This week I finally was able to read Jeannette Walls memoir "The Glass Castle". Jeannette Walls is a former contributor to MSNBC, she graduated from the elite Barnard College and has had a very successful career. What most people within her inner circle did not know was the rough and heartbreaking childhood she had.
Jeannette Walls was born in Arizona to an alcoholic father and a flighty mother. She and her brother and two sisters often moved around the dessert barely staying in a place long enough to settle down. Finally when the money really began to run out the family moved to her father's hometown in West Virginia. There her father became even more absorbed in alcohol and less on providing food for his family. Her mother battled depression and therefore forced the children to provide for themselves. Finally the day came for Jeannette to escape the downward spiral of poverty and she and her siblings worked hard to ensure that they would not suffer in adult hood.
Although much of the behavior exhibited by her parents should be deemed neglectful and plain dangerous Jeannette writes of her parents with true love and admiration for the good times and the important lessons taught. Never do you feel the author dislikes her parents for the life they chose to lead, instead you can feel how much Jeannette loves her family and the hurt she feels when as she gets older her love for her parents becomes shame and embarrassment. Although she is embarrassed by her parents, you never doubt the love she still feels for them.
This book was a quick read and is divided short sections about different memories the author has of her family life. After reading this book I can never complain about my parents again. I highly recommend this fantastic memoir.
If you are interested in reading "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls, you can find it at Barnes and Noble or at your local library.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Back on biographies
I just can't seem to get away from a good memoir or biography. Most of the time I find them more interesting than something someone has made up. This weeks selection is no exception, I read "Autobiography of a Geisha" by Sayo Masuda, translated by G.G. Rowley.
I've read many biographical and autobiographical accounts of Geisha before, but they have all been about the glamorous Geisha of Kyoto and Tokyo. This is the first account I have read based on the life of a "resort" Geisha. Although they were trained in the arts of the Geiko like their glamorous cousins of the Kyoto and Tokyo Geisha district, they were the unglamorous ones who were often expected to have sex with clients for money. Many of these young girls were sold into Geisha houses, as was Sayo Masuda.
Born a bastard and therefore a disgrace, she was first lent out as a nursemaid to a wealthy family that abused her. She had no knowledge of a mother or family until she was taken by her uncle and sold to a Geisha house. There she was practically an indentured servant to the household while she learned the skills of her trade. By sixteen she made her debut and had the rights to her virginity sold five times to the highest bidder. Sayo or "Little Crane" never complained about the lot she was given because she had never known much kindness in her life. She suffered through horrific abuse, but never cursed her exisitence, until she found love. By finding love and losing it Sayo realized the cruelty she and others like her were facing. Unfortunately she had many more hurdles to face before finally finding her true self.
Sayo Masuda, who is barely litterate wrote about her life for a magazine contest in order to win some much needed money. A publisher saw the story and agreed to publish her full story. Lucky for the reader he managed to keep Ms. Masuda's voice, and through translation G.G. Rowley was able to do the same so the American reader can glimpse into this forbidden world. I would recommend this book to everyone. It's the type of memoir you just don't typically read. I wish I could describe it better, but I can't, only the words of Sayo Masuda can do that.
If you would like to read "Autobiography of a Geisha" by Sayo Masuda, translated by G.G. Rowley, you can purchase it from Barnes and Noble or borrow it from your local library.
I've read many biographical and autobiographical accounts of Geisha before, but they have all been about the glamorous Geisha of Kyoto and Tokyo. This is the first account I have read based on the life of a "resort" Geisha. Although they were trained in the arts of the Geiko like their glamorous cousins of the Kyoto and Tokyo Geisha district, they were the unglamorous ones who were often expected to have sex with clients for money. Many of these young girls were sold into Geisha houses, as was Sayo Masuda.
Born a bastard and therefore a disgrace, she was first lent out as a nursemaid to a wealthy family that abused her. She had no knowledge of a mother or family until she was taken by her uncle and sold to a Geisha house. There she was practically an indentured servant to the household while she learned the skills of her trade. By sixteen she made her debut and had the rights to her virginity sold five times to the highest bidder. Sayo or "Little Crane" never complained about the lot she was given because she had never known much kindness in her life. She suffered through horrific abuse, but never cursed her exisitence, until she found love. By finding love and losing it Sayo realized the cruelty she and others like her were facing. Unfortunately she had many more hurdles to face before finally finding her true self.
