Review: You Can't Drink All Day If You Don't Start in the Morning

Summary: From the author of the bestselling classics We’re Just Like You, Only Prettier, and Bless Your Heart, Tramp, comes a collection of essays so funny, you’ll shoot co’cola out of your nose. Topics include such gems as:

• Why Miss North Carolina is too nice to hate
• How Gwyneth Paltrow wants to improve your pathetic life
• Strapped for cash? Try cat whispering
• Sex every night for a year? How do you wrap that?
• Get yer Wassail on: It’s carolin’ time
• Airlines serving up one hot mess
• Action figure Jesus
• Why Clay Aiken ain’t marrying your glandular daughter
• And much more!

Complete with a treasure trove of Celia’s genuine southern recipes, You Can’t Drink All Day if You Don’t Start in the Morning is sure to appeal to anyone who lives south of something. -- St. Martin's Press

I love reading deep, thought-provoking novels; but every once in awhile I need a book that just allows me to escape. You know what I mean -- one of those books that makes you laugh out loud and possibly even snort soda through your nose! Well, YOU CAN'T DRINK ALL DAY IF YOU DON'T START IN THE MORNING by Celia Rivenbark really hit the spot for me!

YOU CAN'T DRINK ALL DAY is a collection of very funny essays that cover a little bit of everything -- from Christian action figures to High School Musical to Jon & Kate Plus 8. As a mother of a young girl who is about the same age as Ms. Rivenbark's daughter, I could relate to quite a few of her stories about being a wife and mom. There were times that I was shaking my head at her outrageous (yet hilarious) opinions about life in general, and there were other times that I was absolutely howling!

I loved Ms. Rivenbark's spot-on perspectives about life in general -- her essays were entertaining while also being extremely honest. Of course Ms. Rivenbark is Southerner, so there is a very Southern feel to this book. While I haven't lived in the South for over 20 years, her stories about the places and people came rushing back to me. But even if you aren't familiar with the South and its charm, I think you'll still appreciate her essays.

As a food lover, I really appreciated the recipes that were included at the end of some of the essays. It probably goes without saying that since Ms. Rivenbark is a Southern girl, many of the recipes were high in calories and fat (but of course that means high in taste!) and most of the recipes were extremely easy. Some of the recipes in the book that appealed to me were the Michelle's Belly-Bustin' Super Supper, "You Broke My Heart So I Busted Your Jaw" Apple Enchiladas, and Better-Than-Six-365-Nights Cake.

Prior to reading YOU CAN'T DRINK ALL DAY, I'm not sure that I was familiar with author Celia Rivenbark (although something about her is awfully familiar.) I'm pretty sure that many Southerners will recognize her though! Ms. Rivenbark has written four other funny books as well as a weekly humor newspaper column. I definitely enjoyed YOU CAN'T DRINK ALL DAY; and I'd love to revisit some of her earlier works, especially STOP DRESSING YOUR SIX YEAR OLD LIKE A SKANK -- that has to be one of the best titles evah!

I highly recommend YOU CAN'T DRINK ALL DAY if any of the following criteria apply:

- you are a woman
- you are a wife
- you are a mom
- you like reading essays
- you are a Southerner
- you like books with recipes
- you like to eat
- you enjoy funny books
- you like to laugh

Make sure you come back tomorrow because Ms. Rivenbark will be stopping by with a guest post about motherhood -- how appropriate for a blog called Booking Mama, don't you think? I was also be giving away a copy of YOU CAN'T DRINK ALL DAY IF YOU DON'T START IN THE MORNING!

Thanks to WOW Blog Tours for providing me with a copy of this hilarious book!