As you’ve probably figured out already, I’m not always going to review new books. Sometimes I run across something that has been around for a good long while, but is well worth a look. Our modern publishing and book distribution system gives books very little shelf life, and as we move away from bricks and mortar bookstores in favor of Internet booksellers, it gets harder for an author to get the word out. So here, at A Woman’s Nest, books of all ages are welcome. The book I’m recommending today comes from 2003.
My husband is recognized as the funny one in our family. I am capable of humor and sometimes catch him off-guard, but it’s more of a dry wit, where he has the silly gene. I have always loved to surround myself with funny people, perhaps because of my own serious nature, and so when I came across Jill Conner’s The Sweet Potato Queens’ Big-Ass Cookbook and Financial Planner, I was delighted.
A disclaimer: I haven’t tried the recipes in this book. While Hershey Bar Pie sounds fabulous, the last thing my expanding waistline needs is, well, further expansion. Conner’s recipes are in-your-face, unapologetic Southern food. Of course, maybe that’s why she seems to be having so much fun! At any rate, even the recipes are an entertaining read.
And how about those financial tips? Here’s one small example: “If you’re going to have a big sack of babies, try to work it into your schedule before menopause.” Or, “Plastic surgery is no place to scrimp. It is worth exactly what you pay for it, which is plenty. Get the money somehow—any how…” You may not make any money from Conner’s recommendations, but you will laugh, which is good for your health. This book is cheap therapy, so you can read about the Sweet Potato Queens and put the money you would have spent for a therapist toward that plastic surgery.
In the midst of having fun, Conner tackles some serious subjects including, for example, her mother’s stroke. “You have to understand, in my family, we deal with everything by laughing at it. So what I’m saying is, this stroke thing has not been totally bereft of humor.” She proceeds to relate a story that is, indeed, funny without being inappropriate.
I am pleased to learn that Jill Conner has published several other books, and I look forward to learning more about the Sweet Potato Queens. If you’re looking for a good laugh from a fun woman with a big heart, this one is for you.