Lisbeth is a Madwoman!

I spent Sunday and Monday snowed in during New York's post-Christmas blizzard. After two days of family fun, it seemed like the perfect time to curl up with a good book...or two! With little else to do, I indulged in some holiday leftovers and devoured The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played With Fire. Although I had heard many rapturous reviews of the series, it wasn't high on my to-read list. I'm not sure why, but I think my apathy may have stemmed from my lack of knowledge of all things Swedish, combined with the knowledge that the books had been translated. In the literary world there are very few things worse than a poor translation, and I was hesitant to pick up the series only to be disappointed. Finally, the "look at me" covers screaming off of every display table in every Barnes and Noble that I've been in for the past twelve months kind of pissed me off. Yes, I admit it. I judged the books by their covers.

The best review I'd heard of the series prior to reading the books was, "The first one is just good enough to make you want to read the second one, but the second one is really good." I wholeheartedly agree with that assessment! The first 100 pages were slow going - lots of background information and confusing Swedish place names. But the mystery picked up in the second half, and the second book was action-packed! I haven't read the third one yet, but I'm planning to do so over the long weekend.

One thing I really did appreciate about the series was the author's portrayal of Lisbeth. As far as main characters go, she's no angel, but I found myself rooting for her even when I didn't really approve of what she was doing. She is sometimes described as having Aspergers-like behaviors, and its tempting to blame her social awkwardness on the mysterious childhood event that she refers to in passing as "All the Evil." However, the author also hints that while the event may have contributed to these behaviors, they actually manifested earlier in life and are not entirely attributable to any one root cause. I like this. All too often an awkward main character's behavior is based on and blamed on trauma. In Lisbeth's case, it's not a black-and-white situation. She is many shades of gray, just like in the real world. And while her sense of right and wrong may be too rigid, she sticks to her guns and does what she believes in regardless of whether it is the socially correct thing to do. I like that too.

Although the books are far from upbeat, and expose many dark corners in the social landscape of Sweden, Lisbeth makes me happy. And even though she's barely present in the narration of the second book, her presence is always felt.
Happy New Year's Eve everyone!
- Rebecca DeWinter

Tis the Season

I finally got a chance to finish Just Kids, and it was good through the end. Towards the end I began to get slightly confused by all the characters that came in and out for a few pages at a time, and stopped paying as close attention. Then when important characters arrived I often had to go back and figure out which one he was. But aside from that, it is truly a lovely story. And I will admit that I cried a bit at the end. The nostalgia and romance really got to me in this story.

Yesterday at the airport I began my next book. It's long, but I'm hoping I'll be able to get through before I have to return to school. It's called Some Sing, Some Cry. The story begins in Reconstruction-era South Carolina. It's reminding me a little of Gone With the Wind, but I won't get my hopes up high just yet.

Miss. H.

I've Been Holding Out!

I've been s.l.o.w.l.y. working through a fantastic little autobiography by Patti Smith, best known for singing "Because the Night", for the past month and I haven't written a single post about it! It's called Just Kids.

The length of time it is taking me is absolutely not because it is lengthy, wordy, or in any other way difficult to get through. I simply have been reading it for five to ten minutes at a time, once or twice a week. But this book is fantastic in that it's easy to pick up and put down without missing or forgetting anything. It's not complicated or dense. It's simple and honest. And I happen to be loving it.

It's a romance story set in New York City at the end of the 60's. Smith has decided to forgo college and leave home, penniless, to establish herself as an artist. How beautifully bohemian! She meets Robert, her first love and fellow artist, and they create together, refusing to settle for anything but an artistic life.

Now, this probably sounds like an artsy-fartsy, hippie-dippy, unpractical story by modern standards. But I've gotten caught up in the romantic web that Smith spins as an author. And it helps that I've had my own secret romance with novels, movies, and stories about youth counter-culture and rock and roll in the late 60s / early 70s since I saw the movie Almost Famous at the age of 15. (I have several recommendations if anyone is interested!). So, I'll admit, Smith probably wouldn't have to do much as a writer to grab my interest. But, with as little bias as possible, I believe she does a fantastic job of writing and describing the confusion, love, ups, and downs it takes to find oneself as a young adult.

OK, now I've dished about my secret literary passion. What are some of the literary passions or genres that you other madwomen can't resist?

