What Are We Reading

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What Are We Reading

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1Citizenjoyce
jun 5, 2014, 6:00 pm

At the suggestion that we have a continuing rather than monthly thread, I'm starting this one.
Right now I'm about to finish a really ugly guy (or should I say GUY) book, The Dog Stars. In my opinion when you get to a low of talking about a post apocalyptic world with marauding bands of men, one of whom wears a necklace made of dried cunts, you don't get to include a love story and think the book is still fit for human consumption. If it weren't a book club read I certainly wouldn't finish it.
But, on to girly books. I decided to take part in OverDrive's Big Library Read, the first "global e-book club". Looks like they picked an easy, or rather cozy mystery. http://biglibraryread.com/
The book is A Pedigree to Die For and the e-book is supposed to be available to everyone through their library system until June 18, so, I thought I'd give it a try.
On paper I'm about to start Dorothy Must Die which is another take on Wizard of Oz story.
On audio I'm listening to a psychological mystery that just keeps getting better, Blue Monday.

2lemontwist
jun 6, 2014, 8:55 am

I just got my Early Reviewer copy of Stuck in the Middle With You which I look forward to cracking open sometime this afternoon.

3Sakerfalcon
Redigerat: jun 6, 2014, 9:26 am

I'm 2/3s of the way through We that were young and finding it compelling and moving. It shows a variety of the ways in which women served in WWI, including nursing, YMCA canteens and munitions factories. The young women are sympathetic characters and if the prose verges on the purple in the romantic scenes, at least that doesn't happen too often!

For fun I'm reading Discount Armageddon, an urban fantasy by Seanan McGuire.

>1 Citizenjoyce: I've seen The dog stars at the library and thought about reading it because I do like post apocalyptic novels Thank you for your comments; now I know to avoid it.

4vwinsloe
Redigerat: jun 6, 2014, 9:41 am

>3 Sakerfalcon:. If you want another viewpoint, I liked The Dog Stars quite a bit. The writing is beautiful. And while there are disturbing things in it (as there are in most post apocalyptic novels), it did not seem to me to be gratuitous. The plot and themes, while coming from a masculine vantage point that valued outdoorsmen and special forces types (admittedly useful post apocalypse), were not sexist in and of themselves.

Some reviewer that I read somewhere said that it was a post apocalyptic book that could have been written by Hemingway. That's probably about right.

But now to pick which book by a woman that I will start reading this month. A friend is bringing me The Goldfinch today. But I know that if I start that, that I will not be able to participate in the SFF Women Authors month read (https://www.librarything.com/topic/174680) again this month.

5Sakerfalcon
jun 6, 2014, 9:50 am

>4 vwinsloe: Thank you for your comments. I do like to hear opinions on both sides, even though it doesn't help with my indecisiveness! I'm not a fan of Hemingway, either his prose or his manly-man-ness, so it still may not be for me in the end.

6Raderat
jun 6, 2014, 10:18 am

>5 Sakerfalcon: SakerFalcon: You know, I came to appreciate Hemingway after I had a grad class in American lit taught by an ex-marine (and, if you knew me in "real" life, you'd know what a nightmare I was expecting).

What I found through that class is that Hemingway has the same kind of deadpan reportorial eye as Hunter S. Thompson ... and that he can be very funny.

My Wharton jag is on hold as I have a class in fantasy and sci fi I'm taking for fun. We're reading LeGuin's The Left Hand of Darkness, which was one of my favorite books in college, so am eager to get reacquainted with it.

7Raderat
jun 6, 2014, 10:40 am

>4 vwinsloe: vwinsloe: If you read The Goldfinch, there's a thread on the book in this group where spoilers are allowed. Hope you will go there and post your thoughts.

8vwinsloe
jun 6, 2014, 10:44 am

>7 nohrt4me2: Oh, good. I wondered about that. Thanks, I'll star it now.

9amysisson
jun 6, 2014, 11:10 am

>4 vwinsloe:

I agree with everything you've said about The Dog Stars. At first the writing style bothered me, but it made sense since he too had been affected by the illness. And then it became transparent and natural to me.

Back to topic: I'm reading White Oleander by Janet Fitch, for an encyclopedia article I'm writing. It's OK, but I'll be glad to be done with it.

10lemontwist
jun 6, 2014, 2:59 pm

>4 vwinsloe: Tried to get into the Goldfinch, and it was very captivating, but I had to put it down for now. It was just too overwhelming, both the story and the length of the book. I can only handle reading in small doses right now. I look forward to picking it up again when I'm ready.

11krazy4katz
Redigerat: jun 7, 2014, 9:59 pm

I am reading While the World Watched. An amazing memoir by a woman who was friends with the 4 girls killed in the 1963 bombing of a Birmingham Alabama church by the KKK. She was in the building when the bomb went off and suffered for many years with the memories. The book also describes Martin Luther King, Jr. coming to Birmingham to help end Jim Crow and there are quotes from many of his incredible speeches. Somewhat disjointed but a really emotional and beautiful book.

12rebeccanyc
jun 7, 2014, 12:34 pm

i've finished Rivka Galchen's new collection of stories, American Innovations; she's an imaginative and talented writer but her relatively plotless stories of emotionally distanced women aren't for everyone.

13Citizenjoyce
jun 8, 2014, 9:25 pm

I just finished Dorothy Must Die and was very disappointed to find that it's the first of a series. I knew there was a prequel but, silly me, didn't realize there were sequels, though not yet written. Even though I liked it very much, I always like to see well loved stories retold from another perspective, at this point I'm not at all sure I'll read her later offerings. This seems to be just manipulation for financial reasons. Which is much the same as I thought after finishing Cinder. A good book doesn't have to end on a cliff hanger to persuade the reader to buy more books by the same author. The writing itself should do that. With that said however; I am soon to start the second in that trilogy, Scarlet. At least I knew it was a trilogy going in.

14Nickelini
jun 8, 2014, 10:40 pm

A good book doesn't have to end on a cliff hanger to persuade the reader to buy more books by the same author. The writing itself should do that.

Yes! I agree completely. I rarely read the second or later books in a series.

I'm reading Mennonites Don't Dance, by Darcie Friesen Hossack.

15vwinsloe
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 9:34 am

I have The Goldfinch but I have decided to wait until next month to read it. For the SFF Women Author's read thread, I have read The Wolf Gift, am now reading Star Trek Enterprise: The First Adventure, and hope to finish up with Who Fears Death.

16Raderat
jun 9, 2014, 10:34 am

Sorry in advance for the length of this ... and it's not even about a girlybook!

I'm re-reading Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass for my fantasy and sci fi class, which I've always thought of as "girly books," even though they were written by a man who, it has been suggested, was a pedophile.

I loved these books when I first read them in middle school, and I still love them because they seem to capture a real little girl with a child's ability to adapt to her topsy-turvy world with bravery and common sense, but who has some little quirks (like vanity and impatience).

Should I still love them for what's on the page? Or should I shun them for what might have been in Carroll's mind?

Katie Roiphe, who wrote a novel about Alice and Carroll Still She Haunts Me, posted an interesting article about this in the Guardian several years ago, that offers a middle way for readers on this vexed question.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/oct/29/gender.uk

I have not read Roiphe's novel, but reader responses to her novel on Amazon are interesting. Some of the negative ones tend to react less to the book and more to preconceived notions about Carroll. I think I'll put her book on my list, though.

17vwinsloe
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 10:49 am

>16 nohrt4me2:. Interesting article. I have the same conundrum with a couple of male authors whose books I love, J.D. Salinger and David Foster Wallace. After reading biographies, I found that there are things that I much rather would not have known, and which make me feel uncomfortable about loving the books. (Although perhaps only someone like Wallace could have written Brief Interviews with Hideous Men, which I highly recommend.)

On the whole, I find myself now reading far more books authored by women, and, for the most part, staying away from biographies.

18Raderat
jun 9, 2014, 11:10 am

>17 vwinsloe:, I still read a fair number of male writers, to some extent because, for a long time, they dominated the dystopian genre I love so much, though Octavia Butler, Ursula LeGuin, and Sheri Tepper (both the latter are 84 now), have been writing something close to dystopian in their speculative fiction for a long time.

However, LT's list of 500 dystopians includes a few women novelists I haven't read.

19vwinsloe
jun 9, 2014, 11:24 am

>18 nohrt4me2:. Ooooh, how do I find that LT list?

20amysisson
jun 9, 2014, 11:28 am

>17 vwinsloe:

I read a doctoral dissertation that was a bio of Betty Smith, author of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. I wish I hadn't read that dissertation!

21vwinsloe
jun 9, 2014, 11:50 am

>20 amysisson:, did it make you feel like you didn't like her so much? Or was it just that terrible things happened to her? I generally don't mind the latter-- no matter how awful, it is just real life shaping how an author becomes who she is.

22amysisson
jun 9, 2014, 12:08 pm

>21 vwinsloe:

A bit of both. I think she suffered from depression, and she had an unhappy ongoing relationship (very loosely and somewhat oversimplified, if I understood correctly, she ended up with "Ben" but was not happy and they split up, in part because she never got over "Lee", but he remained a bit of a disaster). She also apparently had a tumultuous relationship with her publisher, and I got the impression she had a bit of a persecution complex.

I could be wrong about much of this. It was probably about 8 years ago that I read it, and the less I enjoy something, the less of it I retain.

