My Turn to Toot

Sorry my fellow Strumpets (ala St. Jude), we had new twins born in the "family" and I was with them today. As wonderful and beautiful as they are, it is nice to know I am home now with an actual chance of a good night's sleep.

So without further ado...

As a distinguished member of The Sporadic Gasbag Roundtable (okay I asked and they said I could join), today is my turn to throw up the caution flags and wave off all unsuspecting consumers of a really stinking book movie or TV show.

I've considered my subject all week long, and honestly until just now had thought all media was up for grabs and had planned to steer you clear of last week's Newsweek cover story, because frankly...is that news? No. And dear editors: Are daughters are NOT that stupid...they see a trainwreck for what it is.

But I have to choose from books, movies and TV, so here it is...

The selection for Mamma's bookclub last month (I don't own it I just belong...again I had to beg) was universally voted the least favorite of the year. Please if you will, do not bother with Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross (as opposed to Ann B. Davis).

The story is of said Miss Julia a sixty-something widow in a small southern town who all of the sudden is confronted with her husband's young boy after he is unceremoniously deposited on her front porch. It follows her "trauma" of trying to figure out how she will face her home town under such embarrassing circumstances, trying to find the boy's mother, the reappearance of the mother and a custody situation dealing with shifty relatives of the boy's mom.

Nevermind that out of 117 reviews on Amazon.com it receives four and half stars. There wasn't a character in the book save the poor little boy who was remotely interesting or sympathetic. Ms. Ross played on every cliche of small southern towns and their inhabitants and traditional and tongue-speaking religious congregations, and then neatly tied it all up with a happy ending in 288 pages. The only thing I can say in its defense is that it was a quick read.

So there you have it. Don't waste your time. And if this was your favorite book of all time, I'm sorry I disagree. Please feel free to let me know what you loved about it.

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We're getting to the end of our first review rotation, so now would be a good time to join us!

Previous reviews this season:
The Eleventh
Looking Beyond the Cracked Window
A Droll Way to Look at Things
Miss Keeks
Sven's Personal Memos
My Beautiful Life
Sweet Perdition
Cheaper Than Therapy
Enema Portal For Groan-ups
Basement Epiphanies
Tom's Hideaway
A Tykes Progress