Miss. H.

Literary Gifts

December is upon us, and that means shopping, parties, celebrating (and for Miss Havisham, final exams...yuck!) In the spirit of the season, and as I plan my trips to the mall, I'm curious about the best literary gifts to give (and receive).

I have a long history of asking for books as gifts. As a child, my list for Santa Claus was primarily a wish list of Nancy Drew titles. But I also loved the "surprise" books that I sometimes received...you know, the books that someone purchased for me, that weren't even on my radar, and that I ended up loving. Books like Johnny Tremain, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, and Number the Stars (thanks Aunt J, Mom and Grandma for opening my imagination to these wonderful stories!)

When I was fourteen, I asked for my own copy of Gone With the Wind, which I had checked out of the library at least four times the previous year. I still have that copy, although it has been read so many times that the pages have completely fallen out of the spine (and a few have fallen out of chronological order).

However, books as gifts can also be problematic. This summer I received a copy of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest from a well-meaning giver. The only problem: I haven't read the first two in the series (or is Hornet's Nest second? I'm not even sure) Now I feel obligated to go out and purchase the other two, even though I really had no interest in reading any of them.

Let's not forget the writing element of literacy. When I was a teenager I looked forward to receiving a new journal every year for Christmas. Regardless of whether the old journal was half-full or overflowing, I would start a new one every year on New Year's Eve. I haven't kept a journal since senior year of college, but I'm seriously thinking of starting one up again...

I'm curious...what are your favorite literary gifts to give and receive?

So Sexy So Soon

I recently began reading So Sexy So Soon, which is a social commentary and guidebook for parents about the sexualization of children which is currently happening at very young ages. It was given to me by one of the social workers I'm working with, and aside from its unhidden political agenda, the book is an accurate and interesting take on some of the problems that early sexualization of children has brought to schools and parenting.

In my opinion, the best parts of the book are the real-life anecdotes from parents and teachers about questions or conversations they have had or overheard with their children. It can be heartbreaking to hear stories of young girls, under the age of 8, crying in their bathtubs over being too fat. The book also reminds me of seeing tween girls running around this summer in string bikinis and wondering to myself about the appropriateness of that wardrobe choice. I can remember wanting to blame their mothers for buying them such skimpy and grown-up bathing suits. Who would buy their 11 year old daughter such an overtly sexy bathing suit?

So Sexy So Soon has shifted my view somewhat by pointing out the difficulty that parents have when navigating shopping for clothes with their daughters. Apparently, there are few appropriate choices even available for young girls. How can parents say no when a) it's the only option available or b) it means condeming their child to be socially outcast for wearing something considered dorky or prudish. What will that do to the girl's self-esteem? Why does self-esteem have to be so strongly entwined with appearence for girls? If girls are learning earlier and earlier that they are primarily judged by their appearance, how will they ever grow up to be mentally healthy and successful women?

Miss. H.

Best Books for Halloween

The weather's finally turning seasonal down here, just in time for Halloween! All of these recent 70 degree days have had me more in the mood for a trip to the beach, but tonight I'm finally going to go out and purchase pumpkins and candycorns...yum! I have been known to eat a whole bag of them in one sitting, and I'm not embarrassed to admit it!
And what's better on a cool, crisp fall evening than settling down in front of the fireplace with a scary story or two? I don't read a lot of horror stories, nor do I watch a lot of horror movies, although I have been known to scare the bejeezus out of myself with a once a year showing of The Shining! That movie gets me every time!
In the spirit of one of my favorite holidays, here are a few non-horror favorites to check out this weekend.