23vwinsloe
jun 9, 2014, 12:24 pm

>22 amysisson:. I see. Doesn't seem as though she was a very likeable person, although she may have endure some childhood abuse, from what I understand. Sometimes best to take the work at face value and not to know the details of the author's life.

24amysisson
jun 9, 2014, 12:36 pm

>23 vwinsloe:

Yes, I kind of learned my lesson!

25Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 12:56 pm

>16 nohrt4me2: Very interesting article. I know Christianity says that the thought is as bad as the deed, I wonder if other religions do. I have to agree with Katie Roiphe that the sexual deviant thought is not as bad as the deed, and that fighting it can lead to great art. But I don't know if that goes for all thoughts. I was completely disgusted by the scene in The Dog Stars with the maurader who has a necklace made of dried cunts. Even if he has never harmed a woman in his life, the depth of hatred and violence that would bring such a vision to Heller's mind marks him to me as a dangerously damaged mind. What do you think?
>17 vwinsloe: I don't know anything about David Foster Wallace's bio, but I agree, his take on Hideous Men is well worth reading. Maybe his deficiencies are what enabled him to write such manipulative male-female relationships.

26sturlington
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 1:44 pm

>19 vwinsloe: I don't if this is the same list, but I am curating a list of Dystopian/Apocalyptic fiction here: http://www.librarything.com/list/9443/all/Big-Reading-List-of-Dystopian-and-Apoc...
It includes both male and female authors. It used to be longer but I ended up culling most of the YA books off, as I'm not too interested in reading those.

>25 Citizenjoyce: You have made me glad that I put down The Dog Stars long before I got to that part!

27Citizenjoyce
jun 9, 2014, 2:03 pm

Here's just a general LT question. I found how to get to lists that have my books, by going to stats/memes; but is there a way to navigate the lists in general, that is to put in a search term and see if there is a list pertaining to it?

28Raderat
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 2:54 pm

>19 vwinsloe: Here is the list of 500 dystopian novels. I was just playing around with the various lists on LT and happened across it.

https://www.librarything.com/tag/dystopia,+novel

>25 Citizenjoyce: I try to stay away from talking about religion, and some Christian fundamentalist denominations might believe that you can "sin in your heart," as President Jimmy Carter famously said.

But it is incorrect that this is a universal idea among all Christians.

As a Catholic, the only things I am obliged to confess are things I have actually done. A sin requires action. Any Catholic who tells you otherwise is wrong, and I will be happy to show him or her the appropriate portions of the Catechism to back it up.

The world seems to be filled by the uber religious het up on controlling everyone's thoughts and feelings.

(Edited to add link)

29vwinsloe
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 3:35 pm

>28 nohrt4me2:, thank you. It looks like I have read a good many of them, but I am printing that out.

>25 Citizenjoyce:. I had a different thought about that particular scene in The Dog Stars. I thought that the writer was looking for an image that would immediately show how completely and unredeemably depraved this character was. Of course, mutilation and trophy-taking has not been a rare thing in war. The fact that the trophy in this case was female genitalia, made me more favorably disposed to the author. This was the worst thing that he could think of to serve the purpose, and I think that I could agree with that.

30Raderat
jun 9, 2014, 4:28 pm

Is Kyung-Sook Shin on anyone's radar? Her I'll be Right There got a good review in the NYT, which discussed the merits of Korean lit in general. I put that book and Please Look After Mom on my wish list.

I really liked Chang-Rae Lee's (a male writer) A Gesture Life about the "comfort workers" rounded up by the Japanese Army and sent to provide prostitution services for Japanese soldiers in the Philippines and elsewhere. Some years ago, one of my Korean students belonged to a group devoted to helping these women in their old age. Even after they were returned home, many of these women were shunned. Shocked at this treatment, younger Korean women were "adopting" them as honorary grandmothers.

(Sorry for being so active on here this week; it's the lull before final papers come in, and the frenzy of grading will hit tomorrow and I won't be able to come up for air for awhile.)

31sturlington
Redigerat: jun 9, 2014, 4:55 pm

>27 Citizenjoyce: Yes, if you put in a search term you'll see an option to click on the left side of the search page for matching lists. I think it only searches the list names, though, so it may not be comprehensive.

ETA You'll also see an option for lists under Discover on your home page. Sometimes I just open that page and use Ctrl+F or Cmd+F to find a list.

32Nickelini
jun 9, 2014, 5:18 pm

#30 - there aren't words to articulate how much I despised Please Look After Mom. The author's manipulation was staggering, and I hated the narrative voice. I had to write about the book, so read it three times and really examined it, and the more I looked the more my dislike grew. That said, it's sold millions of copies and earned many 5 star reviews. But I can't even comprehend how someone would like this, let alone rate it highly.

33vwinsloe
jun 9, 2014, 7:05 pm

>31 sturlington:. Excellent! Thanks.

34Helcura
jun 9, 2014, 8:36 pm

I'm about to start Cinderella Ate My Daughter and I'd be interested in the thoughts of anyone else who has read it - it was very strongly recommended to me by a friend (which means I'll read it no later than this weekend).

35Raderat
jun 9, 2014, 8:59 pm

>32 Nickelini: Ouch! Maybe I'll start with I'll Be Right There.

36overlycriticalelisa
jun 9, 2014, 9:07 pm

>34 Helcura:

i'm not sure how i never heard of this book but look forward to seeing what you think of it!

37Citizenjoyce
jun 9, 2014, 9:46 pm

>31 sturlington: Thanks, I've never before noticed the Discover heading.

38Nickelini
jun 9, 2014, 10:16 pm

Helcura & Elisa - I read Cinderella Ate My Daughter exactly 3 years ago. This is what I wrote at the time:

This was an absolutely fascinating read. Orenstein looks at how predatory marketing influences ideas of gender in North American middle class girls. Just some of the topics she examines are the Disney Princess line ($4 Billion in product sold between 2000 & 2009), Barbie, Hannah Montana, and Twilight. The book is heavy on insightful observations and light on firm recommendations, but I thought she concluded well when she says all these various products are

"...a cog in the round-the-clock, all pervasive media machine aimed at our daughters--and at us--from womb to tomb; one that, again and again, presents femininity as performance,sexuality as performance, identity as performance, and each of those traits as available for a price. It tells girls that how you look is more important than how you feel. more than that, it tells them that how you look is how you feel, as well as who you are."

My daughters are 11 and 14, so we're beyond the princess stage, which they didn't have much use for anyway (and I'll take some of the credit for that). I think Orenstein could have been firmer in stating that adults can refuse to buy into this pink princess culture and be more active in redirecting their children's focus. But other wise, I really enjoyed exploring the princess industry along with her.

Recommended for: anyone who is interested in consumerism and marketing and their influence on culture, and especially their influence on girls. Those looking for a parenting book with lots of tips and pat solutions will probably be disappointed.

Why I Read This Now: it just looked too appealing to let sit on the shelf any longer. I admit that I am rather anti-Disney, so I was hoping that she'd really blast them (which she didn't).

39Sakerfalcon
jun 10, 2014, 6:28 am

I finished We that were young which was an engaging and very moving look at women at work in WWI. I read the introduction after finishing (to avoid spoilers) and learned that some of the events which seemed most melodramatic were actually autobiographical. A very good read.

I've just started Good daughters by Mary Hocking, about a family of three girls growing up in the years prior to WWII.

40torontoc
jun 10, 2014, 8:34 am

I just finished The Bees a book by Laline Paull- the story is about Flora 717- a worker bee and her relationship to her hive- unusual but great story with themes about rebellion, " group think" and survival. the depiction of the drones behaviour is at first hilarious and then tragic.

41streamsong
jun 10, 2014, 9:22 am

>30 nohrt4me2: >32 Nickelini: Heehee. I read Please Look After Mom last year with a group on another website. (horrors!)

Very over-sentimentalized but I did enjoy the look at Korean culture and the city versus the village/peasant lifestyle. The characters were pretty over-the-top: the mother a virtuous but illiterate saint; the father a completely self-absorbed chauvinist.

Here's my review: http://www.librarything.com/topic/154132#4158654

But, I might well pick up a copy of her new book if it crosses my path; thanks for the link to the review.

42nancyewhite
jun 10, 2014, 11:12 am

I finished The Silent Wife last night. It was a page-turner. I stayed up past my bedtime to find out how it all turned out which is something I haven't done in a while. I liked it, but didn't love it. The writing was not memorable. A fine two-day fun read but not more than that for me.

I started Frog Music on my commute this morning. I know Emma Donoghue engenders a bunch of different responses in this group which is part of the reason I picked it up just now. I fall on the side of those who loved Room which is the only book of hers I've read. I'm eager to see what I think of this one.

43overlycriticalelisa
jun 10, 2014, 3:23 pm

>38 Nickelini:

thanks for this!

44overlycriticalelisa
jun 10, 2014, 3:25 pm

>42 nancyewhite:

she also engendered a bunch of different responses from the people in our lesbian book club when we read hood a couple of months ago.

45Citizenjoyce
jun 10, 2014, 7:42 pm

I've just started an epistolary memoir, Love Nina by a woman who worked as a nanny for Mary-Kay Wilmers in the 1980s in London. So far it's humorous and interesting and would be even more so for someone British who would know who all she was talking about. The neighbor across the hall is Alan Bennett whom I wasn't sure I knew until I googled him and found he wrote The History Boys. Well, no wonder he's so funny.

