Fiction

Chasing Lightning

2012, Books in Bed, Fiction, From the Stacks Challenge, Queer, Women /

We bought Chasing Lightning during our little adventure day trip a few weeks ago where we went into the city and visited three Indie bookstores that we hadn’t visited before – we always buy at least one book when we visit such stores and when possible we buy queer lit in order to support the cause. I wasn’t sure what to expect from this one, except TW read it first and said it had a lot of sex in it. It did, but not graphic sex (at least not graphic sex when you compare it to straight lit of a similar type, lol.)

I liked the book but it covered a lot of ground in a very short amount of time – short chapters, which can be a little disconcerting but also made it an easy read. It almost feels like it was intended for “new” lesbians because of the explanations about what life was like for queers in the 60’s and 70’s took up a lot of room in the book, considering how short the chapters were. Those “non-fictiony” type sections felt off and were a bit of a distraction from Scarlett’s story because some of them didn’t feel like they fit very well into the story.  

It was a nice, easy read during a busy weekend.

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The Garden Intrigue

1 Comment / 2012, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

Damn Lauren Willig – she’s in the suburbs this evening and I can’t be there. So not fair, since I just finished The Garden Intrigue and she made me forget to be grouchy about the name of the book, made me like bad poets and bad poetry more than I should, and be grouchy that we have to wait for the next book. Thankfully, it’s a Miss Gwen book – that will be worth waiting for, since we have to wait. Almost as good as a Turnip book.

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The Printmaker’s Daughter

2012, Books in Bed, Feminism, Fiction /

I read The Printmaker’s Daughter because TW told me it was good – interesting. And it was, but it started so slowly that I thought maybe this was another of those weird TW recommendations – the kind that I never quite understand. But no, it was good. Very interesting.

Oi was a real person. Her father, Hokusai, was also a real person – maybe you’ve heard of him? There really is some confusion as to which works were really his – and which were done by someone else – maybe his daughter, Oi?  That’s what The Printmaker’s Daughter is about. A fictional tale of what may have been the lives of both Edo painters in the 1800s.

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A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali

2012, Books in Bed, Fiction /

I can’t figure out why I decided to read A Sunday at the Pool in Kigali. It’s an oldish book, I don’t think there’s any new buzz around it – but somehow it appeared on our library cart and I was pretty sure I’m the one who decided to read it. For awhile, I thought Zandria had read it last year and that’s what pushed me to take the plunge. But no, it wasn’t Zan. So why? Why, why, why would I put myself through that.

Painful.

Not the writing. The horrible, horrible situation in Ruwanda. Genocide is never pretty.

I’m surprised I didn’t have nightmares – the end just about killed me.

*sniff*

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The Marriage Plot

2012, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

I received a free review copy of Jeffrey Eugenides The Marriage Plot AGES ago. So long ago that I can’t even remember how long ago it was. And we’ve been listening to it for months. A month ago I jokingly said we may NEVER finish listening to it and then yesterday TW said “this is the last disc” and I almost drove the car off of the road because I was so surprised. The last disc? Really? Yippeee!

So why did it take so long to finish this one? No idea. I thought it was just because it’s a really long book but now that I’ve looked at the listing on Amazon and see that it was only 416 page – I’m surprised, I thought it would be easily 600 pages and wouldn’t have blinked at 750. But just over 400? Ugh.

I liked the narrator’s voice and I found Madeleine and Mitchell’s stories interesting.  I found myself chuckling quite often and rolling my eyes from time to time, as well. I really like nothing better than a Eugenides book for his super smart, thinky sentences – pretension included. But, and this is the but that made it take months to finish, I found myself easily distracted and disconnected from the characters. One minute I was super interested in what was happening and the next I had checked out – then I’d turn off the cd and it would be weeks before I’d turn it on again.

Too much of the story revolved around the guys and what they were doing (or not doing) with Madeleine. Her own story line was all about her life as it pertained to the guys. Had she ditched Leonard (and Mitchell) after the conference where she finally decided what she wanted to do next, and gone off and done it – or gone home and really worked to make it happen, that would have been something. But no – she went home, and the story dropped her right back where she was – with no depth, no ego of her own, just a young woman in the 70s still floating along where the guys allow her to float

Still… I’d like to know what happens next to all three characters. I would hope their lives move along without each other and they never see each other again.

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The Underside of Joy

1 Comment / 2012, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

This book is a BlogHer Bookclub book but I did not officially read it for the BHBC. Just a bit of a coincidence, really.

I can’t decide if I want to rant about The Underside of Joy or rave about The Underside of Joy. Even the ranting is rally a kind of raving – because I wouldn’t be ranting about the book itself or about the author’s writing or anything else. I want to rant about these characters – particularly about men like Joe. And while ranting, I’ll of course be nice enough to point out that Joe (and men like him) are in part, products of their parents and their childhood who in turn are products of their own childhood etc.

It’s a vicious cycle. That rant would turn into men, like Joe, who are even worse than Joe and I don’t even want to go there, do I?

Nope, I don’t.

So let me just say – great book, quick read, not quite the tearjerker I expected but emotional just the same. And – it ended well.

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I am Half-Sick of Shadows

2012, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Young Adult /

Oh Flavia. I am Half-Sick of Shadows caused me to say “Oh, Flavia” and “Poor, Flavia” a lot. And, this might be my favorite book since book one. No, wait – not might be, it is my favorite.

The interactions between Flavia and the cast of regulars felt better developed – probably because we’ve read enough of the background story and we understand the top layer of why these characters feel and think and act this way and now it’s time to dig a little deeper into their psyches.

Whatevs — I loved it. Loved the Father Christmas storyline. Loved the fireworks.

Can’t wait for the next book.

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The Secret Life of Dresses

2012, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction, Women /

The Secret Life of Dresses was a wee bit sadder than I expected it to be. I really wanted a slightly different ending because… sad! I loved the dresses and Mimi, I just wish I’d gotten to know her better – ya know?

I do love how the stories of the dresses came to be – that was fabulous. And I am dying to just surf A Dress A Day for awhile – but I have work to do. Maybe this weekend. J

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Twisted

2012, Books in Bed, Fiction, Young Adult /

Twisted is another piece of great YA fiction from Laurie Halse Anderson – this one about a boy with a whole lot of problems, most of which are related to dysfunctional family issues.  I wasn’t sure I was going to like the book. It started with a teen boy working off his community service hours after spray painting his high school. Turns out, spray painting the high school was a good decision – compared to the what he really thought about doing.

I liked Tyler. I liked Hannah and Yoda too. And I liked a good number of the adults in the story, as well. And the ending – pretty much perfect.

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Mozart’s Last Aria

2012, Books in Bed, Fiction, Mystery, Women /

How did Mozart really die? Was he poisoned? And by whom? And why? Mozart’s Last Aria is about Mozart’s sister and her efforts to find the answers to those questions – and in the process, we see Mozart as a bit of a radical feminist, which was kind of nifty. Fun little whodunit and Madame Mozart is fabulous, as are all of the female characters in the book. The guys aren’t bad, but it’s the women who are best – much like in The Magic Flute…  

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