Some women shop. Some eat. Dora cures the blues by bingeing on books-reading one after another, from Flaubert to bodice rippers, for hours and days...
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Feb 27, 2010
Dormouse
rated it: 
I bought this book because I recently discovered that I enjoy chicklit. It looked promising - a woman who likes reading, and hides in reading binges when she is low!
It was bad.
I kept reading it, trying to find when the heroine becomes likeable. She likes pizza, she enjoys buying books, her favourite shop is a book-shop. But no. She doesn't become likeable.
She is a snob. She's biased against people who are not as rich as she is, who enjoy books differently t More...
It was bad.
I kept reading it, trying to find when the heroine becomes likeable. She likes pizza, she enjoys buying books, her favourite shop is a book-shop. But no. She doesn't become likeable.
She is a snob. She's biased against people who are not as rich as she is, who enjoy books differently t More...
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Feb 27, 2010
Ainsley
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Books about book lovers always seem a bit tricky to me - 'book lovers' aren't necessarily 'readers' and vice versa, and what do those terms mean anyway? etc. And if your 'book lover' heroine doesn't enjoy the same sort of books or have the same attitude to them as the reader, then what? I found the title character's (frankly snobbish) attitude to books annoying, though I envied her articulateness :) It probably says a great deal about me that the part of the book I really liked showed the heroin
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(3 people liked it)
Dec 16, 2009
Starr
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jun 18, 2007
Kelly
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what the fuck? this book started out pretty good and then just completely fizzled. then ending is absolutely ridiculous. the main character sells out. the love interest falls into an plot scenario that has been written way too many times. i was so disappointed by this book i had to go out and buy several others just to make up for my lapse in judgement in buying this one.
in fact, i am now writing an update to this review because i am still upset over this book. i can't believe More...
in fact, i am now writing an update to this review because i am still upset over this book. i can't believe More...
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Jun 19, 2008
Melissa
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This book took me forever to read...literally almost a year...mostly because it was so annoying, I kept putting it down and starting other books and only reading it when I was done with my new books and before I'd find something more interesting to read.
It was often incredibly ignorant too and very narrowly indicitive of the women who wrote it.
Long story short, the last 1/3 of the book was pretty good and I enjoyed FINISHING it finally.
I do not recommend it More...
It was often incredibly ignorant too and very narrowly indicitive of the women who wrote it.
Long story short, the last 1/3 of the book was pretty good and I enjoyed FINISHING it finally.
I do not recommend it More...
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Dec 16, 2009
Sandy
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If you actually like reading real literature, this is one of those books that you're slightly embarassed to admit that you've read. It's okay --- I'd classify it as even slightly trashy --- it goes quickly, I would only recommend it if you need a little relief after a really intense novel, or you enjoy reading stories about the superficial L.A. living of spoiled women. I'm only on page 100 and I'm already anxious for it to end --- it kind of feels like when one of your friends goes up to do kara
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Nov 13, 2011
Sara
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Book Lover is a painfully inconsistent depiction of a self-absorbed and largely unsympathetic heroine, Dora, whose best feature is her adoration of books. All book lovers will enjoy all the quotes and literary references the novel makes and admire Dora's dedication to books - except even that doesn't last.
There isn't really anything driving the plot; instead Dora's life meanders on past the reader's eyes, without any direction or tension. There's romance without tension, life challenge More...
There isn't really anything driving the plot; instead Dora's life meanders on past the reader's eyes, without any direction or tension. There's romance without tension, life challenge More...
Jun 25, 2011
Rebecca
rated it: 
After I arrived in Sydney, I was so anxious, that I didn't pick up a book for over a week, which is the longest I have gone without reading since the holidays when the fam was here. And even then, when I look at all the books I read since I got my library card in Auckland and when I ended it, I read an average of nearly 3 books a week. Everyone at TVNZ was amazed, but when you look at my lifestyle, it makes sense. And since getting to Sydney, besides being worried about work and I no longer work
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Aug 07, 2010
Catherine
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I finished this book as I was reading it for a book group but wish I hadn't spent the time (although it was a light, easy read). The premise of this book was interesting - a woman who retreats into book reading binges to deal with her problems and stress. However, the characters were badly written making them unbelievable and uninteresting (e.g. the main character frequently spends days drinking wine and reading but still has the money to purchase designer clothes and gifts for others (while not
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Mar 11, 2010
Sandy
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I liked this a huge amount. I grabbed it off the new release shelf, and at first it seemed like highbrow chick lit (not that there's anything wrong with that), but it doesn't follow the classic chick lit formula. And the writers are pretty skillful, too. And reading about bookstores and reading binges and all kinds of classic literature was tremendous fun, apart from the plot and the characters, which were both very good. I loved the literary quotes at the beginning of each chapter and the book
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Jul 13, 2008
Michelle
rated it:
Ok, I only read the first few chapters, but that's all I needed to read to determine this was a trite, snotty, manifesto of the stereotypical "L.A. mentality". Now, the authors may have been shooting for this in an ironic, tongue-in-cheek manner...but it fell flat for me. And for some it could've been amusing, but it really just grated on my nerves.