46Raderat
jun 11, 2014, 10:18 am

>40 torontoc: That book's on my wish list. It sounds very unusual and interesting. Glad you liked it.

Enjoying Alice in Wonderland, but not looking forward to Dracula. SUCH a long-winded slog. Since the class is just for fun and I have read the book already, I may cheat and just read the synopsis and some representative chapters.

47Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: jun 12, 2014, 2:16 am

I'm almost through with Scarlet and remember that someone spoke of the middle book of a trilogy syndrome. This one certainly has it. Some new characters and love interests are introduced and the plot is moved along just enough to get us to the book that is the finale. Having just read a 768 page book that dragged me down, I guess I shouldn't complain that authors at least give us a little breathing room at the end of each episode, but I still feel it's a bit of a financial rip off.
I'm also about 2/3 of the way through The Penelopiad, and it is fantastic. I remember when I finished the Odyssey just a few months ago I thought the same thing Margaret Atwood did. It was completely crazy and misogynistic that Odysseus killed the 12 serving women, and why did he think he had the right to be so concerned about Penelope's chastity when he'd been out screwing every goddess he found for the past 10 years? So, yea Atwood for writing a much needed book.

48streamsong
Redigerat: jun 12, 2014, 1:11 pm

>47 Citizenjoyce: I finished The Penelopiad and also enjoyed it. Have you been reading the discussion? "My boyfriend's back and you're gonna be in trooooouuubbble" is now thoroughly stuck in my head.

I have Cinder on deck when I finish my current audiobook. I had no idea it ended with a cliffhanger. It makes me want to skip it altogether.

>46 nohrt4me2: I've thought about taking that class but between the reading and the papers it sounds a bit much. Also I've been underwhelmed with the online discussions on that site. 500 people all saying the same thing. Sigh. How are you liking the course in general?

49torontoc
jun 12, 2014, 12:50 pm

oops- I'm not taking a class- but I am curious about the class that you mention

50streamsong
jun 12, 2014, 1:10 pm

Whoops, I'm sorry, torontoc that should have been directed at >46 nohrt4me2:. I'll correct my post #48.

I assumed she was taking the class at Coursera since several people have taken that class on that site.

51Raderat
jun 12, 2014, 5:46 pm

>48 streamsong: Yes, Coursera. Here's more than anyone probably wants to know.

Each of these courses has its own "personality." I took one a year or so ago on aging around the globe. Discussions were just excellent, and I loved it. Many people in my age cohort (60s), and I don't think I've ever enjoyed an online experience quite so much. People were so congenial.

There were about 1,000 people on the aging class, but the discussions weren't hard to wade through.

The navigation design of the fantasy and sci fi class isn't the greatest (you have to click "peer review" to to submit assignments). And the instructor/TA's are constantly throwing out really fussy and unnecessary instructions. I ignore many of these. I have also largely ignored the discussion boards because they are too numerous and not of much interest to me, at least not yet.

52vwinsloe
jun 12, 2014, 6:15 pm

I'm about 25 pages into Who Fears Death, and I am finding it powerfully engaging.

53Citizenjoyce
jun 12, 2014, 6:59 pm

>52 vwinsloe: I read something about weaponized rape in Congo this morning and thought about that book. It's very powerful.

54sturlington
jun 13, 2014, 7:42 am

Just finished The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker. Good writing, a nice sense of place--New York City at the turn of the 20th century. A bit padded, in my opinion, though--it could have used some editing.

55vwinsloe
jun 13, 2014, 5:00 pm

Because of the recommendations here, I got We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves on audiobook. I hope that it "reads" as enjoyably in that format.

56lemontwist
jun 13, 2014, 5:13 pm

Just finished reading Blue is the Warmest Color by Julie Maroh, translated into English from the original French. It was a quick read, and an absolutely beautiful and somewhat heart-breaking graphic novel about the brief love between two women.

57Citizenjoyce
jun 13, 2014, 5:30 pm

>55 vwinsloe: I liked it very much, I hope you do too.

58vwinsloe
jun 13, 2014, 6:26 pm

>57 Citizenjoyce:. Oh, good! Thanks.

59Citizenjoyce
jun 13, 2014, 9:26 pm

I just finished Love, Nina by Nina Stibbe. It's very interesting in that, after she's done nannying she goes to university and majors in English. She describes a class she takes Autobiography/Fiction in which she discovers that a writer has to add a little fiction to her autobiography to make the truth of it seem real. The book consists of letters to her sister written during the 80's and mentions important literary figures of the time who are friends of her employer, Mary-Kay Wilmers and also describes (in a kind of Educating Rita way, which she also mentions) life at a Polytechnic university. Both Alan Bennett and the gist of History Boys fit in nicely. Stibbe is a little bit snarky, as is everyone else, even the kids, and everyone has humorous comments on everything. I even bought a book about one of the children, Being Sam Frears: A Life Less Ordinary by Mary Mount. Sam, one of Wilmers' sons, was born with a rare life threatening disease found in Ashkenazi Jews (why so many genetic diseases connected with them?) and he was raised as just a normal little boy (a very intelligent little boy in a very intelligent family). The more I read, the better I liked the book.

60Raderat
jun 14, 2014, 11:45 am

Just downloaded Pills and Starships after hearing Lydia Millet speak about this YA dystopian on Weekend Edition: http://www.npr.org/2014/06/14/321952988/world-after-the-tipping-point-in-pills-a...

>59 Citizenjoyce: Your description of the Nina Stibbe reminded me of Joanna Rakoff's My Salinger Year. It sounds very funny in a New Yorky way (that might be over my firmly Midwest head ...)

61Citizenjoyce
jun 14, 2014, 3:51 pm

>60 nohrt4me2: Maybe I'd recognize more of the people in the New York way. I'll have to check it out.
For the Women in Science Fiction/Fantasy month I'm just about to start While Beauty Slept , a retelling of the Sleeping Beauty story. My daughter and I recently saw/Malifecent, so I'm up for yet another version.

62rebeccanyc
jun 14, 2014, 7:17 pm

I just finished Time Present and Time Past by Deirdre Madden, a family story that is a meditation on time, history, and memory.

63Raderat
jun 17, 2014, 9:12 pm

Trying to get into Herland by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. The men seem like laughable caricatures so far, and it reads more like agit-prop than literature. But, then, women couldn't even vote in 1915, so I can see why Gilman was pissed.

OTOH, the parallel reading is the roughly contemporary Edgar Rice Burrough's Princess of Mars, in which the men also seemed like laughable caricatures and read like a boy's adventure comic only with a bare naked heroine.

Burrough's novel has inspired scads of illustrated versions, graphic novels, movie--all pretty much looking like scenes from a pole dancing club on Tatooine.

Gilman's novel? Hardly any. Geez, wonder why ...

64Helcura
jun 17, 2014, 9:18 pm

Finished Cinderella Ate My Daughter. I found it really depressing. The power of marketing to nudge us into stereotyped groups is formidable. It's a good book, but it made me feel that we have farther to go than I had hoped in the quest for gender equality and the chance for our kids to have a childhood free of outdated expectations.

65Yells
jun 17, 2014, 11:25 pm

64 - it is rather depressing isn't it?

66Nickelini
jun 17, 2014, 11:51 pm

64 & 65 - Around the same time I read Cinderella Ate My Daughter, I also read and enjoyed Packaging Girlhood: Rescuing our Daughters from Marketers' Schemes. This one had some solutions. If you're interested, this is what I wrote at the time:

From the preface: "we've been told our world empowers girls by offering them anyting they want, including infinite sights and endless ports of call. In reality, it's a world designed by media and marketing executives that targets children as consumers, channels girls' desires, and entices them into predictable types: 'pretty pink dolls,' 'cute little shoppers,' and 'hott teens'."

Packaging Girlhood covers the influences on girls from roughly ages 3 through 17. The chapters cover shopping (the products available and how they are marketed), TV and film, music, books and extra-curricular activities. The final chapter gives sample conversations for parents when discussing culture with their daughters.

Although I was familiar with a lot of the authors' concerns, and they did repeat themselves quite a bit, I found this to be an extremely interesting and inspiring read. I think what made this book different from others that I've read on this topic is that there was always a psychological POV involved (including what it is about these products that appeals to the girls, but also the psychology of the marketers and of parents). I especially enjoyed the chapter on books, and the literary critique from a psychological approach.

I borrowed this book from the library, but I am ordering my own copy to keep as a reference.

Recommended for: obviously the parents of girls, but also anyone who works with girls, and anyone interested in cultural studies or consumerism. The authors have also written Packaging Boyhood: Saving Our Sons from Superheroes, Slackers, and Other Media Stereotypes. ( )

67Yells
jun 18, 2014, 11:40 am

66 - I have that one on the shelf so maybe I should read it to balance things out! And look for the Boyhood version. Sounds interesting.

68Raderat
jun 18, 2014, 7:25 pm

>66 Nickelini: Don't mean this to be snarky, but what could anyone possibly say about marketing to girls and boys that hasn't been said?

This has been on the radar for decades, and I think thoughtful parents are aware of it and give their kids ways to resist it.

What are some new things that this book says?

69Nickelini
jun 18, 2014, 9:19 pm

#68 - Sorry, it's been a few years so I don't remember much other than that I liked it (that and my comments in #66 above). I did find new ideas, but your mileage may vary. Look for it at your library and take a glance through--you should get an idea if it has anything to say to you.

