I recently obtained an enormous selection of audiobooks in MP3 format from a company in England called Audiobooksforfree.com. They insert very short little promos at the beginning of each chapter, and that’s how they are able to supply these books for free. They can be downloaded off the Internet or obtained in bulk. Of course, one takes the risk of getting crud or worse, abridged titles, but they are free.

I was poking around through the selections and stumbled on this little gem. Even though it’s abridged, the episodic nature of the chapters means that the abridgement could be done without castrating the content, as is usually the case.

Debby Bull was a Rolling Stone editor and writer who became very depressed after the end of a love affair, and her book describes the odd little events and observations on her way through serious soul-searching. The best therapy, of the many she tried, was canning jellies and jams, and her comments before, during and after the recipes are hilarious. You will laugh out loud. Sheila and I listened to the book while traveling and both of us enjoyed it immensely. Listen to it. It's just great.

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Part memoir, part cookbook, part primer on canning, this short book is a delight from start to finish. If you are just getting over a relationship, this book is also a primer on overcoming those horrible feelings you get after being dumped. It explains how the author discovered canning to help her overcome failed relationships. Debby Bull’s style is wandering, crisp, and very, very funny. In the midst of each chapter are Bull’s recollections on her life and loves, which all lead to a new canning recipe, such as watermelon rind pickles or rosemary apple jelly, and in the midst of each canning recipe are even more recollections – after all, canning gives you lots of time to think. Blue Jelly will only take you a few hours to read (if you don’t start making jelly in the middle), and you’re sure to come out on the other end feeling better than you did before you went in.

Former Rolling Stone writer Debby Bull's "Blue Jelly" is a simultaneous account of one woman's journey through depression and step-by-step recipe book for preserves. The idea is fun and quirky. Unfortunately, the content isn't as good as the premise.

The book is mildly funny, and it might be worth reading if you're really in a funk. But it probably won't be the protagonist's successful transformation from abject to alright that'll make you feel better. You'll more likely just experience a boost of confidence when you realize how much less pathetic than the main character you are.

I'm not sure how much of this story is autobiographical. I don't want to be insensitive to anyone's personal plights here, but the woman in this story was downright ridiculous. (If you don't want spoilers, stop now.) To clarify, at one point she's visiting a boy in a mental asylum. He's there for having murdered his abusive family. While she's talking to him, she breaks down crying and whines to him about how her relationships never go right... Seriously, lady? This poor kid has been through absolute hell, and you're asking him for sympathy because you can't resist throwing yourself into admittedly unpleasant but still totally escapable relationships. Co-dependency is rough, but come on. I think the protagonist deserved a life in the loony bin much more than that boy did.

To her credit, Bull's style doesn't waste your time. Her writing is compact and unadorned. Many people would be able to read this book in a day if it was remotely interesting to them. But as much as I'm a fan of minimalistic writing, it didn't always work in this case. There wasn't really enough depth to get the reader invested, and extra clarification would have been useful at times.

This book is just pretty expendable. The best lesson you can take from it is that calming ritual activities are a good way to give your life context when you're feeling down, but any shrink can tell you that. If you want to read a story about a crazy person that's actually insightful, try "Fight Club." If you want jelly recipes, just Google them. ( )