Book Review: Bird Sense

I'm not entirely sure why I decided to read this book, or more accurately listen to the audiobook. I've never been terribly fond of birds, but I think it was on sale on Audible so I thought, "what the heck, sure". I really have no idea, though. I think I may have enjoyed this book more if I read it instead of listened to it. It was hard to really grasp all the facts in passing, by just hearing them. 

The narrator was horribly bland. He was very monotone and I felt like I was listening to a lecture at a British university rather than reading a book. I wish he would have taken on a more conversational tone. I also expected the book to be a bit funner than what it was and have a more conversational tone. It just came off as a bit dry and stuffy to me. 

I'm giving Bird Sense 2 out of 4 stars.

Book Review: Love Finds You in Miracle, Kentucky

Love Finds You in Miracle, Kentucky is one of the many books (50+) in the Love Finds You series. Love Finds You is a Christian Romance series where each book features a different character, in a different time, and place. Mostly they are women moving to a small town with a quirky name, the women are almost always starting over in a small town where they know nobody and then they end up falling in love. That was the case with LFY in Miracle, Kentucky. Actually, that's the case with most Christian Romances...

In this book, the main character is Meg Jorgensson. Meg just broke up with her poet boyfriend who she was living in Chicago with, where she was a teacher at an inner-city school. She decides to move in with her grandma (who she doesn't know very well) to start a new life away from her toxic boyfriend. She gets a position teaching at a small charter school in Miracle where she meets Vance and Cammy Bayer. Vance is a single dad and Cammy is his disabled, wheelchair-bound daughter. 

Cammy really wants Meg and her dad to date and she would love to have her favorite teacher as as a new mom (hers died in the car accident that paralyzed her). Cammy is really pushy and sneaky when it comes to setting up her dad and teacher, which most people might find cute. It was a bit to Hallmark Channel for me. Way too sappy. Disabled child plays matchmaker for her dad and teacher? Blah. 

I don't really know the though process behind me choosing this LFY book to read. I mean, I know what it was, I thought, "I own a lot of these that I still haven't read, I know! I'll read them in chronological order from the time they were published!". I probably should have just read whichever I really felt like reading, probably one of the historical ones which are usually my favorite (I'm not a big contemporary romance person). This one was just too cheesy with the whole disabled daughter, it was too Southern too. Kentucky is just not really a state that I have ever had interest in reading about. I'm have pretty much no interest in the life of a person who listens to country music, that whole "redneck" lifestyle. Even though, the main character wasn't a country girl and country life sounds a bit pleasant, they're just not really at the top of the list for subcultures I'm intrigued by (typically I find the whole "redneck" attitude obnoxious).

But, once I really started reading the book it went by pretty fast. It was a cute story and I actually liked the main character, Meg, a lot. She was smart and had a good moral compass (despite the fact she actually didn't start going to church until after she moved to Kentucky- gasp! Scandalous!). She also was realistic enough for a woman her age. I'm going to give Love Finds You in Miracle, Kentucky 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Landline

I know this is a bookworm faux pas, but I've never read a book by Rainbow Rowell before. I actually wanted to read her others more than this one, but when I was on Audible trying to determine how to spend my credits, I was tempted by how much I love the cover of her newest novel, Landline. 

From what I understand, Rowell's previous novels were in the Young Adult genre. This one definitely felt adult to me. I wouldn't call it Adult Fiction/Literary Fiction, but maybe Chick-Lit? Probably most definitely Chick-Lit. The main character, I already forgot her name, is a writer for a popular sitcom. However, her dream has always been to be a writer for her own sitcom, which is a dream that she and her best friend Phil share. They finally have the opportunity during the Christmas season to have their show picked up, but they'll need to submit the scripts for four episodes over the course of, like, a week or so. This is great!! Butttt, she's supposed to be leaving for Omaha with her husband and two young daughters to spend Christmas with his mother. 

For some reason, the MC is shocked when her husband doesn't want to cancel the family's Christmas plans and stay in LA so she can write for her show. Instead, like a sane person who has probably just spent tons of money on plane tickets and is excited to see his mother, he takes the daughters and they proceed with the travel plans, leaving her behind to work. However, he's kinda a jerk and for some reason once he's in Omaha (actually once he's at the airport in LA) he never texts or calls her, like over the span of 10 days never once contacts his wife.

