I first found Hate to Want You by Alisha Rai on NPR’s Best Books of 2017 List. I was finally able to get it from the library (on Kindle) right before I left for a long backpacking trip. Although I read most of it before getting on the trail, I always look for books that will not scare me when I’m sleeping alone in the woods. Romance novels are usually perfect. Now that I’ve read it, I don’t feel strongly about it. I didn’t love it, but I […]
This book was published 27 years ago, and we still need it
The Beauty Myth: How Images of Beauty Are Used Against Women (1991) by Naomi Wolf is another book from my list of 50 Books Every Woman Should Read Before She Turns 40–a list that I’m trying to finish before April. I have mixed feelings about The Beauty Myth. On the one hand, it was often challenging to read. Written almost thirty years ago, it sometimes felt dated. In addition, Wolf uses a lot of sweeping generalizations that I found frustrating. On the other hand, I think Wolf was […]
Eleanor Oliphant is completely f*cked up
I first noticed Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman on NPR’s Best Books of 2017 list. I remembered the blurb said something about a quirky loner who begins to come out of her shell when she meets Raymond, the new IT guy at her work. It sounded like a fun, romantic story that I would enjoy. After waiting eons for the book to become available at the library, I was finally able to read it. And I was right, I very much enjoyed this novel. However, it was […]
Growing up in a brothel in New Orleans
Out of the Easy (2013) by Ruta Sepetys was chosen as our next book for my book club. I’d never heard anything about it, but the many positive reviews were promising. Out of the Easy is a young-adult, coming-of-age story of Josie Moraine, a 17-year-old girl living in the French Quarter of New Orleans in the 1950’s. Josie is smart and good-hearted. She has dreams of getting out of New Orleans, but she has a lot of obstacles. Josie lives by herself, above a bookstore, where she has […]