70Citizenjoyce
jun 20, 2014, 4:50 pm

I just started a great short story collection. It's the special edition of Lightspeed Magazine devoted to women in science fiction. It's titled the Women Destroy Science Fiction issue because of many complaints over the years that women can't write science fiction. I'm just on the first story about women who join a future US navy and are slowly changed into mermaids for the good of the navy. It's so good and reminds me just why I like feminist science fiction because it explores human possibilities in ways that show women not as tangents but as real human actors in life. The issue is only $3.99 if you're interested in buying it:
http://www.lightspeedmagazine.com/issues/june-2014-issue-49/

71rebeccanyc
jun 22, 2014, 4:27 pm

72sturlington
jun 22, 2014, 5:21 pm

For female SF/F month, I just finished The Female Man and started China Mountain Zhang.

73Raderat
jun 22, 2014, 6:14 pm

>71 rebeccanyc: Nice review. Sounds like something I should take to the beach in a couple of weeks!

74vwinsloe
jun 23, 2014, 8:51 am

I have started The Goldfinch and will post my thoughts on the spoilers thread when I have finished.

75Sakerfalcon
Redigerat: jun 23, 2014, 10:51 am

I've just started reading Saplings, one of Noel Streatfeild's books for adults. As usual she writes great child characters, but we see more of the inner lives of the parents and other adults than in her more famous books.

I'm also reading Treason's shore, the last book of Sherwood Smith's Inda quartet. Although the title character of this fantasy series is male, the world is chock-full of interesting women with diverse talents, personalities and roles to fill. I've seen criticism of the series because there is no rape, and because "people just sleep with whoever they like and don't get punished for it!" which makes it a fantasy world I like to spend time in.

76SChant
jun 24, 2014, 4:13 am

Reading the cyberpunk-ish vN by Madeline Ashby, about a self-replicating von Neumann machine woman witha vN mother and human father who finds out that the failsafe that prevents her kind from harming organic humans has failed, and the consequences of that. I've always liked stories looking at robots/aliens as "the other" as a way of making us think about what makes humans human.

77Sakerfalcon
jun 24, 2014, 9:27 am

>76 SChant: I really want to read vN so will look forward to hearing what you think of it.

78Raderat
jun 24, 2014, 10:14 am

Has anybody read Cinnamon and Gunpowder? Bloke book recommended by a bloke, who usually picks out stuff I like.

79amysisson
Redigerat: jun 26, 2014, 12:09 pm

I have just started The First Violin by Jessie Fothergill, originally published in 1877. Only two chapters in, but I like it so far. Amusingly, given the name of this LT group, the e-book edition I'm reading was put out by Girlebooks.

80vwinsloe
jun 26, 2014, 12:52 pm

81amysisson
jun 26, 2014, 1:34 pm

>80 vwinsloe:

I just love that they put covers on them. And I'm a bit backwards with e-book technology, so I prefer PDFs. I love that they have many different formats.

82Citizenjoyce
jun 26, 2014, 1:51 pm

>79 amysisson:, >80 vwinsloe: Thanks for sharing that site. What a great resource.

83rebeccanyc
jun 27, 2014, 12:30 pm

84Citizenjoyce
jun 28, 2014, 11:52 am

I just finished a wonderful accidengtal find, Montana by Gwen Florio about a woman foreign correspondant in Afghanistan who looses her overseas job due to cutbacks at newspapers and goes to visit her fournalist friend at a little Montana town only to find her murdered. The main character, Lola, is cynical, nontrusting, harsh mannered, observant and straight speaking. She's really a delight as are the circumstances she gets herself into and the friends she makes, both animal and human. Being an investigative journalist she's used to ferreting out information, so she teaches herself to ride a horse by reading about it. This one is well worth checking out.
Right now I've just started The Bees and am as charmed as I'm supposed to be. This is a novel written from the perspective of a worker bee with higher aspirations. I started to read a review of it that said it was a combination of A Handmaids Tale and... but I stopped there because I wanted to find out for myself.
Also I'm about 1/2 way through Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson which appears to be 2 tales combined in one book. The first is about a future earth devastated by environmental degredation, the discovery of a new planet that can support life and the deterioration of human potential due to reliance on technology. Of course, knowing Winterson, there's also a love story. The second part of the book is about Easter Island, but I don't know where that one is headed, something to do with religion and, again, the environment.
Lastly I've also started Americanah which drew me right in from the beginning. It starts with a main character whose been writing a lifeswtyle blog called Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black and makes interesting observations from the get go.

85vwinsloe
jul 2, 2014, 9:15 am

I finished The Goldfinch last night, and, if and when I can crystalize my thoughts, I will post something on the spoiler thread. Despite unavoidably high expectations, I thought that the book was a masterpiece.

I still have not finished the audio book of We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves and I am afraid that my choppy listening time is interfering with my enjoyment of the book. That is a risk that I take with audiobooks since I travel regionally by car for work but not always regularly or predictably. I only listen to audiobooks in the car. I do have some travel coming up this month, and I hope to be able to listen to some larger chunks.

So as a palate cleanser, I have started reading the nonfiction One Hundred and Four Horses which I am probably destined to enjoy as both an equestrian and a fan of African memoirs.

86nancyewhite
jul 2, 2014, 3:47 pm

I finished Claire DeWitt and the Bohemian Highway by Sara Gran yesterday evening. This is a very odd mystery series. It is almost impossible for me to describe. The detective is a tortured woman with a past. Detection is a philosophy and a calling. Every detail is part of the solution. Odd gurus routinely turn up. And, oh yes, in this one Claire moves from drug user to addict which is portrayed in a very graphic way. Gran is creating something here that both is a mystery novel and turns the notion of a mystery novel on its ear. I like this series but suspect there are plenty of people who won't.

87Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: jul 2, 2014, 4:51 pm

>86 nancyewhite: You make the book sound very interesting, but Argh, I'm so tired of self destructive detectives. For my RL book club I'm re-reading The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency, and I think one of the reasons I like it so much is that Mma Ramotswe loves her life and her country. There can't be only one such detective in all of literature, can there? No, there's also Kathy Reichs' Temperance Brennan, Gail Carriger's lady detective (I don't remember her name), Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane.
OK, I've calmed down now. Sonia Sotomayor says she gave up working as a prosecutor because she found herself viewing the whole world as full of liars and law breakers. That is an enormous burden on a person. Reading about one self destructive character after another solving difficult mysteries makes me wonder why anyone would pursue such a line of work even though the rest of the world benefits from their efforts. You could almost see them as the saints of justice except that they're portrayed as unsaintly as possible.

88nancyewhite
Redigerat: jul 2, 2014, 5:22 pm

>87 Citizenjoyce: I'd add Ruth Galloway from Elly Griffith's series and Kate Fansler from the wonderful Amanda Cross series. Amanda Cross is the pen name that Carolyn Heilbrun used to write mysteries. It is so worth looking these up if you haven't read them.

Give the first Claire DeWitt a try if you can. It is so different that it is worth it just to see the whole genre in this whole other way. Perhaps like True Detectives did for the TV version of the mystery show.

Here's what I wrote about that one when I read it:

I really enjoyed this offbeat mystery set in New Orleans. The detective, Claire DeWitt, uses an alternate methodology based on the writings of a famous French detective. Her detecting includes drugs and the occult. It is clear that Gran is very familiar with the city which is one of my favorite places in the entire world. This mystery is very hard to describe. It is like an alternate reality or perhaps more like a heightened reality. The crime itself takes a backseat to the city, Katrina, street kids, missing friends and mystery itself. It seems this is the beginning of a series, and I'll definitely be looking for the next one. Recommended if you like that kind of thing.

89Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: jul 2, 2014, 6:03 pm

>88 nancyewhite: Ok, I've wishlisted it. Let's see if I can actually make myself read it.
I've just finished Cress, the 3rd book of the Cinder trilogy and guess what, it turns out to be the lead in to what I assume will be another trilogy. I certainly won't be reading it, but I imagine the world is full of 13-15 year olds who will. Talk about crass money making. 2.5 stars from me.

90Sakerfalcon
jul 3, 2014, 5:47 am

>89 Citizenjoyce: I believe that Cinder was always planned to be 4 books. I hope it doesn't get strung out any further than that and become a bloated mess ...

91fikustree
jul 3, 2014, 9:44 am

I finished Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father by Alysia Abbott which was mentioned in an earlier thread. It was a very interesting memoir of a girl growing up with her single father in the 80s in San Francisco. The story starts with her mom dying when she is just two years old and ends with her father succumbing to AIDS.

I also read Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter and though I enjoyed the huge cast of characters I would have enjoyed to learn more about Dee Moray.

92lemontwist
jul 3, 2014, 9:52 am

>91 fikustree: I really enjoyed Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father. One of the most captivating memoirs I've read in a while. I found it hard to put the book down.

93vwinsloe
jul 3, 2014, 9:54 am

>91 fikustree:, Interestingly, Jess Walter is a male author. The name is somewhat misleading.

94LyzzyBee
jul 3, 2014, 11:02 am

I just read Nella Larsen's Passing which was extremely interesting and a good story in itself.

95fikustree
Redigerat: jul 3, 2014, 12:47 pm

>93 vwinsloe: That is very interesting and makes so much sense! Thanks for telling me. It didn't seem like it was written by a woman, a couple of times I checked the author's name again and thought, no it is a woman. I think one reason I enjoy female authors so much more is that they don't get caught up in describing how beautiful a woman is for pages and pages. None of the women in the story really made anything happen either, they were all just waiting around for men essentially.

