Nora Bishop has a problem; she can't seem to shut down the annoying inner monologue of her "meta-life" which prevents her from living in the moment, since she's too busy analyzing everything she's doing as she's doing it. She's stuck in a job she hates, she has no clear goals for her future, and she's in danger of slowly driving herself crazy. On the plus side, she just moved in with her boyfriend of six months, Dan, after her former roommate kicked her out, and her rent bill will be significantly lower. Now if she could just be certain that she's not making a huge mistake.

What Nora really wants to do is write, but she's never been able to summon the willpower to follow through on any of her ideas, at least until the day she quits her job on an impulse and starts up a new business writing online dating profiles for those who lack the skills or the time to write heir own. Suddenly, Nora thinks she's found her calling, and for a time, everything is bliss; she's making money, she has free time to enjoy her surroundings, and she and Dan are getting along great. But when the meta-life starts to slowly creep back in, she begins to view her job as tedious and boring, her future as a bleak wasteland, and her relationship as a broken-down wreck on the highway of life. As Nora bends to the pressure of her inner voice, she makes a couple of very bad decisions which threaten to take away everything she cares about. Pushed to the brink as her world begins to crumble, Nora must face some very tough facts about the person she has become, and begin to ask herself what kind of person she wants to be.

I don't often laugh out loud on page one of a book, but that's exactly what happened when I picked up FIVE THING I CAN'T LIVE WITHOUT. The opening chapter is quirky and funny, and Nora's character is so likeable, yet so fatally flawed, that you can't help wondering what challenge she's going to create for herself next. Her struggles with her new chosen career, her developing relationship with Dan, and her painful self-discovery all add delightful depth to her character, and make her honest and real. Add to that the comic elements of life in the internet dating world, and you get a hilarious and heart-warming tale that is likely to find a spot on your keeper shelf.