Women Fiction Books

This is an absolutely fascinating read. I could not put the book down. A remarkable adventure by a most remarkable man.

Truly inspiring. This man is a hero, his story and his message need to be passed on if we are to aspire to make peace in the world. Read this book if it is the only one you read ever.

A must read book that is truly inspirational about what one man is doing to change the world!

I loved this book. I had seen Mr. Mortenson on Book TV and he is every bit as sincere and humble and self-effacing as described in the book. I ordered through interlibrary loan. Before I finished with the first part, I knew I had to OWN the book, so I ordered two copies. I gave one to my son's family and the other (after I finished reading it) to our grandson who is a sophomore in college and planning a U.S.Army career via ROTC. Of course, he is very interested in anything about Iraq or Afghanistan or Pakistan, and I wanted him to know of ways to deal with that region besides with a gun. I plan to order a couple of more copies -- one to reread and another to lend or give to our local library. Yes, the book is not always easy reading, but I loved the descriptive writing. I felt as though I had actually been to the region by the time I had finished. It was excellent background for the next book I read, Ambassador James F. Dobbins' "After the Taliban: Nation-Building in Afghanistan." (see my review there.)

This book was great. I really enjoyed it and it was such a good story. I am glad to see there are still a few real genuine humanitarians out there. I recommend this book to everyone I know.

simply the best book i have read this year...a gripping story that will make you laugh out loud and probably cry a bit...what an enjoyable and inspiring read.

When I first started blogging this summer, I read a lot about The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, so I went out and bought it. Then, I let it sit on the shelf for a while because I was afraid my expectations were too high. Boy, was I wrong. I loved this book - it was even better than I expected.

This book is written as a series of letters. World War II has just ended and Juliet Ashton, who is an author, is living in London when she receives a letter from Dawsey Adams who lives on Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. Dawsey has an old book that had belonged to Juliet at one time. In his letter he mentions the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, a sort of book club, that sprang up because of the German occupation of Guernsey during World War II. This leads to a flurry of letters between Juliet and members of the Society. Juliet decides there might be a book in the story of the lives of these people and decides to visit Guernsey. Once there, she falls in love with the island and it's people.

One of my favorite lines in the book is in a letter from Juliet to Dawsey when she says, "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's geometrically progressive - all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than sheer enjoyment." This book is charming and delightful. It made me want to visit Guernsey and made me miss the art of letter writing.

The title seems absurd. Start reading....

This is one of the best books I've read in a very long time. It is remininscent of British WW11 movies about "Chin Up", etc. However, the initial sense of grace under pressure diminishes within the first several pages. The feeling of a facile story passes and a deeper story immerges.

In point of fact, it is very close to a modern version of a Jane Austen story; intimate, class conscious, followed by understanding, acceptance and love.

This is a wise and lovely book that should be short-listed for the Pulitzer. It offers so much so sparingly. (Don't we all hate overwriting?)

Finally, this book is not a "woman's" book. It's a lively description of the life and times of recent post-war England and the havoc that the Nazi's caused in this small piece of England. It is a microcosm for what they accomplished in the wider world during that awful war.

This book is a book that can and will be read for many years to come. I hope schools have the sense to list this as a required reading book. It offers so much for discussion.

I fully recommend this book for teens and older. It's a treasure.

I really enjoyed this book. I learned more about World War II from the perspective of the people who suffered occupation, near famine, air raids and other incredible hardships than from any other book I've read. The visual pictures made me want to visit Guernsey. The story line reminded me of Jane Austen novels.

While it might not win a Pulitzer, the book had wonderful characters and a good story. I would recommend it to anybody as an easy, enjoyable read.

tho the characters in this story are fiction the authors did use facts that happened in the Channel Islands during the war . Not too many Americans realize that Guernsey was occupied for almost five years by the Germans and the only outside news they had wwere lies being told them by the occupation as all radios were confiscated , newspapers etc.
That generation of Brits were magnificent .
Perhaps it will have more people look into non fiction books about that time and place .

I completely escaped my suburban surroundings while reading "One Fifth Avenue." I couldn't help reading it fast because it was so compelling, at the same time wanting to read it more slowly to make it last. I hope Candace Bushnell writes a sequel. My only regret is that she killed off my favorite character.

