Scarlet Feather

I used to be a book snob. Actually, first I was crazy little kid that read under the desk, at recess, in line walking down the halls... In those days I would read almost anything with words that I could get from the library (except Goosebumps, but that's a whole other issue involving my overactive imagination) . Then I became a book snob when I got back in to crazy reading mode in college. I would read only what I thought were "intelligent" books. Classics if you will. Although, those books rock in their own right, juggling school, work, life and 600 pages of Hemingway can get a little tedious. This is when I discovered what a great friend coined as "brain candy". Brain candy books are amazing. They are easy to read with engrossing story lines and provide the perfect escape from the every day monotony (think Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga).

Thus I arrived in Ireland with Maeve Binchy and Scarlet Feather. One of Maeve's fifteen novels, Scarlet Feather, is the story of Tom Feather and Cathy Scarlet attempting to start up a Dublin catering business. Simple and straightforward until you throw in a snooty mother-in-law, a wannabe model, a quirky set of nine year old twins, and the occasional horse bet. By the middle of the book I was ready to call SF and order some food for myself, until I realized it doesn't actually exist. Yes, I have a problem separating fiction from reality. So back to my advice. Read the book. Or listen to it since the audio version was pretty addicting as well.

An extra-awesome note on Maeve. Although she rarely revisits characters directly, all her stories are set in and around or originate from Dublin, allowing her people to make guest appearances in other novels.

If you like Alexander McCall Smith, Sophie Kinsella, or any story detailing the ups and downs of real-life then you might like Scarlet Feather.