The View From Penthouse B by Elinor Lipman

I love Elinor Lipman's books, and this just might be her best! I finished reading The View from Penthouse B last night and was so sad to see it end. 

The premise follows:  Gwen-Laura is the middle sister of three girls. She moves in to Penthouse B after her husband dies suddenly. Her older sister Margot owns the penthouse but nothing else, having lost her money in Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme. 

Margot's ex-husband is a doctor who took liberties with his OB/GYN patients in a way that I don't want to spoil for you. Their younger sister Betsy is married with children. A roommate, a young man named Anthony, moves in to help with expenses and the story just keeps getting better.

Read it! I loved this book so much and can't imagine anyone not loving it, too.

Book Read:  The View from Penthouse B
Author:  Elinor Lipman

I Can't Complain: (All Too) Personal Essays by Elinor Lipman

I love Elinor Lipman's books. I've read them all, except for her newest novel, The View From Penthouse B. And I have it on my list.


I just finished I Can't Complain and adored it. Each essay was a snippet of her life and views on such wide-ranging topics like what would happen in the series finale of "Sex and the City" (essay titled Assignment:  What Happens Next?) to accepting invitations to everything from weddings to book club and speaking engagements in the essay No Thank You, I Think. 

This lovely book has three sections:  Meet the Family, On Writing, and Coupling Columns. Except for A Fine Nomance, all of these essays appeared in other publications, magazines like Good Housekeeping, More, the Boston Globe, and the Washington Post, to name just a few.

To make it last, I read one section each evening. I will definitely be reading I Can't Complain again. At least once.

If you aren't familiar with Elinor Lipman, please acquaint yourself. Her writing is smart, witty, and always a pleasure to read. 

If you are familiar with her, what's your favorite book?

Book Read:  I Can't Complain:  (All Too) Personal Essays
Author: Elinor Lipman

Elinor Lipman, You Need to Write Another Book or Two

Book Read:  Isabel's Bed
Author:  Elinor Lipman
ISBN: 0-671-01564-8

I had saved Isabel's Bed to read, and now that I have finished it, I've read all of Elinor Lipman's books. So... you know what that means. She needs to write more! I always enjoy her books and this one was no exception.

Lipman writes tight novels that are full of colorful characters, several of whom per book, I'd like to be friends with. Of course, I'd rather befriend Harriet than Isabel in this one because drama ain't my bag in real life, but it's sure fun to read.

A Book That's a Breath of Fresh Air

Isabel's Bed by Elinor Lipman. This is one of the few books she's written that I haven't read yet, so to rid the old, creepy serial killer from my head, I decided this was a perfect pick.

I stumbled across the author Elinor Lipman when someone told me about Laura Lippman, the mystery writer. I saw Lipman's books sitting on the library shelves, through the years, next to Lippman's (Lipman's came first of course... pm vs. pp), but I ignored them. For one thing, some of Elinor Lipman's book covers look ridiculous.

<---This one does not.

Some of her book covers have goofy cartoon-looking people and a font that, when you're looking for a good mystery to read, just can't be taken seriously. But when I finished all of Laura Lippman's books, I picked up one of Lipman's and was instantly hooked. She's fabulous!

I read The Way Men Act first, and I'd recommend it as a first Elinor Lipman book to read. Isabel's Bed is proving to be just as enjoyable.

And did you know that Elinor Lipman wrote Then She Found Me? The movie by the same name starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, and the lovely Colin Firth is loosely based on the book. It's one of my favorite movies.

Elinor Lipman and Elizabeth Berg Articles

I just finished writing articles for Suite 101 about two of my favorite authors:  Elinor Lipman and Elizabeth Berg. The only problem with having favorite authors is having read all of their books. Could they write a little quicker? Please?

Who are some of your favorite authors?