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Readers say *Romantic Comedy* by Curtis Sittenfeld offers a smart, timely look at love and career in a late-night comedy writer’s life, with authentic...
I listened to this one on my drive from Massachusetts to Illinois for our move and I was absolutely in love with it! I saw some fairly mixed reviews and I think I might be in the minority with this one and I don't mind one bit! I've said it a million times that I often enjoy the cliche romances so that might be it but I also think that if I read this in a physical format I might not have liked it as much as I did. There are three chapters which were really more like parts so listening to them didn't make it feel as long. I was completely captivated throughout the whole book, found myself laughing out loud, smiling, crying and even speaking back to the characters! I found the story and format to be a lot different than most romances I've read and I truly enjoyed it. Highly recommend not only the book, but the audiobook!
SOLID 4.5 Star Read
I'm not usually one for a slow-burn romance because I find the things that tear people apart in those scenarios are unrealistic and stupid and not something that would *actually* keep people apart. (Also, if you've read it, you just got my inside joke.)This story, however, felt so real o had to pull myself out of it now and again to remind me that this was not a memoir.
Normally I listen to books at at least a 1.5x speed. This book I listened at 1.2x because I didn't want to miss a thing (cue Aerosmith). This speaks volumes of my respect and enjoyment of the writing itself...not just a story to entertain me. Beautifully done.
Highly recommend.
I'm not usually one for a slow-burn romance because I find the things that tear people apart in those scenarios are unrealistic and stupid and not something that would *actually* keep people apart. (Also, if you've read it, you just got my inside joke.)This story, however, felt so real o had to pull myself out of it now and again to remind me that this was not a memoir.
Normally I listen to books at at least a 1.5x speed. This book I listened at 1.2x because I didn't want to miss a thing (cue Aerosmith). This speaks volumes of my respect and enjoyment of the writing itself...not just a story to entertain me. Beautifully done.
Highly recommend.
Curtis Sittenfeld is an author I’ve read and enjoyed in the past, and her newest release Romantic Comedy is the smart, timely, poignant, and perfectly paced novel I didn’t know I’d been wanting.
The celebrity trope is not one I gravitate towards. In fact, whenever I see a fiction book is about a celebrity, my instinct is to not pick it up. Unless it’s by an author I already love. Which has happened to me several times in the past year with Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard and Erin Hahn’s Built to Last, both of which I enjoyed immensely.
And I have a feeling this book will be among my top favorites for the year, as well!
In Romantic Comedy we meet Sally, who has been a writer for the weekly late-night comedy sketch show The Night Owls—heavily inspired by Saturday Night Live—for nine years. After a failed ‘starter marriage’ in her early twenties and an upsetting rejection by a fellow writer in her early days at TNO, she’s given up on a long-term relationship, putting all her energy into her job, with it’s demanding schedule.
When her average-looking and nerdy work chum Danny Horst begins dating a beautiful and famous actress who’d previously hosted the show, Sally writes a sketch called the “Danny Horst Rule”, highlighting the ‘beautiful women dating average men’ phenomenon, especially emphasizing that the reverse rarely happens.
And it just so happens that the week’s host—and musical guest—is Noah Brewster, a handsome pop star, who challenges Sally’s prejudices when sparks fly while they’re working on several sketches for the show.
What made this story stand out is just how unexpected the characters are. No one fits into a neat box, which is refreshingly real. Sally has a lot of preconceived ideas, and I appreciated how some of the things she didn’t like about other people, she eventually sees in herself. In fact, Sally should have frustrated me, but she didn’t. Her flaws actually made her more likable and identifiable.
The pandemic is also included in this story, which I wasn’t expecting because I’d done very little prep work before picking up this book. And I was so impressed with how well the author integrated it into the story. It was natural and representative of what so many of us went through. Sittenfeld didn’t shy away from anything.
And I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed a look behind the scenes of what it takes to get a live, weekly sketch comedy on the air. Even if it was fiction. I can see this one becoming a film. At the very least, SNL needs to hire Sittenfeld as a sketch writer, because her sketch ideas were better than many I’ve seen on the show in years.
I’m not surprised Romantic Comedy has been chosen as Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick of the month. Sharp yet thoughtful, Sally’s evolution and Noah’s patience made this novel unputdownable for me. I didn’t want it to end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer
#popsugarreadingchallenge2023 (prompt #30 - A book that's on a celebrity book club list)
The celebrity trope is not one I gravitate towards. In fact, whenever I see a fiction book is about a celebrity, my instinct is to not pick it up. Unless it’s by an author I already love. Which has happened to me several times in the past year with Katherine Center’s The Bodyguard and Erin Hahn’s Built to Last, both of which I enjoyed immensely.
And I have a feeling this book will be among my top favorites for the year, as well!
In Romantic Comedy we meet Sally, who has been a writer for the weekly late-night comedy sketch show The Night Owls—heavily inspired by Saturday Night Live—for nine years. After a failed ‘starter marriage’ in her early twenties and an upsetting rejection by a fellow writer in her early days at TNO, she’s given up on a long-term relationship, putting all her energy into her job, with it’s demanding schedule.
When her average-looking and nerdy work chum Danny Horst begins dating a beautiful and famous actress who’d previously hosted the show, Sally writes a sketch called the “Danny Horst Rule”, highlighting the ‘beautiful women dating average men’ phenomenon, especially emphasizing that the reverse rarely happens.
And it just so happens that the week’s host—and musical guest—is Noah Brewster, a handsome pop star, who challenges Sally’s prejudices when sparks fly while they’re working on several sketches for the show.
What made this story stand out is just how unexpected the characters are. No one fits into a neat box, which is refreshingly real. Sally has a lot of preconceived ideas, and I appreciated how some of the things she didn’t like about other people, she eventually sees in herself. In fact, Sally should have frustrated me, but she didn’t. Her flaws actually made her more likable and identifiable.
The pandemic is also included in this story, which I wasn’t expecting because I’d done very little prep work before picking up this book. And I was so impressed with how well the author integrated it into the story. It was natural and representative of what so many of us went through. Sittenfeld didn’t shy away from anything.
And I was so surprised by how much I enjoyed a look behind the scenes of what it takes to get a live, weekly sketch comedy on the air. Even if it was fiction. I can see this one becoming a film. At the very least, SNL needs to hire Sittenfeld as a sketch writer, because her sketch ideas were better than many I’ve seen on the show in years.
I’m not surprised Romantic Comedy has been chosen as Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick of the month. Sharp yet thoughtful, Sally’s evolution and Noah’s patience made this novel unputdownable for me. I didn’t want it to end.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for providing me with an advance copy.
Check out my reviews and playlists at A Book Wanderer
#popsugarreadingchallenge2023 (prompt #30 - A book that's on a celebrity book club list)
This was the long distance COVID relationship I wish I had :')
I forgot books could make me laugh this much! Overall, a cute story.
I forgot books could make me laugh this much! Overall, a cute story.
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