Meanwhile in LA, the MC can't even get her iPhone to work and she's in a horrible depression thinking she's made the wrong decision by following her dreams and not going to Christmas in Omaha with her family. So, she ends up living at her mom's house (which is closer to her job anyways) during the time her family is away. Lucky thing is, her mom has an old landline phone that she can use to call her husband. Odd thing is, whenever she calls her husband's mom's landline phone (remember he's not actually answering his cell phone for her) the Neal that picks up isn't the same Neal that left LA, it's college-aged Neal. The Neal she first met in the 90s.

So, this is a weird sort of time travel / Magical Realism type book. But, no one really time travels, she just calls the past somehow (which is never explained) with her magic landline phone. I liked the book, but I think if it wasn't an audiobook I probably would have been pretty bored by the story. It wasn't really exciting and I wasn't a big fan of any of the characters except her best friend and sister. I really couldn't bring myself to care about the MC's relationship. She and her husband (Neal) just didn't really seem right for each other or like they even liked each other that much. I really didn't understand why the MC was pining over this guy the whole time, he was a jerk, he had no personality, and other than when they were in college when he drove 27 hours to surprise her with an engagement, I don't recall anything romantic ever happening. 

All in all, I give Landline 3 out of 5 stars. I do plan to read Rainbow Rowell's previous novels, which will hopefully have more likable characters and better storylines.

Book Review: Columbine

When I saw that there was a book written about the Columbine High School shooting of 1999, I just had to read it. The horrific school shooting happened when I was in middle school and definitely changed the way my peers and I felt about our safety in school and "outsiders" on the fringes of our school's social structure. I feel like I certainly learned a lot about the shootings. Actually, pretty much everything I thought I knew was pretty much false (thanks to the media).

This book was super educational and it took a totally unbiased approach. Eric and Dylan, the two boys responsible for the school massacre, were brilliant to be honest. They were true masterminds and masters of deception. They weren't goths or fans of Marilyn Manson. They weren't even necessarily unpopular. They were just two regular guys, maybe a little on the shy side, but still totally normal. The book really does a great job at portraying this.

The author also has a unique writing style, especially in the sections dedicated to Eric and Dylan. He takes on the tone of an angsty teenage boy, it's almost like he's one of them. In the book you see the shooting, both the planning leading up to it and the aftermath, from the perspectives of the shooters, the victims, the survivors, the school system, law enforcement, and the media. It paints a very intricate and intriguing picture. 

I highly recommend this book if you're a fan of true crime novels or have a fascination with what drives seemingly normal people to kill. I give Columbine 4 out of 5 stars. It was VERY interesting.

Book Review: The Lonely Polygamist

I've been reading The Lonely Polygamist for what seems like forever and I have finally finished. I guess the problem is that I put it down for several months and kept meaning to get back to it. I think the biggest problem is that its sheer amount of characters and side stories is so overwhelming and the book itself is about 600 pages. 

The Lonely Polygamist is the story of Golden, or as one of his many sons calls him "Sasquatch", who is a man who joined a fundamentalist offshoot of the Mormon church. Everything about Golden is larger than life and he can't seem to control any of it. From his size (his son calls him Sasquatch for a reason) to his large family with so many kids (I want to say 24 but can't remember) that when one is in an accident he's not actually able to determine at first which one it is, but is positive it is one of his children. 

This book was pretty funny, it had a dry sense of humor to it. Even when the most serious, darkest things happen to the family members the writing somehow remains light yet poignant and tinged with humor. The members of this oversized, quirky family find themselves victims to affairs, bombs, death, and one troublemaking ostrich. I enjoyed this book, despite it's volume, and am giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit

I wanted so bad to like this book. I loved Jeanette Winterson's hilarious and poignant memoir, Why Be Happy When You Can Be Normal? This is basically that memoir, put into novel form and not 100% non-fiction. 

The main character, also called Jeanette, is adopted as baby into a strict Pentecostal household. Her adoptive mother believes that Jeanette will one day become a missionary and trains as a very young child for her "destiny" as a missionary. As a young adult, Jeanette begins several love affairs with women, thus causing her religious and family trouble. The book is told in a humorous, yet sincere manner.

