Review: A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom

This book has been on my reading list for quite a while.  I bought it several years ago (probably with some Amazon money) and it's been sitting on my shelf ever since, staring balefully at me.  I'm not the biggest non-fiction reader, but this book appealed to my feminist self, which is, I suspect, why it was on my reading list.  It is a little out of date (published in 2000), but most of the information it covers has remained unchanged, since it is primarily a history book.

Yalom writes about wives throughout history, starting with Biblical wives, taking us through the days of the Greeks and Romans, and ending up with the present day (the year 2000).  It is very well-written, not at all dry, which is always my greatest fear with non-fiction.  Yalom does not talk down to her reader, but neither does she use high-flown language.  She has a nice conversational style which draws the reader in and makes one want to continue reading.

I found the subject matter fascinating.  I'd honestly never given much thought to the specific role of "wife," or how it had changed through the years, so it was interesting to trace the evolution of societal expectations and women's own desires for their lives.  I am a wife, and, like most people, I think I tend to generalize my own experiences to others.  This book made me think about that - we don't all have the same experience, as wives, as mothers, as women.   And I'm glad I learned more about the evolution of the wife throughout history.

Four out of five Whatevers.  Recommended for feminists, especially burgeoning ones.  The book really makes you think about why the feminist movement has such an importance to wives in general.  Also recommended for those who have an interest in social history and/or those who just want to learn more about the way the role of the wife has developed over the years.

2015-6

Review: Guardian of the Promise by Irene Radford

This book was a LibraryThing Early Reviewers book.  I'd already won one of the previous books (Guardian of the Balance) from LTER, and they were kind enough to give me this one, as well, a few months later.  I'm sure I'm desperately late in reviewing it, but nevertheless, here's my review.

I finished this book yesterday, during the Read-a-Thon.  It was good.  Better than the last one in the series.  Again, I'm not sure whether this is because I prefer reading about a female protagonist (in this case, Deirdre, Griffin Kirkwood's illegitimate daughter who was born at the end of the last novel), or because there was more magic in this book.  And werewolves.  There were werewolves in this book, which I kind of enjoyed.  I hadn't yet read any novels that deal with werewolves, so it was an interesting introduction to the trope.

Deirdre and Hal (one of Donovan Kirkwood's twins - the other is Griffin) are best friends from childhood.  Donovan is raising Deirdre after her father's death, covered in the previous entry in the series.  No one knows who will become the next Pendragon - Raven predicted that it would be Donovan's son, but the family wolfhound has bestowed her female puppy on Deirdre, and she certainly seems to have the aptitude for it.  Hal has magic, too, but not as strong as Deirdre's.  And Betsy, Donovan's elder daughter by his first wife, seems to think she is to be the next Pendragon.

To complicate matters, a Spaniard known as El Lobison is building a werewolf army to assist in Spain's invasion of England (through the Spanish Armada, for you history buffs out there).  Hal and Deirdre seek to stop him, but major obstacles stand in their way.  Will El Lobison succeed in turning one of them into part of his werewolf army?  Can they work together to stop the coming Spanish invasion of England?  Who is the REAL Pendragon of England?

Again, I enjoyed this entry in the series much more than the last.  I'd give it four and a half out of five Whatevers.  Definitely read the series from the beginning - it's not a series that will make much sense if you don't.  Specifically recommended for those with an interest in Elizabethan England, werewolves, or a good, solid fantasy series.

2015-5

RAT: Turn-In Time

Title of book(s) read since last update:  A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
Number of books read since you started:  part of two books; one magazine.
Pages read since last update:  81
Running total of pages read since you started:  506
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  ??? minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started:  ??? minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited:  A bunch that I haven't kept track of.  I'm slacking off this RAT.
What I've eaten/drunk:  Bottled water with lime juice; peanut butter and pretzel sticks; Publix Philly cheesesteak sub; bottled water; Sargento Tastings Havarti cheese (I'm addicted to this stuff!); Diet Mountain Dew; bottled water; some Fritos; pizza rolls for dinner; bottled water with lime juice; more bottled water; another Diet Mountain Dew; a soft pretzel; a copious amount of chocolate; some Cheez-Its; more bottled water.

I am now falling asleep over my book, so it is time for me to go to sleep.  A lot of times, when I'm Read-a-Thon-ing, I'll wake up early and get back to it, so that may happen tomorrow.  We shall see.  If not, I'm satisfied with how I did.  I finished the book I'd been reading, read a whole magazine, and almost 3/4 of a new book (non-fiction, at that).  Hope everyone else is still going strong, but I'm going to bed.  Thanks to everyone who stopped by to cheer me on!  This event is still one of my favorites in the bloggiverse, and I hope to participate again in October.

