Read more about it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Tent-Anita-Diamant/dp/0312195516
or, just listen to me.
This is a good book. A really good book. On a side note, did you notice that I read a book about heathens and a biblical book within weeks of each other? Very telling.
Anyway, as someone once described this book, it is a story about periods. And I don't mean eras. We're talking real periods, as in Aunt Flo, aka menstruation. Sounds weird, I know. In fact, after I read it, I realized that someone actually wrote a whole book about periods. How weird is that? I'm not sure how the publisher bought into it, but it was a good decision nonetheless.
The story is told through the eyes of Dinah, the only daughter of Jacob and Leah. Apparantly she's only a blip in the bible. Not that I would know. Anyway, it's an amazing story about the relationships between women and the bonding that was created within the walls (or flaps) of the red tent. The red tent symbolized the blood that flowed from their bodies and the women would gather together for about three days each month during this time.
Since Jacob had four wives, Dinah considered her "aunties" as she called them, "mothers" as well. Each one of them had their own unique traits, roles, and stories to share with Dinah. They entrusted her with their secrets early on since she iwas the only living daughter of Jacob's. Dinah tells their stories over the years, and the story culminates in her own old age.
There is love, pain, murder, betrayal, death, abuse, separation and so much more in this story. It's really not just about periods, but a celebration of womanhood. It will also make you thankful that you live in modern times.
Fascinating story. I could not put it down.
I give this one 5 thongs!
Monday, March 31, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
Buy it here : http://www.amazon.com/Tenth-Circle-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0743496701
No, I don't own it, so I can't give you a great deal on mine. Oh, and here are some other Picoult books I have read :
http://www.amazon.com/Harvesting-Heart-Novel-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0140230270
http://www.amazon.com/Pact-Love-Story-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0688170528
http://www.amazon.com/My-Sisters-Keeper-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0743454529
Okay - my mom warned me about this book and I believe she even tries to telepathically tell library patrons not to check it out. That made me think it was gonna be a page-turning, edge-of-my-seat, sick, depressing, engrossing drama. I couldn't wait to read it!
I have to admit though, I was a bit disappointed. I mean, there was love, adultery, rape, betrayal, and suicide (or was it murder?), but it really wasn't that bad. And it really wasn't that good. I just never really got into it until the last 1/3 or 1/4 of the book. In fact, after I had read about 60 pages, I couldn't even tell you what I had read.
Let me sum it all up for you: 14-year-old Trixie has a boyfriend she's madly in love with, he breaks up with her, she later meets up with him at a party where he rapes her (or does he?), there is an investigation, other bad things happen, she flees, her parents have to deal with her trauma while dealing with the reality of their own deteriorating marriage hurt by her mother's affair with one of her students (oooooh, now that's some juicy stuff!), and in the middle of all of this, the book includes a graphic novel (linked to Trixie's dad's job as a comic book artist), which is pretty cool, but, alas, it is like another sub-plot, and there is soooo much going on it starts to make your mind crazy. In fact there were also little bits of information that were seemingly dropped as "clues" to something that would be revealed or clarified later, but then never were. Ugggh. It was annoying . Just a little too twisty-turny for me. It's not like it was confusing - I was never confused - I was just like - Huh? What? What's that got to do with anything? Just too many branches on the damn tree I guess. I don't know.
Anyway, now that I've told you all that, I bet your ordering your own copy right now! I say go for it. It's worth reading. It just wasn't my favorite book of hers. However, I can't say enough about Jodi Picoult for the most part. Her books definitely make you think and deal with issues that you don't want to ever imagine facing.
I give it 3 and 1/2 thongs.
No, I don't own it, so I can't give you a great deal on mine. Oh, and here are some other Picoult books I have read :
http://www.amazon.com/Harvesting-Heart-Novel-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0140230270
http://www.amazon.com/Pact-Love-Story-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0688170528
http://www.amazon.com/My-Sisters-Keeper-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0743454529
Okay - my mom warned me about this book and I believe she even tries to telepathically tell library patrons not to check it out. That made me think it was gonna be a page-turning, edge-of-my-seat, sick, depressing, engrossing drama. I couldn't wait to read it!
I have to admit though, I was a bit disappointed. I mean, there was love, adultery, rape, betrayal, and suicide (or was it murder?), but it really wasn't that bad. And it really wasn't that good. I just never really got into it until the last 1/3 or 1/4 of the book. In fact, after I had read about 60 pages, I couldn't even tell you what I had read.
