Today Will Be Different

"If you loved Where’d You Go, Bernadette, let’s be friends! Also, look, a new Maria Semple novel! You’ll enjoy this one in a single day, which is significant since the book’s action takes place in a 24-hour period. It reads fast and you’ll laugh aplenty alongside its difficult heroine, whom the author draws so sharply you’ll wince. Eleanor Flood is a beleaguered TV writer with a husband and son — and her life is spinning out of control. She begins the day with the mantra of the title, which I think we can all recognize: Who hasn’t made promises to live life differently and do more yoga, only to give it all up by breakfast? Eleanor’s day, of course, goes haywire, and while it has some good old-fashioned laughs, it’s also serious about its message of reinvention, and forgiveness."