So the problem for me, was the writing I think. It was very British. I know this sounds really ignorant, but it was hard to understand the language, just with the British English. For example, in one chapter, the word "mac" kept being used. I thought this was macaroni-and-cheese until the author speaks of putting it on. Sure, I could have Googled the British words I didn't know, but really while reading it's not really something I usually feel like doing since it disrupts the flow. There was also a lot of parables that disrupt the flow of the story. In the middle of the story at any given time she'll tell another short almost fairy-tale like story or might just insert what seem like small non-fiction essays. Just reflections on life.

Unfortunately, I'm going to give Oranges Are The Only Fruit 2 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Book of Mormon Girl

The Book of Mormon Girl is a memoir of growing up Mormon, but as an adult having political and cultural disagreements regarding the faith that you were raised in and love deeply. It's about juggling personal feelings about topics such as feminism and gay rights with the conservative doctrine and culture of one's own religion. Really, you don't have to be Mormon to enjoy The Book of Mormon Girl, anyone who has felt like they don't quite fit into their culture or upbringing could relate to Joanna Brook's struggle as a Mormon feminist and gay ally.

This book was of particular interest to me. I'm a Mormon convert and have only been in the church for about  a year. Growing up fairly secular, I too sometimes have a hard time agreeing or understanding certain aspects of Mormon culture. I, like Joanna Brooks, am a feminist and supporter of gay rights. I'm not as vocal or entwined in those subcultures, but it is scary to me that people who don't agree wholeheartedly with the church's views of cultural and political topics can be excommunicated. This is something the author is constantly worried about as she dearly loves the Mormon church. 

The book kept my interest for the most part. The writing wasn't always super interesting and was mostly her lamenting how hard it is to be a feminist/gay activist and be Mormon and how she doesn't fit in anymore. That's the point of the book, I guess, but at times she did come off as almost whiny and a little too poetic and sentimental. I also couldn't tell who the books intended market was. Was it Mormons or non-members? I'm thinking her target audience are fellow Mormons, as many of the things she talks about in the book in regards to the church aren't explained. Non-members would be highly-confused with so little explanation of Mormon jargon and traditions. Even I, as a member, albeit a convert, found things I had to look up.

The book is relatively short and sweet and with enough time and a good attention-span (which I lack... on both counts) could probably be read in a few hours. I'm a lover of memoirs and I especially love learning about different religions and cultures so I would recommend this book to others who enjoy the same subjects. I am giving The Book of Mormon Girl 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia

Women's History Month

Wasted is the memoir of Marya Hornbacher who at a very young age became bulimic. Her memoir is very gritty and raw and it doesn't seem like she sugarcoats (no pun intended) anything. No one (including the author) can really determine what caused her to start throwing up her food one day and then eventually starving herself to somewhere around 60-something pounds and the Horbacher doesn't really make excuses. 

Her anorexia and bulimia seemed to be some sort of control issue, but still what was she trying to control? It seemed like her life was pretty good compared to some, but I'm not going to say one type of person is more entitled to eating disorders than another. I just couldn't determine what actually was "wrong" with her life. The best I could determine was she was upset about going through puberty and developing a butt, boobs, and hips. It seemed to all spiral out of control from there.

I can't say the author was very likable (though she never tried to be) and I never felt sorry for her (though once again that never seemed to be the point of her memoir). It was hard to grasp that someone as intelligent and ambitious as the author put herself through all of this. I am giving Wasted: A Memoir of Anorexia and Bulimia 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?

Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? Is the memoir of Jeanette Winterson who grew up in a strict Pentecostal household with a her super-religious adoptive mother and passive adoptive father. The memoir is about Jeanette's life growing up adopted and growing gay in such a religious household. 

Jeanette is both hilarious and raw and the reader gets the feeling she is being brutally honest about her life. This memoir is the story behind Winterson's hit novel Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit which was adapted into a BBC drama in 1990. I have not read Oranges, but from what I understand this does follow that story pretty-closely and the author herself does say that the book is semi-autobiographical. Since finishing this book, I have ordered Oranges from Amazon and look forward to reading it. 

I am giving this humorous and enjoyable memoir 4 out of 5 stars. I recommend it to the feminist reader and/or fans of memoirists such as David Sedaris. 

