Elevation by Stephen King

When a man starts losing weight (but not getting any smaller), he uses the strange situation to subtly affect change in his small town.

When we meet Scott, he's embroiled in a nasty disagreement with his lesbian restauranteur neighbors about their dogs pooping in his yard. He's super-busy with a big project for his website development business, but unhappily divorced and lacking human connections. He visits with a retired doctor about the weight problem, not because he thinks there's a cure but because he wants someone to confide in.

As his health problem becomes more extreme, Scott takes on "fixing" things with his neighbors as a project. A sort of quest, as you may.

I had a hard time starting this book - I actually read the first 30 pages twice, because I'd set it down for quite a while and had to begin again. But once I got into it, I was hooked. It's a modern parable about the "weight" of one person on a community. Bonus: I had no idea what would happen in the end!

Bread & Butter by Michelle Wildgen

If you're interested in the behind-the-scenes working of restaurants, you'll love this one.

Brothers Leo and Britt run a popular restaurant in their hometown. Their younger brother Harry has just returned with the plan to start his own restaurant - edgier, hipper, newer. He's looking for their help - but do they want to give it? Might his failure be their success?

It's a relatively light novel that deals a lot with relationships: between the brothers, with their love lives, and as a family.

But there's a ton of food and menu planning and chef talk to keep foodies interested. And if you were ever unclear on how much work it takes to run a restaurant, you'll understand by book's end.

Modern Lovers by Emma Straub

Love is on everyone's minds this hot, steamy summer in Brooklyn: there's old love, new love, infatuation, blind devotion, friendship and more, all smoldering within this tight-knit neighborhood.

Before they got married, Elizabeth and Andrew were in a college band, along with Zoe who lives down the block. Now, there's a film in development about the fourth band member (a sterotypical rock star comet who flared then burned out), and each is emotional about reliving their youth on the big screen. Meanwhile, the two family's teenagers are filled with raging hormones, which puts a whole new wrinkle in the neighborhood's soap opera drama.

I liked the book a lot - as I'd also liked the author's The Vacationers earlier this year. The characters aren't simple cookie cutters - Elizabeth is a perfect real estate agent and a devoted mother, but she's also a flawed friend and prone to fits of drama when faced with something unexpected. I actually found her a bit of a pill and couldn't wait for her to get karma-slapped for her self-absorption.

My only criticism is that the book wraps up with a tie-it-up-in-a-big-bow chapter that's just scrapbook tidbits telling you what path each character took. The book could have been stronger with a more ambiguous ending that finished with summer's end.

I listened to this one in audio narrated by Jen Tullock, who was awesome.

The next best thing

by Kristan Higgins

Ethan Mirabelli's biggest dumbass move was keeping his mouth shut when his brother and the girl he wanted fell in love at first sight.  Stepping aside that way also makes him a grand hero for this story.

Lucy has loved and lost, just like nearly every woman in her family's recent history.  She has found herself a young widow whose best friend has always been her brother-in-law.  Somewhere along the way she "convinced" him to make theirs a friendship with benefits.  After all, her heart has been shattered, and so has his.  Comforting one another seems only natural.

Then again, Ethan is really all wrong in Lucy's eyes.  At the start of this story, she's decided to find a new husband.  The perfect candidate will be reliable, and utterly uninspiring as far as her tattered heart (and libido) is concerned.  Um, yeah, smoking hot Ethan is definitely out of the running; his job keeps him away from home regularly, and then there's that pesky chemistry.

Higgins has crafted yet another funny, heartwarming story with characters that find just the right kick in the pants to get them together. 

Memoir of the Sunday Brunch by Julia Pandl

This book has two distinct sections: the first, concerning Pandl's family and the Milwaukee-area restaurant they owned; the second about her parents' aging, illnesses, and deaths. Most of the descriptions I read of this book described a memoir on family business or an inside look at restaurants - and while that's not totally incorrect it's only half right and unfairly dismisses the powerful, emotional second half of this book.

In the first half, we get to know the Pandl family (9 kids, ham-fisted authoritarian chef father, ultra-Catholic mother) and their life in and out of the restaurant. It's well-written and funny, with an appropriate number of behind-the-scenes horror stories you would expect of one who grew up in a commercial kitchen. But what that section really does is set up the characters, emotions, and relationships for the very different second half of the book.

Many adults reach a point where their relationship shifts from parent-as-caregiver to child-as-caregiver. As the youngest child in her family, it seems Pandl frequently diverted her own independent adulthood to return home for one reason or another. But rather than making her bitter about what she lost, this offers her new perspectives on life (and religion) and an unusual, rich closeness with her parents during their decline.

It's 120 pages of a very different writing style - more artistic and less chronological. There's pain, and lots of Catholicism. But there are also some very funny sections and lots of love.

I'm recommending this book, but not necessarily for the reason other reviewers noted. For me, it's all about the second half.

The Dinner by Herman Koch

WOW. This book blew me away, and a big part of that is that I neither suspected nor anticipated the true story in this novel. Suffice it to say I will not be telling you much in this review, either, so as not to ruin it for you.

Two couples meet for dinner. The men are brothers, and one of them is a high-ranking politician. The other brother (whose perspective we share) is dreading this dinner - he'd rather grab a bite at the local cafe than go to this pretentious, trendy restaurant, he doesn't really like his brother much, the conversation will be intolerable. And while I thought the book was about that bad date or about class difference and culture trends, in reality it's much, much bigger. 

I got completely wrapped up - the novel is very well-written - and read the book in just a couple sittings. As the story spins out from dinner and them back again, I was confused and captivated by the characters: I'd find myself thinking, "Wait, what?" So then I'd have to read on. 

This would be stellar for a book discussion. I finished the book and just sat for a minute, absorbing. You'll want to talk about it!

Shut up and kiss me

by Carolyn Hughey

Mmm. Italian comfort food. Oh wait, that's only a side note in this romance. Ellana has spent her entire life being coerced by her mother and Nick's to believe that combining the two families is inevitable. Nick, however, sees her only as a sisterly figure in his life. After twenty-six years, Ellana has decided it is time to call the bluff. Rather, she is going to start bluffing in order to convince Nick that he is missing out. Enter chef Giovanni, who will aid Ellana in her quest, but seems to have a hidden agenda of his own.

It's a quick read that keeps the steamy bits to a minimum. If I were using a five-star scale, this might be a 2.5.