I started reading this book on a Friday and finished it on Sunday. With all the other things I was involved in, I kept hurrying to get back to the book. The characters are all interesting, and the story moves fast. I love reading about New York and New Yorkers, and this one fills the bill nicely.

This book is so great, and so relevant to today. I wish I did not read so fast, I did not want it to end!!!! It really sums up the different feelings of new yorkers today - new money vs. old, and more.

I love this book! I think it may be Candace Bushnell's best yet! I loved Sex and the City, but this book has me hooked. The characters are very interesting, people you love to hate, especially the icy Mindy Gooch. I listen to Bushnell on Sirius, and I really think she's brilliant, funny, and has her finger on the pulse of New York City. If you have to take a flight, need a book to take on vacation or just love to read, you have to treat yourself to this book!

Bushnell is a sharp observer of the NY elite, as witnessed through her previous books and this one is no different. Focusing on the residents of one of the most glamorous buildings in the city, it reads more like a character study of the various socialites and social climbers than a unified story. However, if you are someone who is fascinated with the moneyed (and those who make a living being fascinated with the moneyed), this is the book for you. A little boring at times, but overall a very good peek into a rarified world.

This series started going downhill a couple of books ago. This book is better than others in the series. This series is a fluff, romance teaser, with supernatural creatures. In this book the reader will meet alot of new creatures and even a vampire Queen. I hope the TV show does not turn out as bad as the books.

I am surprised that this series just gets better and better as you read it. This book makes a shift to focus more on werewolfes and shapeshifters and of course, most of them accept her. We also see a little more from the fairies.

The book picks up on the storyline that was laid in book 4. Eric has his memory back, but doesn't remember. Jason has been bitten by a werepanther and is waiting for the first full moon.

Someone is trying to kill werewolfs and shifters, the search for Debbie Pelt continues and there are attempts made on Sookie's life. While I would have liked to have seen more with the vampires in this book, we got to see enough of them and the storyline with Eric and Sookie is further developed. (love that) Lots of great and well developed plot in this book.

Definetly a page turner and a worthwhile read in this series. Looking forward to book 9.

descent. I was way disapointed in the first four books in the series. I am hooked on "True Blood" (the HBO series thats based on the books), and I've been giving two stars, but this one deserves a slightly higher rating. Sookie is growing up and not whining as much and I have to say that I love, love, love Eric, he's what keeps me reading!

Charlaine Harris has created some of the most interesting characters you'll ever hope to meet in her Southern Vampire series starring Sookie Stackhouse and a supporting cast as varied as any you could imagine. I was hooked after the first one and eagerly await each installment. You'll laugh out loud on one page and cringe on the next. I recommend this series without hesitation. Entertaining & fun.

I love this series, and I can not wait until the next book is release.

Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Oak Park is on a spacious street that boasts several of his houses, two blocks from where I grew up. That street never loses its charm, though I've walked down it many times. Next door to my family lived a Frank Lloyd Wright impersonator/ expert who would don his black cape and wide-brimmed hat to give talks at some library or historical society. "There goes Frank Lloyd Wright," we would say whenever we saw Mr.Shepherd.
Now I regret that I never took advantage of the opportunity to learn about FLW from my neighbor's lectures, because due to this book, Loving Frank, I have become fascinated. Why was I never curious before? Evidence of his genius is all around Oak Park, and geniuses are often obsessive and tempermental and fascinating, aren't they? Horan bring FLW to life as a sensitive yet arrogant creative genius, basing a lot of FLW's character and dialogue on FlW's actual writings and ideas.
We see him through the eyes of his mistress, Mrs.Cheney. I was fascinated with her from the start also, curious to learn about her relationship with FLW, how she made that difficult choice to leave her children, and also because I heard about her tragic ending from my dad, when I was telling him that there's a new book about FLW and the mistress Cheney. He said, "Oh, yeah, you know that she-----?" No I didn't; thanks, you spoiler! But actually, knowing her fate increased my curiosity.
I found her to be a complex character, who had to follow the love of her life, yet felt guilty and missed her children every day. I couldn't help but sympathize with her as a reader, because we are so much inside her head throughout this book. Horan portrays her as a gentle intellectual who becomes involved with the feminist movement in order to defend her right to see her children and be treated equally as a divorcee.