RAT: Hour 15

Title of book(s) read since last update:  A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
Number of books read since you started:  part of two books; one magazine.
Pages read since last update:  91
Running total of pages read since you started:  425
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  ??? minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started:  ??? minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited:  A bunch that I haven't kept track of.  I'm slacking off this RAT.
What I've eaten/drunk:  Bottled water with lime juice; peanut butter and pretzel sticks; Publix Philly cheesesteak sub; bottled water; Sargento Tastings Havarti cheese (I'm addicted to this stuff!); Diet Mountain Dew; bottled water; some Fritos; pizza rolls for dinner; bottled water with lime juice; more bottled water; another Diet Mountain Dew.

I'm just about halfway through my current read!  Not sure I'll finish it before I need to go to bed (I'm starting to get really tired, hence the second Diet Mountain Dew), but I'm proud of the progress I've made.  I'd love to be able to get through the whole thing and maybe even start on my next book, but I know my limitations.  Mama needs her eight hours!

RAT: Into Hour TWELVE!

Title of book(s) read since last update:  Guardian of the Promise by Irene Radford; Better Homes & Gardens magazine; A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
Number of books read since you started:  part of two books; one magazine.
Pages read since last update:  50
Running total of pages read since you started:  334
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  ??? minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started:  ??? minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited:  A bunch that I haven't kept track of.  I'm slacking off this RAT.
What I've eaten/drunk:  Bottled water with lime juice; peanut butter and pretzel sticks; Publix Philly cheesesteak sub; bottled water; Sargento Tastings Havarti cheese (I'm addicted to this stuff!); Diet Mountain Dew; bottled water; some Fritos; pizza rolls for dinner; bottled water with lime juice.

Got a little more serious with my reading this round...I did go into the bedroom and read on my bed for a while, which helped with the distractions, as well as with the change of location/position.  Although it's non-fiction, my book is really readable.  I'm finding it very accessible and not at all boring, which is good for the Read-a-Thon.  The sun is starting to go down, so we'll see if I can maintain this pace when it gets dark out!

Keep it up, all you Read-a-Thon-ers out there!!!

RAT: Entering Hour Nine

Title of book(s) read since last update:  Guardian of the Promise by Irene Radford; Better Homes & Gardens magazine; A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
Number of books read since you started:  part of two books; one magazine.
Pages read since last update:  30
Running total of pages read since you started:  284
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  ??? minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started:  ??? minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited:  A bunch that I haven't kept track of.  I'm slacking off this RAT.
What I've eaten/drunk:  Bottled water with lime juice; peanut butter and pretzel sticks; Publix Philly cheesesteak sub; bottled water; Sargento Tastings Havarti cheese (I'm addicted to this stuff!); Diet Mountain Dew.

Popped open some caffeine to bring myself out of the slump!  I should also take a vitamin.  Reading has slowed to nearly a crawl, partially because of the television, which my husband is not usually allowed to watch when I'm Read-a-Thon-ing, but also because I'm reading non-fiction, which always goes slower for me.  Maybe I'll move to the bedroom to get some peace and quiet (but then I run the risk of falling asleep on the bed).  How is everyone else's Read-a-Thon going???

RAT: Hour Six

 Title of book(s) read since last update:  Guardian of the Promise by Irene Radford; Better Homes & Gardens magazine; A History of the Wife by Marilyn Yalom
Number of books read since you started:  part of two books; one magazine.
Pages read since last update:  72
Running total of pages read since you started:  254
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  ??? minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started:  ??? minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited:  None, yet.
What I've eaten/drunk:  Bottled water with lime juice; peanut butter and pretzel sticks; Publix Philly cheesesteak sub; bottled water.

I've given up on keeping track of actual minutes read.  I stopped during this last bout to eat, and be distracted by my husband watching Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey Jr. and old episodes of SNL, and falling asleep (yes, already).  So I'm just going to keep track of pages read.  I'm now into a non-fiction work, and those usually go slower for me than fiction, so I'm not expecting a whole lot of myself this time around.  Maybe not falling asleep is a good goal to start with...

RAT: Rolling into Hour Three

 Title of book(s) read since last update:  Guardian of the Promise by Irene Radford; Better Homes & Gardens magazine
Number of books read since you started:  part of one book; part of one magazine.
Pages read since last update:  182
Running total of pages read since you started:  182
Amount of time spent reading since last update:  120 minutes
Running total of time spent reading since you started:  120 minutes
Mini-challenges completed:  Opening meme
Other participants you’ve visited:  None, yet.
What I've eaten/drunk:  Bottled water with lime juice; peanut butter and pretzel sticks.

