Thursday, March 15, 2012

Reading when I ought to be doing other things!


I have been reading of late - in fact very late!! I was up until 1:30 this morning finishing up a book in fact!! I get that way - I read when I ought to be doing other stuff!!

I found this on a "give and take" shelf at Curves. I remember once when I sent RoseAnn a little Swedish cap that Alice had sent - from Sweden of course - and RoseAnn said that it made Jennifer look like a "little Hutterite!" I knew nothing about Hutterites then - now I know a bit more. This is a true memoir about a woman whose family left the Hutterite colony they were living in - and the impact it had on her life. It wasn't stunningly well-written, but it was interesting and informative.


Found this on the shelf Marcie keeps in her classroom for students during SSR. She wasn't sure where she'd gotten it - then remembered that a publisher had sent it to her - maybe they thought she'd order it for her class. It's not really adolescent fare - but it is a compelling read - about a dystopian society where women are devalued and controlled. A disturbing story on one level, but well-crafted and almost believable.


Jan in the main office suggested this when I was asking for book recommendations for my book group. My group wasn't interested, but I started it - and stayed up late to finish it early this a.m!! It is also compelling, well-written, and somewhat disturbing. It's about a young woman who is kidnapped and held captive for 7 years. The author has emphatically stated that it's not the Jaycee Duggard story in fiction, or a re-telling of the Austrian Frietzel family either. She just wondered what the effect would be of raising a child in a very limited environment, and she explores that idea. The story is told from the point of view of the woman's 5 year old son - that part is poignant and riveting at the same time.

So now I have the newest Grisham on order at Amazon. And I'm going to order the latest Maisie Dobbs as soon as I finish this.

"I'm Barbara and I'm a bookaholic!!"

5 comments:

Katie said...

I finished "Room" a couple months ago and liked it also. I stayed up a few late nights reading it also.

Karen said...

Sometimes I am afraid to start new books for this very reason- I stay up late, neglect all things, spend all my time reading until I finish them. That is if they grab my attention.

So, even though I have seen it, heard about it, and thought about it, I have not read Room yet.

hanner said...

unfortunately, i didn't love "room"! definitely a compelling story, but i didn't like the boy narrator... i just thought he was so obnoxious!

Katie said...

@Hannah I read it in a book club and many people found the little boy obnoxious also.

grannybabs said...

Well, a five year old boy who has never had to share his world with anyone but his mother would easily be obnoxious - but I didn't find him to be that - I found him endearing. He had been asked to go through a lot.

I liked his grandma and Steppa - they were my kind of people!!