96vwinsloe
jul 3, 2014, 1:23 pm

>95 fikustree:. Exactly. I thought it was a brilliant idea for a book, and it would have been so much better if written from the point of view of the woman protagonist.

97Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: jul 5, 2014, 7:53 pm

>90 Sakerfalcon: Thanks for that information. Not that I would want to read any more of Marissa Meyer's teen drama, but I guess maybe I feel a little less manipulated. Well, no, I don't. There's just no reason she ends these things on cliff hangers. I just read the first in a new (to me) series, Churchill's Secretary and see she's now written 4 books about the same woman in different situations, but each book ends. Then if you like the way Susan MacNeal writes, you go on to read the next one. What a concept.
This really is good historical fiction. I found out lots about the IRA and about antisemitism in England at the beginning of WWII, and some personal stuff about Churchill who seems to have been a bear to work for. And good ol' Bletchley Park is there again.
I also just finished Americanah which to my mind should have won the most recent Orange Prize (though that's not its name any more). The main character, Ifemelu, is intelligent, perceptive, assertive and brave. She's also judgmental, hypocritical and cynical where she shouldn't be and accepting where she should be cynical. She's a fascinating and infuriating character, one of her lines sums her up "racism shouldn't have existed in the first place so just because you're doing something about it now doesn't mean you get a cookie." Youch. Being a white American around Ifemelu doesn't get one any prizes or any recognition of effort. This book keeps you on your toes and wanting to read more about her opinions, in spite of her closed mindedness.
Now I'm about to start The Empathy Exams which I think is by a woman.

98streamsong
jul 5, 2014, 9:09 am

>90 Sakerfalcon:, >97 Citizenjoyce: I listened to Cinder last month due to all the positive LT reviews. I didn't really expect to like it, but I did. Silly and escapist and fun. At this point, I'll go on with the series although I don't think I'll make it to the next one in July.

I finished Spider Woman's Daughter by Anne Hillerman yesterday. Mysteries are my go-to escapist genre, and I seem to be in a lightweight mood this summer. I struggled with the first hundred pages or so - the dialogue, especially, seemed a bit clunky. But then, it took off. I don't know if Anne Hillerman hit her stride, or I adjusted to the change of voice, but it was a great summer read. I hope she's working on the next one!

I'm still working on Karen Armstrong's biography of Buddha which I hope to finish today. And then I'm on to an ER memoir, Not for Everyday Use, by Caribbean-American writer, Elizabeth Nunez.

99LyzzyBee
jul 5, 2014, 1:19 pm

I've got Americanah on my TBR, can't wait to get to it!

100overlycriticalelisa
Redigerat: jul 6, 2014, 8:46 pm

>97 Citizenjoyce:, >99 LyzzyBee:

just finished purple hibiscus by adichie. liked it a lot but wanted more from her. it was her first and i fully expect her others, especially americanah to be even better. i look forward to reading them!

eta: just starting french kids eat everything by karen le billon.

feel like i haven't been reading any women lately so i'm glad to get back to this thread!

101Citizenjoyce
jul 6, 2014, 11:25 pm

I'm about to start Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd which looks like it's about political prisoners in Ireland so it should fit right in with the Maggie Hope series.
On audio I just started The Scarlet Pimpernel, better late than never. The title always sounds to me like a Sherlock Holmes story, but no, it's about the French Revolution.

102SChant
jul 7, 2014, 7:15 am

> 77 Finished vN. A bit unevenly paced but some interesting ideas about power and robot/human interactions. Will definitely pick up the next one iD

103sturlington
jul 7, 2014, 8:50 am

Finished The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry. I had some problems with the author's choices, particularly in regard to point of view and verb tense, as well as some issues with how she heaped victimization on her main character. But I enjoyed the Salem, Mass. setting and the generally positive portrayal of modern-day witches.

104Raderat
Redigerat: jul 7, 2014, 10:48 am

Am re-reading The Left Hand of Darkness again. It's been at least 15 years since the last read. First read in about 1974. Not liking it as much this second time around because of the stilted narrative syntax.

ETA: Have Montana on my list per enthusiastic recommendation here. Not a big murder mystery reader, though.

105Citizenjoyce
jul 7, 2014, 12:50 pm

>104 nohrt4me2: I'm also not a big murder mystery fan, but the main character makes up for it. She's a very self determining woman.

106amysisson
jul 7, 2014, 12:52 pm

Just started My Real Children by Jo Walton.

107fikustree
jul 7, 2014, 5:33 pm

Reading Deep Blue Home: An intimate ecology of our wild ocean so far it's really good. It opens with the author and two other women doing scientific research on a teeny tiny island inhabited by birds. The author relates stories back to Mexican, Indian, and Norse mythology which I always appreciate. And she seems to love sea turtles as much as I do. My main problem with it is that I'm jealous of her life.

108Helcura
jul 7, 2014, 11:32 pm

Just finished re-reading a set of ghost stories by Alexie Aaron. The first in the series is The Hauntings of Cold Creek Hollow. The stories and characters are really good, but the editing (up to the 7th or 8th book where she got an editor and there is some improvement) is abysmal. I re-read them because I wanted to decide if they were worth dealing with the bad spelling, grammar and sentence structure. I decided they are, and for the ebooks at least, it's possible those errors may someday be corrected.

These books got me thinking though - self-publishing has really opened door for female writers and others who are not attractive to mainstream publishers, but their early work is almost always awkward and poorly edited.

I can only stick with such books if the story is really good and even then, I mutter to myself as I read. I want to support storytellers of great potential, but there's a limit to how bad the writing can be.

Have you stuck with any authors like Alexie Aaron through several books? What authors would you recommend as worth reading (either for enjoyment or enlightenment) in spite of poor or absent editing?

109Citizenjoyce
jul 8, 2014, 2:20 am

>108 Helcura: are those all those free books you get for Kindle and Nook? I keep getting them, but so far haven't got around to reading any that I remember. I guess I'm saving them up for when I'm marooned on a desert island, with a charger.

110overlycriticalelisa
jul 8, 2014, 5:42 pm

>108 Helcura:

not quite the same thing as poor editing, but the clan of the cave bear comes directly to mind. (it often does; it resides pretty close to the front of my brain.) it is easily the book that, for me, is literally fraught with issues and problems - more in the story/writing than the editing - but that i thought was wonderful anyway. usually a book with the kinds of problems this one has would not be one that i could get behind, but i seriously love this book.

111Raderat
jul 8, 2014, 10:37 pm

>110 overlycriticalelisa: I really liked "Clan of the Cave Bear," too (and I think I've seen the movie "Quest for Fire" at least three times).

People have a real craving to understand their origins as a species, and the fact that the story was told from a woman's POV outweighed a lot of its problems.

I was also fascinated by some of the technical aspects of the books--using soapwort for shampoo, dropping hot rocks in water to make it boil--that sort of thing.

I could not, however, get through any of the other books in the series.

112Helcura
jul 8, 2014, 11:02 pm

>109 Citizenjoyce:

This particular series is not free, but low priced - usually about $3 per book. Small press books are often low priced as ebooks, so I don't discount a book based solely on price, but I do check reviews and if a whole lot of people complain about editing, I think twice.

113lemontwist
jul 10, 2014, 4:03 am

Started reading Janet Mock's memoir Redefining Realness. Pretty good so far!

114Citizenjoyce
jul 10, 2014, 4:43 am

I just started The Silkworm, so glad my requested copy finally came into the library.

115Amy_J
jul 10, 2014, 8:14 am

I am currently reading Anatomy of a Single Girl. It's a little young for my age, but a cute book nonetheless. If you forget her age (18), you can pretty much make her any age group due to the dating problems she comes across. Or, you can just relate to them as what you have gone through when you were younger.

116sturlington
jul 10, 2014, 8:22 am

I finished a kind of throwaway thriller, Getaway by Lisa Brackmann, and now I'm going to counteract it by reading Northanger Abbey.

117Yells
jul 10, 2014, 9:29 am

In honour of Orange July, I am reading long-listed Niagara Falls All Over Again by McCracken. It's pretty good so far.

118nancyewhite
jul 10, 2014, 9:43 am

>113 lemontwist: Your post reminded me that I want to read Mock's book. I went over to Amazon to add it to my eReaderIQ list and one of the "Customers Also Bought" selections is Whipping Girl by Julia Serano for 99 cents in case anyone else is interested. I haven't read any Serano, but I know folks who really dig her.

119Citizenjoyce
jul 10, 2014, 3:21 pm

>118 nancyewhite: Thanks, that's a big savings.

120lemontwist
jul 10, 2014, 7:03 pm

>118 nancyewhite: I read Whipping Girl a while back and really enjoyed it.

121vwinsloe
jul 11, 2014, 2:38 pm

I finished the audiobook that I was listening to and returned it to the library, and while I was there I picked up The Daring Ladies of Lowell which I had read a blurb about locally. I listened to a little on the way home and was put off a bit by the reader's cartoonish voices. When I got back, I looked at the readers' review on LT and it seems to be more romance than history. Oh well. It is too late now to get something from interlibrary loan before my next road trip, so I'll just suffer through it. The premise is about the textile mills of the 19th century and the women who worked there, and I hope that it will have some redeeming characteristics.

122rebeccanyc
jul 13, 2014, 8:21 am

I read the utterly delightful The Treasure by Selma Lagerlöf.