1. The Witches by Roald Dahl - love his humor so much more as an adult! As a child, I don't really think I understood how creepy his stories really were. If you're looking for some real fun, read the section about Miss Pratchett in his memoir, Boy, then read The Witches and see how he drew inspiration for fantasy from his real life.
2. The Body by Stephen King - I went through a major Steven King phase during my freshman year of high school...not really sure why...I think I was bored and my brother happened to own a bunch of his books. I never want to read It again (and have never looked at clowns the same way!) But I rediscovered King this summer while reading The Body in preparation for a class that I was supposed to teach. The movie Stand By Me is based on this novella, but the story gets into a lot more character development than the movie does.
3. Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury - The dark carnival comes to town and mayhem ensues. There's a dark side in all of us, and Ray Bradbury's out to expose it. Another cool thing about Bradbury - he is a master of constructing incredibly long, complex sentences that help build suspense. If you only know Bradbury for The Illustrated Man and other sci-fi short stories, you'll see a whole new side of him in this novel. Plus, the cool Macbeth reference...
4. Speaking of..., do yourself a favor and go see a professional performance of Macbeth next time you have the opportunity. I truly had forgotten how incredibly messed up this story is until I studied it with my favorite after-school club students last year! Re-reading the play isn't going to do it - grab a few buddies and act out the scenes with the witches or "Out damned spot..." We did some performing of our own, then took an outing to a real production that was the starkest, creepiest show I've ever seen.
5. A Break With Charity or The Witch of Blackbird Pond or The Crucible - When I was eight (and admittedly, I may not have been the most courageous eight year old) my parents took me to The Salem Witch Museum and I didn't sleep for two nights! They turned off all the lights, there was a glowing red circle on the floor filled with diabolical symbols, and a narrator guided us through a series of scenes from Salem's darkest days...the image of Giles Corey being pressed to death was seared into my brain and still makes me shudder. But it also piqued my interest in this event, and I'll still devour any historical fiction about the Salem Witch Trials.

Did I mention that in fifth grade my two best friends and I went through a witch phase...we were pretty convinced that we had (or would someday have) magical powers, but mostly we just hung out in a corner of the playground and pretended to cast spells boys we didn't like...but that's another story altogether...

Happy Halloween everyone!
Rebecca DeWinter

Blast from the Past

Did any of the other madwomen out there read They Cage the Animals at Night? I'm having some serious flashbacks to reading this lovely work by Jennings Michael Burch for summer reading before 8th grade. It's an incredibly heart-warming and heart-breaking autobiography about a boy growing up both in poverty with his family, and in the child welfare system (foster care, group homes, etc).

Between my child welfare class and the book I'm currently working through for pleasure, A Child Called It by David Pelzer, I've been thinking a lot about the aforementioned novel; one of my favorites in middle school. I was wondering if anyone else had read it? If you have and want a similar story (or maybe you just want to get in touch with your inner social worker) I would recommend A Child Called It. It's another autobiography of a boy who is taken from his home, in this case because of extreme abuse and neglect. I'll warn you that it will break your heart to read a lot of his story, but the underlying success, the fact that this boy has become a successful man able to love a family of his own, is really beautiful and hopeful.

Miss. H

Curst be he that moves my bones

The literary laziness continued until this Saturday, when I was compelled to search my library for something to read on my Metro ride to Taste of Georgetown. I needed something paperback (for ease of carrying in my bag all day) and preferred something I hadn’t yet read, which left me with two choices: The Secret Life of Lobsters or Shakespeare: the World as Stage, both of which I picked up on the 50% of table at Barnes and Noble back in June. Not really in the mood for a history of shellfish and shellfishermen, I opted for the Shakespeare.
The book was billed as a biography, but as the author, Bill Bryson, sets out plainly from the start and any English major already knows, there really isn’t much we know about Shakespeare. Instead, he paints an easy-to-read portrait of Elizabethan and Jacobean theater, and traces the history/legitimacy of many of the myths associated with Shakespeare (time spent in Italy, the multi-author conspiracy, etc.) The descriptions of 16th century London were lively and some of the descriptions of Shakespeare conspiracy-theorists over the last two hundred years were too. On the other hand, the book sometimes digressed into a list of names, dates and statistics that led me to skim whole paragraphs.
As a Shakespeare enthusiast, I definitely felt the book was worth the read. I haven’t read any of Bill Bryson’s other books, but based on his style, I’d definitely consider picking one up. He had a well-organized narrative structure to tie together his disparate facts, and I enjoyed the way he played with punctuation. My students and I call it "creative punctuation" - having fun with colons, semi-colons, parentheses and dashes. And speaking of creative punctuation, in case you were wondering, Shakespeare was a master of it. His works contain 138,198 commas, 26,794 colons, and 15,785 question marks. If you’re looking to indulge in your inner English major, the book is worth a look. If you haven’t picked up a copy of Hamlet since high school, this one’s definitely not for you!