I'm a bit disappointed...merely because I'm a geeky bibliophile and can relate, completely, to escaping for days on end in a pi
I'm a bit disappointed...merely because I'm a geeky bibliophile and can relate, completely, to escaping for days on end in a pi
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Aug 19, 2009
Jessica
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A beach read with greater aspirations. I'm always skeptical of people who just "looooooove books so much" and the heroine of this otherwise fairly standard chick-lit entry does just that. Separated from her second (wealthy and charming husband) and with a designer-wear addiction, whenever Dora goes into a funk she lies in her marble bath for hours and devours books. She falls for a rakish bookstore clerk, and rather abruptly finds herself enmeshed in the life of his family -- his earth
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Oct 19, 2011
Mary Kathryn
rated it:
For most of the book, I didn't like Dora at all. Maybe I saw too much of my own self-destructive behavior in her book binges, but I hated her.
I still had to read the entire book though. I had to find out what happens. The problem, I think, with Dora is that she has many problems in her life and like a real person she has issues with confronting and solving them. How often do people actually take charge and fix their own lives, their own problems? A perfect example happens in this ver More...
I still had to read the entire book though. I had to find out what happens. The problem, I think, with Dora is that she has many problems in her life and like a real person she has issues with confronting and solving them. How often do people actually take charge and fix their own lives, their own problems? A perfect example happens in this ver More...
Jan 04, 2010
Marie
rated it:
The little description seemed promising. A book about a girl living in L.A. who goes on book binges when life gets tough. I thought it sounded interesting- a bit different. Guilty enough- thought it was composed of characteristics in myself.
Started reading it and disliked the first 100 pages. Moved pretty slow- only heard one voice up until that point- which confused me considering it was written by two authors. It didn't truly introduce any other characters for quite some time. Eve More...
Started reading it and disliked the first 100 pages. Moved pretty slow- only heard one voice up until that point- which confused me considering it was written by two authors. It didn't truly introduce any other characters for quite some time. Eve More...
Oct 07, 2010
Gretchen
rated it:
So, I pretty much knew this was going to be a chick lit book, but I thought maybe it would be a little smarter than your typical chick lit novel. It follows pretty much the same formula, except there are all kinds of literary references and quotes thrown in. Woman feels like life is going nowhere, meets man, has relationship with man, etc.
I didn't find Dora, the main character, to be completely likable. However, I didn't really see her as being snobby, just not someone I myself wou More...
I didn't find Dora, the main character, to be completely likable. However, I didn't really see her as being snobby, just not someone I myself wou More...
Jul 02, 2010
Tara
rated it:
Dora is a thirty-something voracious bibliophile in a mid-life crisis. She's separated from her husband, a successful Hollywood studio executive, living off a trust fund in a beachside high-rise, sinking into her bathtub with books and sinking away from life. Named after Eudora Welty, Dora learned her bookish ways from her mother, who turned to literature for comfort after her husband left. Dora seems to be on the same depressed path as her mother until she meets Fred, who works at the local ind
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Jan 23, 2011
Cynthia
rated it:
Let me be clear, this is an adult book and even some adults will be offended with the overt sexuality. That being said, I enjoyed the book. The literary references were plentiful and made me feel at home. There were even passages of wisdom. But there was a number of things that also broke my heart. Mostly because I could see myself going on the same book "benders" and other self defeating behaviors that this woman did. "There but by the Grace of God, go I." I highlighted a n
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Sep 03, 2007
Lena
rated it:
Sigh. I had such high hopes for this book. I got it because I was intrigued by the idea of a character who used books an escape from real life. I expected some thoughtful explorations of that topic from someone who loved literature. What I got was a pedestrian, chick-lit novel with a lot of lot of literary name dropping. A real missed opportunity.
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Feb 27, 2010
Rita
rated it:
I like a light read now and then. I didn't think Dora was a snob, she didn't like people who have nothing to say, rich or poor. Like me she'd rather read a book than go to a party. She always tried to be kind and do the right thing. Didn't like Jane Austen though so that's a mark against her :)
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Jun 22, 2009
Krystal
rated it:
Ugg. Awful. I did like the quotations at the beginning of each chapter, and the all the literary references, but the writing finally won out. I find it unimaginable that the authors (yes, there are two authors) have read anywhere near the books they allude to their character having read in the book. It's almost like they just went to the quotations page and plugged in, "quotes about reading and books" to gain their literary references-it just feels fake. If the protagonist actually
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Mar 31, 2010
CC
rated it:
A bibliophile at heart, I thought I would like this much more than I did. I never bought the relationship -- if you can call it that -- with the bookstore guy. He was a petulant, lazy ass from the get go, so I didn't really believe her attraction to him.
