A ranting waiter

Have you ever been sucked into a book?  It is so well-written that you actually think you are living it?  Oh, I know that writing styles and subject material are a matter of personal taste.  I've had my choice of favorite books shot down more than once by a colleague or friend.  But it really doesn't bother me.  I know what I like.  And I loved this book by Steve Dublanica.  The Ex-Ex just happened across it the last time we were in Barnes and Noble snooping around.  He took one look at it and knew it would be a good fit for me.
I cannot identify too closely with The Waiter's job, although I did several stints as a waitress (he doesn't use this term in the book-- even the women are waiters) while in high school and college (a hometown restaurant, a golf resort, a mall restaurant, and a steak house) in order to pay the college expenses not covered by scholarships and to pay my way to France for the first time.  But I never did it as a real, pay-the-rent-type of job in a place where $700 bottles of wine sit in the cellar waiting to be ordered and uncorked.  The Waiter never meant to become a waiter, but he ended up as one after losing more than one job.
He began an anonymous blog called Waiter Rant to tell stories of life at the restaurant where he worked.  (Actor Russell Crowe was the only client to ever ask him if he was The Waiter.) The blog became so popular that he was contacted by a literary agent who suggested he turn it into a book.  Waiter Rant was published in 2008.  According to the blog, his next book, Keep The Change will come out in November of 2010.  
Perhaps the most touching part of the book is when The Waiter comes to grip with his fear of failure.   He confesses that he never felt quite good enough or that he measured up.  This stopped him from putting himself on the line and pursuing what he really wanted, whether in his relationships, his work or writing his book.  I wonder how many of us live with this fear to some degree?  What would we accomplish if the fear of being told Thanks, but no thanks wasn't so great? 

Bon appétit, The Waiter!  Great book!