Today will be different. Today I’m going to do yoga, cleanse my soul, be kinder and more attentive to people, especially those who annoy me. Today I’m going to eat more than my recommended intake of vegetables. Today the laundry will get done, I will make a fun and healthy snack for my child. I will get dressed. In something nicer than jeans.
Yeah, we’ve all made these lists with the best of intentions, just as Eleanor, the protagonist in Maria Semple’s Today Will Be Different, does in the opening pages of the novel. And like Eleanor, we really think/ wish they could all come true.
And because I could relate so strongly to Eleanor and her voice, I immediately thought, “Yeah, this book is for me”. If only that feeling could have lasted, because while it was going on it felt so good, so right. And then the novel somehow went off the rails.
I’m not saying it was bad, but it was a let down. Such a promising start and then fizzle.
Who would like this book? I’m not saying don’t read Today Will Be Different, I’m just saying don’t hold your breath for something wonderful. It was good. It was entertaining. It would get you through a plane journey. But it wasn’t as good as Where’d You Go Bernadette? Both novels start out with a completely relatable character, both novels go a little bit crazy in the middle, and both are very funny but somehow Bernadette rings a little bit more true.
52 books or bust 
This is similar to what I’ve heard from every other blogger I follow who has read this one! I read that first paragraph and could totally relate to that. I do have it on hold at the library so might give it a shot, but we’ll see.
I think it’s a good library read. I just wouldn’t want to spend money on it.
Like Sarah, I can totally relate to that first paragraph. 🙂
Oh man. This really seems to be the consensus for this book. It’s totally scaring me off but probably because there are so many other books that I have that need reading. Maybe if I come across it at the library…
The initial description made me think I’d find this character relatable too and it’s a book I’ve been hoping to pick up eventually. I’m sorry to hear it didn’t quite deliver!
Oh no! I was looking forward to reading this, but thanks for the honest heads up. I’ll put it on my library list to read “when I have time.”
I haven’t read Where’d You Go, Bernadette but it does seem like this author know what she’s writing about and I want to give both books a try. Now your review made me reconsider which one to start with. Thanks for the review!
Start with Bernadette. I liked it better.