Review: The Steal

The Steal: A Cultural History of Shoplifting by Rachel Shteir was interesting. The writing was okay for a nonfiction, but I've read much more engaging nonfiction authors.

Some of the information was interesting. Who shoplifts and why. Punishments and prevention techniques throughout history. The top ten most shoplifted items. On the list was steak. Really people? Steak?! Why? And I really don't want to think about the how. But it brought one of the more interesting aspects to light. People who are hungry steal bread (which doesn't anger store owners nearly so much), those who steal steak steal out of a sense of entitlement. They have enough, maybe even a lot, but somehow they feel they deserve more. Or they deserve something for nothing.

So overall, interesting but not fascinating. Well written, but not amazing. Read it if the subject interests you enough.

Review: Divergent

I've been jumping from book to book lately without really committing to or finishing anything. But then I got the YA Fiction Divergent by Veronica Roth from my books on hold at the library. I read it in two days, which is really good for me these days. It was entertaining and interesting. Even though I finished it hours ago, I feel like I should pick it up again and keep reading. It had a good ending, but obviously has a sequel coming.

It fits right in with the current YA craze of dystopian societies. If you liked the Hunger Games series, you will probably like this book. It is not a copycat of it by any means, but it is in the same vein and has the same feeling about it.

Review: Mistress Shakespeare

"Several mysteries surround the life of William Shakespeare, and one of the most fascinating concerns whom he married. Will evidently promised to wed two women at nearly the same time. In records that survive today, he is listed as being engaged first to Anne Whateley of Temple Grafton. But on the next day in the same book of marriage bonds, he is recorded as being promised to Anne Hathaway of Stratford in the diocese of Worcester."

Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper takes this mystery and tells the story from Anne Whateley's point of view. Since there is so much speculation surrounding William Shakespeare, even whether or not he was the one who wrote his plays, it is easy for me to follow along with a what-if scenario of his life.

I chose this book because I thought it would be interesting, but I liked it even more than I anticipated. I really liked the narrator, Anne Whateley, and the story was engaging whether you have any knowledge of Shakespeare or not. This book is good for anyone who enjoys historical fiction or has an interest Elizabethan England. A knowledge of Shakespeare and his life and works will add another level of enjoyment to reading this book. But it is entertaining even if Shakespeare is just some guy who wrote a bunch of plays to you.

Review: The Mistress of Nothing

I think I saw The Mistress of Nothing by Kate Pullinger on an IndieBound List. Either that or an NPR book list. Those are my two main sources of finding new books to read outside my norm. I was drawn to it by the title.

I didn't know till I finished it, but apparently this novel is based on the true story of a English ladies' maid who devotedly follows her lady to Egypt. Lady Duff Gordon lived the last seven year of her life in Egypt, where the hot, dry air kept her living longer than the cold, wet air of England would have allowed her to. The story is told by her maid, Sally Naldrett.

Sally is completely loyal and dedicated to her lady, but her life changes the longer she lives in Egypt. And she discovers how far her lady's own loyalty and gratitude will--or will not--go when Sally tries to live her own life and make her own decisions.

I think I would have liked this book better if I had realized from the beginning that it was based on a true story, because it is such a strange story for the time and the people who lived in it. It was almost too far fetched when I thought it was simply fiction. But it's fascinating when you realize that the basics of the story are true (though the author had to fill in gaps where we don't have any documentation).

So, overall it was an interesting historical fiction. And it was very short and a quick read, especially for a historical fiction.

Reread: The Hunger Games Trilogy

I just reread The Hunger Games trilogy so that I could actually read them in quick succession instead of waiting months between books.

I think I read them almost as quickly as I did the first time. Even though I knew the endings, it was still interesting and engaging. And I'm good at forgetting details of books and movies, so I can enjoy my second time around almost as much.

There are some complaints about these books and its main character. Katniss is a bit slow at picking up on the hints and help people try to give her sometimes. Some people also think she's a bit wishy washy when it comes to her two romantic options. But I think it helps to remember that Katniss is only around 16 years old when these books take place. How well would you have done in her situation when you were 16? I prefer not to think of myself at 16, so keeping that in mind, it helps me forgive some of her silliness. Also, if she always picked up on the clues that the readers do and was always certain who the love of her life is, where would half the suspense be?