Reading for Pleasure, in Miniature

Over the past three weeks, my life has gotten significantly busier. Gone are the summer days of reading on the beach and sneaking in chapters between morning and afternoon sailing classes. Instead, the reading excitement I'm faced with are the joyous works from Journal of Social Service Research and American Journal of Evaluations. These scholarly pursuits may, hopefully, help me to land a job at the end of this long school year, but they make for less than satisfying blog posts.

I've had to adjust my pleasure reading to much shorter doses. Mostly my reading for pleasure has been online blogs, the Sunday Times, and the occasional retail catalog. Novels have all but disappeared from my life. Indeed, the spine I've cracked open most over the past few weeks has been Paula Dean's The Dean Family Cookbook (no matter how much studying, a girl has gotta eat!). I've tried a few new recipes lately. Most notably have been the "Banana Spice Cake with Peanut Butter Icing" (the name says it all -YUM!) and "Shrimp, Tomato, and Feta" (the name leaves out the most essential ingredient - liberal amounts of hot sauce!).

That's all that is new in my literary life. What's up with you madwomen?

Love,

The Pity Party in Boston, aka Miss H

eat.pray.love…..repeat.

This must be the 4th or 5th time I’ve read this book and I still can’t get enough. Each time I read it I have to remind myself to read slowly and enjoy every sentence of each page… even though in my mind I am already excited and anticipating the next part of Elizabeth’s journey. I love how she writes without trying to impress anyone. Nowhere in the book does she try to be politically correct… “Say the right thing” or try to appease any specific audience. In fact, at the beginning she calls out to anyone who might be offended of her use of the word God to close her book, and peacefully put it back on the shelf.
I feel like Elizabeth Gilbert and I are in our favorite coffee shop (you know, the one with art hanging on every wall… the smell of pumpkin spice coffee brewing… my favorite Frank Sinatra style song playing softly in the background…sitting on couches instead of chairs… nobody speaking above a ’12 inch voice’ or talking on their most trendy mobile device.) So there we are, sitting in our lovely little coffee shop and she is telling me about her year abroad. The year she spent on herself…finding herself. The year she spend doing exactly what she wanted to do. It doesn’t matter that we haven’t seen each other in ages… she still tells me every detail. She doesn’t paint herself to be a rosy white angel with wings and bells on. Instead she tells me everything that brought her to where she is now.
As I am listening to my bff Liz tell me her beautiful story, I can’t help but be pulled in and wonder where I would go. What I would do. What would I look for and what would I give up to find it? Would I ever take that leap of faith? I’d like to think I’d be able to, but I’m not so sure. …So back I go, listening to Liz go on about her adventure. And I’m transported to Italy. Ahh… Italy… the land of pasta, pizza, Italian men… and the most wonderful assortment of gelato available in the world. Turns out, gelato is a perfectly acceptable breakfast in Italy! Can I move there yet? Her description of authentic Italian foods will rival any New York Times foodru (that’s foodie and guru put together)… any Paula Dean cooking show, and will come fist to fist with the guy on Diners, Drive In’s and Dives. She keeps talking about visiting different towns in Italy and Rome and instead of museums and shopping and Churches… it’s where to find the best pasta, seafood or dessert. Usually, she is given a piece of paper with an address scribbled on it by a local… leading her to a hole in the wall restaurant that just so happens to have “..the fluffiest ricotta in all of Italy…” *sigh* I want to go there too… my heart keeps saying… Someday… my head says back.
I’m going to go back to listening to this story. India is coming up soon… and then Bali is next. I can’t WAIT to hear what happens in Bali.
Come over to our coffee shop. You’ll love this story. Liz would love to meet you and tell you everything. If you can’t make it, she wrote it all down. I’ll let you borrow my copy.

xoxo, Clementine.

A Luke-Warm Review

I tried to get through Wicked, the novel, before starting the madness of the school year, but just couldn't finish. Although the book brings in an interesting (and very social work appropriate!) view point that one shouldn't make assumptions about a person or a story without knowing the full background, it was bogged down by all sorts of political commentary about Oz. This may have been tolerable if Oz resembled a current nation or government, but, alas, it seemed to be a complete fantasy land. The life of Elphie, (who becomes the Witch of the West), is a bit too detailed, which makes reading slow going. It has some interesting portions, and the dynamic between Elphie and Glinda (the good witch) is great, but only takes place when the two are forced roommates in college.