123CurrerBell
jul 14, 2014, 12:39 am

I just finished Unexpected Stories by Octavia Butler. These are two "lost" stories that have just been published posthumously, the first (and longer) an apparently very early story titled “A Necessary Being” about a humanoid species divided into biologically determined castes with a "ruler" who controls his/her people in all respects except in the ability not to be the "ruler." The second, “Childfinder,” was written (but never published) under contract to Harlan Ellison and concerns a woman with psionic abilities – and, obviously, a twist of the sort that one would expect from Butler. 3*** (or perhaps even 3½***) to "A Necessary Being" and 4**** to "Childfinder."

124streamsong
Redigerat: jul 14, 2014, 9:14 am

I'm reading a terrific memoir by Caribbean-American author Elizabeth Nunez called Not for Everyday Use. Called home to Trinidad to her dying mother and subsequent funeral, and finding her father drifting in and out of awareness, she flashes back to her childhood memories of British colonialism, the hold of the Catholic church and Trinidad's history as well as her own family and sibling stories. Women's memoirs are one of my favorite genres and this one is outstanding, There are many events in this one that will stay with me.

125amysisson
jul 14, 2014, 10:38 am

>123 CurrerBell:

I just heard about the two "lost" Octavia Butler stories, but hadn't realized they'd been released yet. Did you read this in print or electronically?

126Sakerfalcon
jul 14, 2014, 10:49 am

I'm reading The lost traveller by Antonia White.

127amysisson
jul 14, 2014, 10:51 am

128CurrerBell
Redigerat: jul 14, 2014, 12:03 pm

>125 amysisson: Electronically. I'm not even sure they're available in treeware. I stumbled across Unexpected Stories on Kindle but I see B&N also has them listed for Nook. Considering the relatively short length of the two stories combined, I'd be surprised to find them in treeware.

EDIT to fix link.

129fikustree
jul 14, 2014, 12:12 pm

I'll have to check that out I loved the novels The White Woman on the Green Bicycle & Archipelago from Trinidad.

130vwinsloe
jul 17, 2014, 8:36 am

I just started Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo. It is a work of narrative non-fiction depicting life in a small slum near the Mumbai airport.

131streamsong
jul 17, 2014, 9:11 am

>129 fikustree: I haven't read either of those. I'll have to add them to the ever growing wish list.

132overlycriticalelisa
Redigerat: jul 17, 2014, 1:09 pm

>111 nohrt4me2:

yes, origin stories are pretty compelling. i also loved the technical stuff - that wolverine fur holds heat better, that the stomach is the best organ to use for holding water. but mostly it was just the story. and the strong female lead. incredible. (i'm going to an event in oct honoring jean auel and am looking forward to meeting her!) i'd name my daughter ayla if my partner would let me. and if we had a daughter.

i read the rest but obviously the first one was the best by far.

133shearon
jul 17, 2014, 1:29 pm

>121 vwinsloe: I read in a couple reviews that The Daring Ladies of Lowell is fairly accurate in its description of the working and living conditions of these textile workers. Although I enjoyed the book, I thought the romance, and all the drama associated with it, took away from what would otherwise have been very interesting historical fiction.

134vwinsloe
jul 17, 2014, 2:12 pm

>133 shearon:, thanks. I am continuing on with it, despite my misgivings. I live near Lowell, Massachusetts and go by those mill buildings, so I am finding it interesting to visualize how it must have been in the mid-1800s.

135Raderat
jul 17, 2014, 6:00 pm

>132 overlycriticalelisa: Sounds exciting! Hope you enjoy the Auel function and report back.

136overlycriticalelisa
jul 17, 2014, 6:31 pm

just finished a redbird christmas and doubt i'll be giving fannie flagg another try. this was probably the 4th and i think that's enough...

>135 nohrt4me2:
will do! i'm sure i'll forget that i said i would, but that i'll be so excited after that i'll do it because of that.

137rebeccanyc
jul 18, 2014, 10:39 am

Earlier this week, I finished Slip of the Knife by Denise Mina, the third, and best, in her Paddy Meehan series, and Come Along with Me, an enjoyable collection of Shirley Jackson's unfinished last novel, some otherwise uncollected stories, and some lectures about writing and "The Lottery." I finally had a chance to review them.

138SChant
jul 18, 2014, 11:06 am

Just got iD, the next volume of Madeline Ashby's Machine Dynasty Series, out of the library. I enjoyed vN very much despite some unevenness of pacing so am hoping for good things.

139Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: jul 18, 2014, 2:19 pm

>137 rebeccanyc: I have two of Denise Mina's Paddy Mehan series, but not the first one. It's just sitting there at the library waiting for me, but since it deals with child murder I've been way to reluctant to get it. Tell me it's worth it and that I can make it through

140rebeccanyc
jul 18, 2014, 3:51 pm

>139 Citizenjoyce: Well, the long answer is I came to Paddy Meehan after reading the Garnethill trilogy which I loved and the Maureen O'Donnell trilogy which I liked a lot. Initially, I didn't warm to Paddy in the first book, but you realize the boy who's released from prison, Callum, is one of the killers from the first novel, right? I had misgivings about the second Paddy book too, but the cliffhanger kept me going to the third, which I liked the best of the bunch.

The short answer is if the second and third books made sense to you without reading the first and you don't like child murder, I'd say skip it.

141SaraHope
jul 20, 2014, 10:18 am

Just finished The Veiled Web a SF romance by Catherine Asaro. It felt a bit like a 1980s Harlequin romance (The Ballet Dancer and the Millionaire Moorish Computer Scientist) crossed with a computer thriller about AI that now seems quite dated (written in 1999 and set in 2010, the book consistently refers to the World Wide Web and makes other references that caused me to chuckle, such as to America Online). An enjoyable enough little book for what it was, though, and given the AI plotline, it's probably appropriate I read it this year, the first year that an AI passed the Turing Test.

142Raderat
jul 20, 2014, 11:48 am

In progress: Pills and Starships, which I think might be aimed at YA. Like the writing style, but the whole eco-disaster-time-to-euthanize-the-old formula is getting stale since Make Room! Make Room! and it's celluloid spawn, "Soylent Green" back in the 1960s and '70s.

143Leseratte2
jul 20, 2014, 11:51 am

I started Lady of the Rivers this weekend but so far I'm not very impressed. The present-tense narration is an odd conceit and the main characters aren't as interesting as they could be.

144Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: jul 20, 2014, 2:06 pm

>141 SaraHope: I thought that some time ago an AI passed the Touring test. Guess I'm fuzzy on that.
I'm reading 3 good books by women right now.
On audio I'm listening to Elizabeth Warren read her memoir A Fighting Chance and wishing we could just let her fix this financial mess.
On my iPad I'm listening to Homer's Odyssey mainly about a woman's life with her blind cat but more importantly about how a woman structures her life to live in the best way she can.
On Nook I've just started The Gauguin Connection about a woman who may or may not have high functioning autism but who definitely has the ability to read body language. She gets involved with art theft, murder and international espionage and weapons manufacturing. Aside from the autism, I would say this is not my kind of book, but Genevieve's personality is such a strong part of the plot that it's irresistible.

145Raderat
jul 20, 2014, 2:40 pm

On audio I'm listening to Elizabeth Warren read her memoir A Fighting Chance and wishing we could just let her fix this financial mess.

Maybe we shouldn't get political on here, but I keep thinking, my God, wouldn't it be great if she ran for prez? It doesn't sound like she has leanings that way. Who in their right mind would?

146overlycriticalelisa
jul 20, 2014, 3:55 pm

>145 nohrt4me2:

was thinking the same thing, that in 2016 maybe she'll have the chance to fix it. but she's probably too smart to run.

147SaraHope
jul 20, 2014, 5:56 pm

>144 Citizenjoyce: CitizenJoyce, indeed not, the test was passed this year for the first time, though there is some controversy regarding the win--the AI was programmed to be a 13-year-old who is communicating in a second language . . . which obviously leaves latitude for many errors.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/06/09/a-computer-just-pas...

An interesting book I've read on the Turing Test is The Most Human Human by Brian Christian, a man who "competed" in the test as one of the humans, and who made it his special ambition to win the award given for the Most Human Human, the human least often mistaken for an AI. Though sometimes a little technical for me, it was a fascinating story of the history of AI and a reflection on what, exactly, it means to be human.

And back to girlybooks, I cracked Chime by Franny Billingsley, a much lauded YA debut from a few years back.

148Citizenjoyce
jul 20, 2014, 8:27 pm

>147 SaraHope: Thanks for the link. Following through a couple more links I found it passed the test using a bunch of "dick jokes", and one of the creators said, "Sometimes he makes creepy innuendos about women because he’s a 13-year-old." Nice to know what makes us human.

149SaraHope
Redigerat: jul 21, 2014, 9:52 am

>148 Citizenjoyce: Just super. When the AI apocalypse begins, they will say that it all started with dick jokes.

150Raderat
jul 21, 2014, 9:56 am

Finished Pills and Starships. A little less formulaic, but still rather highly derivative of other books in this vein.

Nice narrative style; in her end note the author notes that she works for a nonprof that has something to do with raising awareness re global warming.

I'd like to see her write more books just for the narrative voice of the female character.

151Sakerfalcon
jul 21, 2014, 2:53 pm

I've started reaing Pilgrimage by Dorothy Richardson.

152MsNick
jul 24, 2014, 11:14 am

Hi all! I've just started The Book of Life by Deborah Harkness. I've been anxiously waiting for this book to finally hit shelves!

