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Today Will Be Different

Maria Semple

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Feb 05, 2017 Tressa rated it it was ok

Shelves: never-finished, general-fiction, audio

Sadly, I cannot add this book to my 2017 Reading Challenge list because I couldn't finish it. That's how bad I think it is. And I am the biggest cheerleader for the fricking fantastic Where'd You Go, Bernadette?! That book is classic, but this book does all the things wrong that Bernadette does right.

Although Bernadette has a problem with the stick-up-the-butt mothers in the Galer Street School, she tries hard to fit in for her daughter's sake but fails, but nobody can deny that she loves her d Sadly, I cannot add this book to my 2017 Reading Challenge list because I couldn't finish it. That's how bad I think it is. And I am the biggest cheerleader for the fricking fantastic Where'd You Go, Bernadette?! That book is classic, but this book does all the things wrong that Bernadette does right.

Although Bernadette has a problem with the stick-up-the-butt mothers in the Galer Street School, she tries hard to fit in for her daughter's sake but fails, but nobody can deny that she loves her daughter and they have a wonderful relationship. And Bernadette gives one of the Galer Street mothers a chance to redeem herself, and she turns into a very likable, nuanced character. In Today, Eleanor is an elitist snob who hates everybody, even people she supposedly likes and admires, and time spent with her possibly gay son Timby is something to be avoided. The homophobia and the way she snarkily treats her son made me uncomfortable. I certainly liked him a whole lot more than I liked her!

I decided to stop listening to Today when I got to the Costco scene. I really got turned off by her description of Costco and the people who shop and work there. I mean, we can't all be stuck up Pacific Northwest granola-crunching pricks who don't have to worry about how our next phone bill will get paid, so fucking sue us for shopping around for a value. And Today goes beyond Quirkyville into Stupidtown when Eleanor's husband, a famous celebrity surgeon, sticks rolls in his socks to take back home. Rolls. In his socks. To take home, covered in dead skin cells and hair, supposedly to be eaten later. This was too much.

I don't even know how this story ends. Maybe someone can fill me in. Moments of Semple's brilliance peeked through at times, and Kathleen Wilhoite who narrates the audio did yet another great job of voicing the characters. I could listen to her narrate the driest Charles Dickens book (Our Mutual Friend, if you must know) and end up loving every word.

When Semple floats back down to earth and gets her plot and characterization back in working order, I may give her another chance. But she blew this one for her follow up novel. Just NO. ...more

7 likes · Like · see review

Nov 02, 2016 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: literaryfiction

Much like WHERE'D YOU GO, BERNADETTE? I could not put this book down. It's a slim read, taking place over the course of a single day (though with flashbacks), as almost fifty Eleanor Flood tries to get her life in order, just once. Put on real clothes, not yoga pants. Be kind. Spend quality time with her family. Naturally all hell breaks loose, she finds out several secrets about friends and family, and she is exposed in a number of lies she's been telling as well. Nothing is life or death, and ...more

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Dec 02, 2016 Susan rated it it was ok

Shelves: adult-fiction

I found it very difficult to identify or feel sympathy for Eleanor. I didn't really understand why her husband loved her or stayed with her. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 17, 2016 Lisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: faves

i LOVED this book! probably because I identified so fiercely with Eleanor Flood, the voice and main character of this story. here is what she says at the very beginning: (short version)
today will be different. today I will be present. today, anyone I speak to, I will look them in the eye and listen deeply. today i'll play a board game with [my six year old child]. today i'll take pride in my appearance. i'll shower, get dressed in proper clothes, and change into yoga clothes only for yoga, which ...more

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Jun 12, 2017 Jenny Fosket rated it really liked it

This was a highly entertaining jaunt through a day in the life of Eleanor Flood: mom to a precocious eight-year-old whom she strives to be more present for, wife to Joe, surgeon to sport’s stars and solid, all-around good guy who seems to have disappeared from his job; sister to Ivy Flood from whom she’s estranged due to Ivy’s marriage to a controlling, possessive billionaire from New Orleans. Eleanor is struggling to find her way in these pages: a former head animator on a highly successful tel ...more

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