Book Review: Bossypants

Women's History Month

Bossypants has been really popular since it was first released in 2011. I just now read it (via audiobook, actually) and I certainly enjoyed it. I really don't have much to say about it, just it was a light, humorous memoir. We first meet Fey as an awkward theater geek and as the book progresses she goes from improv to SNL to an Emmy award-winning sitcom. 

I really enjoyed Fey's feminist perspective and I felt she had many valid insights. She also seems to have an incredible work ethic. I also appreciated her views of being a working mother. The only two things that bothered me were:

1.) she wouldn't give details about how she got her scar. Of course, it's personal. But, it feels a little cheap to write a memoir and not actually talk about the kind of stuff memoirs are made of. 

2.) Her views of blondes which she refers to as "yellow hair". I guess as brunette the emphasis on blondes in the media may get annoying, but I don't feel that's really something to hold against the natural blondes of the world.

Either way, Bossypants was a fun and entertaining memoir and I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: I Am Malala

Women's History Month

Ugh... why did I not like this book? I feel like a horrible person. Everyone likes this book. But, it really did nothing for me. 

Don't get me wrong, Malala is an inspirational person. I just felt like the memoir was a bit superficial and lacked emotion. It basically just recounted Pakistani history and current events. I felt like I was reading newspaper articles. It was interesting reading a first-hand account of Taliban rule, but I still felt like it was lacking. It just didn't have heart or emotion. Malala rarely talked about her personal feelings or how she felt. It was just "this is what happened on this day and time". I couldn't help but wonder if this was because the co-author wrote the book based on Malala's account and therefore didn't know Malala's personal feelings and insights.

I also felt when Malala talked about herself she came off as a bit braggy. Okay, a lot braggy. If she said something about herself it was about how smart she is. It's great that she's intelligent, but really the few times she'd really talk about her personal life she was usually talking about exams and how well she did over her fellow classmates. 

The best part of the book was probably when she got shot in the head, because then she opened up about herself and experience a bit more. Reading about her hospitlization and recovery in a foreign country was a little more interesting to me. 

I am giving I Am Malala 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Hyperbole and a Half

Women's History Month

For Women's History Month The Book Babe will be focusing on memoirs written by women, biographies of women throughout history, and books that highlight women's issues or have a feminist focus.

Hyperbole and a Half is a hilarious graphic memoir by blogger Allie Brosh. Prior to this reading book, I never visited Allie's blog. Now that I have, I will definitely keep going back for more. I'm ready for a sequel to this book, I didn't want it to end!

I loved Allie's brutal honesty about herself... and her pets. As I was reading I kept feeling happier and more proud of myself for not owning pets. I'm sure that's not what Allie wanted people to feel, since she obviously loves her pets. My favorite chapter was the goose story. My grandmother had two geese, which were vicious horrible creatures. I hated them, they were brutal and would attack me and chase cars and bite the tires. So, I could imagine the horror of actually having one in your home... attacking your unsuspecting boyfriend. 

Pretty hilarious, actually.

So yeah, I totally enjoyed this book and it was my first ever graphic memoir! Pat on the back to me. I am giving Hyperbole and a Half 5 out of 5 stars. I also highly recommend checking out Allie's blog in case you haven't already.

Book Review: Coming Clean

Women's History Month

For Women's History Month The Book Babe will be focusing on memoirs written by women, biographies of women throughout history, and books that highlight women's issues or have a feminist focus.

"As a little girl, I used to lie in bed, thinking maybe if I endure all my pain now, I could be happy when I am older."

Coming Clean is the memoir of blogger Kimberly Rae Miller. Kim's parents are hoarders and she grew up in utter filth and deplorable living conditions. Imagine living in a home so messy that your family doesn't even realize there's a person living in their attic because they just blow off the sounds coming from the attic as that of rats. Imagine that you live in a home with no running water and that your home is virtually flooded due to broken pipes. Think of only being able to take a shower once a week during your families weekly visit to the gym, which they joined for the purpose of being able to shower. Imagine stacks and stacks of papers piled all around your home, so much there's only enough room on the couch for one person to sit on it at a time.

