Women

Quaker Summer

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction, From the Stacks Challenge, Women /

I think we bought Quaker Summer at Books a Million the week we moved here, which happens to also be the week before Books a Million closed causing me to hate them for the rest of my life.

Quaker Summer is also on my From the Stacks Challenge list. It’s blue.

It took me a long time to read it because I’ve been a little busy. Family visits. Hospital stays. A tiny little conference coming up. Stuff like that.

It wasn’t a great book, but it wasn’t a horrible book either. A nice piece of Christian chick lit with good characters. The storyline was a little much but that’s ok, it was fun just the same.

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The Book of Love

2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

I keep a list on Amazon that tracks books we want to read at some point – these books are either not available at the library when I first hear about them or they are books I don’t have time to reserve due to the current reserve list or our TBR pile. I only look at this list once or twice a year and when I do, I end up reserving a ton of books we should have read ages ago… or a ton of sequels to books we read and enjoyed.

The Book of Love is the second book in a series (The Magdalene Line) and honestly I’d forgotten all about it. I’m not sure why I’d forgotten about it since I really did enjoy The Expected One. Too many books, too little time, I guess.

It took me ages to read this book. I’d read a chapter, or half a chapter, and be falling asleep. I think that’s related to my current work load and not the content of the book. TW sailed through it, even more quickly than she normally sails through books, and she loved it.

I don’t think I liked it as well as I liked The Expected One and that’s because the relationships between the characters “today” didn’t evolve very much. We barely saw Tammy or Roland or even Berenger in this one.

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The Little Giant of Aberdeen County

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

When someone from the BlogHer Book Club group mentioned The Little Giant of Aberdeen County, I looked it up on Amazon. The title was appealing and the cover even more so. I didn’t reserve it, just kept it in my head. About a week later, I happened to see it on the large print shelf so I grabbed it.

TW’s mom read it first and didn’t really like it but she said she thought we would like it.

TW read it and enjoyed it but didn’t really talk about it.

I read it and loved it.

I loved all of the characters. I loved the story. Loved the quilt (even though I figured out the quilt thing long before Truly did.)

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The Little Stranger

3 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Queer, Women /

I almost didn’t read The Little Stranger. I was going to boycott Sarah Waters’ latest book because I’d heard it didn’t have a lesbian theme or lesbian characters.

Hah.

It may not have had overt lesbian themes or characters but if Caroline wasn’t a lesbian… well, I think she probably was.

The Little Stranger was a good read, ten times better than Affinity. A good bit better than The Night Watch. It’s no Tipping the Velvet or Fingersmith but it’s pretty darn good.

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Mighty Queens of Freeville

2009, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

I am not an Ann Landers fan, I much prefer Dear Abby, so when Landers died and Ask Amy took her place, I really didn’t pay any attention. What led me to read The Mighty Queens of Freeville is simply…. I liked the title. I don’t even think I realized it was about Ask Amy until I got it home and TW started to read it.

TW didn’t really like the book very much. So, I didn’t know what to expect. I really started reading it because it was short and I was trying to decide what I wanted to read and couldn’t make the decision.

By the second chapter, I was hooked and didn’t want to put it down. I don’t know why TW didn’t love it… I certainly did. I’m almost tempted to read the Trib just to read her column. Almost. I mean it arrives in the driveway, you’d think I could take two minutes to find her column, right?

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Grand Sophy

3 Comments / 2009, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

When sassymonkey blogged about Georgette Heyer, I thought surely I’ve read some of her books and clicked over to Amazon to look. Hmm Some of them look familiar but maybe I haven’t read any?

I put a few of her books, the ones very specifically blogged by sassymonkey, onto the to be read list for TW’s mom to read and figured I could read them too. When I was in between books, with nothing I really wanted to read sitting on my shelf, I made TW sneak The Grand Sophy off of her mom’s TBR stack so I could read it.

And I loved it.

It made me laugh. It reminded me very much of “Bringing up Baby” – that crazy woman overwhelms the uptight guy sort of storyline with everything going hog wild nuts at the end. And yes, a happy ending.

Loved it.

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A Mercy

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

I am a Toni Morrison fan. A pretty big Toni Morrison fan. I don’t re-read books very often but I’ve read Song of Solomon, Beloved and The Bluest Eye several times each. Which really just means I am sorry to say that I did not love A Mercy.

I didn’t hate it. It’s impossible for me to hate anything Morrison writes but I didn’t love it. I didn’t enjoy it. I didn’t even really like it. I am glad I read it, that’s about the best I can say for it.

I should have just re-read Song of Solomon or The Bluest Eye.

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The Temptation of the Night Jasmine

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, Women /

Yay Willig! The Temptation of the Night Jasmine was fun, as expected. I really like Charlotte and of course the Dowager Duchess. I even like the Duke of Dovedal (and I don’t always really like the men Willig pairs her women with.)

Sassymonkey says Penelope is next, which I’m looking forward too. But, not if that means there wll be no book about Jane… are you listening Willig. The series must now be seven books, not the rumored six.

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The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters

1 Comment / 2009, Books in Bed, Fiction, From the Stacks Challenge, Women /

I don’t usually love or even really like books written as letters so I was prepared to grumble my way through The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters, but I didn’t.

Olivia Hunt writes a great letter – it doesn’t matter what kind of letter she’s writing, it’s excellent.

I don’t really want to completely pan everything else about the book because for what it is, it’s darn good. The problem is what what it is – a story about a good sister who has a good marriage who gets sick and dies. While the bad sister works in Hollywood, has bad relationships and lives.

Now I know Elisabeth Robinson worked in Hollywood. And I know she has a sister who died. So I get it. But this isn’t non-fiction and I’m a little tired of the good die, leaving the rest of us better people because of all we’ve learned and by the way, we really miss them and cancer sucks.

Been there, done that.

Except I have to say again… Olivia Hunt writes a great letter and for that, it’s worth reading the same old story again.

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