Confessions of a Prairie Bitch

2 Comments / 2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

Last year I thought about reading the Little House actors’ memoirs and then put it off when our library closed. Thankfully, Zandria posted her yearly reading list and nudged me into reserving them.

The first one,Confessions of a Prairie Bitch, came to us last week – TW read it first and laughed loud and hard all the way through it. I mean she really really laughed. And she wanted to talk about what she was laughing and I had to shush her strongly so she would not give it away.

When  I read it, I chuckled in a lot of places but I did not roll around on the bed laughing the way TW did. TW is weird. I would, however, love to see Alison Arngrim’s stand up show. That would be awesome.

If you loved Nellie or hated Nellie, you should read this. Heck, if you enjoyed watching Little House on the Prairie, you should read this. I’m worried that Melissa Gilbert’s book won’t stand up to Alison’s… I’ll let ya know next month.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Confessions of a Prairie Bitch Read More »

Death of an Ambitious Woman

2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Mystery, Women /

How could I resist, with a title like Death of an Ambitious Woman? Particularly when the sub-title points out this is a mystery with a female detective. I will admit that I thought this was just the most recent in a series I’d never heard of and was kind of surprised to realize it’s a debut novel. I hope there are more. I kind of like the people of New Derby – even the bad people.

I also liked that while I knew who did it, I didn’t know exactly how. And I also didn’t know EXACTLY what was going on with the other suspects who were all guilty of lots of stuff. Nothing super surprising occurred but there were enough twists that I read the book straight through last night and never once thought about putting it down.

If you like mysteries – give this one a try.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Death of an Ambitious Woman Read More »

Greetings from Jamaica

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Chick Lit, Favorites, Fiction, From the Stacks Challenge, Queer /

I bought Greetings from Jamaica, Wish You Were Queer at Women and Children First, last month when we were looking for one of Michelle’s Christmas presents. The title made me laugh and as you may remember, I was looking for more lesbian fiction right about that time.

It can be difficult to find humorous lesbian fiction, which is too bad. Lesbians are funny and someone should spend more time writing funny, light, chick litty lesbian fiction. It’s fun!

The Santori family was a fun one to go on vacation with and I was completely amused  with Maria, Lisa and Vince – what great siblings. I’m equally glad Lisa didn’t get the girl, which is what I was afraid was going to happen there for a minute. Oops, that was a spoiler, wasn’t it? Ack. Sorry!

I’d really like Mari SanGiovanni to write a book about Lisa next. Now that would be funny.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Greetings from Jamaica Read More »

Fever 1793

2011, Audiobooks, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Favorites, Fiction, Young Adult /

After we finished listening to Forge, I decided to grab Fever 1793 on audio since we’ve never read it – and because I was amused that Matty Cook was the main character. She was briefly mentioned in Forge when Mrs Cook had to return home to help her daughter in law with new baby Matilda Cook.

I was disappointed that Mrs Cook from Forge had already passed away before Fever 1793 took place but it was nice to see King George the parrot again – however briefly.

I liked the book a good bit. I liked Matty. I liked Eliza. I’m very glad I did not live in America in 1793 – yellow fever was (is!) horrible!

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Fever 1793 Read More »

Pebbles Running

Animal Issues, Family Funk /

The prairie dogs never really liked the first wheel we bought them and then of course they broke it so TW bought a new one right around Christmas. The new one is louder, a little sturdier, and Pebbles likes it.

Right after I stopped recording, I coughed – Pebbles stopped running and yipped at me and promptly fell out of the wheel into the bedding bin. That kind of thing happens a lot. She’s running along and then poof, she’s fallen into the bottom of the bin. Graceful she is not.

Pebbles Running Read More »

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who’s Determined to Kill Me

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, From the Stacks Challenge, Non-Fiction, Women /

Several months ago, I went to BlogHer Belmont to have some fun get some work done with my co-workers. When I arrived, Lisa Stone handed me a mailing envelope with a book inside that she thought I should read. I laughed and made sure it made it into my suitcase home. When I got home, I opened it up and as soon as I saw the cover… I laughed too.

Lyra aka Gaknar (The Fear Demon) is famous at BlogHer Belmont for her shrieks during my phone calls. She has always particularly appreciated the voice of Lisa Stone. She’s also famous because I so often rant about her and publicly wish her dead. Which is obviously an exaggeration. If I really wanted her dead, she would be dead.

I finally found some time to read Winging It and it was funny and familiar and frightening, all at the same time.

What in the hell was Jenny Gardiner thinking? What was her family thinking? Why wasn’t someone there who could step in and say ENOUGH – this is not healthy for your, your family or the animals you keep bringing into your lives.

Because it wasn’t just Graycie the African Grey who was a troubled pet, it was more than half of the other pets they brought into their home as well. Not to mention one family disaster after another. Not to mention Pierre the French Exchange Student.

