Thoughts on Independent Book Sellers & Wallflower in Bloom- A Book Review

I love, love, love the Indie Bound book list that comes out every month. If you're not familiar with it, you can check it out here: Indie Bound
Indie Bound is a list of books that are sold and recommended by Independent Book Sellers across the country. Yes, the books are also sold on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and on iTunes, but when you buy a book from these Mom and Pop stores, you're keeping people in business.

Do I love paying full price for a book? Ummm... no. I like a deal. And I like to be able to stock up on books without breaking the bank. My friend Evan says he feels like he's donating to charity when he buys a full price book at Orca, an indie bookstore in Olympia. I concur. So I try to mix it up. For every two books I buy on Amazon, I try to buy two books from an Indie book store, and borrow another two from the library. You know- spread the love.

Here's the best thing about the Indie Bound book list: the books are almost always phenomenal reads. The only time I was lead astray was with their December top pick, Sisters, which was so damn bad I couldn't believe anyone had actually read it all the way through before endorsing it. But that's another matter.

On the June list, I saw Wallflower in Bloom and was intrigued by a couple of aspects. First, the author, Claire Cook wrote her first book when she was 45. When she was 50, her book Must Love Dogs was made into a movie. I admire that kind of spunk. Want to re-create yourself? Absolutely! Go and do it!

Second, the cover is beautiful. -I know, I know: mustn't judge the book by the cover and all that. But you have to admit, we are drawn to beauty.

The premise of the story is that the main character, Deidre, has lived her entire life in her super famous brother's shadow. Tag is a life coach, New Age guru, and Deidre is his personal assistant. When her life crumbles around her, on a drunken night, she taps into Tag's social networking sites and gets herself voted on to be a last minute replacement on Dancing With the Stars. There, she learns many lessons about who she is and who she can become.

Now, I'll be the first to admit, this is not usually my kind of read. I'm not crazy about pop culture, or television at all, but since the book was recommended by Indie Bound, and it is summer, I decided to check it out of the library. (I wasn't committed enough to buy it).

It was an enjoyable read. Yes, the main character drove me a little nuts. I just wanted to shake her and say, "Damn it, woman! Get a hold of yourself and find some self confidence. What the hell is the matter with you?!" -I have the hardest time understanding people who constantly berate themselves and tear themselves down. Life is much too short to destroy yourself daily.

Couched in the silly premise and pop culture references was a great lesson, and it really did make me think. Self confidence is not usually my problem, but Lord knows I have many other issues that I'm addressing. Deidre is figuring out life and finding her most authentic self in Wallflower in Bloom, and that's what we're ultimately trying to do as humans, so yeah- this book was worth my time.

3.5/5 Stars.