Let me sum it all up for you: 14-year-old Trixie has a boyfriend she's madly in love with, he breaks up with her, she later meets up with him at a party where he rapes her (or does he?), there is an investigation, other bad things happen, she flees, her parents have to deal with her trauma while dealing with the reality of their own deteriorating marriage hurt by her mother's affair with one of her students (oooooh, now that's some juicy stuff!), and in the middle of all of this, the book includes a graphic novel (linked to Trixie's dad's job as a comic book artist), which is pretty cool, but, alas, it is like another sub-plot, and there is soooo much going on it starts to make your mind crazy. In fact there were also little bits of information that were seemingly dropped as "clues" to something that would be revealed or clarified later, but then never were. Ugggh. It was annoying . Just a little too twisty-turny for me. It's not like it was confusing - I was never confused - I was just like - Huh? What? What's that got to do with anything? Just too many branches on the damn tree I guess. I don't know.
Anyway, now that I've told you all that, I bet your ordering your own copy right now! I say go for it. It's worth reading. It just wasn't my favorite book of hers. However, I can't say enough about Jodi Picoult for the most part. Her books definitely make you think and deal with issues that you don't want to ever imagine facing.
I give it 3 and 1/2 thongs.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Heathen Girls by Luanne Jones
Buy it here at:
http://www.amazon.com/Heathen-Girls-Luanne-Jones/dp/0778322823
or I'll sell it to ya' for five bucks or to the highest bidder. Email me.
Anyway, personally, I assign this to the chick lit genre, even though it doesn't really fit the Wikipedia definition : http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_lit
I call anything that involves a lot of women as the primary characters chick lit.
Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's my review (and it is nothing like the reviews I have written for the British Nazi. Warning: Poor grammar, bad spelling and rambling may be ahead. And maybe even behind.)
Let's keep this as succinct as possible. (that line alone makes me laugh, as I struggle big time with brevity when I am writing.)
Charma Deane, Bess, and Minnie were cousins and best friends. They spent many summers together at the Aunt farm (a family home). For the record, Charma Deane and Minnie seemed pretty normal (if not a bit doormattish...is that a word?) Bess, on the other hand, was what I would call a "taker", or even "a selfish little bitch". You know what I'm talking about. We've all had friends like that. Some of us may have even been that friend a time or two. *bows head in shame*
But anyway, the story takes place when they are all grown up (in their 40's - and that's really not that old in case you were wondering) and are brought together because Bitch, I mean Bess, is attempting to evict two of her aunts that now reside in that house.
Okay - my first digression will occur right here: Here's the deal with the two aunts: one aunt is Minnie's mother, who was the second wife of Minnie's father(now deceased). The other aunt is his first wife. Huh?! What's up with that? Why in the heck would first wife & second wife be living together? Either I skimmed over that part or I just chose not to buy into that crap, but that part was definitely not feasible to me. I don't know, I'm a damn yankee, maybe they do things differently in the south.
Moving on. Charma Deane has not been in touch with Bitch, I mean Bess for 20 years, since Bitch, I mean Bess stole her fiance from her the day before the wedding, or the day of, or somewhere around that time frame. Oh, and this was like 8 years or so after Bitch, I mean Bess, pushed Charma Deane off of a dock, which ultimately caused an accident that cost Charma Deane's daddy his life. Huh?! If it was my cousin, she'd be lucky to still be alive at this point. But I digress....
There are all sorts of reunions going on in this book, and I really got a kick out of them. I mean, let's face it, it might be kind of fun to run into your first love (if you were single, he was single and hadn't turned fat and ugly) or even into an old friend who wronged you. (I curse all of you old friends who have wronged me!!) That's kind of what this whole book is about.
I'd like to think that my past life (before marriage, before kids) doesn't really matter. I mean, does it matter that your high school boyfriend cheated on you all the time? Or that he was controlling and domineering? Does it matter that people didn't like you because you were quiet (NOT STUCK UP LIKE THEY CLAIM!), or that people claim you gave them dirty looks all the time? (ummmm....sorry I didn't feel like smiling at you. You are only the 20th girl this week to be after my cheatin' loser boyfriend, you skank) Does it matter that your high school best friends (L, S, C, D) have all but abandoned your friendship for stupid, strange, unknown and/or questionable reasons?! OOPS! I forgot about the book review...
Anyway, so the book has all sorts of groovy reunions. Cousins, aunts, old boyfriends, etc. It's actually about healing old wounds. I know we'd all like to believe those days are dead and gone, but are they? Wouldn't it be nice to really have closure on some of that crap?
Bitch, I mean Bess, is dying of cancer. This book is really about Charma Deane, but her commitment to Bit...okay, I'll call her Bess now - her commitment to Bess is what helps her to heal and enables her to see things as they REALLY are. Did Bess really cause her father's accident? Did Bess really steal her fiance?
Funny how our mind convinces us of things that aren't always true, and it may take years, maybe even a lifetime, before we can really see the truth. In fact, many of us never get that chance.