153vwinsloe
jul 24, 2014, 12:27 pm

I finished Behind the Beautiful Forevers on my morning commute. Wow, I learned a lot from this book, and not just about India. The author summed up and illustrated the relationship between poverty, corruption and morality in a way that resonated with my experience, but articulated it in a way that I could not.

I'm starting The Pecan Man on my evening commute.

154Raderat
jul 24, 2014, 12:45 pm

>153 vwinsloe: I think I could be very happy reading nothing but writers from the Indian subcontinent for the rest of my life. A few years ago, I decided to read several of these authors (I reviewed them here: http://thegrimreader.blogspot.com/search?q=indian+subcontinent)

Roy and Divakaruni have become favorites.

Behind the Beautiful Forevers has cropped up several times in this group. Maybe a separate topic devoted to southwest Asian women writers?

I also recommend the film, "Water," about a an ashram for widows in the 1940s. I couldn't find it on Netflix, but you can rent it on Amazon.

155sturlington
Redigerat: jul 24, 2014, 1:04 pm

I am reading The Sealed Letter. I believe I first heard about Emma Donoghue from this group. Enjoying so far.

156vwinsloe
Redigerat: jul 24, 2014, 2:25 pm

>154 nohrt4me2:. I saw "Water" a few years back, and thought that it was excellent.

I had a friend who traveled to India frequently. She said that liked it because it was "SO not here." I agree that it is fascinating for that reason, although the themes in Katherine Boo's book are fairly universal to impoverished people everywhere.

Thanks for the link to your reviews. I also enjoyed The God of Small Things although I haven't read the others.

You didn't mention Jhumpa Lahiri, whose short stories are among my favorites.

157Raderat
jul 24, 2014, 5:14 pm

I did like Lahiri, just so blown away by the other two, I guess.

158amysisson
jul 24, 2014, 11:07 pm

Reading Ironskin by Tina Connolly. First in a series (although as I'm not at the end yet, I don't know how "complete" this first book will feel). Fantasy retelling of Jane Eyre. Really liking it so far!

159overlycriticalelisa
jul 25, 2014, 1:24 am

about to start beebo brinker and i'm pretty excited about it!

160Citizenjoyce
jul 25, 2014, 1:47 am

>154 nohrt4me2: I think I could be very happy reading nothing but writers from the Indian subcontinent for the rest of my life.
Wow, there's just so much depression and misogyny I can take. A steady diet of Indian writers would do me in. I agree, I though Behind the Beautiful Forevers was excellent, but I need a little hope in my life. Also, by the way, loved the movie Water. Jhumpa Lahiri does offer some hope because of the modernization and westernization of the women.

I just started a werewolf kick (how's that for lowbrowing it?) by reading 2 books by Patricia Briggs: Alpha and Omega and Moon Called. I was never before interested in werewolves, but her writing sucked me right in.
I also started a new series with Under the Never Sky, yet another dystopian epic - There was some sort of disaster. There's a dome with the people inside clean, technologically savy, healthy, impersonal and reproduce by genetic manipulation. The people outside the dome are hungry, sometimes illiterate, unhealthy, in tune with cruel nature, emotional and reproduce randomly. This is getting to be kind of a tired old formula, but Veronica Rossi writes believable, non-stereotypical characters, so I'm liking it very much. Now, lets see if the first book ends on a cliff hanger, which I hate. Briggs's books, by the way, come to an end even though they're connected. As a book should.

161CurrerBell
jul 25, 2014, 2:09 am

>160 Citizenjoyce: I've read all the Mercy Thompson (Moon Called and the like) books and I get them promptly on Kindle as soon as they're released (often by prepurchase). I really didn't care for the Alpha and Omega storyline, maybe because of the "submissive" element (yes, I know an "omega" isn't really a "submissive," but still....) Anyway, I'm not following the Alpha and Omega series, unlike Mercy Thompson.

162Raderat
jul 25, 2014, 9:24 am

>160 Citizenjoyce: Geez, is there any women's writing that doesn't deal, in some way, with misogyny and depression? And those writers delineate the experience with such courage and write so beautifully!

163Citizenjoyce
jul 25, 2014, 4:06 pm

>161 CurrerBell: I do love Mercy Thompson and want to keep reading about her. I was hoping that the submissive element would decrease as Anna came in to her own.
>162 nohrt4me2: You may be right, but, beautiful writing aside, India seems to take the cake as far as misogyny and corruption is concerned. I need to spread that reading out with something less oppressive.

164Raderat
jul 25, 2014, 5:07 pm

Finished Kit Reed's Enclave. A little blabby, but interesting speculative bio-techno fiction in which nobody's motives are entirely clear. Set in remodeled monastery so interesting theological reverbs.

165Helcura
jul 25, 2014, 11:00 pm

>161 CurrerBell:

I actually love both series, but one of the things I appreciate about Anna is that she isn't an alpha personality (which Mercy, despite not being a wolf, definitely is). I like the complexity of Anna's being outside of the wolf hierarchy, and think the stories are doing a good job of walking us along with her as she changes her understanding of who she is. Keeping in mind that submission was literally beaten into her, I would expect it to take a long time for her to truly understand and act on her status as someone who can speak truth to anyone in a society in which might makes right most of the time.

166Citizenjoyce
jul 26, 2014, 1:22 am

>165 Helcura: I like that assessment. Since I'm twelfth on the list for Cry Wolf, I don't think I'll be gobbling down Anna's story, but I'll continue to hope for growth. I do like Mercy's alpha status. So many books are written about alphas, it's hard to write a good story about someone who's just one of the pack.
Speaking of which, I just finished The Wife's Tale. Poor Mary is as far from alpha as is possible. It's an interesting account of her journey.

167rebeccanyc
jul 26, 2014, 12:44 pm

I've finished a wonderfully written and very moving novel by one of my favorite short story writers, Lucky Us by Amy Bloom.

168torontoc
jul 26, 2014, 2:25 pm

I just started Caught by Lisa Moore

169vwinsloe
jul 26, 2014, 5:35 pm

>167 rebeccanyc:. Lucky Us was terrific, wasn't it? I love her sardonic wit, and the slightly "tall tale" quality of her plots.

170Raderat
jul 26, 2014, 6:31 pm

The Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals, first novel by Wendy Jones. Quite good, if a bit romantic. Enjoyed the Welsh setting.

171SaraHope
jul 26, 2014, 8:23 pm

Started today The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, a time-bending murder mystery.

172Citizenjoyce
jul 26, 2014, 11:44 pm

I finished Ruby Red which is a good YA about time travel. Once again I'm amazed by people who write about what they aren't like writers whose main character is a different gender or ethnicity from themselves. Kerstin Gier is German and wrote this great time travel series set in London. Why?
Still listening to Elizabeth Warren's A Fighting Chance, not one you can zip through, but so good.
On Kindle I've started New Orleans Mourning by Julie Smith about a female homicide detective in New Orleans with all the race, politics, gender sliding and snootiness that entails.

173rebeccanyc
jul 27, 2014, 7:32 am

>169 vwinsloe: It took me a while to get used to Bloom's approach to novels, as I had really loved her short stories. I found the "tall tale" aspect something that frustrated me with her first novel, but I guess I had relaxed about that more by the time I got to Lucky Us.

174vwinsloe
jul 27, 2014, 2:11 pm

>173 rebeccanyc:. I don't read many short stories and haven't read any of Bloom's. I suppose I should though, since I like her so much. I read her nonfiction book Normal: Transsexual CEOs, Crossdressing Cops, and Hermaphrodites with Attitude first and liked it, so I got Away when it came out, and it blew me away. I thought about both of her novels for a long time after reading them.

175lemontwist
jul 27, 2014, 4:14 pm

Just started reading a collection of novels and stories by Shirley Jackson. Reading my way through The Lottery right now. Really enjoying it.

176rebeccanyc
jul 27, 2014, 5:31 pm

>174 vwinsloe: Just be forewarned that her stories are different from her novels -- much more realistic and psychologically deep. That's why it took me two novels to get used to what she was doing in them.

177overlycriticalelisa
jul 27, 2014, 5:34 pm

just finished beebo brinker late last night/early this morning. both disappointing and exhilarating at the same time. the tone and feel was a lot like the series tales of the city which i also had problems with. still, i'm glad i read it and i think it'll be a good discussion at book club in a little over a week.

178vwinsloe
jul 28, 2014, 5:51 am

>176 rebeccanyc:, that may take some getting used to. Thanks for the warning.

179lemontwist
jul 28, 2014, 7:10 am

>177 overlycriticalelisa: I've only read Odd Girl Out. It was also just okay... Eventually I'd like to read more from the series but definitely as library books, not worth the money to buy them in my opinion.

180fikustree
jul 28, 2014, 10:19 am

Reading To the End of June: The Intimate Life of American Foster Care it's very enlightening and I like that the author explains how she is personally involved with the system and relates to it.

181Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: aug 3, 2014, 3:01 am

I just finished The Shining Girls and would have appreciated this information before I started the book: not only does the villain murder many intelligent, hard working women with dreams, aspirations and responsibilities, he also kills a dog in a very heart rending fashion. There, now you've been warned. I can't understand why a woman would write such a novel. People have told me women like to read books about women getting killed and or raped and tortured because they like to read about good triumphing in the end.
Well, there's plenty of evil that gets done before the end. To me it's a book that shouldn't have been written.
Now I'm about to start a book of short stories, The Color Master by Aimee Bender because I like her weirdness.