All in all, I'm not terribly concerned that I probably will never finish the 100 pages or so that I have left.

Final Review: 1/2 a star

Miss H

Skeeter is a madwoman!

A couple of weeks ago I read The Help, by Kathryn Stockett. It was an incredibly powerful book with shades of both To Kill a Mockingbird and The Secret Life of Bees. It occurred to me as I was finishing up, that Skeeter is a modern madwoman. She's strong, powerful and evaluated by her peers as anything from eccentric to downright nuts! She breaks all the conventions, norms and unwritten rules in her society and as a result is cast out.
I know that at least two of the other madwomen have read the book. What do you gals think?

I hate to admit it, but Barbara Kingsolver changed my life

Loved The Poisonwood Bible. Hated The Bean Trees. Never realized that Barbara Kingsolver had a political agenda until Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. And when it comes to food and politics, I generally try to duck and cover (unless it's about fois gras...don't get me started on that one!) But I have to admit, her political ramblings in the name of locavorism and Slow Food were just that: ramblings. No rants, no diatribes. Aside from a few digressions, the book was a moderately interesting memoir of her family's endeavor to eat only what they or their neighbors produced over the course of a year.

Locavorism isn't for me. I live in a townhouse. There is no reasonable facility for housing pigs, chickens, cows or even a moderate-sized vegetable garden. But the principles of locavorism intrigue me. I'm all about food that tastes like food, and preservation of the environment is a nice side-benefit. So, after my fifteenth watery-flavored tomato from the grocery store this tomato season and many proclamations that it was time to check out the farmers' market, I decided to put my money where my mouth is. That was about a month ago. I've been three times, and my family has increased our vegetable intake exponentially. While Barbara portrayed the fun of farmers' marketing as meeting your suppliers and developing a friendship with them, I haven't seen much of that happening. For one thing, the farmers at my market are too busy weighing produce, refilling baskets and making change to engage in small talk. For me, the fun of the farmers' market is the opportunity to experiment with veggies. My new favorite kitchen staple: fairytale eggplant. Check out the photo. They're a little longer than my finger, and not nearly as bitter or tough-skinned as their full-grown cousins. Taste aside, they're just beautiful to look at and fun to eat. And anything that makes vegetables fun is a good thing in my book!

Sorry, Barbara, but I won't be giving up bananas anytime soon. However, I do thank you for the inspiration and I'll definitely be adding some shades of locavorism to my life from now on.

-Rebecca DeW.

Mockingjay Spoilers Halfway Through

I've been staying up late after work to read Mockingjay, and I'm longing for last summer when I had the luxury of reading the other two books in one sitting. So my progress has been slower than usual, but I'm at the point where they attack the Capital. Boggs just got killed (noooooooo!) and Katniss has taken control of the squad.
So many thoughts and not enough time to put them down thoughtfully, but here are a few:

• The Bread and Circuses passage in District Two - you were right Miss H! We must get to the bottom of all of the Roman references. I've emailed a good friend who is an ancient history expert with questions. I'm also wondering about the geography of the Roman Empire and whether the description of District Two corresponds with any of their provinces. Also, still ancient, not Roman, I'm wondering if any of the sieges have any references to the fall of Troy. Finally, I want to know how Rome finally fell! But not before I finish reading the book. Castor and Pollux are also either a Roman or Greek reference. Wish I'd paid more attention in history!
• What on earth is going on with Peeta??? I was so upset when he first appeared in Thirteen and tried to kill her. Then I felt bad for him. Now that he's in Two I'm wondering if he has recovered from the hijacking and this is another plot between Peeta and Haymitch to keep Katniss in the dark and manipulate her into doing the "right" thing for the rebellion.
• Why can Katniss feel empathy for Johanna and give her the pine sachet, but not for Peeta who is essentially in the same position - friendless, confused, manipulated by the Capital. Blinded by love again? Too stubborn to admit her feelings?
• To that end, earlier discussions have pointed to Katniss' inability to understand her own emotions. I gave it some thought last night and decided that, as mature adult readers, we are in touch with our emotions and able to speak logically about them. Katniss has been thrust into a mature situation, but we must remember that underneath it all she's only seventeen! Think back to how you behaved, especially around boys, at seventeen. Speaking from personal experience, I can say that I was stubborn, mercurial, and just generally a hot mess! I do feel Katniss' pain.
• Lastly, Gale is too quick to pull the trigger and not compassionate enough. My prediction: he ends up with Johanna.

