Book Report

Since so many of you sent in book suggestions I felt that I should get back to you about the books I read.  And for your information I’ve put more of your suggestions on hold at the library so I can continue my breast feeding and book reading marathons.  Catchy name I think.  So basically I read whatever I was able to get my hands on the fastest and I thank my friends, Tricia and Rachel, for lending me the following books.

First up, The Help…it was great.  I really enjoyed it.  It was bigger than I expected but still a quick read.  For some reason I always love books and movies about the South and specifically, about southern women.  If Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood is playing on TBS any random Saturday you can bet I’m watching it (or Fried Green Tomatoes, Steel Magnolias, etc).  There’s something about being a woman in the South that is at once glamourous and suffocating.  It seems that there are a lot of unwritten rules which they’re expected to live by, and thus there is a lot more room for failure.  This book wasn’t really about that–maybe a little–but I still find the (white) Southern woman an interesting figure in film and literature, and this book didn’t disappoint.  However, this book was really about race relations in the South during the civil rights movement.  The focus is on a group of women–some black and some white–and their relationships with each other, and with society at large.  It’s well written and I really like how the author writes from the perspective of these different women and is able to clearly capture each woman’s voice and perspective.  So yeah… read it.  It’s a goodie.  Oh and I should mention that while at the hospital at least 2 nurses and a Dr. both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw I was reading The Help and they’d say, Are you reading this?  It’s SOOOO good….we just finished this for our book club and I loved it.  So there you have it–2 out of 3 nurses and a Dr. recommend reading The Help.

And The Glass Castle.  I don’t know…this book sort of haunted me.  I have to say I didn’t enjoy reading a lot of it…but stick with me for a minute.  For those who don’t know it’s the memoir of a woman’s childhood with a very dysfunctional, complicated and rather nomadic family.  Through out most of the book I had a knot in my stomach.  Since the author writes it from her childhood perspective, I’m reading about these incredibly inept, selfish and destructive parents but through the eyes of an innocent child who has yet to realize how crazy her life is.  As the story and the years unfold she starts to gain an awareness of her situation and for some reason it became easier to read… As long as we both know what’s going on here, I guess is how I felt about it.  So while I can’t say I enjoyed myself, it’s incredibly eye opening and engrossing to read.  The book starts with a story of a 3 year old Jeannette cooking hot dogs on the stove of their mobile home, only to catch on fire and spend several weeks in the hospital.  And things just escalate from there.  However, what makes this book really interesting is that it’s not that black and white (although I’m sorta making it sound black and white).  On one level it’s easy to say these kids are in an abusive and dangerous situation, but on another level you know that these brilliant yet broken parents love their children and seem to be little more than children themselves.  The ending is worth sticking around for, but be prepared to be frustrated and a little furious along the way.

Next on the docket (as soon as the library gets them to me):  Expecting Adam, These is My Words, and The Gift of an Ordinary Day (this last one was not recommended, but this video although a little cheesy, is sort of inspiring and helps me keep things in perspective…so I thought the book would be good as well).

And I think I’ll just keep reading on down the list you guys sent …it’s a good list.  So thanks.