Does Jenny Gardiner have a blog because, dude, hers would be one of those trainwrecky types where you cannot really believe that so much can happen to one family, the type where you’re in the background saying NO, DO NOT DO THAT and judging the blogger for making such horrendous decisions, the type where in the end you keep reading because you recognize yourself and your own bad choices and your own ability to get through it, stick with it, and come out the otherside willing to give a parrot who wants to kill you hydrotherapy three times a day for what seems like the rest of your life while taking care of three children under 5, a dog who is allergic to everything (literally) and your own Lyme disease.

I can’t decide if I wish I’d read this book during the first week Lyra aka Gaknar came to live with us. It certainly would have made us less freaked out the day we found the big feather in the bottom of the cage and SOMEONE was sure it was a blood feather and she would bleed to death. Hah. It also would have been easier when Lyra aka Gaknar lost a bunch of weight and we were sure she was going to die any second.

Then again, if I’d have thought I would wind up with a bird who needed anywhere near as much care as Graycie – or was as messy – or as evil… I think I would have had to move out. Or make the bird move out.

After my family finishes reading this, I’ll be sending it back to BlogHer Belmont for Superwoman aka Miriam – it’s sad just how many of the BlogHer Belmont staff have wished a bird dead….

This is also my first book in this year’s From the Stacks challenge – it’s red (with the jacket on.)

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Winging It: A Memoir of Caring for a Vengeful Parrot Who’s Determined to Kill Me Read More »

The Secret of the Golden Pavilion

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Fiction, Nancy Drew Challenge /

I’m never surprised to see my own name scrawled across the inside (or the outside) of my old Nancy Drews but I was surprised to open The Secret of the  Golden Pavilion and seeing someone else’s name – Mary Beth Nesbitt. Huh. I wonder how I came to have Mary Beth’s book. Did Jenny give it to me? Did I borrow it and not return it? Did they sell it in a yard sale – to me? A mystery! Heh.

The best part of The Secret of the Golden Pavilion is the intro welcoming the boys and girls of our newest state, heh. Nice.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

The Secret of the Golden Pavilion Read More »

Nancy Drew – The Haunted Showboat

2011, Books in Bed, Children's Literature, Nancy Drew Challenge /

I’ve enjoyed re-reading all of my old yellow Nancy Drews and wondering about what sort of re-writes the newer versions are going through but I have to say that I think I’m most interested to see what fixes might be done to The Haunted Showboat.

Besides the fact that Nancy’s new yellow convertible had a bomb planted that she and George and Bess could hear ticking from the dash while driving… and the acid poured on the “rear mechanism” that caused the whole car to disintegrate the day after she received it as a gift from her father… and the stereotypical portrayal of people named “Mammy Matilda, Pappy Cole and Uncle Rufus”, this poor little book is set in New Orleans and there’s a wonderful long paragraph about how New Orleans used to have a flooding problem until the brilliant United States Corp of Engineers solved the problem by diverting flood water into Lake Pontchartrain. No more flooding!

Ugh.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Nancy Drew – The Haunted Showboat Read More »

Werewolf Smackdown

2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Sci Fi and Fantasy /

I love books set in Charleston, when the authors get things mostly right. Acevedo got Charleston mostly right. I didn’t growl a single time. Which is funny since there was a lot of growling in Werewolf Smackdown – by werewolves, of course.  

Poor Felix, his track record with women – of all sorts – is the pits. Ah well, at least he made it out of Charleston alive – in that undead sort of way. That’s a win, particularly for readers, since it means we’ll get to watch him struggle with the Areneum and more women again.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Werewolf Smackdown Read More »

Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter

1 Comment / 2011, Books in Bed, Favorites, Non-Fiction, Women /

I’m a Carpenters fan. How can I not be? Even if Richard wasn’t a genius and Karen wasn’t an amazing singer and drummer, I’d still have to be a fan. I grew up with the Carpenters. I liked nothing better than to sit at the kitchen table with my mom playing Kings on the Corners or Canasta while listening to her Carpenters albums. She sometimes made us listen to Barry Manilow which is why I am also a Barry Manilow fan. But mostly, it was the Carpenters. The best part of taking piano lessons was playing Carpenters songs – I think I can still play Close to You (badly.)

I saw Little Girl Blue reviewed somewhere on the internets and decided I’d give it a try. I knew it would be bad, in the not really a good biography way, because I’d seen articles about how close-mouthed people were about Karen. I knew it would be bad, in the really horrible and depressing way, because how could it not?

It was bad. In both ways.

It’s hard to write a really good biography when those involved won’t – or can’t – talk about the person being written about. Still, I think Schmidt did a reasonably well job. As a Carpenters fan it was nice to see the timeline and a little look at what was happening in the background as the years passed. I’d have liked it to have been better – to have answered more questions, but I also know it’s likely that there aren’t any good answers.

They never should have made her step out from behind the drums. And of course there’s some patriarchy-blaming to do, too. None of that changes the fact that it was horrible and still is horrible if you let yourself think about it.

Posted via email from Life. Flow. Fluctuate.

Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter Read More »