I loved going through the ups and downs of FLW relationship with her, asking, is it worth it? The situation was always so precarious, financially, socially, emotionally. I couldn't put this book down.

Really enjoyed reading this book;learned a lot about the personal and professional life of Frank Lloyd Wright. Would recommend this book.

I picked up this book two times and tried to get into it, the third time, I made myself read it. About the middle of the book, I could not put it down, fabulous read.

Having grown up knowing who Frank Lloyd Wright was (a famous architect), but knowing little about him personally, I was unprepared for the eagerness and antipation with which I devoured this novel once I began. I was intrigued by the great intellects Frank and Mamah are portrayed as having. Their fictionalized conversations are fascinating! All the while I was appalled by their affair and decision to leave their families--notably their children. This is a wholly engaging read with an ending that, if you are not already aware of the historical facts, will give you a shocking surprise.

My problem with the book was less with the writing than with the central character. That said, her half-hearted, directionless but still self-important quest to find herself went on for too many pages before she finally realized it was just an affair. Even that eventuality was lame as Mamah appeared more distressed about unpaid bills than she did about the effect of the sacrifices she'd been expecting from everyone all along. The book might not have been such a painful read if it had been simply shorter.

This is a good though curious book. On the micro level it is quite excellent; on the macro level it raises several interesting questions. First and foremost, I wonder how large the audience is for a work such as this. The ideal reader would be both someone with a solid background in cultural studies and someone intimately acquainted with the music of Dusty Springfield, and most likely anyone intimately acquainted with her music would be a self-identified fan. I would qualify as someone fairly familiar with cultural studies, but while I enjoy many of the songs of Dusty Springfield, I would hardly be identified either by myself or by anyone else as a fan. I acknowledge that she is one of the great pop singers that Great Britain has produced, but her music does not speak to me in an especially powerful way and I identify with her very little or not at all. I recognize her importance and even brilliance, but her music does not have a deep emotional resonance for me as it does for many of her fans. On the other hand, of her passionate fans, how many are equipped to work their way through a book that is sometimes quite accessible to nonacademics, while at other times would be, I suspect, quite challenging for someone not in the academy. I suspect that many turning to it for a popular account of the music of Dusty Springfield will be disappointed.

If you are going to get everything out of this book that you can, you need a better collection of Dusty Springfield's music than I possess. I have three Dusty Springfield anthologies and one regular album -- The Hits Collection, The Best of Dusty Springfield, Goin' Back: The Very Best of Dustry Springfield, and Dusty in Memphis -- and I had only a healthy fraction of the songs that were discussed in the book. So, I was at a huge disadvantage in that I couldn't hear many of the songs discussed. I am not a big enough fan to lay out the money for the box set, Simply . . . Dusty, but I'm not certain that even that would give someone all the songs that they would need. I suspect that truly to appreciate this book, you would need very close to the entire discography. And if you are not familiar with Dusty Springfield as a visual performer, as I was not, Youtube is invaluable. There are luckily a huge number of her performances uploaded there. Many of them are unfortunately from TV shows where she lipsynched, but on many of them she actually sings.

