2.12: The Bitch Goddess Notebook (published as The Bithc Posse in the US), by Martha O'Connor (2005 UK paperback)

If the first book I read this year demonstrated the fact that good books sit on my shelves for years before I get around to them, this second book provides an alternative lesson: some of the books are neglected for good reason. They stink.

Why, with all the good books available, do I end up purchasing bad ones, you might wonder. In the case of The Bitch Goddess Notebook it was due to limited choice. You'll note in the header of this entry that TBGN was published in Great Britain (although written by an American author), but it was purchased (as the stamp inside the front cover shows) at the Universal Bookshop in Portals Nous. The Universal is a primarily English-language used bookstore in Mallorca, Spain, which I often end up frequenting when I visit Eddie's family. Until recently, when she moved inland to the village Eddie's mother lives in, Nonna Neda lived in Portals Nous, and she always lets us stay in her seaside studio apartment for a few days when we visit the island. With nothing much to do but laze on the beach and wander the few businesses on the main drag, I always get plenty of reading time in and run short of books--especially pre-Kindle and iPad. So, I drop in to Universal Bookshop, sell my already-read books, and pick up a couple more to see me home.

Perhaps it won't surprise you to hear that the types of books available in a bookstore frequented by British tourists soaking in sun by day and sangria and disco by night aren't of the highest caliber. Suffice it to say that you can cross this book of your to-be-read list and move on to something else. How I even managed to make it through to the end is somewhat of a mystery. It might be that, like the three women in the book, I too went to high school in the Midwest in the 1980s. And, compared to their current train-wreck lives, mine is a paradise of stability and happiness. Their outcome, of course, differs because of a horrific shared experience they had as seniors.

Usually I would only hint at outcomes here, but since I strongly advise against your reading of this book, I'll just tell you: they escalated from alcohol, drugs, sex, and cutting to killing the drama teacher one of them was having an affair with. I won't call this a spoiler alert because nothing can really spoil the book. At least now I can dump it at the nearest used book store soon--freeing up the shelf space it has been holding for at least two and a half years (or longer if I didn't buy it on my most recent trip to Mallorca).