Escape Carolyn Jessop (with Laura Palmer) Broadway Books, 2008 (ISBN 0767927575 / 9780767927574) Nonfiction/memoir, 448 pages First sentence: “Escape. The moment had come.” Random clip (page 91): “After several terrible years with Faunita, Audrey said, Merril was forced to marry Ruth. He resisted this marriage as well, until he was reprimanded by the prophet and forced to wed.” Book description: When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with […]
This is turning out to be Polygamy Week around here, what with two book reviews related to the topic (one posted on Monday, the other will be up tomorrow) – and two books with common themes read in near-succession tend to get me thinking. In a review of yet another novel about polygamy, Natasha of Maw Books Blog asked the question, “Should polygamy be legal?” and wondered if the answer might be less obvious than […]
Do you ever get the feeling you’ve walked right into the middle of something? It was one of those dreams that was so vivid it was hard to shake off, and I’m still thinking about it. I realize that for some people it would be a wonderful dream, and one they really hope will be fulfilled. For me, it was definitely one that I’m glad was just a dream, and one I have no desire […]
This review is part of a virtual blog tour hosted by TLC Book Tours in connection with the paperback release of The 19th Wife. Thanks to Lisa of TLC for arranging for me to obtain a copy of the novel (in hardcover) for review. Author David Ebershoff is also on a “real” book tour to promote the paperback release. He will be in the Los Angeles area on Monday, June 22, reading and signing books […]
Bulletin Board – for promotion of self and others *** Got some blog-related catch-up to do, and having trouble making the time to do it? Next weekend (Friday 6/19-Sunday 6/21) may be your big chance, if you sign up to participate in Bloggiesta! Hosted by Natasha at Maw Books Blog, this blogging marathon will focus on blog content, improving/cleaning up your blog or working on your social network profiles. I’m pretty open on what you […]
BOOKKEEPING: The Reading Status Report Book reviews posted this week: The Laws of Harmony, by Judith Ryan Hendricks Next review scheduled: The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff Still currently reading: Escape by Carolyn Jessop (I expect to finish reading it this weekend, for review next week) TBR Next: The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist (via LibraryThing Early Reviewers) Teaser: “She had gone off with a small bag in one hand and a bathing towel around her […]
The current task for the Blog Improvement Project is a bit unusual, so I’ll let Kim explain it herself: “This week’s task is a content analysis of book reviews to get some info about reviews. How long are they? How personal are they? How many paragraphs does the average book review have? By comparing book reviews written by bloggers to reviews written by professionals, I hope we can come up with some interesting stats to […]
After several weekends in one theater or another, including the last two, I think there may be a break in our movie-going activity until later in June…so this might be a good time to catch up. I shared my thoughts on some of the movies I saw in May a couple of weeks ago – welcome to “Springtime Movies II: Electric Boogaloo”! (all poster images found on MoviePoster.com; review links are to EW.com) Angels & […]
Karen said she was a bit hesitant to give this Assignment: “I think the reason I’ve been sitting on this idea is that it asks you to implicitly criticize yourself, which can be a bit of a downer. But let’s try to have fun with this, shall we?” Weekend Assignment #270: You’ve been given the magical opportunity to change just one thing about yourself, instantly and painlessly. There is no going back; whatever change you […]
I received this book for review through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers Program. The Laws of Harmony: A Novel Judith Ryan Hendricks Harper, 2009 (paperback) (ISBN 0061687367 / 9780061687365) Fiction, 496 pages First sentence: “The heat is a presence. Palpable and relentless, it rolls over Albuquerque like a hot iron.” Random clip (page 300): “I buy a double espresso from a woman who has a little cart set up right by the entrance every Saturday and head […]
Bulletin Board ****If my review of Amy Tiemann’s book Mojo Mom caught your eye last month, and you’re in Southern California, this may interest you: Amy will be hosting “The Mother’s Summer Reading Salon” with Karen Maezen Miller, author of Momma Zen, on Tuesday, June 23 at Sierra Madre Books (in Sierra Madre). Newbies in my Google Reader The Worst Review Ever Readiac The Bumbles Blog Rhapsody in Books 1330v Catching Days Books and Movies […]
BOOKKEEPING: The Reading Status Report Currently Reading (just started): Escape by Carolyn Jessop Teaser: “After several terrible years with Faunita, Audrey said, Merril was forced to marry Ruth. He resisted this marriage as well, until he was reprimanded by the prophet and forced to wed.” (page 91) Next in Line, order TBD: Certain Girls by Jennifer Weiner, to “read along” with My Friend Amy one week in June (date TBA), also for 2009 RYOB Challenge; […]
