My review from GoodReads.com from the first book I read in 2010.
1. Walking in Circles Before Lying Down– Merrill Markoe

“It’s cute, don’t get me wrong. Concept could have worked. But the book should have started about page 50 (in fact, the previous pages are so unnecessary, it makes me think Markoe added them at the last minute), races through time in some places and slows way down for time in other places for reasons that seem clear only to the author. In an attempt to bring the madcap, there are all sorts of secondary plots going on. I never felt as though I knew the protagonist. I forgot her name, actually. Merrill Markoe is funny (she used to write for Letterman, for instance), but this book took a long time to find its humor. And the worst part? The protagonist is telling the story as though it’s the novel she’s always wanted to write; she’s using a guide to tell her how to write it, and we get those “lessons” as she tries to meet the guidelines. The problem is that the book isn’t good enough to hang on that gimmick. It really reads like someone who is writing against a writing guide. Oops. Not the author’s intent, I’m sure.”