out of 28 books
—
69 voters
Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as a Mother and Daughter
by
Lisa Scottoline (Goodreads Author),
Francesca Serritella
From the New York Times bestselling writing team comes a hilarious new collection of essays that observe life from a mother/daughter perspective
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella are the best of friends—99.9% of the time. They’re number one on each other’s speed dial and they tell each other everything—well, almost ever...more
New York Times bestselling author Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella are the best of friends—99.9% of the time. They’re number one on each other’s speed dial and they tell each other everything—well, almost ever...more
Hardcover, 288 pages
Published
November 22nd 2011
by St. Martin's Press
(first published November 2nd 2011)
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Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: the Lighter Side of Mother-Daughter Relationships, by Lisa Scottoline and Francesca Scottoline Serritella, Narrated by the authors, Produced by Macmillan Audio, downloaded from audible.com.
This is another book full of the writings from their Chicklit Column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. They’re the best of friends - 99.9% of the time. They're number one
on each other's speed dial and they tell each other everything - well, almost everything. This book is one tha...more
This is another book full of the writings from their Chicklit Column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. They’re the best of friends - 99.9% of the time. They're number one
on each other's speed dial and they tell each other everything - well, almost everything. This book is one tha...more
I will begin by apologizing - if you don't know the relationship that I personally have with my own mother it will be hard for me to articulate why I enjoyed this book so much. Lisa and Francesca remind me so much of my mother and myself: a single mother raising her only daughter that seem to be the best of friends now that the daughter has reached adulthood. The short stories were quick and easy to get through and were full of laughs. I felt that many of the stories hit so close to home that I...more
Lisa Scottoline is best known as a bestselling fiction author. What readers may not realize is that she is also a very talented humor writer. She recently completed a new book of essays called Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as a Mother and Daughter. This is her third book of humor writing based on her Chick Wit column in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which she writes with her daughter Francesca Serritella.
In Best Friends, Occasional Enemies, Lisa and Francesca take on pe...more
In Best Friends, Occasional Enemies, Lisa and Francesca take on pe...more
Everyone knows Lisa's courtroom thrillers but she is also an essayist and writes for the Philadelphia Enquirer. Once a year, she and her daughter Francesca publish a book of their essays and every year I wait patiently for the next installment. They are real life stories of mother and daughter and I cannot help but to laugh my way through them.
Growing up is not easy, whether you are the mother or daughter, but the combinations of parent/child, mother/daughter, granddaughter/grandmother, each hav...more
Growing up is not easy, whether you are the mother or daughter, but the combinations of parent/child, mother/daughter, granddaughter/grandmother, each hav...more
To meet Lisa and her daughter (and Mother Mary) is to love them and my family has met them on several occasions. Yes, we were amongst those at her house. At any rate, we have read all of her books and enjoyed them. We have also read Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog and My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space. We loved them, too. But Lisa and Francesca hit this one out of the park! I can't tell you how many times I laughed at loud and had my husband ask me what was so funny. You just...more
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When Lisa Scottoline and her daughter, Francesca Serritella teamed up to write the column “Chick Wit” every Sunday for The Philadelphia Inquirer, I don’t know if they expected those columns to turn into three books. Best Friends, Occasional Enemies: The Lighter Side of Life as a Mother and Daughter, is the best collection of essays so far.
If you’re a mother or a daughter, you can probably relate to some of the comments the two authors make. Lisa assures us that “Motherhood has no expiration date...more
If you’re a mother or a daughter, you can probably relate to some of the comments the two authors make. Lisa assures us that “Motherhood has no expiration date...more
Lisa Scottoline is best known for her mystery fiction, but I don't really care for mysteries. I do, however, love Lisa Scottoline's compilations of her "Chick Wit" column in the Philadelphia Inquirer, which she writes with her daughter, Francesca Serritella. The first such compilation demanded I read it because of the catchy title, Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog. How can you not pick that up! Then I listened to My Nest Isn't Empty, It Just Has More Closet Space on CD and absolutely recommend...more
For an honest, light-hearted look at many of life’s frustrations and confusions, look no further than this collection of short essays by the stalwart writing team of Lisa Scottoline and her daughter, Francesca Serritella. They pull no punches and hold nothing back as they regale us with their observations on such things as love, marriage, and divorce; clothes: the buying and borrowing of; pets, their quirks, and their sweaters; the sneaky nature of mice; break-downs and repairs and the time betw...more
The author of this book, Lisa Scottoline, is one of my favorites. However, this book is not at all like her fictional stories. This is about the relationship between mother and daughter. It is co-written with her daughter. The short essays in this book talk about everyday events of life. The writing is much like the style of Erma Bombeck! I was laughing out loud reading some of them. Lisa is a devoted fan of George Clooney and chocolate. How could you go wrong with favorites like those!?! Whethe...more
I always love reading Scottoline's essays - she is honest to a fault and so refreshing. She has trouble with dog hair, duvet covers, and pines for George Clooney. What's not to love about every woman's woman? In this installment of essays, Scottoline's daughter interjects on occasion with her own spin of the younger generation. Honestly, she writes just like her mom, just younger. Cute and a great bathtub read, which I believe would actually please the authors, especially since I ate chocolate a...more
go read my review for my nest isn't empty, it just has more closet space. go ahead. i'll wait.
