A la Cart by Hillary Carlip

When I first heard about Hillary Carlip's A la Cart on NPR, I wasn't sure what to think — but the idea sounded really interesting, so I decided to give the book a shot.

I was a little surprised when I got the book how short it was. The essays about each character are only a couple of pages long; the book is printed on thick, photo-quality paper to make it look thicker.

Still, though, it's an amusing book for an afternoon or evening read. The important thing to remember is that it's all about the idea, not the writing — what's interesting about it is reading the grocery lists and seeing the pictures of Carlip dressed up as the characters she created from them. The essays themselves are, as far as I'm concerned, fairly unimportant when you consider how she came up with each character. It's the process that's important in this one!