This book made me feel queasy at times. It was also inspiring. Kim lives with the shame and embarrassment of her childhood even as an adult, which is something that I can relate to. I didn't have the same childhood experience as Kim, but equally crappy in it's own way. 

Coming Clean is not only the story of an emotionally scarring childhood, but also a story of family, love, and forgiveness. Kim pulls herself out of the ashes, sometimes almost literally. I can relate to her need to make something of myself to prove that I am more than my childhood. 

This book kept me turning the pages. Not so much out of the horror of hoarding, but because it was such an intriguing memoir and I really liked Kim from the first page. She didn't come across as whiny or "woe is me". The reader can almost sense that she's trying to work out her emotions and childhood and her parent's mental illness as she is writing the book, yet the writing comes across as neat and clean much like Kim's adult life. 

I am giving Coming Clean 4 out of 5 stars.

Blog Tour: The Cost of Love and Sanity

The Cost of Love and Sanity is the story of a professional career woman who succeeds in every part of her life and has everything she wants... except for one thing a family. Alex has just never met the right man, not that she's really devoted much time to looking. At 37, Alex is a bit of homebody and prefers to focus on her career as a Recruitment Manager. She drives a Lexus and has a large house all to herself. One day she bumps into a guy she dated a decade ago, but broke up with over trust issues. In a way, she'd really like to rekindle a relationship with him and it seems like he's really changed, but has he?

I enjoyed this book and I liked the character of Alex. I felt like I had a lot in common with her, personality-wise. I found the story enjoyable. It wasn't a terribly exciting story line, but it moved along at a nice pace. The only thing that bothered me was there was no mention of a setting. I assumed the book was set in Florida, because the author is from Jacksonville. Yet, she never mentions what city or state the book is set in. I kept looking for complex and I did find some and I am not sure the book is set in Florida, but again it's never actually mentioned. Alex does mention that if she'd have a baby shower she'd like to hold it in Amelia Island or Sawgrass, both which are towns near Jacksonville. Later, Nathan tells Alex he'd like to take her to a club outside of Orlando. Even if the author made up a fictional Florida town, I just feel like a book isn't complete without mention of a setting. For people who don't live in Florida, they probably aren't familiar enough to figure out what state Alex lives in.

I also felt the character's reactions to almost any dialogue was redundant. No matter what was said someone, without fail, would "suck their teeth." I think the author should have maybe explored different reactions for her characters. I'm not being hyperbolic, the phrase "sucked his/her teeth" came up several times in each chapter!

Outside of that, the book was a nice romance about a smart, educated career woman. I appreciated that Alex wasn't a damsel-in-distress like many romance book heroines. I'm giving The Cost of Love and Sanity 4 out of 5 stars.

I received a free copy of this book from Tlc Book Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Book Review: Love is a Battlefield

7 Days of Romance

Kristy is a park ranger at Shiloh Monument National Park in Tennessee and was just left at the altar in front of all her friends and family. To make it worse, she already put in her notice to leave her beloved position at the park after the wedding. Her boss has already filled her position with a new ranger from out-of-state and Kristy is forced to accept a seasonal position. The new guy even gets her yellow office. Kristy tries hard not to like him, but it's hard to resist his charm...

Love is a Battlefield was a cute novel that had a bit of mystery thrown in. I do wish the mystery was better developed and maybe lasted throughout the whole book, rather than being solved in the middle. The mystery was really kind of what kept me turning the pages. So once it was solved I didn't really have much reason to keep reading. 

The book was still decent and the romance was cute. There was some drama as well and I liked how the main characters of books two and three were introduced in this book. I look forward to reading their stories as well. I am giving Love is a Battlefield 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: Naughty Neighbor

7 Days of Romance

Valentine's Day Reading

Naughty Neighbor is one of Janet Evanovich's early romance novels, which she originally wrote under a different name. Just like her famous Stephanie Plum series, this book offers a humorous mystery and features a spunky and likable female protagonist. 

Louisa Brannigan is a smart and independent woman working on Capitol Hill. She has everything together and her life may be somewhat dull, but it's mostly pleasant. Except... there's her neighbor, Pete. The smells from his kitchen seep down to her apartment, he parks in her spot, and steals her newspaper. When her car is mistaken for Pete's and vandalized, she's drawn into a mystery Pete has been attempting to solve. A mystery involving a missing pig whose disappearance may be linked to a sketchy politician. 