are you back? okay. well, this book is exactly the same book as that one. sure, the words are different, but it's still trying to be funny without ever really getting there, vaguely woman-hating, inconsequential, substance-less, & confusing. i read this book for two reasons: it was already on my bookshelf before i read the first book by these two so i figured "why the fuck not? i have a half hour to...more
are you back? okay. well, this book is exactly the same book as that one. sure, the words are different, but it's still trying to be funny without ever really getting there, vaguely woman-hating, inconsequential, substance-less, & confusing. i read this book for two reasons: it was already on my bookshelf before i read the first book by these two so i figured "why the fuck not? i have a half hour to...more
admittedly I was a bit disappointed it really wasn't what I expected but it was a perfectly lovely collection of short essays.Cute and charming but nothing really all that gripping.I found I kept putting of finishing it till I had one day left to return it and forced myself finish it quickly which wasn't hard to do but again I doubt I would have finished it without the deadline.
If you enjoy the authors previous books and unique writing style then I see no reason you wouldn't enjoy this.On a last...more
If you enjoy the authors previous books and unique writing style then I see no reason you wouldn't enjoy this.On a last...more
This was an interesting look into the personal life of an author I just started reading. The main writer Lisa Scottoline is best friends with her daughter Francesca. This is odd to me and one that I could never imagine with my mother. I loved the stories and laughed through almost all the book. The parts about Mother Mary are great and we all know people like that. I did like the book. Lisa is very funny and has the life. She writes from home and lives alone with her pets. She can do whatever an...more
This book was cute - observational humor essays, short ones. Most were from mom Lisa, with about a third from her daughter Francesca. I wish they had been closer to 50/50, as Lisa's essays sometimes blended together. Francesca's tended to be more serious, and the change in tone was helpful to keep my interest. I could have done with more of that. They both can be funny, although they occasionally seem to be trying a little hard. While many of the essays relate to the mother/daughter relationship...more
*Audiobook Review*
It’s no secret that I absolutely adore Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella. I raved about their first book together, MY NEST ISN’T EMPTY, IT JUST HAS MORE CLOSET SPACE and I recently recapped meeting them at a signing with my mom. So getting to LISTEN to them narrate their second book together? A true treat.
I reviewed my first audiobook over the summer, and with this being my second audiobook experience, I have to say, I’m hooked! Especially now that I have a...more
It’s no secret that I absolutely adore Lisa Scottoline and her daughter Francesca Serritella. I raved about their first book together, MY NEST ISN’T EMPTY, IT JUST HAS MORE CLOSET SPACE and I recently recapped meeting them at a signing with my mom. So getting to LISTEN to them narrate their second book together? A true treat.
I reviewed my first audiobook over the summer, and with this being my second audiobook experience, I have to say, I’m hooked! Especially now that I have a...more
Love this book. Both mother & daughter are excellent writers. The book is a series of essays mainly on the mother & daughter relationship. Also you get the daughter aspect from Lisa (mom author) as her mother is still living. What I truly enjoy about this book is how much Lisa loves her daughter. I feel the same way about my daughter as she does about hers. She expresses her love so wonderfully & I wish I could do the same. So I told my daughter read this & see how much I love yo...more
This is the second non-fiction book by Lisa that I am reading. She has a real talent for humorous memoir. I was laughing out loud in the middle of the night last night, and had to stop reading as courtesy to the sleeping members of my family. This book can be read 1 or 2 little stories at a time. If you try to read it cover to cover, it is like overdosing on chocolate. Reading doesn't get any better than that. Recommend to my women friends, and anyone else with a sense of humor.
This is not a typical book for me to pick up. But, I did and was surprised that I enjoyed reading it as much as I did. I would bump my star count up a half of star. It could relate to many of the reflections in the book. The jacket said it was very funny. I would say more amusing than laugh out-loud funny. I think it helped me enjoy it more because I am a mother of three girls around the age of the daughter. It had a ring of truth.