So, in conclusion, I would recommend that you read this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll say, WTH?!, but overall, I really think you'll enjoy it. And who knows, maybe you'll even learn a thing or two about forgiveness.
I give it four thongs.
http://www.amazon.com/Heathen-Girls-Luanne-Jones/dp/0778322823
or I'll sell it to ya' for five bucks or to the highest bidder. Email me.
Anyway, personally, I assign this to the chick lit genre, even though it doesn't really fit the Wikipedia definition : http://http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chick_lit
I call anything that involves a lot of women as the primary characters chick lit.
Okay, now that we've gotten that out of the way, here's my review (and it is nothing like the reviews I have written for the British Nazi. Warning: Poor grammar, bad spelling and rambling may be ahead. And maybe even behind.)
Let's keep this as succinct as possible. (that line alone makes me laugh, as I struggle big time with brevity when I am writing.)
Charma Deane, Bess, and Minnie were cousins and best friends. They spent many summers together at the Aunt farm (a family home). For the record, Charma Deane and Minnie seemed pretty normal (if not a bit doormattish...is that a word?) Bess, on the other hand, was what I would call a "taker", or even "a selfish little bitch". You know what I'm talking about. We've all had friends like that. Some of us may have even been that friend a time or two. *bows head in shame*
But anyway, the story takes place when they are all grown up (in their 40's - and that's really not that old in case you were wondering) and are brought together because Bitch, I mean Bess, is attempting to evict two of her aunts that now reside in that house.
Okay - my first digression will occur right here: Here's the deal with the two aunts: one aunt is Minnie's mother, who was the second wife of Minnie's father(now deceased). The other aunt is his first wife. Huh?! What's up with that? Why in the heck would first wife & second wife be living together? Either I skimmed over that part or I just chose not to buy into that crap, but that part was definitely not feasible to me. I don't know, I'm a damn yankee, maybe they do things differently in the south.
Moving on. Charma Deane has not been in touch with Bitch, I mean Bess for 20 years, since Bitch, I mean Bess stole her fiance from her the day before the wedding, or the day of, or somewhere around that time frame. Oh, and this was like 8 years or so after Bitch, I mean Bess, pushed Charma Deane off of a dock, which ultimately caused an accident that cost Charma Deane's daddy his life. Huh?! If it was my cousin, she'd be lucky to still be alive at this point. But I digress....
There are all sorts of reunions going on in this book, and I really got a kick out of them. I mean, let's face it, it might be kind of fun to run into your first love (if you were single, he was single and hadn't turned fat and ugly) or even into an old friend who wronged you. (I curse all of you old friends who have wronged me!!) That's kind of what this whole book is about.
I'd like to think that my past life (before marriage, before kids) doesn't really matter. I mean, does it matter that your high school boyfriend cheated on you all the time? Or that he was controlling and domineering? Does it matter that people didn't like you because you were quiet (NOT STUCK UP LIKE THEY CLAIM!), or that people claim you gave them dirty looks all the time? (ummmm....sorry I didn't feel like smiling at you. You are only the 20th girl this week to be after my cheatin' loser boyfriend, you skank) Does it matter that your high school best friends (L, S, C, D) have all but abandoned your friendship for stupid, strange, unknown and/or questionable reasons?! OOPS! I forgot about the book review...
Anyway, so the book has all sorts of groovy reunions. Cousins, aunts, old boyfriends, etc. It's actually about healing old wounds. I know we'd all like to believe those days are dead and gone, but are they? Wouldn't it be nice to really have closure on some of that crap?
Bitch, I mean Bess, is dying of cancer. This book is really about Charma Deane, but her commitment to Bit...okay, I'll call her Bess now - her commitment to Bess is what helps her to heal and enables her to see things as they REALLY are. Did Bess really cause her father's accident? Did Bess really steal her fiance?
Funny how our mind convinces us of things that aren't always true, and it may take years, maybe even a lifetime, before we can really see the truth. In fact, many of us never get that chance.
So, in conclusion, I would recommend that you read this book. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll say, WTH?!, but overall, I really think you'll enjoy it. And who knows, maybe you'll even learn a thing or two about forgiveness.
I give it four thongs.
Okay, first of all, my blog name
Lit class in my master's program.
God forbid you make a spelling error (newbery has ONE 'r', not two!)
And don't even think of putting a comma or period outside of a quotation mark.
And definitely don't start a sentence with "And". (Did you see that? I put my period outside of the quotation marks. And I started my sentences with and. Nananananana!!)
'Nuff said.
God forbid you make a spelling error (newbery has ONE 'r', not two!)
And don't even think of putting a comma or period outside of a quotation mark.
And definitely don't start a sentence with "And". (Did you see that? I put my period outside of the quotation marks. And I started my sentences with and. Nananananana!!)
'Nuff said.
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