Also, the ending struck me as something pulled from Under the Tuscan Sun (movie) and a million other like-minded books/movies where some artificial family is created out of thin air -- as a subsitute for a woman that was really lookin More...
Also, the ending struck me as something pulled from Under the Tuscan Sun (movie) and a million other like-minded books/movies where some artificial family is created out of thin air -- as a subsitute for a woman that was really lookin More...
Jan 21, 2010
Alondra
rated it:
Pretty worthless chick literature. Bought it at Village Thrift, an amazingly cheap store where I get most of my books. I was quite flabbergasted with it's ridiculousness at some moments, such as the moment she dumped the man she had spent 100 hundred pages talking to and f&x%?3g. Is that really how relationships go? Because that's not too promising. I mean, she goes from listing all his marvelous qualities to deciding he's crazy. I just didn't dig the storyline. However, I give it two stars beca
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Aug 12, 2010
Joanne
rated it: 
Loved this book and loved Dora - she's a bookworm's bookworm!
Also, I can't believe some of the bad reviews on here or the comments that Dora is snobby. I don't think she's remotely snobby - I felt she came across as a really kind person, particularly towards Bea and Harper and she was right to berate Fred for his bad attitude towards his mother and niece!
Anyway, reading loads of books does not make you snobby, it just makes you well-read and I'd have thought more Goodread More...
Also, I can't believe some of the bad reviews on here or the comments that Dora is snobby. I don't think she's remotely snobby - I felt she came across as a really kind person, particularly towards Bea and Harper and she was right to berate Fred for his bad attitude towards his mother and niece!
Anyway, reading loads of books does not make you snobby, it just makes you well-read and I'd have thought more Goodread More...
Mar 05, 2011
Jessica
rated it:
When I picked up this book, I thought I would enjoy reading about a woman who found comfort in books and could never figure out her love life, but I was greatly disappointed. A majority of the book contained paragraph after paragraph of her thoughts and explaining what was happening instead of dialogue. I wasn't able to get lost in the book, instead I got bored with the words and the story seemed unbelievable. Many things were left unexplained, like how Dora was so rich in the first place and wh
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Jul 26, 2009
Debbie (Readerbuzz)
rated it:
"I collect new books the way my girlfriends buy designer handbags."
Despite a main character who could be construed as a kindred spirit, this book disappointed me. The blurb on the back described the plot as that of a woman who deals with the problems of her life by going on a book reading binge. Okay. Excellent strategy. And the authors (Why are there two? Two authors concerns me.) tossed into the story every wonderful book title, every wonderful book quote, every wonderful More...
Despite a main character who could be construed as a kindred spirit, this book disappointed me. The blurb on the back described the plot as that of a woman who deals with the problems of her life by going on a book reading binge. Okay. Excellent strategy. And the authors (Why are there two? Two authors concerns me.) tossed into the story every wonderful book title, every wonderful book quote, every wonderful More...
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Jan 30, 2011
Deviki
rated it:
To be honest this book's title is misleading, not only did i think the synopsis was completely different from the whole story,i don't think Dora was even a book lover in the first place !!. I honestly didn't like this book one bit !! The mono log of her life and her thoughts was not entertaining or felt any kind of "connection" to read at all. I felt the author mindlessly add in quotes from other author and famous books. I didn't feel any of the characters was interesting at all. By th
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Dec 31, 2008
Carol
rated it:
I'm not always willing to admit that I like books that are considered Chick Lit, but I did like this one. Being a Business Major, I do not have a great deal of literature under my reading belt. My preference is towards mysteries, intrigue and thrillers. I liked this book because of all of the book references in it. Several of the books that we have read for book club were mention, including one of our previous reads Cloud Atlas. However, I may have to go back and re-read it to see which Clou
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Jul 21, 2011
Paleomichi
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Ho comprato questo libro, come molte Anobiiane, attratta dalla copertina e dalla trama. La protagonista รจ una giovane donna divorziata, appassionata lettrice, quando qualcosa nella sua vita non va si chiude in casa e legge, legge, legge, legge. Praticamente il mio sogno (se solo non ci fosse il "problemino" del lavoro). Quando ho letto "Colleziono nuovi libri allo stesso modo in cui le mie amiche comprano borse firmate. A volte mi basta sapere di averli e non mi pongo il problema
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Sep 28, 2010
Natasha
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Oct 09, 2009
Karah
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I didn't really know what to expect when I picked up this book--the title of it just caught my attention right away and the whole idea of a person "binging" on books when times get tough just sounded wonderful to me. :) Initially, there wasn't much to the storyline: A 30 something divorcee who is unemployed and living off her trust fund is floundering around in L.A.
Then, the story picks up a little when she begins dating the hot, rugged, intelligent guy who works at the b More...
Then, the story picks up a little when she begins dating the hot, rugged, intelligent guy who works at the b More...