Wonderful book! It seems like Lisa's life mirrors my own and her three humor books have all been so relevant to me. This one should be read by all women, especially those with daughters. I loved it so much that I was sad when it ended. I wanted it to keep going. Both Lisa and Francesca are awesome. I gave a copy to my daughter and she read it. Somem of Francesca's word were very meaningful to her. She felt like someone else "got" what its like to be a twenty-something year old woman struggling t...more
In this, the third compilation of Chick Wit columns, Francesca officially joins her mother Lisa Scottoline in an exploration of mother-daughter issues. As usual, some were funny, some touching. This collection is more personal and less humorous than the previous ones.
I enjoyed having Lisa and Francesca read their respective essays. An exception to my rule that authors shouldn't read their own works.
I enjoyed having Lisa and Francesca read their respective essays. An exception to my rule that authors shouldn't read their own works.
May 04, 2012
Laura
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
chick-lit,
non-fiction
A collection of articles written by a mother and daughter duo, but not necessarily about being a mother and/or daughter, just stories from their lives. It was okay and was kind of funny. There were a few times that I chuckled, so it's good for that. I actually enjoyed Lisa's stories more than Francesca's. Lisa's writing is a bit similar to Erma Bombeck's, so it's all in the same vein.
This was a cute book. I'm not sure if the authors have an alternating column in a newspaper or blog, or if these pieces were written specifically for the blog, but they were light, airy and eminently forgettable. It was the perfect airplane book.
I could have done without the almost omnipresent stories about their dogs, and could have lived the rest of my life without knowing that Scottoline kisses her dog on the mouth, which I found revolting. (She harped on it!) But the stories illustrated a n...more
I could have done without the almost omnipresent stories about their dogs, and could have lived the rest of my life without knowing that Scottoline kisses her dog on the mouth, which I found revolting. (She harped on it!) But the stories illustrated a n...more
My 4-year old daughter randomly plucked this book off the shelf at the library and told me I should check out the "kitty" book (there are two kittens on the cover.) I decided to humor her and it actually was a cute read. It's a great book if you're just looking for something extra light that you want to pick up and put down occasionally. A couple of the essays made me laugh out loud.
A book of general essays. NOT a book of essays in how a mother and daughter relate to each other, or their relationship. There are references about mother or daughter from each. The title, description, and sub-title, all lead me to think that this book was going somewhere it didn't really touch.
I didn't mind the stories, but just disappointed that I didn't get what I expected.
I didn't mind the stories, but just disappointed that I didn't get what I expected.
Audio
Laugh out loud collection of essays by mother and daughter. Full of moments of truth of insight about mother/daughter relationships, a run on the eliptical that Lisa equates to dog years, Francesca's adventures trying to exterminate the mice from her apartment.
As I said, I think I'm now a Scottoline fan for life. In fact, I'm on my way to check out a couple more of her books!
Laugh out loud collection of essays by mother and daughter. Full of moments of truth of insight about mother/daughter relationships, a run on the eliptical that Lisa equates to dog years, Francesca's adventures trying to exterminate the mice from her apartment.
As I said, I think I'm now a Scottoline fan for life. In fact, I'm on my way to check out a couple more of her books!
Lisa has made me laugh again. This is the third non-fiction book I have read that she has written. I have enjoyed everyone of them, she writes about sujects that relate to women's lives in the world today. She is funny and I also enjoy reading her daughter's writings. I would recommend all three of her books, you will laugh and feel good after you have finished them.
an unusual choice for me, but I like Lisa Scottoline and was curious to see her writing in something other than a novel. This was very light and amusing. My 11 year old son says it must be funny since I was laughing a lot to myself. It's an exchange of stories from everyday life shared between mother and daughter, who are both published authors.
Funny series of essays but heavy on Mother Lisa and not so much on Daughter Francesca. Also, the essays don't so much reflect the mother-daughter relationship - it seems more to be a place to either rehash Lisa's previous essays or publish other ones that didn't fit in her other books. Enjoyable commentary on life, but definitely not a central focus on moms' and daughters' relationships.
I really like Lisa Scottoline, her essays even more than the courtroom series. Hard to decide which is my favorite (they are all excellent) but possibly the best is daughter Francesca's essay about her horse, Joy. Easy to relate to Scottoline's empty nest house full of dogs, and experiences unique to middle-aged women. A fun read.
I picked up the third collection of Scottoline's Chick Wit columns after the holidays this year and was rewarded with another great read. These slice of life pieces will have anyone with dogs, moms, daughters, and cars chuckling along with Lisa. Great book to keep in the car, although my carpool days are nearing an end.
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