Books in Bed

The Brontes Went to Woolworths

2 Comments / 2010, Books in Bed, Classics, Favorites, Meme, Women /

The Brontes Went to Woolworths is one of those books I’ve wanted to read but couldn’t find easily on the shelf – or at the library. I ended up buying the Bloomsbury edition though I wish I had a Virago like Sassymonkey has. Sniff.

When I needed to choose three books for the 1930’s Mini Challenge, this was the first one on my list. It would give me a good excuse to break down and buy it since my libraries have never been cooperative. When I started to read it, I was afraid I’d made a mistake. I knew it was going to be a farce but those first five pages were downright confusing and I was having trouble relaxing and just going with it. Whatever it was. That was the problem really, I couldn’t tell what was real, what was made up and what I was supposed to know was real or made up. I felt like one of the poor Governesses in the book.

After those first ten pages, I did settle into the characters and it was all fun. The Bronte Sisters, Toddy and Lady Toddington, the works – amusing maybe because I live in a house where people make up elaborate sagas all of the time – and then play them like they are real. Yep, we definitely live in a “fun house” around here.

And with that  – my 1930s Mini Challenge is complete. It was fun. Three great books that I’ve wanted to read  – finally read. I’m glad I joined.

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Miriam’s Kitchen

1 Comment / 2010, Books in Bed, cookbooks, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

I never would have read Miriam’s Kitchen had it not been for Sassymonkey’s post, Miriam’s Kitchen and Mine –  and tweets. And even then, if someone hadn’t nicely nominated it for BlogHer Voice of the Week, I might have skimmed and really missed something good.

I’m not a foodie and I don’t have those family memory food experiences that are always the basis of food memoirs. I’ve read so many Jewish memoirs that I don’t go out of my way to read more – not because they aren’t important or well written or I don’t enjoy them, but because I sometimes feel like those stories are becoming diluted for me and that’s not what should happen. So many words all melded together, I’m losing the individual story and find myself lumping it all into one massive trauma. Anyway, enough of that…

Miriam’s Kitchen is something you should run out right now and buy or reserve at your library. If you don’t – you will be missing something special. It may have been simply that I like food memoirs. Or it could be that I like grandmothers. Or also that I was reading it right around Shavuot and we’d been talking about celebration, spring harvest, dairy (who doesn’t love dairy?) and Ruth – which is an even bigger (WHO DOESN’T LOVE RUTH??)

Whatever it was – it all worked for me. Every story. Every question. Every recipe.

I’d happily own this one – but I would ask TW to just not put raisins in my cheesecake. That – that doesn’t work for me.

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If Books Could Kill

2010, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Mystery /

I snagged If Books Could Kill for RJ – I am always on the lookout for something (anything) she might read that isn’t paranormal romance because lord, I’m sick of vampires and stuff – aren’t you? I have no idea if RJ read it – it’s been in her room for at least a month and it’s due back to the library in a few days (and can’t be renewed because… it’s already been renewed.)  I hope she read it because I laughed my ass off all of the way through it and I think she’d find it incredibly amusing. Even if there are no damn vampires.  Hell, I’m laughing again now just thinking about it. Seriously.

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Grace Hammer

2010, Books in Bed, Favorites, Mystery, Women /

I didn’t expect to get sucked into Grace Hammer the way that I did but I really could not put it down. Grace as a single mom who takes care of her family threw pick-pocketing (and teaching her sons to follow suit) is a great character. Her daughter Daisy is exactly what you’d expect. And the monster lurking in their lives isn’t Jack the Ripper, though he might just be lurking there too. Excellent tale.

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Fathom

2010, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Young Adult /

I don’t know how many times I can say it – Cherie Priest is a brilliant YA writer. Hell, she’s a brilliant writer PERIOD. Fathom was fascinating. The stone girl and the water girl. The water witch and a servant of the earth. The old pirate revisiting his old haunts – sailing a party vessel, retrieving his old treasure, wandering Ybor City and darn right grouchy about the Gasparilla festival – and who could blame him for that? The Iron Mountain. The bells. A wonderfully creepy story with amazingly written characters.  Brilliant, really brilliant.

I can’t wait for Priest’s Steampunk… Clementine can’t get here fast enough for me.

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Gaudy Night

2010, Books in Bed, Classics, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Meme, Mystery, Women /

Again I’m thankful for Sassymonkey and the 1930’s mini challenge. I’ve read Dorothy Sayers in the past and wasn’t all that impressed – but Gaudy Night, once I dug into it – I was hooked. I think it’s that I don’t really love Peter Wimsy but I do love Harriet Vane.  The key to my Sayers pleasure may be to find books really heavy in female characters. Not that she writes men badly – she does not. I found myself wanting to read more about Padgett (I liked him much the way I liked Betteredge in The Moonstone.)

Nice job of twisting me around – I thought I knew who the villain was but towards the end I was really doubting myself. Nicely, nicely done.

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Bibliotherapy

2010, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Non-Fiction, Reading Lists /

I wrote briefly about Bibliotherapy in BlogHer’s Book Club – go over there and read the post (and tell me about your favorite bad girls.) But more importantly, think about books that have become like a kind of therapy to you, even if you didn’t read them with that intention. And then go leave a comment on this post: Books Make a Difference – each comment means a free book for Head Start!

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Bought today at Alibi Books

3 Comments / 2010, Books in Bed, Bookstores /

Alibi books is going out of business. Their entire stock is 50%. Hard to resist that. It’s even harder to go into a nice little independent bookstore and buy a ton of books at 50% because they’re going out of business. So sad.

Besides the books in the picture – we bought a birthday card, a “water board” (aka Buddha Board), and the game Civil Lore (which we’ve looked at a million times but never bought.)

I’ll miss Alibi Books.

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Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

2010, Books in Bed, Classics, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Meme, Women /

Oh boy, does she. Seriously. I’ve wanted to read Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day for ages and just never got around to it. Thanks to the 1930’s mini challenge I moved it to the top of my TBR list and read it almost straight through. I love Miss Pettigrew. It’s a shame Watson didn’t write a whole series of Miss Pettigrew novels.

The 1930’s were so awesome. That spot between what was proper and what was fun. Wild, glamorous women (and men) and the prim and proper Mrs whatshername that Miss Pettigrew mimicked so well. The best sort of Cinderella story, that’s what this was.

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