Introverted Reader

Middle Eastern Women’s Literature Recommendations

A few weeks ago I posted about author Masha Hamilton and her Afghan Women's Writing Project. Check out my post if you missed it. This is a great project. I recommended the books A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini, The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, and Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and asked if any of you had any other recommendations for Middle Eastern women's literature. There were a few, so I thought I'd share them with everyone in a post. Nymeth at things mean a lot said she also liked Persepolis and Reading Lolita but also recommended Iran Awakening, a memoir by Shirin Ebadi. Nymeth writes, "I thought it was even more interesting than the first two because unlike Satrapi and Nafisi, she didn't move abroad eventually. She's still in Iran, trying to change the system from within and fighting every day for women's and children's rights." Misty at Book Rat also recommended Persepolis but also recommended the non-contemporary young adult books, Anahita's Woven Riddle by Meghan Nuttall Sayres and Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. She also suggested that we look at the multi-cultural folder in the Wild Things group on GoodReads for more recommendations. Do you have any more books I should add to this list?

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June 21, 2010

Personal Stories

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy Father's Day to any fathers out there! Let me tell you about my dad. He can best be described by a conversation I had with my neighbor recently. I had been out of town, my parents had stopped by my house to water my plants and check the mail, and my dad and Neighbor Mike, age 70+, had talked a little while. Mike stopped me in my car when I got back the next week to ask how my trip had been. Then he said, "I spoke to your dad for a while on Saturday. You know, he seems like a good man." Being me and not good at the "mushy" stuff, I kind of blew it off, "Well, he likes to talk a lot!" (And he does.) Mike says, "No, I'm serious. I get the feeling that, as little as he knows me, if I asked him to do anything for me, he would do it, no questions asked." Okay, now I'm not getting out of this one with a breezy answer. "He is a good man and he would absolutely help you with anything he could." And he would. I can't begin to tell you how often and how much he helps me and my husband, even though we've been married for almost six years now. As long as I can remember, if I call him for something, he's there. No questions, he just is. "Daddy, I'm sick and I need you to come pick me up." "Daddy, we need someone to drive our high school marching band's equipment truck." "Daddy, I'm breaking up with my high school boyfriend of three years and I don't know if I'll get through it." "Daddy, my car broke down and my husband's out of town." Even yesterday, "Daddy, can you…

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June 20, 2010

Bookish Miscellany

Egypt: Locus Focus

Locus Focus is hosted every Saturday at Shredded Cheddar. Write a post about your favorite setting and go share your link! Can you imagine Peter Pan without Neverland? Lemuel Gulliver without Lilliput and Brobdingnag? The Pied Piper without Hamelin? A good setting is more than just a backdrop! Join us every Saturday as we write about our favourite settings and the books that make them come alive! I've been busy and haven't made time to do this recently, although I love the idea. It gives me an excuse to go digging for pictures of settings that I like. I read Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters recently and loved it! Thanks to Allison at The Allure of Books for the recommendation! Crocodile on the Sandbank takes place in Egypt in the 1880s. Miss Amelia Peabody has embarked on a tour up the Nile to visit all the ancient places that she and her father loved to study together. She is bitten by the archaeology bug when she first visits Giza and sees the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx. This is her first impression: "I had seen engravings of the Great Pyramid and read extensively about it; I thought I was prepared for the sight. But I was not. It was so much grander than I had imagined! The massive bulk bursts suddenly on one's sight as one mounts the steep slope leading up to the rocky platform. It fills the sky. And the color! No black-and-white engraving can possibly prepare one for the color of Egyptian limestone, mellow gold in the sunlight against a heavenly-blue vault." Photo of Khafre's Pyramid and the Great Sphinx taken by Hamish2k and shared on Wikimedia Commons Miss Amelia is determined not to be one of those travelers who publishes repetitive memoirs about the…

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June 19, 2010

The Confessions of Catherine de Medici by C. W. Gortner: Book Review

Catherine de Medici. I picked this up not knowing exactly who she was, knowing only that if she was "de Medici," there would be lots of the drama that make the best historical fiction. Her parents died when she was young; she was held hostage in a convent in Florence when the Medicis were overthrown; and her uncle, Pope Clement VII, married her off to the second son of King Francis I of France when she was only fourteen years old. Her life in the French court was not easy. Catherine is fascinating. I found myself Googling her to find out more once I finished because I just hadn't quite gotten my fill yet. These are her "confessions," so we are given full access to her thoughts. I loved watching her grow from a slightly spoiled girl, to a frightened girl, to a young wife, to a woman in her prime and at the height of her glory. Gortner took the approach that some of the bad things that happened during her reign were due to others' actions rather than any complicity on her part. That made it easier to understand her motivations, but it also made her seem like a bad ruler. She had no control over her court, she ignored threats when she should have taken preemptive action, and she didn't think through all the implications of what she did. Politics play a fairly large part in the book, and I didn't always follow why things were happening. I don't think that I'm someone who would ever be good at intrigue. At most I might think one step ahead of where I am. So when Catherine was making deals, or she all of a sudden had to support one faction over another, or she chose whether to assassinate…

