Sammy's Hill and House

I am in the middle of reading the recent Emily Post biography (details to come!), but it's really really long, so in the meantime, I thought I'd write about some books I've enjoyed in the past, before I had a place to write about them. I thought I'd start by writing about all the books I've listed as my favorites on Facebook. I've arbitrarily decided to start with these two.

I absolutely adore Kristin Gore's two novels: Sammy's Hill and Sammy's House. I don't remember how I first heard about Al Gore's daughter's first book, but I do remember devouring it in a weekend my senior year of college. I'm not going to say it's highly sophisticated literature, but it's not junk either. It might be classified by some as "chick-lit", but it's smart, hilarious, and full of political goodies!! What else would you expect from a former Vice President's daughter who previously wrote for the Harvard Lampoon, Futurama, and Saturday Night Live?

Sammy's Hill came first, and is the delightful tale of Sammy Joyce, a Capitol Hill staffer and health care advisor to a young U.S. Senator. The book has it all-romance, comedy, political scandal, and extremely realistic and compelling characters. I love Sammy Joyce. She's a quirky hypochondriac with a fondness for telemarketers and commemorating obscure historical anniversaries. Like myself, Sammy suffers from bouts of anxiety and often lets worrying thoughts send her into a tailspin about what disaster might happen. But she even takes it a step further and practices for the aftermath of such disasters (it's quite possibly one of the funniest sections of the book). But aside from her quirks, Sammy is smart, dedicated, and talented.

Sammy's House is the sequel, and I won't go into as much detail so as to not ruin the first book, but it is equally as delightful. As you might surmise from the title, Sammy has moved from the Hill to another branch of government. I honestly can't say which I prefer-both are wonderful.

I happen to love politics, so these books especially appealed to me, but I think they could be enjoyed by someone with less interest in the goings-on in Washington. I highly recommend both of Gore's novels for a light, but smart and entertaining read.

All images from amazon.com.