I liked these books just as much the second time around. And I'm looking forward to seeing how they adapt them to movies. Especially since the main audience is YA and many of the scenes are quite gruesome. It reassures me that it's for a YA audience though, or I don't think I could stomach it in movie form.

Read Aloud: Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever

This is the version of Mother Goose rhymes that I grew up with, so when I saw it in a bookstore I had to get it. I recently read it to my daughter. It's almost 100 pages so I was going to break it up into a couple of readings, but she sat with me through the entire thing. She liked that the characters were animals that she could identify. For me it was a bit of nostalgia along with the pleasure of sharing classic nursery rhymes with my daughter.

Review: Great Expectations

I finished reading Great Expectations by Charles Dickens. I feel more relief than anything. I took longer to read this book than any other--even longer than it took me to read Moby-Dick, which I read over two summers while I was an English major. I just can't get through the heavy reading like I used to. If I have something else, I always turn to the lighter read instead of Dickens. I finally finished it by putting the book next to the toilet and reading a few paragraphs at a time while I went to the bathroom or while my daughter played in the bath.

I know people who love Dickens. But it's just not me. I can appreciate his work, but I never really enjoy it. I have another unread Dickens on the shelf, but I think it will take me a long time to pick another one up. I have dozens of other TBR books waiting for me. We're going camping this week and I'm definitely choosing something lighter to read while we're gone.

Review: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith is one of those classics that I've always meant to read but never got around to. And I enjoyed it even more than I expected to.

It's about a young girl growing up in poverty in Brooklyn in the early 20th century. Though it's a work of fiction, it has enough similarities to the author's own childhood that there is no doubt she knows what she's talking about. It's what I would call true fiction.

The heroine, Francie Nolan, is engaging and interesting and it is easy to feel for her, though she rarely feels sorry for herself. One of the things that impressed me the most about this book is the compassion that the author had for just about every character. None of them were demonized--not the alcoholic father or the unaffectionate mother. She knew that people were weak, but she seemed to understand why and had sympathy for them. The only overt criticism of a character in the book is of the rich when they are demonstrative of how giving they are to the poor. Why can't they just give without pointing out how rich they are and how poor we are? Francie wonders. And I can't blame her.

If you haven't read this book, then go and read it now. My only regret is that whatever I read next is likely to pale in comparison. I had better pick something completely different.


from A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

"Laurie's going to have a mighty easy life all right."

"She'll never have the hard times we had, will she?"

"No. And she'll never have the fun we had, either."

"Gosh! We did have fun, didn't we Neeley?"

"Yeah!"

"Poor Laurie," said Francie pityingly.

Read Aloud: Beatrix Potter Collection

For her first birthday, my mother gave my daughter a collection of Beatrix Potter books. They're the small, illustrated books and sit on her highest shelf.

Today I finished reading them aloud to my daughter. Sometimes she played and ignored me, but sometimes she sat with me and looked at the pictures. Her favorites were the "bunnies."

Previously I had only read the most popular Beatrix Potter books like Peter Rabbit. The stories are sweet or funny, and the illustrations, of course, are classic. There were many words that young children today wouldn't recognize (at least American children)--usually clothes or household items that were common in Beatrix Potter's day.

I enjoyed getting to know these beautifully illustrated children's books and love that my mother gave my daughter a good start to her collection of classics.

Review: Birth Matters

In my quest to better inform myself about birth choices during my second pregnancy, I could not pass up the newly published Birth Matters: A Midwife's Manifesta by Ina May Gaskin--the midwife of all midwives in the U.S.

Gaskin is obviously a very experienced, intelligent, and educated woman. Though I already knew some of the information she provided, this book gave greater detail of the history of obstetrical care in the United States, focused on advocating women's health and informed choice in areas besides pregnancy and labor, and presented ideas for improving the maternity care system in our country (which is far behind most other developed countries).

This book is a little more difficult a read than Your Best Birth. But it may be more important. Your Best Birth is targeted to pregnant women. Birth Matters should also be read by maternity care providers and has valuable information for any women's advocate.

Review: Becoming Jane Eyre

Becoming Jane Eyre by Sheila Kohler is a work of fiction imagining the writing life of Charlotte Bronte. The writing was good and I enjoyed the story, though it made me wish I knew more of the facts to be able to separate fact from fiction better.

