In no particular order are books that I have read or re-read lately. I don't think it speaks to a state of mind completely. These are books that make me laugh or think or just read for the pure enjoyment of reading.
1. Anna Karenina/ Leo Tolstoy
A classic, compelling, emotional saga recounting the effects of nonconformist behavior — a society woman''s adulterous affair and a landowner''s unconventional quest for a meaningful existence in late 19th-century Russia. I read this for the first time in Grade 8. Didn't understand the half of it, but the story of Anna I found tragic. Still do.
2.Backward in High Heels/Judith Kelman
The day Maggie heard her husband's office had burned down, she was heartbroken. But actually, the disaster was worse than she thought. Harold wasn't in the building: he was in bed with a beautiful twenty-three-year-old graduate student. Now he's leaving, and Maggie has to pull herself together. But who should she listen to? Her lawyer? Her overbearing mother? In the end the best advice comes from a most surprising source. Ths one cracked me up. It hit close to home in some ways... but it was funny too. A light read in bed on Sunday.
3. The Bitch Posse/Martha O'Connor
This is the story of three women in high school and as women in their mid-thirties - who formed a bond in order to survive the pitfalls and perils of their lives. In the present day, one of them is a wife and mother-to-be, trying to live a "normal" life, one is a writer who engages in a number of self-destructive relationships, and the third one is in a mental hospital - and has been ever since that one fateful night fifteen years ago, when a heart-wrenching betrayal and the unraveling of relationships led these friends to a point of no return. A little tougher
4. The cloning of Joanna May / Fay Weldon
The central subject of all Weldon's writing is the experience of women, especially their relationships with men. According to Weldon, "Women must ask themselves: What is it that will give me fulfillment? In this bizarre story Joanna learns her husband the doctor has cloned her.... more than once! I love Weldon's stories.
5. The debutante divorcée / Plum Sykes.
I could not help but to get caught up in life of Sylvia Mortimer. We all wish for that man who takes are breath away and makes us only see him. . A fun, fashionable and whimsical story for a Sunday. Total trashy and empty but still fun!
6. The interruption of everything / Terry McMillan.
Marilyn Grimes, age 44, is angry, whiny, and perhaps perimenopausal. With three children in college, a boring husband, a live-in mother-in-law, and her own mother showing signs of dementia, she finds little joy in her world. Just when she comes up with an escape plan—graduate school—her life is interrupted yet again. Marilyn finds out she's pregnant and that her husband, Leon, is leaving for a month-long men's retreat in Costa Rica. During his absence, Marilyn ricochets in several directions but finally confronts her biggest enemy—herself.
7. The life and loves of a 'she-devil' / Fay Weldon
A novel of blazingly hot revenge, one that amply illustrates the saying about heaven having no rage like love turned to hate, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." Waaaaaaay better than the movie. This is such a great revenge story!
8. Love in the time of cholera/Gabreil Garcia Marquez
In this story of a unique love triangle, theatmosphere of South America are so intense. THIS is writing. THIS is story telling.
9. Mantrapped / Fay Weldon
What would happen if a man were to wake up one morning as a woman? Or a woman as a man? After brushing past each other on the stairs above their local laundromat, Trisha and Peter instantly and mysteriously, switch souls. Peter's now housed in Trisha's older and much curvier body, while Trisha's moving about in Peter's younger, trimmer form. But none of this is half as awkward as when they both come home to face Peter's wife and have to decide who will sleep where. Another Weldon book! It's too good!
10. Mrs. Dalloway / Virginia Woolf
Nothing more than the details of a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, but this still manages to deliver more. It is the feelings that loom behind those daily events--the social alliances, the shopkeeper's exchange, the fact of death--that give Mrs. Dalloway texture and richness. I mean it's Virginia Woolf!
11. The Other Woman/Jane Green
At first, Ellie is thrilled to be accepted into Dan's loving clan and have Dan's mom as her "adopted" mother. Then the problems begin. How has the intimate civil ceremony Ellie always dreamed of turned into a black-tie affair? And what can Dan and his mother possibly have to talk about on the phone twice a day? When she discovers she's pregnant, Ellie realizes that all this has only been a rehearsal for the real takeover. OY! Not THAT kind of other woman!
12. Revenge Of The Middle Aged Woman/ Elizabeth Buchan
For twenty-five years, Rose Lloyd has juggled marriage, motherhood, and career with remarkable success. It has been a life of family picnics, books and wine, a cherished house, and her own exquisitely designed garden—sunny and comfortable. But then the carefully managed life to which Rose has become accustomed comes crashing down around her when—over the course of a few days—her marriage and her career both fall apart. There is a follow up but I can't remember the title. Another great women's writer. I felt good reading this one and the follow up!
13. What Makes Women Happy/Fay Weldon
What makes women happy? Nothing, for more than ten minutes at a time, so stop worrying.In this new book, Fay Weldon offers wisdom gleaned from a remarkable life, a brilliantly successful career and a fair share of trouble. She explores what makes women happy; how our lives, jobs, families, bodies, desires, morals and responsibilities affect that happiness, and what we can do to lead more rounded and desirable lives.
Enjoy! Happy Reading... in bed or any where else you take your books!
1. Anna Karenina/ Leo Tolstoy
A classic, compelling, emotional saga recounting the effects of nonconformist behavior — a society woman''s adulterous affair and a landowner''s unconventional quest for a meaningful existence in late 19th-century Russia. I read this for the first time in Grade 8. Didn't understand the half of it, but the story of Anna I found tragic. Still do.