That's all for now. I'm not going to look at any responses to this post until I've finished the book, so feel free to spoil away! Hoping to be done this evening.

-Rebecca DeWinter

What's up with e-readers?

I finally made it to Barnes and Noble to pick up Mockingjay. I haven't been in a book store in about eight weeks, and I had forgotten how much I love them! I was instantly overwhelmed by all of the possible choices, and began making a mental list of all the titles on my "to read" list. However, keeping in mind the eight giant boxes of homeless books in my garage and my desperate need to purchase bookshelves, I resisted temptation and only purchased Mockingjay. Note to self: must locate local library and apply for a card.
On the way out, Mr. DeWinter noted the new reduced price of the Kindle, and a lively discussion ensued. While I have sworn that e-readers are antithetical to all of my book-beliefs, I know that others can't live without them. What is the attraction of reading on a computer screen? I don't get it! For me, part of the joy of reading is the page-flipping, the dog-eared pages, the familiarity of a well-worn cover which is just as reassuring as the familiarity of favorite characters. Any of you using e-readers? Any of you considering making the transition? Despite my refusal to give in to technology, I remain curious.
-Rebecca DeWinter

Update

I finished the Hunger Games series in record time and have moved onto Wicked. I wanted to read it before seeing the musical next month (although I hear they are very different). Has anyone read it or seen the musical?

- Miss H.

Moving On

After failing to get through Born Round (that's right, I'm a quitter) I moved on to the wonderful Beneath a Marble Sky. Centered around the building of the Taj Mahal and the emperor's family, it made me realize that I truly know nothing about the history of India. What was most interesting to me was that the century could have remained a mystery to me for almost the entirety of the book if it weren't listed on the cover. The acceptance of concubines, sexual promiscuity and experimentation (if only for men), combined with an emphasis on the arts reminded me of ancient societies. Also similar was the disparity between the sophistication displayed by the arts and the brutality displayed by war and in disregard for life. More to come when I can get together my thoughts on the role of women in 17th century India and how it compares to the same in Europe.

Lazily yours,
Savannah

Hunger Games!!!

As Rebecca promised, I finished Hunger Games in a little over 24 hours. This was, in part, because of the fact that I couldn't leave my apartment this morning since a water main broke in front of our house causing a massive sink hole and the road to be closed. But really, Hunger Games kept me riveted, and even after I was able to navigate away from home, I didn't leave until I had finished and went out to buy the second and third books.

I will start by saying that in the Young Adult/ Tweenager Fantasy/Fiction/Series genre I am, and will always be, a happy and proud Harry Potter fan. I have also read the Twilight series, and generally enjoyed it, but never to the point that I love HP. Hunger Games falls in between the two on my enjoyment scale. Perhaps it's that I have aged out of the intended audience, whereas I read HP in my prime Tween / Teenage years, but I just don't think HG, or Twilight for that matter, holds the same... ahem.... magic. I found the romance in HG to be my favorite part of the book (by the way, I'm a HUGE Peeta fan!). It was refreshingly sweet and believable compared to the Twilight series. However, it lacked the subtlty and humor of romantic relationships in the HP series. Katniss's denial and seeming lack any ability for self-reflection in her relationships is what irked me the most. For someone who is so developed in so many skills, her utter lack of sense of self and others baffled me. In order to survive, people need to be able to clue into the thoughts and feelings of others. Katniss's ability to do so was extremely lacking. Because of this, I found myself getting frustrated that HG is written in the first person. It seemed to dumb the book down because Katniss herself was being so dumb!

Other than these complaints, I thought the book was marvelous. Not only was it a riveting story, the number of cultural references, the subtle mockery of American society, and the unrestrained violence help the book appeal to an older audience. Hopefully the next book will not disappoint!

- Miss. H.

Slight Spoiler Alert for Born Round

I finished Born Round today, and I was disappointed in the last 150 or so pages of the book. I really enjoyed the beginning. I found the parts about his childhood and family funny and interesting. Once it began focusing on his adult eating issues and career, I lost interest. I thought some of the writing about his food critic career was interesting, but that it dragged on for too long. I found myself skipping paragraphs and even pages.