The only downside I see to this novel (and this may be my editor/publisher education talking) is that there is a limited audience for such books. Apparently it was Sheila Kohler's tenth novel and she's won a bunch of awards, so she was probably a pretty sure bet though.

I suppose you could read this book without first having read Jane Eyre, but you would certainly be missing out even if you weren't confused. It also helps to have read Wuthering Heights. And I felt guilty for never having read anything written by Anne Bronte (has anyone read anything of hers? any recommendations?). But the good thing is that it made me want to reread those books again.

If you like historical fiction and like any of the Bronte sisters, then you'll enjoy this book.

Review: Bossypants

I read Bossypants by Tina Fey in less than a day mostly because I'm only home for the weekend and it's due back at the library before I get back from my trip to Portland next week. But also because it's a funny, light read.

If you think Tina Fey is funny, you'll think this book is funny. But if you don't, you won't. And if you don't like Tina Fey, why would you pick up this book anyway? There were a lot of little funny moments throughout, and I even laughed out loud a couple of times, which I don't do often.

She comes across as very down-to-earth and a little self-deprecating--but in a humorous way, not a pity-me way. I liked that she's honest rather than stating opinions because they're popular. I also appreciated that she gave equal weight to celebrating her daughter's third birthday as she did to having Oprah appear on 30 Rock or impersonating Sarah Palin on SNL.

One point of interest for me in this book was her take on motherhood. She often struggles with the fact that she can't spend more time with her daughter, but knows that stay-at-home moms sometimes have break downs because they're home with young children all the time. Which I can attest to.

A small nugget from her advice on motherhood:

"'Sleep when the baby sleeps.' Everyone knows this classic tip, but I say why stop there? Scream when your baby screams. Take Benadryl when your baby takes Benadryl. And walk around pantsless when your baby walks around pantsless."

Review: Your Best Birth

I haven't posted many book reviews lately because I've been reading pregnancy and birthing books. I read Better Birth by Denise Spatafora. It was good, but a little too touchy-feely for me. And I didn't feel there was a lot of information (particularly the breathing and meditating exercises for birthing) that I hadn't read elsewhere.

One book I really did enjoy was Your Best Birth by Ricki Lake and Abby Epstein. They wrote it after the debut of their documentary The Business of Being Born.

This book was very accessible, easy to read, and written in simple language for the average woman (not the medical community). There is no doubt that Ricki and Abby have their opinions about birth, but they do not shove their opinions down your throat. They give straightforward information about various birth options and interventions, including their history, their side effects, and the times when they are medically necessary.

What I liked best about the book is that they are trying to inform women about the various options out there without trying to tell you what you should do. They also realize that you have to be flexible--birth and your baby are not going to follow your plan. But they encourage women to be informed and make active choices instead of laying back and simply letting things happen to them.

To the Children of Troy

For the 1971 opening of a children's library, a librarian wrote to various authors and asked them to write a letter to the children of the town about what libraries mean to them.

Here's a link to the letters, if you want to check it out:
Letters to the Children of Troy, 1971

I'd like to frame a copy of Dr. Seuss's letter to put in my future home library.

Review: Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

This book was actually a quick read, despite its thickness. And you don't even have to read the entire book, you can pick and choose categories that interest you.

Most of the principles in this book won't actually work for my family right now because we live so far from any grocery store and there is very little competition between the stores we can go to because they are so few and far between. We also don't have access to a Sunday paper (thus coupons and store ads). Some money saving methods they use would also take a long time to implement.

The appeal of this book though is that you can use one or all methods, and use them to varying degrees. They menu plan for an entire month, but you can start by trying to menu plan for a week and move your way up.

They also cook and freeze about fifteen meals to be used over a month's time. But it is easy to start this on a smaller scale by cooking a double portion and freezing the extra for another meal. I've been doing this with soups for a while now, but will look into expanding that to other meals (once I start cooking again after the nausea of the first trimester settles).

A few things that I never anticipate implementing is freezing milk and bread. I just don't like them once they've been frozen and thawed, so it would not save money if you never end up eating it. I would like to try freezing more fresh fruits and veggies (when they're in season and thus cheaper) and maybe cooking large portions of meats and freezing them as thawing and cooking meat is often what takes the most time in daily meal preparation.

