Book Review: The Mistress's Daughter

First a confession: I picked this book because I really liked the cover. The eyes of the girl on the cover spoke to me. So I grabbed it at Target and took it home to read. The Mistress's Daughter: A memoir by A.M. Homes. I didn't get pulled into the book quickly, but I did find it thought provoking and made me think about about my life. In the book Homes tells her account of when she found out that her birth mother was trying to contact her. This leads to rather interesting and unsettling knowledge about her birth parents and causes Homes to search out more information about her family--both her biological and her adoptive families. As I was reading this I couldn't help but thing about my family situation. Though not adopted, I do not feel like I am a part of my biological family--I am so different and no one seems to know what to do with me . So this has led to lots of long nights thinking about the nature of my family and where I fit into it--or probably more importantly, if there is even such a place that exists. So, the book really got me thinking, which means it was good for me in this context.

Checked off the list: Read The Secret

Why is this on my list?: My sister-in-law was reading the book and said it was "interesting" so I decided to give it a try. I bought it awhile ago and it has just sat on my shelf, so I put it on the list to make sure it got read.

How did I do it?: Opened it up and read :)

How did it feel?: I actually really did not like the book at all and I think that it is just a bunch of nonsense (the basic premise is that if you want something you will get it as long as you want it enough and believe that you will get it). I just can't mess that with the horrors that happen to people in this world. Not wanting my time to be entirely wasted though, I took a couple of parts from the book as good reminders. One is to be thankful (thus my Thankful Thursday postings) and the other is to just try to be more positive.

Count: 4/101

Book Review: The Red Tent

A great friend of mine recommended Anita Diamant's Red Tent to me, saying that the book changed her life. With that kind of recommendation, how could I not read it at the first opportunity? (Of course, I also used it as an excuse to place a book order of over $25 through http://www.amazon.com/ to get the free shipping, but that is another story!).

What can I say, I loved it! The Red Tent is a fictional story of a biblical character who is only briefly mentioned in the Bible. The book gave me pause when thinking about reading all of the genealogy lists in the Bible. As a kid, we would just skip right past those and think that they were incredibly boring and a waste of space. This book, however, is a reminder that there is a story behind each of those names, and it may be an amazing story like the story that Diamant tells of Dinah. I love how the story is about women in biblical times--a population that is often overlooked. There is plenty to reflect on in this book as well, the role of women, the treatment of women, relationships with other women, relationships, hardship, moving on after tragedy...I could go on and on!

Book Review: Shoe Addicts Anonymous

I will confess that I was a bit weary when Shoe Addicts Anonymous by Beth Harbison was picked as our next book club selection. It has a bright pink cover and the title screams "silly girl" to me, but I dutifully bought my copy and started to read it right away. I ended up enjoying the book immensely! It is a good "easy" read, but the characters also really have a lot of depth. The women in the book could be you or your coworker or your neighbor. I related particularly to one of the characters. It reminds me of my book club--a group of really different women brought together by a common element (for us the gym). So thanks for picking the book Leslie! I really loved it!!

Book Review: Love Walked In

So I admit it...I picked this book up because I loved the cover. And since I am confessing, I also picked it up at Safeway while grocery shopping--the ultimate impulse buy!

I brought the book along on our trip to Belize, and finished it in short order. I really enjoyed the book by Marisa de los Santos. It is a story about love. Romantic love and love for a child. I really liked how the book is written from two perspectives--that is probably one of my favorite literary forms. I loved the characters! De los Santos did a brilliant job of setting up the characters and making you feel for them.

All-in-all, a good read, plus a beautiful cover!