Quit at Half: "A Selfie As Big As the Ritz" by Lara Williams

Quit at Half: A Selfie As Big As the Ritz by Lara Williams, 2016, 9781250126627.

I follow musician Juliana Hatfield online. A few weeks ago Hatfield linked to an article that was entitled something like "Best Bass Performances by Women" that referenced her playing on It's a Shame About Ray by The Lemonheads. That 1992 album was big at the time but I had no idea she was listed as a band member. I never actually listened to the full album before so I checked the library catalog for a copy.

There is one copy of the album in the system - available from Town Hall Library - and I placed a hold. A Selfie As Big As the Ritz was also in the search results because one of Williams's short stories shares the album's title. I looked at the bib for A Selfie As Big As the Ritz and figured, "Might as well try it."

Well. I tried it.

Several very short stories by Williams that mostly deal with dissatisfied women straddling the age of 30. Failed relationships. Dissatisfaction with love or work or life in general. Living in England and going out on dates. Nothing about the characters or circumstances grabbed me at all. The stories use a perspective that I am nowhere near experiencing in my own life but not much really happens. Unhappy women make decisions based on desperation or ennui.

On Friday my wife and I were at Sunshine Brewing and we chatted with someone who spoke how she no longer forces her self to finish books. I think that influenced me because I decided to bail on this rather than force myself to finish.