In the spirit of Frank Bruni's star rating system, out of three, I give the book one star. The beginning was good enough to save it from zero stars, but it was too much of a struggle to get through the end to get a higher rating. The only reason I was able to get through it was that I have Hunger Games waiting for me. I'm glad that Hunger Games should be a much faster read. I need something exciting and action packed after Bruni's book.

- Miss H.

Tomorrow is Mockingjay day!

If you haven't read the first two books in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games series, run out and get yourself copies immediately! They're the best YA books I've read since...well, ever! I read Hunger Games in one sitting, staying up until 1am to finish (on a school night!) and ran out the next morning to purchase Catching Fire and did it all over again. The sleep deprivation was worth it! I have been eagerly awaiting the third and final book since last August, and will hit up the local Barnes and Noble as soon as work ends tomorrow. If they sell out before four (and I have a feeling they will), I'm going to be seriously bummed out!
- Rebecca DeW

I'm looking forward to seeing all the madwomen in person this weekend! It'll be the first time we've all been together since the idea for the book club was conceived. And how fitting, considering the current book selection, that we'll meet up for a food festival! All-you-can-eat Maryland blue crab - would Frank approve?
I'm also looking forward to setting some parameters for how this blog should proceed. I was considering posting my initial impressions of the book but, like Miss Havisham, I'm afraid to spoil the ending for the other club members. That was an unanticipated kink in the system that we neglected to negotiate.
In the meantime, since I'm abstaining from discussing Born Round, here's what else is going on in my reading life. To be honest, I haven't been reading anything longer than the occasional NY Times article. I'm trying to muster up the courage to begin Jeffrey Shaara's The Steel Wave. I love Jeff, I love historical fiction, and I especially love historical fiction about World War II (or WWI or Henry VIII, but I'll save those for another post). I've been anticipating this book since June, and those of you who know me well know that I rarely hold on to a book for such a long period of time without cracking the spine. The problem is that I find Shaara's books to be extremely labor-intensive reading. I call them "historical fiction, heavy on the history," because they are so thoroughly researched and so chock-full of historical detail. I read Killer Angels (by his father) two summers ago, and last summer I read To The Last Man. It took me a solid two weeks...much slower going than my usual pace. I loved it, and learned so much about General Pershing and trench warfare, but I felt like I needed to follow up with Danielle Steele...my brain was too exhausted to comprehend anything heavier than fluff.
With the advent of summer, I felt it was time to hunker down and try another Shaara selection. The problem is that the book has been sitting in a crate in the basement since I moved, and I haven't been motivated enough to fetch it. I think the laziness stems not so much from dreading the two flights downstairs, but from knowing what I'm in for once I begin reading. However, with my new job looming in less than a week, it's now or never...once I start working again, I know I'll be chock-full of excuses! Tomorrow promises to be rainy, so perhaps it'll be the perfect day to settle down with a big mug of tea and tackle that book!
- Rebecca DeW

I started Born Round yesterday and am in the 4th chapter. So far I'm really enjoying it, especially learning about his grandma! I don't what to ruin anything. Where is everyone else?

Did anyone else catch Top Chef last night? The author of our first book was guest judge! We certainly have good timing.

How far is everyone in the book? I have been sidetracked by Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. The book is a collection of connected short stories centered around Olive, who lives in a small coastal town in Maine. It's going slowly, but it's interesting. Strout does a very good job of developing the characters. I'm wondering if I should switch over to Born Round, though, and keep up with everyone else?

Mrs. Havisham

Welcome to The Madwomen's Book Club

After six weeks of deliberation and procrastination, we finally selected our first group read: Born Round, by Frank Bruni. It’s a memoir by the former New York Times restaurant critic, and we selected it primarily because 1) none of us had read it, and 2) as Miss H. likes to say, each of the madwomen has a particularly strong love affair with food! I’m particularly eager to begin reading because I have adored Frank’s writing style since I first noticed it in a review of clam pizza he ate at Co. in Brooklyn. The sheer magnitude of vocabulary he employed in describing the shellfish blew me away and sparked my obsession with the NYT Dining and Wine section, which I still read diligently each week. I can only hope that his memoir is as vivid and stylish as his reviews. So…let the reading begin! We can’t wait to start posting and let you all know what we think!
- Rebecca DeW.