Introverted Reader Features

Agatha Raisin: Character Connection

We all have characters we love. Let's spotlight these fantastic creations! Whether you want to be friends with them or you have a full-blown crush on them, you know you love them and want everyone else to love them too! Most of you will probably post about how much you love each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write a love letter to Captain Wentworth. Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Draw a picture of yourself in Jamie's arms. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday.Today's character is Agatha Raisin, from the cozy mystery series of the same name by M.C. Beaton. The first in the series is Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death. Agatha is one of those characters who would drive me crazy in real life, but who I just can't help but like on the page. I think she proves that old adage, "Never judge a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes." At the beginning of the first book, she owns a fabulous Public Relations firm in London that she built from the ground up. She's survived a horrible marriage and come out of it a stronger woman. Now that she's a little older, she realizes that she's not entirely happy. She's busybusybusy with work all the time and doesn't really have any friends, much less any men in her life. She makes the momentous decision to sell the firm and retire to a little village in the Cotswolds. Photo…

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June 17, 2010

Crocodile on the Sandbank by Elizabeth Peters: Book Review

Miss Amelia Peabody is a confirmed spinster. Her father died and left her a comfortable inheritance and she has decided to start traveling to those ancient sites they both loved. She acquires the lovely yet troubled Evelyn as a companion in Rome and she sets off to visit Egypt. There, she meets the Emerson brothers. Younger brother Walter is a nice lad, but the older Emerson? Has a towering temper. The group accidentally fall in together and begin investigating some mysterious appearances around the Emersons' archaeological dig. I loved Amelia! In real life, I would probably chafe against her decisiveness and take-charge attitude, but safely on the page, she was great! She just ignores facts, people or attitudes that don't fit with what she's trying to do and goes about her business of leading everyone around. Fortunately, she's an intelligent woman, so her plans generally do work out for the best. Of course, she has a good heart under her tough exterior, and I was glad to see her friendship with Evelyn softening her up a little bit. I do love how she writes about Emerson. She calls him a big, hard-headed, stubborn bully every chance she gets, but when she gets close to him, she physically melts a little every time. She admits to it in her writing in moments of softness, then she goes on her merry way, arguing with him again. Emerson was great too. I didn't feel like I got to know him quite as well as I would have liked in this first book of a series, but he's a good match for Amelia. He's just as stubborn, but he's also passionate about archaeology and quietly yet fiercely loyal. Amelia exasperates him to no end, but he acknowledges her as an equal companion. The mystery…

Book Reviews

2010 Book Reviews by Author

A list of my 2010 book reviews by author. Click the letter to jump to the corresponding section. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P R S T V W Z A Allen, Sarah Addison–The Girl Who Chased the Moon–3.5 Stars Allen, Sarah Addison--The Sugar Queen--4 Stars Allende, Isabel--Portrait in Sepia--3 Stars Anderson, R. J.--Spell Hunter--4 Stars Andrews, Mary Kay--Blue Christmas--4 Stars Angelou, Maya--I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings--4 Stars Austen, Jane--Persuasion--5 Stars B Ball, Margaret–Duchess of Aquitaine–3 Stars Baratz-Logsted, Lauren--The Education of Bet--3 Stars Barnes, Jonathan--The Somnambulist--3.5 Stars Blake, Sarah--The Postmistress--5 Stars Bohjalian, Chris--Skeletons at the Feast--5 Stars Brady, Joan--Venom--2.5 Stars Briggs, Patricia--Moon Called--4 Stars Bull, Emma--War For The Oaks--5 Stars Butcher, Jim--Storm Front--4 Stars C Campbell, Chelsea–The Rise of Renegade X–4 Stars Carriger, Gail--Changeless--4 Stars Carriger, Gail--Soulless--5 Stars Charleson, Susannah--Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership With a Search-and-Rescue Dog--4 Stars Cogdill, Michael--She-Rain--5 Stars Connolly, John--The Book of Lost Things--4 Stars Cowell, Stephanie--Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet--3 Stars Cremer, Andrea--Nightshade--3 Stars D Davidson, Andrew–The Gargoyle–4.5 Stars Davis, Heather--The Clearing by Heather Davis--4 Stars de Lint, Charles--Muse and Reverie--4 Stars Despain, Bree--The Dark Divine--3 Stars Díaz, Junot--The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao--4 Stars Diaz Gonzalez, Christina--The Red Umbrella--5 Stars Dickens, Charles--Christmas Tales--3 Stars Dogar, Sharon--Annexed--5 Stars Donnelly, Jennifer--A Northern Light--5 Stars Donnelly, Jennifer--Revolution--4 Stars Ducharme, Diann--The Outer Banks House--3 Stars E Essex, Karen–Dracula in Love–DNF Evanovich, Janet--One for the Money--4 Stars Evans, Richard Paul--The Christmas Box--4 Stars F Ferris, Jean–Once Upon a Marigold–4 Stars Fforde, Jasper--Shades of Grey--3 Stars Fitzpatrick, Becca--Hush, Hush--1 Star Follett, Ken--The Pillars of the Earth--4 Stars Follett, Ken--World Without End--3 Stars Fortier, Anne-Juliet--4 Stars Frank, Anne--The Diary of a Young Girl--5 Stars Fraser, Gail--Lumby on the Air--4 Stars Frazier, Angie--Everlasting--4 Stars Furnivall,…