182rebeccanyc
aug 3, 2014, 1:16 pm

I just finished Land of Love and Drowning by Tiphanie Yanique, a book that cast a spell on me and that I found hard to put down.

183Raderat
aug 3, 2014, 4:06 pm

People have told me women like to read books about women getting killed and or raped and tortured because they like to read about good triumphing in the end.

You need to get you some new people to talk to. Yikes!

184Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: aug 3, 2014, 11:47 pm

>183 nohrt4me2: I posted on another forum on LT that I'm not fond of the crime or mystery genre because so often it shows women as being of not much value beyond that of sympathetic victim. I think I posted that after reading the first Jo Nesbo, The Bat after hearing what a wonderful writer he was, but people said he got pretty dark after the third book. Well, I don't know how much darker he gets, but in the first one all the women die, one quite gratuitously. It seems her only fault was in falling out of love with him. So lots of people wrote in to say why they like mysteries so much, and that quote was to me the most memorable. Often I think the only way good triumphs over evil in these books is that one woman, or even worse, one woman's avenger manages to "get" the bad guy after he's killed every other woman he encounters. But, that's what they said, so I guess we see things differently.

185Raderat
aug 4, 2014, 8:03 am

>184 Citizenjoyce:: In the movie "Seven Psychopaths," (not for all tastes but notable for having Harry Dean Stanton, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, and Tom Waits all in the same film), the topic of violence against women is hideously satired. The "joke" is that dogs are never killed except off-screen, but women are often killed in slo-mo, in the most gratuitous ways.

Speaking of women, am reading China Mieville's Railsea, bloke book, which is a steampunk inspired by Moby Dick. The main Ahab figure (there are several, really) is a woman.

186Citizenjoyce
aug 4, 2014, 2:08 pm

I posted about the book in another forum and one of the comments was, "I skipped over the dog part." This was kind of why I posted my review. The fact that women are horribly killed, ho hum, but an innocent dog - oh, no!

187Amy_J
aug 5, 2014, 1:55 pm

Currently reading Pages For You by Sylvia Brownrig

188fikustree
aug 5, 2014, 2:55 pm

Just read Very Far Away from Anywhere Else by Ursula K. Le Guin, it's a short novella about first love. Beautifully written. Highly recommended.

189Citizenjoyce
aug 5, 2014, 8:07 pm

I finished the last of the Ruby Red trilogy, Emerald Green: time travel in London overwhelmed by teen age romance. Then I finished The Color Master the last story of which, The Devourings is kind of a Sons of Anarchy with ogres and an Aimee Bender spin. I do love her writing.
Now I'm on to Tuesday's Gone my second Nicci French with the psychotherapist sleuth and Lady Fortescue Steps Out a Regency Era historical romance which I'm hoping will have more history than romance.

190LyzzyBee
aug 6, 2014, 3:48 am

I've just started A Woman's Place which is a Persephone book and very good so far - social history.

191nancyewhite
Redigerat: aug 6, 2014, 6:53 pm

I just finished The Yonahlossee Riding Camp For Girls by Anton DiSclafani. I didn't realize the writer was a woman until I looked her up. I was wondering the entire time how a guy could get a teenage girl so right. I loved it although it appears some reviewers decidedly did not. It makes me a bit unhappy how many of them excoriated her for her sexuality and sexual behavior without mentioning the actions of the males in her life. I think I also differ from a lot of readers in that I find curmudgeonly, difficult, oddball characters compelling and often likable.

I've barely begun The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith aka J. K. Rowling, but I'm immediately reminded of how much I enjoyed the first book and what great characters she writes.

192vwinsloe
Redigerat: aug 7, 2014, 9:21 am

I just started Swamplandia! It is my first Karen Russell.

>191 nancyewhite:. I have The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls in the queue. I haven't rushed to read it because it got some mixed reviews on the equestrian forums that I post on. It may be for the reasons that you suggest. I am glad to hear that you enjoyed the book, and I will move it higher up the TBR pile.

193Helcura
aug 7, 2014, 9:35 pm

Just finished The Speckled Monster by Jennifer Lee Carrell. It's what I would call "novelized" non-fiction, in that it is written in story-telling style with no quotes or attributions, but is nearly completely based on primary sources.

I'm often a bit uncomfortable with this style of presenting history, but I loved this book.

It tells the story of Mary Wortley Montagu and Zabdiel Boylston, one an English aristocrat and one an American apothecary/surgeon, both of whom introduced variolation as protection against smallpox during the epidemics of 1721. The book is not only an exciting read, but the contrast of the situations in England and America are fascinating.

194Citizenjoyce
aug 7, 2014, 11:34 pm

>191 nancyewhite:' >193 Helcura: Both look good, especially the smallpox one, and both are in my library system.

195Sakerfalcon
aug 9, 2014, 8:01 am

>181 Citizenjoyce: I read The color master recently, my first experience with Bender's writing. One or two of the stories were not to my taster, but overall I was really impressed and will be looking for more of her work. I loved that her magical realism was so integrally woven into the stories, not just shoved in to look clever and quirky. The title story was my favourite.

196Citizenjoyce
aug 10, 2014, 1:04 am

>195 Sakerfalcon: I thought the same as you, there were a couple of stories that dragged so much I figured I'd got everything I could out of the book and almost stopped reading. I'm glad I didn't. My favorite stories were the first and last ones, the title story and the one about the reverse burglary. Since now you know what her style is like - low key with unexpected punches of magic, let me recommend The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. I know it has mixed reviews, but if you get her style, I think you'll like it. It's been about a year since I read it and parts of it still come to mind.
Once again I got myself into a book I knew nothing about, The Heretic Queen, thinking it was about some random Egyptian queen and was delighted to see it a fictionalized tale of Ramesses II and Nefertari. What a great read. Throw in some stragglers from the Trojan war and a few visits from Ahmoses who is trying to get Nefertari to "let his people go", the Habiru that is, a love triangle with Iset, scheming priests and priestesses, a good childbirth scene (which makes any book complete for me), ancient mores and I couldn't stop reading. Michelle Moran has a page where she explains part of the history http://www.michellemoran.com/books/heretic/qanda.html (including the fact that if you want to actually go into the tomb it'll cost you $5000)
So she had to invent things, a true archeologist probably wouldn't approve, but I loved it.
Now on to Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman by Lisa Scottoline.

197sturlington
aug 10, 2014, 9:38 am

Just finished Ancillary Justice, a first novel by Ann Leckie, and gave it 4.5 stars. This was an exciting science fiction book with a unique point of view, first in a trilogy. Leckie does great world-building and had played with gender in some very interesting ways.

198Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: aug 11, 2014, 3:39 pm

I finished Lisa Scottoline's Why My Third Husband Will Be A Dog and fear she's been reading too much Dave Barry - some good ideas drowning in cutsey. That's a pity because I liked the one mystery novel of hers I read, Look Again, but that was a novel and these are essays. Her last essay written for Valentine's Day was good. It was about the celebration of love in no matter what form - of a sexual partner, a parent, a friend, an animal or a book. Very thoughtful and I guess she thought important enough that she withheld the chocolate coating.
Next up is the second Mercy Thompson novel Blood Bound. I'm sure she won't disappoint.

199fikustree
aug 12, 2014, 1:24 pm

I'm enjoying Americanah quite a bit.

200Sakerfalcon
aug 13, 2014, 7:13 am

I just finished and enjoyed We are all completely beside ourselves. Now I have to go and read the spoiler thread!

201Raderat
aug 13, 2014, 11:22 am

Florence Nightengale's Notes on Nursing. I'm not sure why I have such a fascination for 19th century books about sickroom care, but Julia Steven's (Virginia Woolf's mother) was also a favorite.

I think it's because it shows how, at a time when hygiene and bed rest were the only cures for anything, and opium was the only palliative, women, professional nurses or not, became extremely skilled at creating a clean and pleasant and restorative environment.

Nightengale urges manual activities if the patient is well enough, and when my Dad was in a convalescent home for a summer at age 10 (this was back in the 1930s), he and the other little boys in his ward were taught to knit by the nurse nuns. And, by golly, when Dad was in hospice five years ago, the nurses suggested he take it up again.

Many of the basic principles in the book are still useful today, particularly in end-of-life care.

202Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: aug 13, 2014, 4:53 pm

At the end of life, if we accept that it is the end of life, there's little technology except pain control and lots of care.

I'm about to start Artifacts by Mary Anna Evans. I don't know anything about it except that there's a hurricane involved.
Yesterday I read Aya, I thought because of a mention here, but I don't see the message. It's a graphic novel about life in the Ivory Coast in the 1970's and the author does a great job depicting young men and women of the time, the excitement of dancing and sex, the dedication needed to achieve anything and the constant street harrassment of women who were harrassed with even more force if they didn't respond. It's a little book but very well done.

203Citizenjoyce
aug 14, 2014, 3:07 am

On audio I've just started Big Brother by Lionel Shriver because I've so liked the other 2 books of hers I've read, We Need To Talk About Kevin and So Much for That. She's far from a lovable author, but she always makes me think. This book is about eating and not eating, fame and lack of fame, various kinds of snobbery and family interaction.

204Citizenjoyce
Redigerat: aug 14, 2014, 4:39 am

Looks like we're getting the signal to continue this on another page, so I'm going to try to do so.
It looks like it worked. Continued in page 2.
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