Husband Recommendation

My husband took this book out of the library.  He wanted me to read it, too, so we could talk about it.  So, I read it first.  I’m not sure what to say.

The Road, written by the same author who wrote No Country for Old Men, is about a father and a son trying to survive alone in burned America.  It’s a postapocalyptic story. 

First of all, the author never tells you exactly what happened to the earth to have it covered in ash, with little sunlight coming through.  My guess is some sort of meteor hit the earth.  The descriptions of the “new” world are numerous and they do give you a good picture in your mind. 

The relationship between the father and son is one of dependence and love.  The father is truly committed to his son.  However, his son seems to have a softer heart.  They have some disagreements on how to react to others they find along their path. 

Not much happens in this novel.  It is definitely a character study about characters with no names with a message.  Unfortunately, I often have trouble with these types of books.  I’m not always sure what the author is trying to say.  I’m not sure about this one, either. 

I think some people would like this book.  But, it’s not my cup of tea.  I’m wondering how my husband will like it. 

 

Just Another Romance Novel

I got this book from mom who raved about it.  She said it was really funny and she thought I would enjoy it.  She was right.  This is the story of a 34-year-old librarian who still lives home with her mother and her aunt in a small town.  She wakes up one morning and decides she needs to change her life if she wants to find a man.  She does a complete make-over and sets her sights on finding a husband.  The new chief of police has been nosing around, but she thinks he’s not her type…..

This story is your typical romance novel with the same equation as any Nora Roberts book.  Girl meets boy.  Girl hates boy.  Boy and Girl have lots of sexual tension.  Girl and Boy end up together with some steamy sex scenes.  Linda Howard must have read her share of Nora Roberts. 

But, Linda Howard adds lots of chuckles.  The scene where the main character goes to the local drug store to buy condoms so the word would be spread around town that she was interested in having sex so that the single men will seek her out is laugh out loud funny.  There are several other funny parts that I’ll let you discover on your own. 

There is a mystery also involved in this book (as with many romance novels).  The main character unwittingly gets herself involved and the chief of police has to save her.  That part of the book is not great and could have been developed better. 

All in all, if you’re looking for a quick read with some laughs, this book is for you.  If you’re looking for great literature, keep looking.

Disappointed

I know this is a book blog, but I recently bought O, the Oprah Magaizne and I read an article I’m very disappointed by.  At the airport coming home from Disney, I decided to get a magazine to read on the way.  One of the cover articles was entitled, “Inside a Marriage — Confessions of a Semi-Happy Wife.”  It sounded intriguing.  I thought it may give some good insights about how to be happier in a marriage during the difficult child-rearing years.  Boy, was I wrong.

The actual title of the article in the magazine, written by Ellen Tien, was “Divorce Dreams.”  The first half of the article was the author complaining about her husband.  She goes on to say she would never disparage her marriage.  What?  Hasn’t she already done this by publicly complaining about her spouse?  Then she describes her marriage as, “…Indiana, say, or Connecticut – some red areas, more blue.  Less than bliss, better than disaster.”  She claims to be everycouple. 

The rest of the article describes how as Gen X women, we strive for more, as our mothers taught us.  And, when we wonder how things “got to this” we always have divorce as an option.  She feels that in the future, marriage will become obsolete . 

Now, I understand and agree that “marriage takes work.”  And, it’s not the happily ever after of fairy tales.  But, I feel like this negativity about marriage presented by this author is part of her problem.  And, could she really care too much about her husband if she’s willing to complain about him so publicly?

I may sound self-rightous and that’s not my intent.  I understand complaining, to a few select friends so as not to embarrass my husband.  I don’t think everyone who gets a divorce is shameful (my own parents are divorced).  I just think that some people have too high of expectations that could never be met.  And, to encourage others with this negativity is disappointing to me. 

Disney Books

Well, I’m home.  I was able to sneak in one book.  I took Stephanie’s and Fuzzycricket’s advice and read my bookclub selection for next month, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation.  I’ll review it soon. 

I was exhausted each night after touring Disney.  And, I spent some time each night planning for the next day.  As a child, my father put us on a schedule so we could see as much as possible.  I’ve resented that somewhat.  However, I’ll admit, that with a plan, you definitely see more. 

 I used The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008.  While a thick book with lots of information, it was very helpful.  What I liked the most was the suggested touring plans for each of Disney’s parks.  For Magic Kingdom and Epot, they provided a one-day or a two-day plan.  While I didn’t follow the plans exactly, I found them very helpful in planning what I wanted to see and knowing the best times to see each attraction.  Although, I didn’t like the smugness of the authors suggesting that people who don’t follow their plans are silly.

Another book we used for planning our outings was Birnbaum Guides Walt Disney World for Kids (my book has a different cover).  This book I bought and I’m glad I did.  It provides descriptions of all the rides at the four parks.  It lets you know the height requirements and what is scary, loud and dark.  My daughter enjoyed looking through the book finding the things she wanted to do.  And, there’s an autograph section in the back of the book we used when we met characters.  It’s cheaper than buying Disney autograph books.  This book also described the shows so we could pick ones that we were interested in.  I would highly recommend this one.

 

Vacation Reads

I’m off on vacation tomorrow and I’m struggling on what to bring to read (assuming my kids will let me read once in awhile!)  I tried to start that controversial tale, Lady Chatterly’s Lover, but I’m just not getting interested.  I made it to page 40 and I just put it down.  It’s too hard to read.  The vocabulary is way over my head.  I felt like I needed to get out my dictionary.  While a difficult read doesn’t, in itself, make it bad, boring does!

So, I think I want some sort of light read.  I packed a historical fiction romance called The Perfect Lover   by Stephanie Laurens which sounds light and promising.  And, my mom recommended a funny book by Linda Howard, Open Season.   

