Bought secondhand for bookcrossing purposes

This was a piece of easy-reading escapism. Fun and suitably ridiculous to keep me reading. The plot wasn't exactly realistic but it would make a great holiday read.
Coming to the London meetup this evening.

picked it up at the Camel & Artichoke last week while it was raining cats and dogs for about an hour. To tell the truth, I was actually dancing back to the sofa my boyfriend chose to patiently wait for me, because I had skimmed 2 oxfams and the southbank bookmarket for exactly the Undomestic Goddess but didn't find a copy. Well, there were no other customers on the upper floor, so I could do that ;-)

Unfortunately my holidays ended before I could even start reading, I will give it a home in my MTBR base-camp now.

First, I gotta say: I really, really loved it!

This book is about Samantha, a young and ambitious lawyer, whose main aim in life is to achieve partnership in her firm. She’s exactly that hip, young woman you always hear about and envy a bit, living in a more or less boring town somewhere, doing a more or less normal job.
She’s working hard, living and breathing just for work. She’s successful, obviously not missing anything – or at least there’s no time in her life to miss anything

Sad but true, I really can pool together with Samantha: Being 29 myself, I just found out that there could be a life even after work, which may be filled with sports, friends, a book or maybe even dumb telly. And like Samantha I was pushed into it by losing my former job – so I enjoyed this book double that much, I think. I’m still a bit samanthaish: fairly disciplined in my job, but my home life completely chaotic. I still use my flat for little more than sleeping but I don’t spend all the time in the office any more. Best would be if I also get enough money to pay a housekeeper – I earn it, I’m sure, but somehow I don’t get it! :-D
I think that's a sign of a good book if you feel that the characters are real and that you get involved and drawn in the events in the book.

Well, of course the book is a bit over the top: I don’t think that even the brightest woman could make it from a total domestic ignoramus to a perfect housekeeping Nigella Lawson in a few weekends.
And the Geigers, unsuspecting householders and employers: Don’t they ever wonder about their housekeeper? And besides – didn’t the woman they were really expecting appear somewhen?

The description of Nathaniel somehow reminded me of Mrs. Solis’s gardener John (but of full age) mixed with a well pinch of heroic highlander :-)
Good old Wisteria Lane...

All in all I really enjoyed this book; it's a funny, enjoyable, light-hearted read. You never really know what is going to happen next and it makes you want to read on.

I’ve tried “Can you keep a secret?” as my first Kinsella-novel and loved it. Then “Shopaholic and sister” as audiobook in German and without knowing it’s No. 4 in a series, but Becky was much too superficial while her sister was exaggeratedly rational.
I suppose that meanwhile Sophie Kinsella had developed her writing style and there is a bit more depth to the characters and the plot, so I think that this is Kinsella's best novel (I've read) so far.

So I’m happy that The Undomestic Goddess (which is named – I can’t imagine why - “Goddess in Wellies” in German) really suited my current reading fondness and I’m now looking forward to the “Remember me?”-ring…


more readers are:
daBookBear (GER)
puffbohne-w (GER)
solskinn (Austria)
sunfi (USA)
blackteiwaz (Costa Rica) -> already got it from a friend meanwhile
Wandering-B (Hong Kong)
Shelly3110 (Australia)

tootshelling (GER)

The book arrived today... and I already started reading.
I think I will love it!

Thank you very much for sending it to me and the nice paper with my name on it :-)

I enjoyed reading this book and I absolutely love it. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book of Sophie Kinsella.

I'll send the book to puffbohne-w in the next days.

Now it's here, arrived today and I look forward reading it :o)

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! I really enjoyed reading this novel. It was the right book in the right time, because my life will change in October, when I will begin to study while also doing my job and I think I will also keep some spare time for leisure activities, so that I will not end up like Samantha at the beginning of this book.

So now thank you Schneefee for letting me take part in this Ray and as soon as I get the new adress the journey goes on.


2008-06-30
It's travelling to Austria.

Wow... The book arrived last week (I couldn't journal it earlier because my Internet connection was broken) and I got to it right away. The first 60 pages or so I truly hated... And then it turned out to be such a light, nice, heartwarming, fun and also WISE read. I'm glad I stuck to it.

I hope the next reader enjoys it as much as I did!
- I'll pass the book on as soon as I get the address. Enjoy, everybody!

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This afternoon the book will continue its journey and travel to the United States.

Just received this one in the mail today along with another bookring. I received three bookrings last week, so it's starting to feel a little like Christmas every evening when I get home, I'm never sure what the postman has brought for me. I'll get this onto Wandering-B within the next few weeks.

I finished this one yesterday morning, I found it to be an enjoyable, quick read while some parts did seem a tad far fetched. I already have Wandering-B's address so I will stop by the post office one evening after work to get this on its way (since it's headed Int'l I need to be there when the counter is open). Schneefee thanks for including me in the ring and thanks to solskinn for sending this to me.

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Mailed off to Wandering-B today, the postal clerk said it should be there within the next couple of weeks.

Well, it must have taken the fast boat to China since it arrive this afternoon. Thanks to all for sharing and Sunfi for sending it to me.

I think I would describe this book as amusing, although a bit far-fetched, satisfying, and a good quick read. Can people like the Geigers really exist? Are they really that clueless or just willing to accept? Anyway, a fun read. I've PM'd for the next address.

Posting out today to Shelly3110.

Book arrived safely today from Wandering-B, I have a couple of bookrays ahead of this one but will read it as soon as possible.

A really enjoyable fun read over the Australian summer holidays.

I am posting off today to tootshelling in Germany.

So sorry, this arrived in June just before I left for a holiday. Its safe and sound! I've got a few other rings ahead of it so I'll get to it when those are done. If it needs to move on before then, I understand, just poke me!