This romance was cute and fun. The book itself is short and I wish it were a bit longer and maybe the mystery was built-up a bit more. However, it was still a light, easy read with a touch of romance, mystery, and humor. It seemed almost like the characters and story from the Plum novels sort of got their start here. Louisa was a bit more successful and less clumsy than Stephanie, but seemed like she could definitely be related to the Plums. There was even a crazy grandma, though she was definitely a bit more crotchety than Grandma Mazur, though every bit as out spoken. 

Naughty Neighbor was a fun read and I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars and I have now passed it on to my mom who I am sure will enjoy it.

Book Review: Persuasion

7 Days of Romance

Valentine's Day Reading

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope... I have loved none but you."

I hate to admit this is my first Jane Austen novel! As an avid bookworm all my life, I have yet to pick up a Jane Austen book until now. Sad, I know. I actually listened to the audiobook version of this book, I picked it up on the cheap when it was Audible's Deal of The Day. 

I can't say that I really enjoyed it too much or see what all the Jane Austen fuss is about. The book was good, but I don't think it quite lived up to all the hype that surrounds Austen. I guess I just expected something mind-blowing. However, I might have started with the wrong Austen novel, since it seems Pride and Prejudice is the most popular. I have that one too and look forward to reading it. 

I also didn't find this book to be all that romantic. Nothing really made me swoon. The story was good and it was often funny which I didn't expect, but it was hardly romantic. The quote above is probably the most romantic line from the entire book. However, like I said I did enjoy the story and I found the characters to be especially colorful and fun.

I am giving Persuasion 3 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: A Tale For The Time Being

"It made me feel sad when I caught myself pretending that everybody out there in cyberspace cared about what I thought, when really nobody gives a shit. And when I multiplied that sad feeling by all the millions of people in their little rooms, furiously writing and posting to their lonely little pages that nobody has time to read because they're all so busy writing and posting, it kind of broke my heart."

Wow, this book was deep. It took me to deep places. From attempted suicides, tsunamis, earthquakes, ghosts, kamikaze pilots, and great-grandmother Zen Buddhist nuns. From a small, lonely island off the western coast of Canada to the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. A Tale For The Time Being follows the lives of two separate women, who are strangers to each other. Naoki or "Nao" as she's called is a poor Japanese teenager who is relentlessly bullied. Nao decides to write the life story of her 104-year-old great-grandmother who lives in a Zen Buddhist temple. Somehow the notebook ends up washing up on the shore of the Canadian island where Ruth calls home. Ruth is half-Japanese and an author and is immediately drawn in to the lives of Nao and her family.The notebook becomes a total enigma.

I loved this book. I wanted to savor every moment of it and yet devour it at the same time. It's really hard to describe the book or the way it made me think and feel. It had an esoteric feeling to it and I couldn't help feel that I was reading something profound. Like secrets of the universe were hidden inside its pages. Yet, the book had humor. It also had incredible sadness and depth. Sometimes, the story even got a bit spooky. How can a book have so much to offer and really be so complex, yet be written in such a neat and clean manner? ...and yet also have a quirkiness to it?

The author, Ruth Ozeki, did an amazing job. Half way through I went on AbeBooks and bought her other two novels, My Year of Meats and All Over Creation. Does anyone else ever feel like sometimes you buy a book, but then lose the yearning to read it right away? Then it sits on your shelf for maybe weeks, months, or years and you almost forget it's there. Then one day, that book just pops in your head and you are all the sudden out-of-the-blue compelled to read it right away. You must read it now and you don't know why. That's what this book did to me. It's like once you finish reading one of those books, you think "this was the right time to read, if I would have read it when I first acquired it, it wouldn't have been the same." It's like books come into your life for a reason and if you follow those sudden yearnings, it's almost always the right time.

I am giving A Tale For The Time Being 5 out of 5 stars.

Book Review: The Color Purple

African-American History Month

February 1st marks the start of African-American history month. In honor of this month I've been reading books by African-American authors (or about African-Americans throughout history) over the course of the last several months. Prior to reading these books, I had very little experience with African-American literature though I've had several on my to-read list for years. There are so many on my list that it was tough to determine where to begin. To kick off my reading, I decided to start with one of the most regonizable titles, a book which also sits on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list, and also famously made into a movie starring Oprah Winfrey. So, here's my review of The Color Purple.