Still, I learned a great deal about Dusty Springfield by reading this. It is not a biography, but it contains a comprehensive discussion of the nature of Dusty's music and vocal art. If you were only a casual fan before, as I was, you will come away from the book having a very solid understanding of precisely what it is that her staunchest fans value about her. I also benefitted by listening to her music more intently than I ever had before. Previously I had listened to each of my Dusty Springfield alubms several times each, but this was the first time that I had listened this intently to her. For nearly a week about the only thing I listened to on my iPod was Dusty Springfield songs. My lone complaint with the book's discussion of Dusty's vocal art is that it doesn't acknowledge some of her weaknesses. Though the author is very frank that the years were not kind to her voice due to the heavy use of drugs and alcohol, I don't think there is sufficient bluntness about the fact that by the late seventies her voice was not the amazing instrument that it was in the sixties. When you listen to her recordings from the sixties, you are astonished at what a versatile and astonishing voice that she had, a voice that was seemingly capable of anything. But the recordings from the late seventies on, however, seem strategies in compensating for things that she could no longer do vocally. Also, the recordings from the seventies, eighties, and nineties are really pretty awful. Granted, I only have songs from those decades that were included on my anthologies, but these songs are very bad. It leaves you to ponder how bad the other songs on those albums were. Additionally, while the author mentions that Dusty sang in a vast range of musical genres, there is no hint that she sang some of them rather poorly. I've never heard a country song that Dustry Springfield sang without a cringe. I grew up on country and folk and blue grass, and my idea of an authentic country voice is grounded in Earl and Scruggs, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, the Stanley Brothers, Loretta Lynn, and artists of that ilk. When I hear Dusty Springfield sing country, it puts me in mind of the absolutely horrible version of the Louvain Brothers' "The Christian Life" that the Byrds did on SWEETHEART OF THE RODEO with Roger McGuinn on lead vocal. It sounds like a parody of a country song. If you listen to the version with Gram Parsons's singing lead on the bonus cuts of that CD you'll hear country the way it ought to be sung. I know the Springfields were beloved and all, but the difference between Dusty Springfield singing "Silver Threads and Golden Needles" and Linda Ronstadt's singing it is similar to the difference between McGuinn and Parsons on "The Christian Life."

I loved most of the detailed discussions contained in the book. I really enjoyed the discussion of the pop aria (many of Randall's comments about the songs that Dusty sang in that vein could be applied equally to those of Roy Orbison, a singer who has many parallels to Dusty Springfield) and about the role of camp in her music. I also enjoyed the close attention to Dusty's recording techniques, especially as these were at the root of many of the tensions in her Stax recording sessions. (Randall is not a big fan of DUSTY IN MEMPHIS, and I will confess that I find that album somewhat overrated, though I will add that "Son of a Preacher Man" is one of the most transcendentally glorious singles in the history of rock, and she certainly excepts that song from the other criticisms she has of the album.) The one real problem I have with the book is that while the individual topics are discussed with great insight, I was never quite clear on what the point of the book as a whole was. It does, in fact, feel more like four separate essays that have been loosely connected than a real book. Because they are all about Dusty Springfield, the essays are unified by subject matter, but even so they are distinct from one another.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed both reading this book and listening to the music that it drove me to. Dusty Springfield is still not a major figure in my own life as a listener of music, but I have a much deeper appreciation of and knowledge of her music than I did before. I still am uncertain as to who will be best equipped to read the book, academics with the requisite intellectual background or fans with the requisite knowledge of and passion for the music of Dusty Springfrield. But maybe are more of each than I imagine.

This is the best book of the series. Sookie is stronger and the rest of the characters are more developed. The plot and writing are weak, but not as bad as in previous books.

This book was jammed packed full of action and we learn some new things about the vampires (like about Pam's past, Eric's present feelings etc.

A good portion of the book takes place at the Vampire Summit and we are introduced to a whole new group of vampires, including the "royals" and get to see some old friends. We also learn more about the vampire politics and get to hear how the aftermath of Katrina affected that community.

Sookie's love interst is Quinn, the well-respected, tough weretiger who is there to coordinate the event and that heats up a bit. Meanwhile, her tie to Eric is strengthened. The only other telpath that Sookie knows, Barry, is also there and it's fun to see them interact in their heads. We also see a "were" turned vamp named Jake. That's an intersting storyline.

Lots of action in this one. Vampires against other vamps and we also hear from the Fellowship of the Sun again. The cover of the book is so appropriate and it's a fun journey to see you take there. Other than book 4 in this series (which is hands down my favorite), it's hard to pick which ones I like best, but I certainly enjoyed this one ALOT.

Now that I've read the whole series, this one is my favorite in the series. You get to see Sookie's personality develop, as well as alot of other characters including Quinn. The tempo of the book is different then the other books because most of it isn't set in Bon Temps. Most of it takes place at a vampire confrance, with lost of vampire politics, and "supes" interaction. It never stops! You're either learning about the supernatural community, or Sookie's life is in danger, either way, I was engrossed.
If you like this series, this book won't disappoint. If you haven't read the first 6 books Ms Harris does a really good job or "recapping" what you need to know about the first books without making it boring for those that have.

