Thank you, Anna. You have come through for me again. ( )

Anna Quindlen, enough said! ( )

Lots Of Candles Plenty Of Cake is an absolute gem of a book. The author, about to turn 60, puts together a collection of essays looking back at the lessons she's learned throughout the years. She sprinkles it liberally with appropriate quotes from various brilliant minds. The quotes are a nice touch, but not really necessary. Because frankly, Anna Quindlens's own observations are amongst the most brilliant in the book. Not to mention funny, touching, inspirational, and often downright moving. Congratulations to Anna Quidlen for a life well spent ! Can't wait for the "to be continued"... ( )

Always candid and clear, Quindlen tackles the tough topics surrounding middle age, from parenting teens to facing the inevitability of death.

I don't always agree with her opinions, but I always enjoy reading about them. It's the closest you can get to an intellectual conversation grounded in reality with a close friend without the actual conversation or the friend.

A rare gem and a good one. Can't wait to see her tackle the next 20 years. ( )

I’m a 71-year-old male, so I wouldn’t say I’m among Quindlen’s intended audience when she wrote this book. That would most likely be female readers. I’m sure this book was very popular with book clubs since there is so much to discuss. So why did I listen to the audio book version (read by Quindlen herself)? I spent 40 years in a high school English classroom, and during the last years of my teaching I used Quindlen’s brilliant essay “A Quilt of a Country” in my ninth grade classes. The essay was one of Quindlen’s Newsweek columns and was written and published shortly after the attack on the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and the field in Pennsylvania. As a teacher of writing I’ve always enjoyed reading Quindlen, whether it’s fiction or nonfiction. And I enjoyed “Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake” just as much as her other writing even though I don’t think she was writing to me. In fact, I’m not so sure Quindlen understands men all that well. And I don’t say that with any rancor; it’s just my impression after finishing this book. Additionally, as many Amazon reviews point out, it’s hard to view Quindlen as an “everywoman” considering where she came from (convent school) and where she went (Barnard College, and apartment in Manhattan, and a “country home”). So she doesn’t particularly represent the rest of us, but what she has to say about life is valuable to just about any reader. And her comments on family and the raising of her own children are certainly worth the price of admission. So, overall, I enjoyed “Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake” even if Quindlen had a completely different reader in mind when she wrote the book of essays. ( )