not exactly a book review.

so i finally finished welcome to the world, baby girl! as with all great books, there came a tug at the heart as i reached the last page. at first i hadn't paid much mind to this book when i saw a reader's digest condensed books volume that contains that title. but i bought the actual book many years after since it was in that enticing buy one, take one deals in the bookshop i frequent. however, it remained unread for some years before i actually opened it, what it being buried underneath the ever-growing pile of unread books. and then i stopped after the first couple of chapters until it got buried underneath the pile again. i only went back to it after having recently made an inventory of all my books. meaning, i have classified them into three groups: sell, keep, and read.

welcome to the world, baby girl! was slow reading for me at the first few chapters, even with a good beginning that used simple statements describing a small town and the people in it. much like an old person telling a story that happened the past but had a lot of segues in it that you just want that person to get to the point. when the puzzle pieces of the character relations and the timeline fell into place though, there was no putting the book down for this old girl.

the book is a good combination of small-town charm, the mystery behind dena nordstrom's nomadic early life, and the fast-paced, fast-changing world of television broadcasting in the 1970s. dena is one heck of a character whose early life defined a part of who she was until a series of events finally led her back home. i like how the story is hilarious, serious, and sad at turns.

enjoyable, captivating, entertaining, rich, and intriguing. these are just some of the words that several reviews said about welcome to the world, baby girl! and i agree with all of these. and i say this because while i have more good words to say about this book, my mind is short-circuiting with lack of sleep or maybe my body has gotten used to sleeping earlier than my usual bedtime of past midnight (might ramble about that soon). so please forgive this old girl for not gushing more about this book.

one thing's for sure, though. welcome to the world, baby girl! stays in the keep pile.