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June 14, 2010

Daughter of My People by James Kilgo: Book Review

Hart Bonner is the son of a formerly prosperous plantation owner. Jennie Grant is his cousin's biracial cook. In South Carolina in the early 1900s, she is considered a "Negro" and it is a felony for a white man to have "relations" with her. She and Hart carry on a secret affair for years though. The strain of the secret and outside influences take their toll on the relationship and things come to a head in 1918. White man, black woman, South Carolina, 1918. Can you say trouble? I rarely read synopses of books if someone recommends them to me, so I didn't know what I was getting into. When I figured out that this was the background of the story, my reading slowed to a crawl. It wasn't that the writing was bad or anything. I was just afraid to become attached to these characters when I knew that bad things had to be coming for them. In that place at that time, there would have been almost no limit to exactly how bad things could get. So I would read until I found myself caring for the characters, and then I would find something else to do. When I had gained a little distance again, I picked the book back up. This is not a good way for me to read and that's probably the biggest factor behind the three stars. This was so much more than just the obvious story. Looking inside this relationship was interesting and heartbreaking in an entirely different way than I had expected. Jennie and Hart truly love each other, but the secret meetings, the constant hiding and being careful, the sneaking out of Jennie's house before dawn inevitably take their toll. Hart would just put their love out in the open but…

Look Homeward, Angel by Thomas Wolfe: Book Review

I decided to read this because Thomas Wolfe was from my area and I only had to read one short story of his for an English class. I wanted to see what he was all about. This is basically the slightly fictionalized story of his childhood and young adult years growing up in the mountains of North Carolina in the early 1900's. I read the very first sentence of this book and my heart sank. So I read it again. And again. After about the fifth reading, I finally had some idea what he was trying to say and moved on. The second and third sentences blew me away. He was an amazing writer. He wrote with a richness of imagery that is hard to find. That being said, this book was very hard to get through. Taken a paragraph or so at a time, I could appreciate the beauty of his language. But the very beauty that I admired made the actual story drag by. And I'm very story-oriented. That's one of the reasons I only gave this three stars. The other thing that bothered me was a small vein of racism that was present throughout the book. It's not at all the point of the story, it's just there in the background. And somehow it's made worse by the fact that there doesn't seem to be any active dislike behind it. It feels like he thinks he's just stating the facts. I tried to write it off as just being a different time period, but that didn't really work for me. It wound up detracting a lot from my enjoyment of the book. But if you think you can overlook that, and you love beautiful language, you might enjoy this one.

Introverted Reader Features

Mr. Rochester: Character Connection

We all have characters we love. Let's spotlight these fantastic creations! Whether you want to be friends with them or you have a full-blown crush on them, you know you love them and want everyone else to love them too! Most of you will probably post about how much you love each character, but this is a great place for the more creative ones among you to let go and have fun! Write a love letter to Captain Wentworth. Write yourself into a scene with Anne and Diana. Draw a picture of yourself in Jamie's arms. The possibilities are endless. Be sure to post the book's title and author, and be very careful not to give away spoilers while talking about how much you love your characters. Mr. Linky will be posted here on The Introverted Reader every Thursday. Mr. Edward Rochester is the always-fascinating hero in Charlotte Brontë's classic, Jane Eyre. Jane first meets him in the dark and gives a first impression of him. Later though, she describes him better. Orson Welles as Mr. Rochester and Joan Fontaine as Jane Eyre in the 1944 movie adaptation. I knew my traveller with his broad and jetty eyebrows; his square forehead, made squarer by the horizontal sweep of his black hair. I recognised his decisive nose, more remarkable for character than beauty; his full nostrils, denoting, I thought, choler; his grim mouth, chin, and jaw--yes, all three were very grim, and no mistake. His shape, now divested of cloak, I perceived harmonised in squareness with his physiognomy: I suppose it was a good figure in the athletic sense of the term--broad chested and thin flanked, though neither tall nor graceful. I do like Jane, but I don't feel like she's the one who actually grows in this book; Mr. Rochester…

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June 10, 2010