Spur Of The Moment [Paperback]

Theresa Alan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2004

Caught up in lowly temp jobs, dates-gone-way-wrong, bosses from hell, and the dog-eat-dog insanity of comedy clubs-not to mention backstage hilarity, jealous infighting, and serious bonding over cheap beer-three roommates are about to learn that anything can happen when you let go of what you know and follow your dreams on the...Ana - Note to self: time to do something about your thighs. You know, those things that are currently spreading out like pancake batter on a griddle? Large women end up spending their meagre savings on fat clothes while working in the exciting, rewarding field of marketing management. They do not show up on Saturday Night Live. They do not get sitcoms. And they definitely don't end up with guys like Jason...Marin - So nice to know that my parents spent eighty grand on my education so I could sit at a temp desk hitting Control, F-seven, Print, Next. It's not that I have anything against growing up; it's just so overrated. Like guys. Sure, they all come on to me. When you're blond, beautiful, funny, and totally rich, they tend to do that. But honestly? It's so dull. Just once, I'd like to meet a guy who's a challenge...someone who finally makes me work for something I want. ..Chelsey - I, Chelsey McGuiness, believe that you can be a personal trainer for someone and still not be able to stop them from Hoovering up every sugar-laden treat in sight. I believe you can be a size two, and the guy still won't call you again. I believe in great sex, great laughs, great friends, and my cat, Mo. I believe it's possible to find true love. I just personally haven't ever found it...

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Alan does a masterful job...reminiscent of "Bridget Jones's Diary and "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Alan's is a novel to be savored like a good box of chocolates." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Kensington (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0758204809
• ISBN-13: 978-0758204806
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,565,865 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Friends Forever, February 5, 2005

By 

Bishop - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spur Of The Moment (Paperback)

When I was a teenager, I had this fantasy that my group of friends would somehow all end up living on the same block (or in some great brownstone apartment) when we grew up. Romance would come and go, but the friends would last forever. A lot of people must have had that fantasy, which helped make TV shows like FRIENDS or MELROSE PLACE popular.

The fantasy is much more satisfying in print, where readers can get inside friends' heads (and, free of TV censors, their bedrooms), and this is what Theresa Alan delivers. Her group of friends--male, female, straight, gay--mostly do live in the same house, as well as work together in their night job as an improv troupe.

SPUR OF THE MOMENT is an enjoyable read about friends in their post-college stage and has all the things you'd expect from twenty-somethings. Missteps with career and romance, money problems, learning to deal with the families they were born into and accepting them for what they are, good and bad, and moving on, all with the sustaining comfort of friends. As one reviewer notes, it's hard to translate visual comedy to the printed page, but a sitcom script doesn't read funny either, Even when the lines are good, it's the actors and producer who bring them to life.

I'm a sucker for a good book about diverse friends...Armisted Maupin's TALES OF THE CITY series and THE DEAL by Lambert & Cochrane come to mind, so I greatly enjoyed this one.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars can't wait to read more from Theresa Alan, April 19, 2006

By 

S. Herrejon (CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Spur Of The Moment (Paperback)

This book is such a fun read, revolving around the lives of six improv comedians who work at Spur of the Moment. The main main character is Ana, but we actually see the perspective of everyone else, Chelsea, Marin, Jason, Scott and Ramiro. It was such a fun read that I started yesterday night and finished it this morning. It is definately a fun, beach read.

Ana, who has always had a crush on Jason, talks about how she wants to be someone in life and not just do improv part time and her office job during the day. She has always aspired to do stand-up, but she is too scared. Jason is a teacher, environmentalist, and a vegetarian, BUT has been in "love" with Marin for a long time, yet she only sleeps with him here and there. Marin is a beautiful, funny, Britney look-a-like who hates her day job, loves her job at Spur of the Moment, has rich parents who never go and see her, and is always searching for more. She gets the opportunity to go to LA and do a pilot for a WB upcoming series. There she meets Jay, whom she falls for, while Jason is at home, brooding over her. Ramiro is latino and gay (and thats why his father won't speak to him). He writes novels, yet doesn't publish them or try to get them to be published. Ana, being the great friend that she is, reads one of them and loves it. She sends his book to a few publishers and hopes that he gets something out of it. Chelsea actually does not live with them (the other five do) but is a personal trainer by day. She meets Rob, whom she falls for, yet, she hates his job as a firefighter. And last but not least, Scott. Scott has always had this thing for Ana, but since she has always been crushing over Jason, he doesn't do anything. They actually make out and one day she realizes, that hey, maybe something between them can happen.

I don't want to give out more from the book, but that is just some of the problems that the group encounters. It was funny, romantic, sad and all around great. As a previous reviewer said, it reminds me of Sex in the City, since we see everyone's perspective, but there still is sort of a main character. The difference is, we see guys' perspectives, which adds a little more sizzle to this already enchanting and funny book. ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Motivational, Inspirational and Entertaining, July 19, 2004

By 

Marisa Rossi (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Spur Of The Moment (Paperback)

What a Great Book! I'm going to have to read Alan's first book "Who You Know" next. It has a great message about how you have to be a cheerleader for yourself as well as your friends. Women too often support everyone else in their lives but don't nurture their own dreams. The story is inspirational, all about going for ones dreams and the challenges of how everyday life also has to be lived. Great Job to Ms. Alan.

I would love to see this one on the big screen. Thank You!