Are there any other suggestions for reading on a family trip to Disney?  (again, assuming there’s time to read)

Jane Austen – The End (For Now)

To tie up my Jane Austen reading, for now, I will talk about a novel Just Jane.  Like The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, which I liked and previously reviewed, this book is a novel that acts like a journal by Jane talking about her life starting around age 20 until she is a published author in her late-30s.  I really enjoyed The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen, but Just Jane didn’t hold my interest quite as much.

 

Jane was a bit whiney in Just Jane and I remember thinking I didn’t like her very well.  This was somewhat disconcerting since I’m such a big fan.  In Just Jane, Jane Austen spends a great deal of her time looking for a husband.  That just didn’t seem to sit well with everything else I’ve read.  I’ve always thought of Jane as someone who would welcome a “true love,” but was just as content to be an independent woman. 

 

I guess I just didn’t like that this book about Jane didn’t shine her in a flattering light.  I think to find out the truth, I’m going to read a real biography of Jane Austen and no more novels pretending.  Hopefully, then, I’ll get a more realistic idea about this fascinating author. 

Jane Austen – Audio Edition

Well, back to my Jane phase.  On the advice of my good friend over at The Written Word, I decided to check out Austenland.  Since I was trying to convince myself to start exercising again, I got the book on CD and loaded it onto my MP3 player.  It did get me through one workout before I decided to just listen while I folded laundry, cleaned the kids’ rooms and just lied on my bed.

 

This is the story of a modern woman in her late20s who is obsessed with Mr. Darcy, who else??  She has sworn off men because she cannot find that perfect man as described in Jane Austen’s famous book.  Her great-aunt confronts her on her Darcy obsession and tells her to get on with her life.  Not long after this confrontation, the aunt dies and in her will bestows a vacation to Jane (the main character) to Pembrook Park, a place where you go to “live” like you’re in one of Jane Austen’s books for three weeks.  Jane resists going, at first, but decides she can use this vacation to get over her Darcy obsession once and for all.  At least, that’s her goal.

 

This is quite a silly and fun book.  It was a lot of fun to listen to because of the narrator’s voice inflections, etc.  But, I’m pretty sure it would be fun to read also.  The book is told in first person and allows you into the thoughts of Jane as she stumbles through her Austen adventure.    Her thoughts about the actors playing other guests on her vacation are rather humorous.  I laughed out several times.  I had a smile on my face for most of the book.  At the end, I don’t want to spoil it, but Jane seems to get it together.  At first, that was a little disappointing (you’ll see why if you read), but, ultimately, the story ends on a note that I was happy with. 

 

One negative (sort of) is that throughout the book, Jane would digress to describe some of her previous disastrous relationships.  While it did lend a couple of chuckles, I thought it was a little distracting and didn’t add too much to the overall story. 

 

Nevertheless, I would recommend this book.  I enjoyed the allusions to Austen’s works.  But, it wasn’t the typical Austen-type book I’ve read recently.  It was unique in that I didn’t get it confused with the other novels I’ve read in this genre.  It had its own story to tell without borrowing quite so much from Austen.

A Little Christian Fiction

My book club met tonight to discuss Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.  It was my pick and I was a little nervous about how the ladies would like it.  When I picked it, I must have just skimmed the synopsis because it didn’t dawn on me that it was Christian fiction until I actually sat down to read it.  This was my first foray into this genre. 

This book retold the bible story of Hosea and Gomer, but put it into an 1800s setting.  Now, I was not familiar with this story from the bible, but I’ll give a quick synopsis of the 1800s version.  This book tells the story of a prostitute in California during the gold rush in the mid-1800s.  A woman grows up, is betrayed by many, and eventually meets a man that God has told to marry her.  She resists, but the man continues to follow God’s words and pursues her.  It is their story.

I loved this book.  It was a wonderful romance told beautifully.  The author really tells you the protagonists life story, bit by bit, and it really helps you understand her and the choices she makes.  The man in the story is “unbelievable” and his love is extraordinary.  All the key characters are described so that you’ll love or hate them.  The referrals to God and his love added to the story and were not preachy in any way.  It was just part of the story. 

I would definitely recommend this book, to Christains and non-Christians.  Who wouldn’t enjoy a romance with a positive message about unconditional love?  And that’s what this was.

PS  Thanks for all the welcomes from the book bloggers out there.  I’ve enjoyed your comments and look forward to reading more of your blogs.

PPS  I’ll rejoin the discussion of Jane Austen era books soon.

How to write a book review??

As I mentioned in my first post, I’ve only recently gotten back into blogging at the urging of my friend.  I want this to be a book blog. 

I’ve started purusing the book blogs out there and I’m quite impressed. People are putting in a great deal of time into their reviews. 

What my question is, what makes a good book review on a book blog?  What are people out there looking for in a book review?  I like a quick synopsis and, basically, a thumbs up or a thumbs down. 

Any helpful hints about book blogging would be appreciated!

Jane Austen, Part 2

 Okay, so after my experience with Me & Mr. Darcy, I moved on to The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James.  This book was a fiction book written as a found diary of Jane.  It seemed so real, it was hard to remember that it was fiction.  The memoir was focused on a “secret” romance that Jane had with a man she met in Lyme.  It is not the more commonly known romance (in reality) of Jane with Tom Lefroy.   I think this was a good read, especially if you’re interested in Jane Austen.  It did make suppositions that all of Jane’s books were somehow based on occurrences in her real life.  The book described these events in such a way that I started to wonder if they were real (until I reminded myself it was a fiction book and not really a memoir).  I would recommend this romance to Jane Austen lovers.