book eater: girls in white dresses

I know this may sound silly, but I actually finished is book by accident. I generally am a very fast reader, and I usually limit myself to reading only while commuting or on my lunch break. I know that if I read before bed I will lose sleep to finish a book, so it's really best if I don't do it. Either way, I read this book in 3 days, even with the self-imposed restrictions, and I was a little bummed to see it end.

I don't remember why I put this book on my library hold list, but it's been recommended on every website and in every magazine so I figured I would like it. As the title Girls in White Dresses might suggest, there are a lot of weddings in this book, but that's not really what it's about. It follows a trio of girls, and a rotating cast of peripheral girlfriends, for the decade after they graduate from college. There are crappy boyfriends, bad jobs, boring bridal showers, babies, awkward parents, and some friendships that just don't last. Basically, it's a book that you read and say "oh, ok, so that's normal and I'm normal... Everything will work itself out in the end."
It was easy to relate to, in part because its all about the time in life that I'm actively living, but also because the writing is very straightforward. It's not flowery or verbose, and it reads like a collection of short stories, the kind you might tell years after an event after a shared bottle of wine with those special girlfriends you still keep close. In short, these girls became my friends (and I saw qualities of my friends in many of the characters in the book) and that's why I loved this book so much.
I feel silly recommending it, since I'm clearly be of the last people on earth to read it, but really go read this book! They probably have it at your library! Seriously!
Ok now I'm done :-)

<3 barb