Sayo Masuda, who is barely litterate wrote about her life for a magazine contest in order to win some much needed money. A publisher saw the story and agreed to publish her full story. Lucky for the reader he managed to keep Ms. Masuda's voice, and through translation G.G. Rowley was able to do the same so the American reader can glimpse into this forbidden world. I would recommend this book to everyone. It's the type of memoir you just don't typically read. I wish I could describe it better, but I can't, only the words of Sayo Masuda can do that.
If you would like to read "Autobiography of a Geisha" by Sayo Masuda, translated by G.G. Rowley, you can purchase it from Barnes and Noble or borrow it from your local library.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Square Foot Gardening
Today I finished Mel Bartholomew's "All New Square Foot Gardening". I read this book because the hubby and I are planning on creating a vegetable garden this spring. Since we want to keep our backyard as open as possible for the kids and our soil is mostly clay, we wanted to go for raised beds. A friend of mine recommended Mel's book and he was on the local news about two weeks ago so I thought I would give it a try.
Although some of the book sounds "infomercial" like, the information is really helpful and easy to understand. I do wish that the instructions for building the raised bed had more pictures showing construction, but it seems easy enough. I wish I skipped the first two chapters though because they basically tell the story of how square foot gardening began and how Mel's foundation has helped others. The second chapter talked about improvements to the book/method compared to the first book that was published in 1981 and the reprint in 2005.
The whole book makes me even more excited about planning my garden this spring. One of the recommendations that I really appreciated was to start small - start with the vegetables my family eats on a regular basis. I'm glad for that reminder because I was starting to get carried away with ideas for crops.
One thing I wish to have seen in the book would have been a layout to scale that the reader could use to plan out their own garden - something on CD-ROM would have been a great addition or even something like that on the website would have been a nice addition.
I can say I would recommend this book to urban and suburban gardeners, but I can't go further than that since I have yet to try Mel's methods myself. Later this summer I will write an update on how my garden is doing.
If you would like to check out "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew, you can purchase it at Barnes and Noble or find it at your local library.
Although some of the book sounds "infomercial" like, the information is really helpful and easy to understand. I do wish that the instructions for building the raised bed had more pictures showing construction, but it seems easy enough. I wish I skipped the first two chapters though because they basically tell the story of how square foot gardening began and how Mel's foundation has helped others. The second chapter talked about improvements to the book/method compared to the first book that was published in 1981 and the reprint in 2005.
The whole book makes me even more excited about planning my garden this spring. One of the recommendations that I really appreciated was to start small - start with the vegetables my family eats on a regular basis. I'm glad for that reminder because I was starting to get carried away with ideas for crops.
One thing I wish to have seen in the book would have been a layout to scale that the reader could use to plan out their own garden - something on CD-ROM would have been a great addition or even something like that on the website would have been a nice addition.
I can say I would recommend this book to urban and suburban gardeners, but I can't go further than that since I have yet to try Mel's methods myself. Later this summer I will write an update on how my garden is doing.
If you would like to check out "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew, you can purchase it at Barnes and Noble or find it at your local library.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Finally able to read again!
I finished the last of my finals on Wednesday and was able to pick up the book I've been trying to read for two weeks!
This week I read "Cupid and the King: Five Royal Paramours", written by Princess Michael of Kent.
The title aptly describes the focus of this book. Princess Michael chose five women who were the mistresses of some of the most powerful monarchs in Europe. These ladies used their ambition, looks, and intellect to get what they wanted.
The ladies featured are:
Nell Gwyn - an orange seller and later actress that became the favorite of Charles II and the people of England.
Jeanne-Antionette Poisson, better known as Madame de Pompadour - the lovely and intelligent mistress of Louis XV of France.
Marie Walewska - the beautiful shy woman who became Napoleon's mistress to save her country, but then fell in love with the ambitious emperor.
Lola Montez - the vibrant and controversial dancer who charmed the nobility of Europe and became the muse of Ludwig I of Bavaria.
Lillie Langtry - considered the most beautiful woman of her time, she became the mistress of Edward VII while he was still Prince of Wales and managed to keep him for nearly five years, but retained his friendship for the rest of his life.
I really enjoyed this book. I had heard of Madame de Pompadour and Nell Gwyn before, but these other ladies I had never read anything about them before. It is fascinating that these women were so powerful and not because they slept with the King, but because of their charm and intellect. I would love to read more about these ladies and others like them. Many books discussing royal mistresses reek of sexuality and scandal, but Princess Michael of Kent told the real story of these women. I am really looking forward to reading more material from this talented biographer and historian.
If you would like to read "Cupid and the King" by Princess Michael of Kent you can purchase it at Barnes and Noble or find it at your local library.
This week I read "Cupid and the King: Five Royal Paramours", written by Princess Michael of Kent.
The title aptly describes the focus of this book. Princess Michael chose five women who were the mistresses of some of the most powerful monarchs in Europe. These ladies used their ambition, looks, and intellect to get what they wanted.
The ladies featured are:
Nell Gwyn - an orange seller and later actress that became the favorite of Charles II and the people of England.
Jeanne-Antionette Poisson, better known as Madame de Pompadour - the lovely and intelligent mistress of Louis XV of France.
Marie Walewska - the beautiful shy woman who became Napoleon's mistress to save her country, but then fell in love with the ambitious emperor.
Lola Montez - the vibrant and controversial dancer who charmed the nobility of Europe and became the muse of Ludwig I of Bavaria.
Lillie Langtry - considered the most beautiful woman of her time, she became the mistress of Edward VII while he was still Prince of Wales and managed to keep him for nearly five years, but retained his friendship for the rest of his life.
I really enjoyed this book. I had heard of Madame de Pompadour and Nell Gwyn before, but these other ladies I had never read anything about them before. It is fascinating that these women were so powerful and not because they slept with the King, but because of their charm and intellect. I would love to read more about these ladies and others like them. Many books discussing royal mistresses reek of sexuality and scandal, but Princess Michael of Kent told the real story of these women. I am really looking forward to reading more material from this talented biographer and historian.
If you would like to read "Cupid and the King" by Princess Michael of Kent you can purchase it at Barnes and Noble or find it at your local library.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
End of the Quarter
It's the end of the quarter so life has been pretty crazy the past two weeks. I haven't had any time to read anything except text books. Finals are over next Wednesday - after that I will be able to devout more time to reading and blogging.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
America's Hidden History
This week I read "America's Hidden History" by Kenneth C. Davis. Davis is the author of the "Don't Know Much About . . ." series.
I have read some of his books in the past and really enjoyed the little tidbits he shares that you don't typically hear about in history class. The same can be said of this book. Although written in a different style than his previous books it still gets his message across that nothing in history is ever neat. He reminds the reader that the people that helped to found this country were flesh and blood and suffered prejudices, self doubt, and made poor choices just like anyone else. I also appreciated the histories of women who did extraordinary things, but because of their gender rarely make it into the history books.
This is an excellent read for history lovers as well as those who may not. It's hard to dislike history when the life stories of these people are far better than any fiction writer could come up with.
You can find "America's Hidden History" by Kenneth C. Davis at Barnes and Noble or your local library.
I have read some of his books in the past and really enjoyed the little tidbits he shares that you don't typically hear about in history class. The same can be said of this book. Although written in a different style than his previous books it still gets his message across that nothing in history is ever neat. He reminds the reader that the people that helped to found this country were flesh and blood and suffered prejudices, self doubt, and made poor choices just like anyone else. I also appreciated the histories of women who did extraordinary things, but because of their gender rarely make it into the history books.
This is an excellent read for history lovers as well as those who may not. It's hard to dislike history when the life stories of these people are far better than any fiction writer could come up with.
You can find "America's Hidden History" by Kenneth C. Davis at Barnes and Noble or your local library.
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