Customer Reviews

Five Things I Can't Live Without

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoy cheeky chick lit form time to time and have a few favorite authors such as Marian Keyes, Ann Hood, Emily Giffin, Sophie Kinsella and now Holly Shumas. Books about women and their usual mishaps with their boyfriends, horrible jobs, jealous friends and annoying mothers who always call at the wrong time can be boring but not when done in a fun, smart way that teaches me a few things about life and about myself. This novel was not only refreshingly easy to read; it was intelligent and had an actual point!

From the beginning Nora is a self saboteur living a big crazy life in her head - she would rather cut her arm off than bear some small pain on it and over analyzes catastrophic scenarios and runs constant self investigation. On a whim she quits her job as a volunteer at an animal adoption shelter because writing bios for dogs who wouldn't get adopted was not something she truly got into. Instead she decided to write mini bios for people, more accurately - making great profiles for singles that have trouble getting noticed online. From the beginning Nora's own profile - part of the job even though she's not single - is empty and meager but as she meets people and helps them find themselves she shapes up her own profile and finds herself after a very bumpy road to success. Slowly but surely Nora found her own five thing's she can't live without and it was a lot of fun seeing those ideas take shape form her decisions.

As she helps people out her own life starts to fall apart, friends and family members make her compare her own life to their and the move with her boyfriend Dan of six months couldn't be more hasty. Meeting cute strangers in cafes to work on their profiles isn't helping either as something starts to happen. I cannot say another word, this book was a breeze to read, it took me one day, but it was brimming with atmosphere and charm and the ending was the best part, about 40 pages before the final words something grandiose perspired and I was biting my nails unable to put the book down until I finished ( at 2:20 am thank you very much). I really didn't expect to adore this book so much but it really grew on me and I'm thrilled to have found a new author who makes me smile.

Charming and refreshing, this book is deeper than it seems, the more I brood over what I read the more I like it! I will definitely be getting the author's second book, out next year.

- Kasia S.

Nora is 29, employed, and finally involved with a good man. Along with her height and weight, these are the things she's pretty sure she knows about herself. Howver, the things she doesn't know can, and do, fill a book. Actually, the job and the man might even be questionable if her meta-life has anything to say about it.

Meta-life is Nora's single most constant companion. It's the running commentary in her head that debates and criticizes everything she says and does. Sometimes her meta-life drives her a little bit crazy. Though that could just be the low blood sugar, sometimes it's hard to tell.

Nora's first strike against her meta-life is to quit her job at the animal shelter--the place she's been comfortably unhappy at for two years. Deciding to finally put her writing skills to good use, she turns herself into a freelance "Internet Dating Consultant." For a fee she will rewrite your profile on your Internet dating service of choice. Things seem to be going well at first, but Nora's meta-life can't be too quiet for too long.

Between career worries, boyfriend issues, friend epiphanies, salsa lessons, and timing the Mom phone calls, Nora and her meta-life are mounting a pitched battle. Winner take all.

Hilarious, biting, and painfully realistic all at once. This is the kind of book where, if you're a woman, you laugh out loud two seconds before you cringe in recognition. If you're a man and you make it two chapters into this book, you'll understand why women can't accept "Nothing" as a response when we ask what you're thinking. It will make you take a good look at yourself, and the voice in your head, in the funniest, wittiest way imaginable.

Take a break from your own meta-life and give this book a try.

Armchair Interviews says: You might have to add it to your list of five things YOU can't live without.

This book was a quick read and at times very entertaining. However, the main character was a little too insecure and self-centered for me to really enjoy the book. It got distracting and I kept wanting to tell her to get a grip.

I am glad that I found this book. I was just at a bookstore looking for something to read but not so sure what and the title attracted me. I have never read chick lit before. Its really a great book - very fresh and relevant. The characters are really endearing and I can't help but see the Nora in me. If you like stories about coming of age or self discovery then this is a good pick for you.

The above reviews have amply described the content and story line of this great debut novel from author Holly Shumas.