By Alice Walker

“...have you ever found God in church? I never did. I just found a bunch of folks hoping for him to show. Any God I ever felt in church I brought in with me. And I think all the other folks did too. They come to church to share God, not find God.” 

The Color Purple is probably a book that needs no introduction. Maybe you haven't read it, but more than likely you've heard of it. The Color Purple is a classic in American literature, a modern classic. I decided this would be a good starting point for an introduction into African-American literature. There's many books about African-American history, such as The Help or The Secret Life of Bees, but I wanted to make sure that for African-American History Month I was actually reading books by African-American authors. Reading a book by a white person about black people just seemed backwards.

I absolutely loved The Color People. The book explored all the topics I enjoy: race, religion, gender, and class. I also loved that part of the book was based in Africa and African history was woven throughout Nettie's letters to Celie. Africa is a country whose history I've always had a heavy interest in so I was pleasantly surprised to find that Africa plays a role in the book. I expected it to just be based in the American South and just be comprised of it's issues.

As a feminist the topics of gender and being a woman were another subject that grabbed my attention in the book. Sexual abuse and domestic violence play a large role in the book. However, I liked how men weren't portrayed as all bad. For example, Nettie's husband was a very loving and supportive man. Also, we saw how Mister had reformed himself and actually began enjoying feminine hobbies. 

The Color Purple tells a beautiful story. I am giving it 4 out of 5 stars and I hope to eventually have the time to pick up more books by Alice Walker.

Throwback Thursday: Mary Anne Saves The Day (The Baby-Sitters Club #4)

1987

I've always been relatively disinterested in Mary Anne, one of the more boring members of The BSC... or so I thought. I don't recall reading any of her books when I was younger. I didn't realize Mary Anne had such an attitude. I guess this is the first book where she really comes around and gains a mind of her own. I also didn't expect the introduction of Dawn in this book, though it makes perfect sense since her book is the 5th in the series. 

In this book all the babysitters are in a row over all sorts of things... Kristy being bossy and a know-it-all, Mary Anne being a baby, Stacey being snobby, and Claudia being a "job-hog". All the girls stop speaking to each other and the club nearly breaks up. Mary Anne and Claudia also get into it over favor shown towards Mary Anne from Claudia's grandmother, Mimi. Kristy, Mary Anne's best friend, is not showing any signs of forgiving Mary Anne. While eating lunch alone at school, Mary Anne meets a new girl from California, Dawn. Dawn and Mary Anne soon become fast friends and watch movies on Dawn's VCR together. 

One day, while sitting for a little girl with an uptight family, Mary Anne is involved in her first babysitting emergency. The little girl, who the parents comically call "angel" to the point where people aren't sure if they're actually talking about a real angel or not, gets a high fever of 104 while Mary Anne is babysitting her and her parents are about an hour away at a basketball game which the mother oddly wears a cocktail dress to (seriously, this is one of the weirder Stoneybrook families). Mary Anne goes down the list of numbers trying to reach all of the family's emergency contacts, but cannot get a hold of anyone. Remember, this was before cell phones. Mary Anne ends up leaving a message at the gym where the basketball game is being held so the parents can be paged when they arrive. 

Mary Anne then calls Dawn who comes over and helps with "the little angel" and the girls end up resorting to calling 911 where the girl is whisked away in an ambulance. The little girl's parents are so impressed with Dawn and Mary Anne that they pay them each TEN DOLLARS and that was after a little extra cash was thrown in by the father for looking after the girl so well. Dawn is eventually invited to become a member of The BSC after all the girls have eventually made up and have a pizza party at Mary Anne's. To go along with the BSC feud and ill children, there's the side story that Dawn's mom and Mary Anne's dad used to date in high school. If you're familiar with the series you'll recall that this ends up resulting in marriage.

As I said earlier, I was surprised at how catty Mary Anne actually is. I also found this storyline especially interesting since twice this week my own son had to be taken to the ER for fevers over 104. I sort of felt like Mary Anne understand, lol. I'm giving Mary Anne Saves The Day 4 out of 5 stars.