Authors I love...but haven't read in a while

Valerie Frankel. Due to my hectic work schedules [no, this is not a grammatical error; I have multiple jobs], I haven't gotten the read many of Ms. Frankel's books but the ones I have on my shelf are truly hilarious. I can't say that of many books, even those that purport to be "romantic comedies."

Frankel's books has the perfect blend of caustic, self-deprecating humor I love. Her heroines are quirky, but not in an annoying way. The humor in her books always catches me off guard, even when I read them over again. My favorite reads:

One passage from this literally had me cackling out loud. After a night at the carnival, Peg (the heroine) leaves Ray, a member of her self-help group who is unconscious, alone in the car overnight with the windows open. This is the result the next morning at the group meeting:

Linus sat down at the table. "Everyone had fun last night?" he asked.

Grumbles from Ray, silence from Peg and hearty agreement from Tracy and Ben. Gloria and Luke merely nodded.

Linus asked Ray, "What's wrong with your face?"

"Mosquitoes."

Leaning in for a closer look at Ray's eye, Linus said, "Two pincer marks. That's the work of an earwig."

"I was bit on the eye by an earwig?"

Tracy and Ben laughed again.

Ray said to Ben, "If you'd passed out on the Hurl-A-Coaster, I doubt you'd be yukking it up this morning."

I don't know if the humor of this situation comes across from that brief passage, but if you'd read the story up to and after this point, you would be rolling with laughter. In fact, as I typed this, I was laughing so hard that I was literally crying. Definitely a book to check out, people.

My other favorite read?

How can you not love her for the title alone?

I checked out her site today. Good stuff. While I don't have Hex and the Single Girl, it looks very interesting. For anyone looking for a new author to try, one that will make you think as well as make you laugh, check out Valerie Frankel's site. You won't be disappointed.