I was mostly done with Radford's Guardian of the Promise, so I finished that up.  I've started getting a subscription to BHG (I have no idea why - I didn't actively subscribe to it myself) and I got a new one in the mail yesterday, so I decided to throw that in to my Read-a-Thon reading.  I'm close to finishing that, and then I will be moving on to some non-fiction, Marilyn Yalom's A History of the Wife.  During this round of Read-a-Thon-ing, I also took a minute out to stop my cat, Estrella, from eating a lizard that snuck in through our window unit air conditioner.  She managed to separate it from its tail, but I got it away from her before she could actually eat the thing (well, either thing).  Sigh.  Pets and South Florida - an interesting mix.

Read-A-Thon Mania!

This is my...13th Read-a-Thon?!  Is that right???  I started in the second half of 2008, and have only missed one since then - last year's spring one when I was on a Ladies' Camping Day Out type thing.  We were supposed to go again this year, but plans fell through, so here I am.  I wasn't sure if I would even be participating this week, as my heart hasn't been in ANYTHING since I lost my job last Monday, but what else do I have to do, honestly?  And it's probably good to take my mind off job hunting and figuring out how I'm going to pay my bills...for at least one day.

So, beginning meme:

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today?  Sunny South Florida, as usual!
2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to?  Maybe Barbara Taylor Bradford's Unexpected Blessings, if I get that far.3) Which snack are you most looking forward to?  I didn't really prep a lot of snacks this time around (see:  preoccupation with not having an occupation).  But I will probably rustle up something good.4) Tell us a little something about yourself!  I'm a lawyer who is currently unemployed and looking for work.  I have family who live in Ohio, whom I miss very much right now, but I will be going to see them in about two weeks.5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?  I probably won't blog as much as I was doing before.  Then again, maybe I will.  I have a pretty good RAT strategy worked out, but I want to be less structured about the blogging and more into the reading...

Good luck to all the readers!  This thing is so amazing and so BIG now!  I look forward to seeing what everyone else is up to.

Review: Emma's Secret by Barbara Taylor Bradford

.

I believe I Mooched this book, once I got into the series.  I finished it last night.  This is the fourth book in the Harte saga, and it was just as good as the rest of the series.  This book begins to focus on the fourth generation of Hartes, Kallinskis, and O'Neills.  Emma's great-granddaughter, Linnet, daughter of Paula, has begun to work at Harte's, and the beginning of the book focuses on her.  It follows the great-grands as they attempt to continue Emma's legacy in the business world at the beginning of the new millennium.  The book also introduces a mysterious stranger in the person of Evan Hughes.  She looks so much like Paula, could she be a long-lost Harte?

The structure of the book was in three sections, starting out in the year 2000 with Linnet, then moving back to the Second World War, with Emma, and then back to "present-day" 2001, focusing again on the great-grandchildren.  I liked this structure - it gave me a chance to revisit Emma, who is still my favorite of Bradford's characters.  There is a secret that Emma has kept since WWII.  What is it?  Who does it involve?  Why wouldn't Emma have told any of her family about it or at least given them the tools to figure it out themselves?  What consequences would it have for these characters?

I don't have too much more to say about the book.  It's just as good as any of the others in the series, although the first is still my favorite.  More corporate suspense and intrigue, more romance, more interesting British history.  Four out of five Whatevers. Recommended for anyone who has enjoyed this series already!

2015-4

Review: The Lives She Left Behind by James Long

I finished this book last Sunday, which means it only took me about a week to read it - unheard of for me!  It is the sequel to Ferney, which I read a couple of months ago.  When I found out there was a sequel, I bought it (although I think I had to go on Amazon.uk, as it was not easily available in the US).

I was expecting something dark and foreboding, like Ferney was, but this book had a different, lighter feeling to it.  The protagonists were younger, so maybe that was it, or maybe it was because I already knew the big secret about Ferney and Gally, so that wasn't waiting to be revealed and the foreshadowing wasn't so strong.

This book is set about 15 years after Ferney was.  Mike Martin still lives in the cottage where he and Gally had settled.  Gally and their daughter, Rose, are gone, so he lives there alone.  Two children are finding themselves mysteriously drawn to Pen Selwood, and they are starting to remember things that they should never know.  Is Jo Driscoll really crazy?  Who is the mysterious friend she has had beside her since childhood?  What is Luke Sturgess doing at the excavation site Jo and her friends are working on?  What keeps drawing Jo and Luke together?

I really enjoyed this book, as evidenced by how quickly I read it.  It didn't have the same Gothic feel to it that Ferney did, but I still enjoyed the story.  Recommended for Anglophiles, as it is set in the small villages in and around Somerset; recommended also for anyone who read Ferney - it was such a different reading experience from the first one, but just as rewarding.  Four out of five Whatevers.

2015-3