To merely add to these reviews--this novel is a witty portrayal of a near 30 year old woman who has a refreshing and familiar way of observing herself in life. The writing is sharp, perceptive and very real. Although I am not a frequent reader of "chick reads," there is a great, easy freshness to this book (like a chick read, I suppose) but the writing skills and observational narrative are much smarter and interesting than a typical book in this genre.
**I recommend this novel as a good, laugh-out-loud book that has interesting characters and inevitably you'll see yourself, your sister or your best friend in the story line.**
Enjoy!

Five Things I Can't Live Without is one of those books that has been languishing unread on my shelves for a really long time. When I heard that Holly Shumas has a second book coming out in 2009, I decided it was time to pick it up and read it.

The first thing I have to say about Five Things I Can't Live Without is that you can tell the author has a day job as a therapist. The amount of analyzing that Nora puts herself through is exhausting - I couldn't live every day doubting myself to that extent. And that is why Nora is on the edge throughout the book. She is so consumed by the prospect of failure that she can't just live her life.

I think that the leap Nora takes in her life (quitting her job to focus on writing) is brave, but a bit irresponsible. I feel like she could have explored writing while still working (her boss offered her a cut in hours, but she quit instead). I am a person who needs security, so it would have made more sense to me if she had tried to figure out what she wanted to do at nights while working during the day. But the whole point of the book is that Nora took a leap of faith in order to stop her own psychoanalysis - if she had continued at her day job, she most likely would have been paralyzed by fear and insecurity.

I really liked the portrayal of online dating in this novel. I think that generally, a lot of people still see meeting people through online personals as a last resort for the pathetic. But I have more than a few great, attractive, wonderful friends who have met (normal) people through sites such as match.com because they weren't satisfied with the people they were meeting at the office or at bars. One such couple is getting married in the spring. I very much appreciated Shumas' effort to show that online match sites are not a world for the weird; they're just another way to try and meet people.

Five Things I Can't Live Without is a quick, light read that chick lit lovers will probably enjoy. If you're one of those people who has a nasty voice doing a running commentary in the back of your head, this is definitely a book for you.

.......another book from Holly Shumas
I purchased Five Thing I Can't Live Without and enjoyed all 276 pages and wished for more pages. It's a gem and an easy read.

Looking forward the authors next book It's Not What it Looks Like.

I'll be sharing this book with many!

This is a totally charming book with lots of laugh out loud (or smirk out loud) moments!

The Review


I reviewed Holly Shumas' latest book, Love and Other Natural Disasters earlier this year. When I received that book for review, I was fortunate enough to also get a copy of Five Things I Can't Live Without. Needing some good Chick Lit and wanting to meet my "Just For The Love Of It" Reading Challenge, I decided April would be a great time to read this one.

This is a story of Nora... who, like many of us women, over-think things. She over-thinks her job, her love life, and her family life. She sometimes gets trapped in this thinking and it is definitely her Achilles heel. I understand this. I've definitely been that way before. There have been many times that it has just been nearly impossible to "live in the moment." As women, I think it is naturally harder for us. Men, they seem to have an easier time at "just coasting" (as the book says). But, being on the outside looking in at Nora, I wanted to slap her into sanity... STOP MAKING THINGS MORE DIFFICULT THAN THEY NEED BE! But, then I thought... WAIT, EASIER SAID THAN DONE!

Nora's new job as a "Profiler" (aka someone for hire who writes internet dating profiles) brings the reader many characters to enjoy. Her job was one of my favorite parts of the book. I also loved the character of Dan, her boyfriend. Every woman deserves a Dan!

The book was a quick read and overall enjoyable. The thing I learned the most from reading it was for me to take my head out of the equation more often!

On Sher's "Out of Ten Scale:"


I've been SUPER pampered this year with FUNNY Chick Lit. Because of that, I think I'm tending towards that genre a bit more than the "standard" Chick Lit. Although, Chick Lit is my favorite genre and the "non-funny" books are just as important and as the others. Both of Shumas' books are well-written and I can easily recall both stories in my mind vividly. That's always the sign of a good writer! But, on the honest side of my review, I have to say that for the genre Fiction:ChickLit, I am going to rate this book a 7 OUT OF 10.

I really enjoyed this book and the main character's quest for "the answer." It was engrossing and a fast read. This is a good book for 20 somethings especially those transitioning into 30 somethings. Enjoy!