Especially if you can pick it up from the library, I recommend taking a look at this book. You can disregard any principles that don't appeal to you and your lifestyle, and all the methods are broken into little (or big) steps you can take and can be adjusted for a single person or a large family.

Dream Home Libraries

I've envied many fictional home libraries. The one from Disney's Beauty and the Beast was almost too amazing. I always liked Professor Higgins' library from My Fair Lady.

But here is a real life one that I'm adoring. I've always wanted a library in my home, and here's what it would start with:

Found here: http://lilykleppertknoop.tumblr.com/post/3563206803

Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

I knew almost nothing about this book when I picked it up. I had seen it on lists and I liked the title. What it's about is very succinctly put on the cover, which is an odd and interesting place to put it.

"This is a story about a mother, two daughters, and two dogs. This was supposed to be a story of how Chinese parents are better at raising kids than Western ones. But instead, it's about a bitter clash of cultures, a fleeting taste of glory, and how I was humbled by a thirteen-year-old."

I read this book in just a few days, which is pretty amazing for me and my schedule right now. It was provocative.

It was interesting to read as a parent, even though I hold Western ideals of parenting despite the proof of the results of Chinese parenting. I'm always fascinated by mother-daughter stories, being both a mother and a daughter myself. Especially since my own daughter is so young and still thinks the sun rises and sets with me.

And it was enlightening for someone who has read many fictional stories of Chinese Americans, particularly Amy Tan. It shed some light on the dynamics of mother-daughter relationships in those books.

It was also an interesting look at immigrant culture--seeing how each generation changed as a result of having come to America.

Review: Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague

Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague by Geraldine Brooks has long been on my TBR list. When I was finally able to read it this week, it did not disappoint.

The story was engaging, the history fascinating. Though fictionalized, this story of a town that voluntarily isolates itself in order to contain the plague is based in fact. Which makes the horrors witnessed by our narrator and heroine, Anna, all the more vivid and terrifying. I feel very lucky to live in a time and place free of plague and witch hunts.

I definitely recommend this book, though you should keep in mind that many of the images are gruesome.

Review: Swamplandia!

I haven't posted anything in a while because I have been in the swamps with Ava Bigtree. Written by Karen Russell, Swamplandia! is set in an alligator theme park in the swamps of Florida. It could hardly be a more foreign landscape, but the story was all too familiar for me.

Ava's mother dies and her family is then faced with the possibility of losing her home while her family falls apart. Well, that last part is not familiar. But last year my father died and my family lost their home. I think our family has held together much better than Ava's does, thank goodness.

It is hard to explain the plot of Swamplandia! because there are so many twists and turns. It was at times painful to watch the family struggle. Ava's naivete hurt me, and sometimes her. Her poor brother tries so hard to make something of himself so he can save his family, but he is no better equipped to live on the mainland than the rest of his family. He continually mispronounces big words because he has only ever seen them in books, but never actually heard them in conversation.

In conclusion, I guess I would say that the writing is excellent, the story is engaging, the characters are real, but this book is not for the faint of heart. It made me think of some of the Southern Gothic Fiction books that I read in college--definitely not light reading. But great literature all the same.

Happy National Bookmobile Day!

This week is National Library Week. And today is National Bookmobile Day.

Before moving to the middle of nowhere, I never thought twice about bookmobiles. But since the closest library is almost an hour away, I am so grateful for the bookmobile that stops in our tiny town every other week.

Our bookmobile librarian knows everyone who visits her little library on wheels. She drives a huge vehicle over small windy roads that make some people uncomfortable driving in small cars. Once when I asked if the library had a certain book, she researched it for me and when she couldn't find it, she sent me some alternatives that she thought would interest me with a personal note.

My almost two year old daughter loves visiting the bookmobile. The board books are in a little bin on the floor and she knows right where to find them. When we step into the bookmobile out of the cold, she pulls off her hat and coat and makes herself at home. She'd even take off her boots if I let her.

The bookmobile is also a place where we actually get to meet and see some of our neighbors during the freezing months when everyone is stuck inside all day.

Few people have the need for a bookmobile, but for those of us who need it, it is a huge blessing.