2.Backward in High Heels/Judith Kelman
The day Maggie heard her husband's office had burned down, she was heartbroken. But actually, the disaster was worse than she thought. Harold wasn't in the building: he was in bed with a beautiful twenty-three-year-old graduate student. Now he's leaving, and Maggie has to pull herself together. But who should she listen to? Her lawyer? Her overbearing mother? In the end the best advice comes from a most surprising source. Ths one cracked me up. It hit close to home in some ways... but it was funny too. A light read in bed on Sunday.
3. The Bitch Posse/Martha O'Connor
This is the story of three women in high school and as women in their mid-thirties - who formed a bond in order to survive the pitfalls and perils of their lives. In the present day, one of them is a wife and mother-to-be, trying to live a "normal" life, one is a writer who engages in a number of self-destructive relationships, and the third one is in a mental hospital - and has been ever since that one fateful night fifteen years ago, when a heart-wrenching betrayal and the unraveling of relationships led these friends to a point of no return. A little tougher
4. The cloning of Joanna May / Fay Weldon
The central subject of all Weldon's writing is the experience of women, especially their relationships with men. According to Weldon, "Women must ask themselves: What is it that will give me fulfillment? In this bizarre story Joanna learns her husband the doctor has cloned her.... more than once! I love Weldon's stories.
5. The debutante divorcée / Plum Sykes.
I could not help but to get caught up in life of Sylvia Mortimer. We all wish for that man who takes are breath away and makes us only see him. . A fun, fashionable and whimsical story for a Sunday. Total trashy and empty but still fun!
6. The interruption of everything / Terry McMillan.
Marilyn Grimes, age 44, is angry, whiny, and perhaps perimenopausal. With three children in college, a boring husband, a live-in mother-in-law, and her own mother showing signs of dementia, she finds little joy in her world. Just when she comes up with an escape plan—graduate school—her life is interrupted yet again. Marilyn finds out she's pregnant and that her husband, Leon, is leaving for a month-long men's retreat in Costa Rica. During his absence, Marilyn ricochets in several directions but finally confronts her biggest enemy—herself.
7. The life and loves of a 'she-devil' / Fay Weldon
A novel of blazingly hot revenge, one that amply illustrates the saying about heaven having no rage like love turned to hate, nor hell a fury like a woman scorned." Waaaaaaay better than the movie. This is such a great revenge story!
8. Love in the time of cholera/Gabreil Garcia Marquez
In this story of a unique love triangle, theatmosphere of South America are so intense. THIS is writing. THIS is story telling.
9. Mantrapped / Fay Weldon
What would happen if a man were to wake up one morning as a woman? Or a woman as a man? After brushing past each other on the stairs above their local laundromat, Trisha and Peter instantly and mysteriously, switch souls. Peter's now housed in Trisha's older and much curvier body, while Trisha's moving about in Peter's younger, trimmer form. But none of this is half as awkward as when they both come home to face Peter's wife and have to decide who will sleep where. Another Weldon book! It's too good!
10. Mrs. Dalloway / Virginia Woolf
Nothing more than the details of a day in the life of Clarissa Dalloway, but this still manages to deliver more. It is the feelings that loom behind those daily events--the social alliances, the shopkeeper's exchange, the fact of death--that give Mrs. Dalloway texture and richness. I mean it's Virginia Woolf!
11. The Other Woman/Jane Green
At first, Ellie is thrilled to be accepted into Dan's loving clan and have Dan's mom as her "adopted" mother. Then the problems begin. How has the intimate civil ceremony Ellie always dreamed of turned into a black-tie affair? And what can Dan and his mother possibly have to talk about on the phone twice a day? When she discovers she's pregnant, Ellie realizes that all this has only been a rehearsal for the real takeover. OY! Not THAT kind of other woman!
12. Revenge Of The Middle Aged Woman/ Elizabeth Buchan
For twenty-five years, Rose Lloyd has juggled marriage, motherhood, and career with remarkable success. It has been a life of family picnics, books and wine, a cherished house, and her own exquisitely designed garden—sunny and comfortable. But then the carefully managed life to which Rose has become accustomed comes crashing down around her when—over the course of a few days—her marriage and her career both fall apart. There is a follow up but I can't remember the title. Another great women's writer. I felt good reading this one and the follow up!
13. What Makes Women Happy/Fay Weldon
What makes women happy? Nothing, for more than ten minutes at a time, so stop worrying.In this new book, Fay Weldon offers wisdom gleaned from a remarkable life, a brilliantly successful career and a fair share of trouble. She explores what makes women happy; how our lives, jobs, families, bodies, desires, morals and responsibilities affect that happiness, and what we can do to lead more rounded and desirable lives.
Enjoy! Happy Reading... in bed or any where else you take your books!
3 comments:
Nice List, Sweetie.
I take my books in the shower. Strange, but true.
No T-13 today. Dunno when the blog will be active again. It all seems so surreal.
*hugs*
~ blondie
Hi, M.
sorry I've not been around a much. Didn't have the blog address on my laptop, and I've been on the road almost constantly since I last posted...
You've been through a lot. And you wisdom and spirit never cease to amaze and inspire me.
Wishing you the happiest new year!
Big Hugs,
zebra
Ah.... nice to see friends... Blondie, I keep thinging of you a lot given your loss last week.
Zed, you make me smile!
thanks for stopping by and checking in!
M
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