What readers think of Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, plus links to write your own review.

I thoroughly enjoyed "Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake" by Anna Quindlen. Once again Ms Quindlen has demonstrated her marvelous talent in giving us a book that is spot on with the experiences and thoughts a lot of us have had but have never quite been able to put into words the way she does. Growing older indeed leads to growing wiser as Ms. Quindlen shows us and her talent for showing us that is hard to match. Mature book clubs would enjoy this and be able to relate.

Anna Quindlen’s Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake, reflections on the first six decades of her life, is especially appealing to me as an older woman. Like the author, I raised a family while working outside our home. Other older women can relate to her joys and struggles to fulfill the traditional roles of a woman (wife, mother, and daughter) while advancing in a career. Written with optimism and gratitude for all that life offers, the author’s positive perspective on aging is evident when she writes “The older we get, the better we get at being ourselves.” I highly recommend this book.

Even though I have 10 years of age on Quinlan, I found the book timely and most personally reflective. As I read chapter after chapter, I underlined many passages and whispered to myself, "how true" and "perfectly said". Quinlan's analysis of the "Resting Age Rate" is so right on. It is not our real age, but the age we perceive ourselves to be that is important.
Many of us have the personal introspection so evident in this book, but only someone like Anna Quinlan can so creatively put it into such lovely prose. Its a thoughtful read for most women, particularly those who are "Older" and so much more comfortable in their own skin.

I loved Anna Quindlen’s latest book. From the first paragraph “First I was who I was. Then I didn’t know who I was. Then I invented someone and became her. Then I began to like what I’d invented. And finally I was what I was again.” I thought she was talking about me and as I read – sentence after sentence, word after word -- I was convinced she was writing my thoughts, my feelings. Her series of wise and wonderful essays depicts perfectly what it is like to travel, as a woman, through life. A delicious memoir that I will read over and over.

If you like Ms. Quindlen's work, you won't be disappointed. If this is your first exposure to her work, you won't be disappointed. If you're a woman...of any age or, if you love a woman of any age two words: Read this. It's that simple because this book is that good.

I'm no fan of books on how to live our lives...but I loved this one! Though Quindlen is in the same age group as my own children, we connect well across the coffee cups. And that's how it felt reading her book - we were sitting with our coffee cups, sharing our views on women and aging, not always agreeing on how we handle the challenges, but sometimes enriching our own outlooks with new viewpoints (yes, I carried on my silent side of the conversation while reading). I'd never thought of the trick of looking at young beauties as new gifts, just out of the box, seeing myself I am an honored keepsake; never appreciated my faulty memory as enhancing the joy of re-reads. I could have signed my own name to her chapter on faith - though many would not agree. But that's the wonder of this book. Anna (I can call her that, she's my coffee buddy) never pushes her own philosophies on the listener, only shares them and invites us to accept, reject, or re-mold. She writes an entire chapter on the worth of girlfriends - wonder if she knows she's one of mine now, wonder if she heard my own whispering during our time together?

Anna Quindlen's memoir reflects on many topics: childhood, maturation, marriage, parenting, religion,faith, loss etc. Reading this little gem makes the reader aware of the many blessings that we have and experiences we have had as we journey through life.Many are similar to those experienced by Quindlen. One statement I particularly liked was about time passing, we have aged but at what age are we old? Old is whatever age you haven't reached yet. This book gives the readers lots to ponder. It would be great for a book club discussion.

Anna Quindlen puts into words what it is to be me, a woman of a certain age (50s). This book of essays connects the issues that are important to women like me. Marriage, friendship, parenting, the care of aging parents and solitude are just a few of the topics that will either make you laugh or cry or more than likely do both. The essays are meant to be savored and mulled over until you read the next one. They will get in you touch with a part of yourself that you may have thought has gone missing. It’s definitely not a book to be gobbled down in one sitting. In the end, Anna Quindlen’s list of hopes will make you want to read this book again and again.