May Reading
34. The Crimson Petal and the White
by Michel Faber
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 895
35. Sacred
by Dennis Lehane
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 288
36. I'm Sorry You Feel that Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a daughter, sister, slut, wife, mother and friend to man and dog
by Diana Joseph
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 206
37. Mystic River
by Dennis Lehane
Genre: Fiction
Pages: ?
38. The Ten-Year Nap
by Meg Wolitzer
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 383
39. Dead in the Family
by Charlaine Harris
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 311
40. The White Queen
by Philippa Gregory
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 408
41. The Power of Half: One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back
by Kevin and Hannah Salwen
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir
Pages: 237
42. A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor
by Dana Canedy
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 271
I'm not keeping up with the reading reviews very well, but I'm pretty sure that no one is really reading these anymore.
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber is the epic (at 895 pages, a little too epic) story of a Victorian prostitute named Sugar (the best in London), her wealthy client William Rackham, his crazy wife Agnes and their daughter Sophie. There's also a subplot involving William's pious brother Henry and his love for a widow at his church. There's definitely some parts featured the prostitutes that you wouldn't find in a Charles Dickens novel. I never understand why Sugar stopped being Rackham's mistress to be Sophie's governess. Perhaps it's my own bad morals speaking, but being a kept woman made much more sense. The parts dealing with crazy Agnes were utterly boring and the ending left me a bit cold. But overall, an enjoyable book.
If you like mystery/detective novels, you should try Dennis Lehane. Scared doesn't disappoint. Mystic River is probably Lehane's best novel (and also a good movie), but it's dark, heart of darkness dark. As children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle were playing in the street when Dave is kidnapped by pedophiles. He escapes four days later. In present day, Sean is a cop with a troubled marriage, Jimmy is an ex-con who went straight for the sake of his daughter and Dave is a strange, haunted man. When Dave comes home covered in blood on the night that Jimmy's daughter is murdered, the ramifications of the fateful day when Dave was taken come home to roost.
I'm Sorry You Feel that Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a daughter, sister, slut, wife, mother and friend to man and dog by Diana Joseph is another sad case of someone who is not David Sedaris trying to be David Sedaris. It's not nearly as funny as I thought it would be.
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer is a book about the mommy wars (stay-at-home versus working) set in Manhattan. It's not badly written, but the characters were annoying. For people who are more privileged than 99% of the planet, they sure did whine incessantly.
I love Sookie Stackhouse and I love sexy scenes with vampire Eric but Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
pretty much just rehashes plot lines from previous books (werewolf wars, vampire politics). There's no real central plot here. I'm beginning to think that Harris is just stretching out the series to make more money. I hated that Sookie's friend Amelia departs the story in the very beginning, because she was an interesting character. One of the problems that I have with urban fiction books is that they are heavy on action and shortchange emotion/character. I keep waiting for Sookie to have to deal with the fact that she's a human who keeps dating immortal vampires. Anyhow, the TV show based on the books, True Blood is actually way better than the books.
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory takes place during the Cousin's War/the War of the Roses. It's an okay book if you like historical fiction, but it isn't nearly as good as Gregory's books set during the Tudor period. But the Tudor period was pretty much a soap opera, so it probably makes for better books.
In The Power of Half: One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back by Kevin and Hannah Salwen, the Salwen family sells their house and gives half the profits to charity. They lived in a mansion, so it's not quite the sacrifice that it may seem. I was somewhat disappointed that the family did not choose to donate their money to a charity in the United States; it seems like n one cares how many people in this country are in dire need of help.
In A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor,
the Pulitzer-winning Dana Canedy gives us the tale of her heart-warming love story and devastating loss of her fiancé, Charles King, who was killed in Iraq. The book also contains snippets of a journal he wrote for their infant son. It’s a brilliantly realized yet heartbreaking book that makes you feel the full weight of this man’s sacrifice.
by Michel Faber
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 895
35. Sacred
by Dennis Lehane
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 288
36. I'm Sorry You Feel that Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a daughter, sister, slut, wife, mother and friend to man and dog
by Diana Joseph
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 206
37. Mystic River
by Dennis Lehane
Genre: Fiction
Pages: ?
38. The Ten-Year Nap
by Meg Wolitzer
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 383
39. Dead in the Family
by Charlaine Harris
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 311
40. The White Queen
by Philippa Gregory
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 408
41. The Power of Half: One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back
by Kevin and Hannah Salwen
Genre: Non-fiction, Memoir
Pages: 237
42. A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor
by Dana Canedy
Genre: Memoir
Pages: 271
I'm not keeping up with the reading reviews very well, but I'm pretty sure that no one is really reading these anymore.
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber is the epic (at 895 pages, a little too epic) story of a Victorian prostitute named Sugar (the best in London), her wealthy client William Rackham, his crazy wife Agnes and their daughter Sophie. There's also a subplot involving William's pious brother Henry and his love for a widow at his church. There's definitely some parts featured the prostitutes that you wouldn't find in a Charles Dickens novel. I never understand why Sugar stopped being Rackham's mistress to be Sophie's governess. Perhaps it's my own bad morals speaking, but being a kept woman made much more sense. The parts dealing with crazy Agnes were utterly boring and the ending left me a bit cold. But overall, an enjoyable book.
If you like mystery/detective novels, you should try Dennis Lehane. Scared doesn't disappoint. Mystic River is probably Lehane's best novel (and also a good movie), but it's dark, heart of darkness dark. As children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle were playing in the street when Dave is kidnapped by pedophiles. He escapes four days later. In present day, Sean is a cop with a troubled marriage, Jimmy is an ex-con who went straight for the sake of his daughter and Dave is a strange, haunted man. When Dave comes home covered in blood on the night that Jimmy's daughter is murdered, the ramifications of the fateful day when Dave was taken come home to roost.
I'm Sorry You Feel that Way: The Astonishing but True Story of a daughter, sister, slut, wife, mother and friend to man and dog by Diana Joseph is another sad case of someone who is not David Sedaris trying to be David Sedaris. It's not nearly as funny as I thought it would be.
The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer is a book about the mommy wars (stay-at-home versus working) set in Manhattan. It's not badly written, but the characters were annoying. For people who are more privileged than 99% of the planet, they sure did whine incessantly.
I love Sookie Stackhouse and I love sexy scenes with vampire Eric but Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
pretty much just rehashes plot lines from previous books (werewolf wars, vampire politics). There's no real central plot here. I'm beginning to think that Harris is just stretching out the series to make more money. I hated that Sookie's friend Amelia departs the story in the very beginning, because she was an interesting character. One of the problems that I have with urban fiction books is that they are heavy on action and shortchange emotion/character. I keep waiting for Sookie to have to deal with the fact that she's a human who keeps dating immortal vampires. Anyhow, the TV show based on the books, True Blood is actually way better than the books.
The White Queen by Philippa Gregory takes place during the Cousin's War/the War of the Roses. It's an okay book if you like historical fiction, but it isn't nearly as good as Gregory's books set during the Tudor period. But the Tudor period was pretty much a soap opera, so it probably makes for better books.
In The Power of Half: One Family's Decision to Stop Taking and Start Giving Back by Kevin and Hannah Salwen, the Salwen family sells their house and gives half the profits to charity. They lived in a mansion, so it's not quite the sacrifice that it may seem. I was somewhat disappointed that the family did not choose to donate their money to a charity in the United States; it seems like n one cares how many people in this country are in dire need of help.
In A Journal for Jordan: A Story of Love and Honor,
the Pulitzer-winning Dana Canedy gives us the tale of her heart-warming love story and devastating loss of her fiancé, Charles King, who was killed in Iraq. The book also contains snippets of a journal he wrote for their infant son. It’s a brilliantly realized yet heartbreaking book that makes you feel the full weight of this man’s sacrifice.