NOW CLOSED: February 2010 Giveaway: The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Help was one of my favorite books from 2009. So, I thought it would be a perfect choice for my February giveaway! Summary: The scene for this book is set in Mississippi 1962 where a young university graduate named Skeeter returns home to live with her parents. Before long, she lands a job writing housekeeping articles for the local newspaper. Not knowing much about housekeeping, Skeeter asks Aibileen, her friend Elizabeth's black maid, for advice to write in the weekly column. The two meet often and become friends. During this time, Skeeter's other friend Hilly wants to start an initiative to ...
Dreams of Trespass by Fatima Mernissi — A Review
[rating: 5] Short Summary: Dreams of Trespass is Fatima Mernissi’s account of her life growing up in a harem in Morocco in the 1940s. Throughout the book, Fatima tries to figure out exactly what a harem is and what it is not. It is a coming of age story and also an exploration of the frontiers or boundaries in our lives set by our culture, our religion, our families, and even ourselves. My Review: I had always thought of a harem as a large collection of women who were basically sex slaves to a king. However, after reading this book, I realized that my notion ...
Olive Kitteridge
Olive Kitteridge By Elizabeth Strout Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks [rating:5] This book follows the life of Olive Kitteridge, a strong-willed, say-it-like-she-sees-it, junior high school math teacher. Olive is married to kind-hearted pharmacist, Henry. Throughout the book, Strout dips you in and out of the lives of the Kitteridges, their son Christopher, their friends, and their acquaintances, while offering a deeper glimpse into the inner struggles of marriage, parenthood, and aging. Olive and Henry are glaring opposites in personality, and seemingly, in everything else. One wonders, as we often do in real life, how two people who are so different come together, what keeps ...
The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan — A Review
[Rating:5] I decided to read The Middle Place after reading another review I came across on the Internet. It sparked my interest because it is about a woman a few years older than me who found out she had breast cancer. While I don't have any close relatives that I know of with breast cancer, I do have a few friends who have had cancer, and some who are still dealing with it; however, I also relate to this book on another level. That level of having your world turned topsy-turvy by events that you cannot control. For me, it was watching helplessly ...
How to Thrive in Changing Times—A Review
[rating:4] Summary: How to Thrive in Changing Times by Sandra Ingerman is a book about positive thinking. Using stories, meditations, and guided activities the author strives to help you find peace in your daily life when things change or become overwhelming. A big focus of the book is on finding things to be thankful for and developing a grateful approach to life. Ingerman's premise is that by changing how you think about a problem, your perception of the problem changes as well. Once your perception has changed, this then affects your future actions and behaviors, and thus your future reality. My Review: Those of you ...
Have you heard about The Happiness Project?
I just downloaded The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin from Audible and wanted to share this fun book trailer about the book. I've been reading Gretchen's blog The Happiness Project for a while now, and I've really enjoyed it. I can't wait to read, well, really to listen to this book. Also, I just found the Happiness Challenges she's posted on YouTube. How did I miss those? Way fun! I will be trying to catch up on those today as well. Have you read The Happiness Project? Did you like it? Did you create your own happiness project? I'd love to know!
Review: Seven by Jacqueline Leo
[rating: 4] Seven, written by Jacqueline Leo, is a compilation of ways that the number seven reoccurs in likely, and not so likely places. From identifying Confucius's seven ways to the good life to observing the seven colors of a rainbow, Leo examines this commonly reoccurring number as it relates to a myriad of topics such as religions, learning processes, and music. In addition, this book is filled with accompanying pictures, illustrations, and a lovely touch of color. When I first heard about Seven, I assumed the book must be about numerology. However, while there was a brief mention of numerology, that is ...
Tears to Triumph — A Review
[rating:5] Summary: Tears to Triumph is a compilation of various women's personal accounts of difficult situations they have dealt with and were able to triumph over in the end. Part stories, part encouraging commentary, Tears to Triumph offers insight on how to turn our most difficult struggles into success stories. My Review: I loved this book. I found the stories easy to relate to, and they kept my interest throughout the entire book. From recollections about having to get reconstructive breast surgery to losing a parent to dealing with family members who are on drugs, there are stories here of almost every variety. If ...
Perfection by Julie Metz: Review + Giveaway
[rating:5] Short Summary: One day, Julie hears a loud thump coming from the kitchen. When she goes to investigate, she finds her husband Henry, a gourmet food-loving, social butterfly dying from a heart attack on the kitchen floor. Henry dies, leaving Julie to raise their young daughter Liz alone. Overcome with grief, Julie tries to keep it all together with Henry gone, but as she tries to put her life back together, she finds more and more pieces of his life that she never knew existed. As she unravels the lies Henry told, it doesn't take her long to discover that he was ...
Where The Wild Things Are — A Movie Review
Earlier in the week, I made plans to spend Sunday afternoon enjoying a nice relaxing drive up the canyon to see the pretty fall colors with the family. It started off great, but by midway through the drive my nice family outing had disintegrated into fighting, hurt feelings, and everyone in the car looking for the nearest exit. If the car hadn't been moving so fast, I think we all might have bailed. In that moment, I felt a little bit like Max in the book "Where The Wild Things Are," by Maurice Sendak. All I wanted to do was ...
Truly, Madly by Heather Webber — A Review
[rating: 4] As some of you know, I came down with a bad cold the day after Christmas. During that time, all I wanted was warm soup, cough drops, a box of really soft tissues, and a good book to read. I needed a light-hearted read to distract me from my misery and to keep me entertained. Truly Madly did just that. After her father is caught having an affair, Lucy Valentine's parents leave Lucy to run the family matchmaking business while they seclude themselves away from the media. But Lucy is nervous to run the business on her own because she ...
Eternal on the Water—Book Tour Review
[rating: 5] Summary: Eternal on the Water is the love story of Mary Fury and Jonathon Cobb. Mary is a teacher at New Hampshire University and specializes in corvid or—crow—research. Jonathon is a teacher at an upscale private school. Their paths cross while preparing to kayak down the Allagash river in Maine. Jonathon is on sabbatical doing Thoreau research, and Mary is there to teach at the Chungamunga girls camping school. The two meet and instantly like each other, and they fall in love as they float down the river. Eventually, the two marry, and when Mary gets sick, they go back to ...
Book Review: Lonestar Secrets
By Colleen Coble Publisher: Thomas Nelson [rating:3] This book is about a woman named Shannon who decides to go back to her hometown where she can raise her young daughter Kylie in a good environment with lots of fresh air. However, by moving back, Shannon must also face the many demons she left behind. She gets a job as a veterinarian and moves into her uncle's old and dilapidated house. Soon after arriving, Shannon finds her high school enemy, Jack, has a daughter named Faith who looks just like her own daughter Kylie. After a little detective work, Shannon and Jack uncover the ...
For Women Who Hold Up “Half The Sky”
“There is no such thing as chance; and what seems to us mere accident springs from the deepest source of destiny.” —Friedrich Schiller Credit chance, destiny, divine intervention, or just good marketing, but I have been bumping into the topic of human rights for women time and again over the last few months. I have always had an interest in the topic, but the issue is no longer one where I can bury my head in the sand and tell myself that there is nothing I can do. It all began this last August when I came across a link to an article ...
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