Women

The Virgin Blue

2007, Books in Bed, Fiction, Women /

Oops.

I picked up The Virgin Blue in audio several months ago. I handed it to TW and asked her if we had read it because I felt like we had but I couldn’t remember it from reading the cover or reading the reviews and stuff on Amazon. TW felt like we had read it but also couldn’t remember it. So, we started listening to it, it did not sound familiar. And then the tape broke.

I took it back to the library and decided to reserve it in print so we could finish it. The darn thing has been on the shelf for months and was due back this week so I pushed it to the front of the TBR pile and picked up where the tape had broken. And that’s about the time it started to sound familiar. But I just kept on reading.

And oh yea! I liked it the first time, too. I remember now.

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Kissing the Witch

3 Comments / 2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Feminism, Fiction, Queer, Sci Fi and Fantasy, Women /

Awhile back, Sassymonkey was trying to come up with books for a fairy tales challenge of some sort. I gave her some ideas but generally speaking, she came up with her list on her own. As I was searching, I realized I had never read Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins. Crazy, we read a lot of fairy tales around here. So, I reserved it.

And it was terrific. I really liked the way one fairy tale moved into the next. All of the connections between the women. Really excellent idea and one that should have been done before – or maybe it has and I’ve been missing it?

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Garden Spells

2 Comments / 2007, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Fiction, Women /

And to think I almost didn’t bother reading Garden Spells because I’m so far behind on my TBR list and haven’t even come close to finishing my A to Z challenge. I’d have missed a fun piece of chick lit.

A quirky southern town with all of the appropriate quirky characters, with magic and a bad guy and true love and also the token gay story line tossed in for good measure.

Excellent light reading. Almost made me want an apple.

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And She Was…

2007, Books in Bed, Feminism, Fiction, Women /

And She Was… what? That’s the question, what was she? Who was she? Why in the heck did I spend almost a full week trying to read this book? The answer to the last question is the easy one – because Staci and TW both recommended it. While TW has steered me wrong in the past, Staci has not, so I stuck it out.

Mostly I’m left with, “huh?” But the last half of the book DID interest me and I had high hopes. Unfortunately, once I was finished, I just felt let down. It could have been really good. In places it WAS really good. Aleut mummies, women power, Alaskan bars – what’s not to love? Unfortunately, a lot. It could have been SO good. But it wasn’t.

(Don’t feel badly Staci, I’ll still read what you recommend in the future.)

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The Wayward Muse

2007, Books in Bed, Fiction, Non-Fiction, Women /

I wanted to love The Wayward Muse but I didn’t. Part fiction, part non-fiction – it just didn’t grab me. I wanted to like Jane Burden but I didn’t. I wanted to like Morris and Rossetti and I didn’t. I didn’t care anything about any of them and that’s disappointing because I really do like all three – the real people, not the people as “characters” in this book.

Disappointing.

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She’s Such a Geek

1 Comment / 2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Feminism, Non-Fiction, Women /

I’m not a geek, not really. Certainly not the type of geek found in She’s Such a Geek. My lack of geekness doesn’t prevent me from enjoying geeks or books about geeks or stories written by geeks. Thank goodness for that or else I’d have totally missed out on the pleasure derived from reading the stories of people like Analee, Violet Blue, Wendy and all of the other geek girls who shared their stories in this fabulous little book.


Being a BlogHer, I obviously enjoyed Wendy’s story about BlogHerCon vs DefCon. Loved it and am extra sorry that I missed the very first BlogHer Con and am extra grateful not to have missed BlogHerCon 6 and 7! If you’re a BlogHer and you’ve seen that little book ad on the left nav for She’s Such a Geek and wondered if it was worth reading – it totally is. If you have daughters, you should buy it and put it on their bookshelves – even if they aren’t geek girls. It’s not just a “geek positive” books, it’s a “woman positive” book. Read it and share it with everyone. You won’t be sorry.


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Dragonwell Dead: A Tea Shop Mystery

2007, Books in Bed, Fiction, Mystery, Women /

I’m a little surprised that Dragonwell Dead is the first Tea Shop Mystery that I’ve read. The series seems to be set in Charleston which means someone should have pointed it out to me – or I should have somehow stumbled upon the series. Weird. Extra weird because I think TW just plucked this off of the library shelves.

It wasn’t a great mystery. It wasn’t a great book. It was a nice easy read. And most important of all, it didn’t make me growl. I am very particular about books set in Charleston. I growl a lot about inaccurate descriptions of places and inaccurate portrayals of the city or Charlestonians. There were some fictional locations mentioned but that was fine, the “real” places mentioned were given accurate descriptions and that’s all I ask.

I’m not sure I’ll read another Tea Shop Mystery but I wouldn’t turn up my nose at one if it appeared on my bookshelf.

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Throw Like a Girl: Stories

2007, Books in Bed, Favorites, Fiction, short stories, Women /

I don’t usually like short stories very much. And a book of short stories is just too much of a not so great thing. Throw Like a Girl might be the first book of short stories that I’ve ever really loved. OK maybe the Atwood book that Sassy sent me, I really liked that one too. Other than that, can’t think of any others that I’ve liked this much – enough to drop into the “favorites” category.


Once again, I can’t remember who recommended this or which blog I saw it reviewed on – but thanks, whoever you are.

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