50 Shades of Grey at least, while much, much more horribly written, at times fell into the “so bad it’s funny” category. And in my view, such indifference may be an even worse reaction than utter disgust. It read like a mediocre sitcom meandering from plot point to plot point yet never hitting its stride. Here’s the thing though: I really didn’t like Next Best Thing. It’s a bit heavy handed with all the physical and emotional scarring, though to Weiner’s credit, she never gets maudlin about them. Ruth also falls in love with a man who is paralyzed from the waist down. In one of the few truly poignant scenes in the book, eight year old Ruth writes in her diary, “I will never be beautiful.” Personally, I thought it was a bit much - physically scarred Ruth writes about an overweight chef, hoping to inspire other girls who don’t fit the traditional idea of physical beauty. Ruth’s parents died in a car crash when she was a child she’d been in the car with them and her scars had never healed. Weiner adds gravitas to her character by giving her physical scars. After all, I started the book looking for a fun, lighthearted read, not an earth shattering emotional tale. A lot of writing is autobiographical, and even with the additional meta layer (meta meta?) of Weiner herself having been a screenwriter, I could deal with it. The book is about Ruth Saunders, a young writer who moves to Hollywood with her feisty grandmother and gets the green light for her sitcom, the eponymous Next Best Thing, about a young chef who moves to the big city with her feisty grandmother. So, when in the mood for a fun, lighthearted read, I decided to pick up Weiner’s new book The Next Best Thing. And yes, when I read it in the book, that scene made me cry as well. I loved In Her Shoes - that scene where Cameron Diaz’s character (who has difficulty reading) reads a poem for her sister’s wedding makes me cry every time. I like her Bachelorette tweets, and I applaud her for calling attention to the gender imbalance in mainstream book reviews.

The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner