Books Blog : women

Taking on Virgil

banksoftheohio@evpl — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 18:22:00 GMT

In her novel Lavinia, celebrated author Ursula LeGuin gives lyrical voice to her title character: the daughter of mythical King Latinus and the woman fated to cause The Aeneid's culminating war. This lushly detailed account of ancient Italian ritual and daily life, which was named a 2008 Best Book by Library Journal, is an intriguing companion to Virgil's epic poem. Check them both out and join the Classics Book Discussion on December 13th as we consider one of the cornerstones of Western literature.

Cassics Book Discussion

Thursday, December 13, 2012

1:00 - 2:00 p.m.

2nd Floor Conference Room

Central Library

Recent Chick Lit Reads

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 21:33:00 GMT

In the past few weeks since my last blog post, I have been on a chick-lit rampage. I have been speed-reading through recent releases like I don't have a hundred other things to do. Laundry piled up, kitchen didn't get cleaned, and packing for my move didn't happen. These three books are part of the reason that I have been slacking.

Prospect Park West by Amy Sohn takes place in Brooklyn's prosperous Park Slope neighborhood. The lives of four women intersect as they deal with husbands, children, and playground politics. Not earth-shattering reading, but worth a chance if you have the time.

Mercury in Retrograde by Paula Froelich has a cover strikingly similar to Prospect Park West. Froelich's novel takes place across the bridge in Manhattan where three women who are down on their luck join forces to get their lives back in order. The ending is pretty predictable, but it is an enjoyable read.

Going across the pond to England, Sophie Kinsella's latest book, Twenties Girl, introduces us to Sadie, a wild flapper from the 1920s and her great-niece, Lara, living in present-day London. Sadie has passed away alone in a retirement home, but her spirit remains on Earth pushing Lara to find who stole Sadie's prized possession. True to Kinsella form, this book is laugh out loud funny and highly recommended.

Happy Reading!

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:07:00 GMT

I am a bit of a Jane Austen fan. Sometimes I just need to pull Pride and Prejudice off my shelf and curl up with Mr. Darcy. It seems that I am not the only person with a fondness for Jane Austen and her fabulous stories. In the past few years there has been an influx of spin-offs, remakes, and sequels. The latest has been the introduction of zombies to Pemberley. I am not quite sure how Ms. Austen would feel about that...

Some of my favorite additions to the number of Austen fanfics being written are by Laurie Viera Rigler. Her first in the series, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, was published in 2007 and features modern-day Courtney Stone who wakes up in nineteenth-century England. Courtney has left behind her L.A. life of a broken engagement and lost friendship to inhabit the body and life of Jane Mansfield. Courtney has little time to figure out how she ended up two hundred years in the past before she is swept away in an Austen-like land full of dinners, balls, and beaus. One man in particular, Charles Edgeworth, seems to have interest in Jane Mansfield, but Courtney doesn’t know what the means to her. Courtney struggles has her two lives mesh together and she wonders if she will ever go back to her own life. Jane Austen even has a cameo in this addition to Austen-lit.

Rigler's latest novel, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, introduces us to the real Jane Mansfield from the previous novel. It seems when Courtney took over Jane's life in 1800s England, Jane had been thrown into modern-day L.A. Jane awakens one morning to a pounding headache and someone at the door. It seems Courtney (whose body Jane now inhabits) has had a bit of a rough time lately, and her friends are worried about her. Jane struggles to adapt to the 21st century while figuring out who the strangers are that keep jetting her around in fast-moving carriages, why men and women are allowed to dine together in outdoor bistros, and how the music keeps coming out of the tiny picture frame with buttons.

In both novels, Rigler takes us to the world of Jane Austen while maintaining a firm foothold in the present-day. We get to experience the daily things we take for granted while Jane humorously tries them for the first time. Both books are highly recommended.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

HRevvdon@evpl — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:28:00 GMT

Sometimes books are just better when you listen to them. This is one of those books. One of the women I work with had read this book and when we were talking about it she recalled that I had both read and listened to The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (2008) by Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows. I got more out of the book, listening to it. She suggested I might rather listen to The Help (2009) by Kathryn Stockett, and even though I already had a copy of the book, I downloaded it from EVPL's digital titles. She was right - the voices brought the characters alive!

The Help is told from the prospective of three women in 1960's Jackson, Mississippi. Two are African American household help and one is the daughter of one of the local white society families, a woman that had been raised by "the help." Because each alternating section is read by different voices full of personality and inflection the stories are more powerful.

Eugenia aka "Skeeter" has returned from college - Ole Miss of course - to a repressed life of social responsibilities and her mother pushing her to husband-hunt. But she wants to be a writer. Encouraged by a New York City editor to write about something she cares about or "disturbs" her and something more interesting than her current job writing about household hints, "Skeeter" convinces Abileen and Minny to help her write the stories of several African American women and their experiences working for white women and helping raise white children. Most of the stories are heartbreaking, full of the prejudice of the time, and just plain hateful. Some are sweet. Some are funny. Some would make you cry. Abileen and Minny come into their own through the experience - they begin as strong women in their own way and end up even stronger in a much different and self-actualized way. Skeeter changes amazingly from a young woman just floating through the life created for her into the beginnings of a strong woman and civil rights activist - an activist of actions and words.

This is an incredibly strong book about prejudice and love. As a debut novel for Stockett, it is an amazing. I will be watching for her work in the future.