This book is action packed, and I highly recommend. It has to be paired with the next book in this series, the eighth book. I would consider books 7 & 8 together, to get the complete story. The 7th book is just a launching pad to the 8th book. So, as you finish book 7, have the next book on hand, ready to go!

Now, in book 7, we are introduced to Vin Diesel, oh, sorry, I mean the wer-tiger Quinn. He's great, but in comparison to the Vamps, his character just doesn't hold up. By book 8, he is gone.

Other sideline love interests get wrapped up as well, pretty much leaving things up to Bill and Eric.

Eric's character develops quite a bit in these two books, and he becomes much more likable and relatable. Sookie becomes more attached to him, for both physical and emotional reasons. He is a contender for Sookie's heart.

Bill, Bill, Bill. What can I say? He is a lout, and more of his mistakes become known. He mopes around quite a bit. Still, I think we all know that Sookie and Bill ultimately belong together. Hopefully, in the future, Bill will actively try to win Sookie's forgiveness, rather than passively watching from the shadows.

After all the action in books 7 and 8, Sookie's character grows up a bit, and she realizes that she is capable of doing things she never thought she would. In view of her own compromised morals, her anger towards Bill softens by the end of book 8. And, Bill finally seems to be ready to fight for Sookie's love. I have to say, Bill's moping around was getting a little old!

Hopefully, Ms. Harris will write the next book SOON. 2009? Please? The 8th book kinda wraps things up, leaving the reader at a comfortable place.

A new Vampire regime is in place, along with a reorganized wer-pack, and the horizon is wide open for all sorts of new Sookie adventures.

We all know this book is based on Laura Bush and not knowing the woman personally, she does come across as having the ability to speak. I mean, I've seen her on TV and she doesn't just sit there. She does seem to blink and her mouth moves. But in Sittenfeld's hands, she is just a lump on a log. This woman was annoying, everything happened around her. She came across as such a dead character and complete waste of space.

The real problem for me lies with Sittenfeld's writing. It is all over the map, it starts beautifully but goes on a steady decline until you come to a horrible ending that makes you want to throw the book into your fireplace, and with this economy -- not a bad idea.

Even though this is a work of fiction, it is not a good one. I wanted more, I wanted a character with a sense of place, a sense of discovery. I have no clue what Sittenfeld was going for with this.

I am not a book reviewer. I actually used the exact same book review for four years of school (I got an A each time... go figure) changing only the wording so as to reflect my increasing vocabulary. Therefore, I don't expect this will be read and appreciated, but here goes anyway:
This book caused me to laugh out loud many times, to feel sympathy with the main character and several ancillary ones, and to cry twice. I'd call that a successful read. I wasn't aware of the controversy surrounding it when I selected it from the list of Vine books. It just seemed to have a fairly interesting premise. Then, when I received it and it was so big (with small font!) I thought I might not ever get started on it. Well, I cracked it open, and didn't set it down for several hours. I found I could not quit reading it. Much of the "experiences", ideas, feelings, philosophy expressed in it are also mine. I am one-year younger than the main character and so I am contemporaneous. It was just so simple to be come involved in the life presented.
I have since read the other reviews on Amazon, and those about the "thinly-veiled" Laura Bush thing. I can only say two things about that:
1. The people who found that they couldn't read it because it was long and/or boring, IMHO, are kidding themselves.
2. If Laura Bush is anything like Alice Blackwell, then bully for her! She's much more a complement to the human race than I had previously assumed.
Read this book... see if you don't agree. Life's too short to pass up an opportunity to laugh and cry.

Apart from the similarities to the current White House, I found this book to be an interesting look at the complexities of a marriage. The majority of the book focuses on the non-political portion of Alice's life, laying a solid foundation early on for the decisions she makes later in life. I believe the last section dealing with her time as First Lady was the weakest, and the very end was quite disappointing to me (can't say more without being a spoiler). In the end, I couldn't give five stars because no matter how well-imagined her character and motivations, I just could not bring myself to like Alice. Definitely worth a read regardless of your political opinions.

It was hard to read this book as though it was any other piece of fiction seeing that it is a thinly veiled reference to Laura and George Bush. I imagine that the book was released when it was (in the fall, right before the presidential election) in the hopes of capitalizing on the political current political fervor. Rather than making me more interested in the book, it simply made the book irritate me more than it normally would have. When topics like the war in Iraq, abortion, and gay rights are currently at the forefront of the political debate and everyone seems to have an opinion, reading about a woman who would rather just let life pass her by rather than make a stand about something -- anything -- isn't enjoyable.

The actual plot of this story is well written and engaging enough to keep your attention. Unfortunately, it's just another variation on Sittenfeld's previous books: a girl from a middle class/working class family comes of age, branches out on her own, and makes compromises. I guess my real complaint about these repetitive plot lines is that they're dull. In American Wife (and previous works), the main character leaves you feeling completely ambivalent about her life because she herself seems ambivalent. There's no joy or happiness exuding from her, and conversely, there's no sadness, no anger, no rage. Sittenfeld's characters (with the exception of Charlie, who is a colossal dunce that manages to become president) seem passive in their lives.

If you enjoyed Prep, you will likely enjoy American Wife. There are flaws in this story, but it is well written and clocks in far above the standard chick-lit, easy reading fair. Most of my problems with it lie in its release date. I think it may have gone over better if it had been released after Bush left office and the election was over.

Someone recently asked me why I enjoyed this novel so much, and all I could come up with was, "It was a really good story. It's entertaining." I should probably elaborate on that.

American Wife is an account of the ordinary and extraordinary life of a fictional First Lady. By all accounts it is loosely based on the life of Laura Bush, and Mrs. Bush does share some commonalities with our heroine, Alice Lindgren. For instance, both are avid readers and former librarians. Both married wealthy, connected, affable underachievers. Both came from a middleclass background. But, of course, Alice is not Laura Bush.

I do not count myself among Mrs. Bush's admirers, so I'm not overly familiar with her real life story. Truly, it left me wondering just how parallel the story being told by Curtis Sittenfeld was with that of the First Lady. Did Mrs. Bush have to overcome a trauma early in life as did Sittenfeld's heroine? Did she grow up with a live-in grandmother? Honestly, I don't think I care enough to find out--though I sure would love to stumble upon a magazine article spelling everything out, LOL.

What I do know is this: I have never spent a single minute wondering what it would be like to be First Lady. Does any little girl (or big girl) seriously dream of such things? Certainly our protagonist Alice didn't. She's an everywoman, and as such I found her personable and relatable. The fairy tale story of her life was fascinating to me, in the way that real life never has been, perhaps due to a lack of imagination on my part. Truthfully, I feel like this novel gave me a little more empathy for those who live in the White House than watching eight or nine seasons of The West Wing ever did.

I read this novel while house-bound with an injury. I'd been laid up for a while, and had been reading A LOT. I was, in fact, a bit stir crazy. When I started American Wife, it grabbed me right away. I turned pages gleefully for hours on end. It entertained me more than I would have ever guessed. In the end, can you ask for more than that?

I enjoyed the 2nd novel from Hosseini almost as much as Kite Runner, which I gave 5 stars. The author tells a fascinating human story with well-developed characters in rich prose that is all the more impressive because it is not the author's native tongue. Everyone should read Kite Runner, and once you've figured out why everyone loved the book, you'll want to read this novel, too, and you won't be disappointed.

I enjoyed the book. Despite having a mostly sad story line, the two female main characters demonstrated courage, love, and hope in an otherwise brutal and oppressive marriage. This book is not for children since it frequently describes sexual encounters in a somewhat graphic, though tasteful, manner.

No need to recount the story since other reviewers have already done that. I'll just express some thoughts that occurred to me as I read the book:

1) The book describes at least two lines of Islamic thought. One is the oppressive, brutal Taliban variety that treats women harshly, prohibits them from study or work, and views them as male property. The other is a more open minded, progressive variety that encourages women to learn and work. The author clearly prefers the progressive variety. The story shows the danger of having zealots in control of a country. We're truly fortunate to be in a country where one ideology or religion does not control us, particularly an oppressive ideology like the Talibans.

2) The story has two women who grew up without having to wear burqas, marrying a man of the repressive variety who required them to wear a burqa in public. Having lived in Afghanistan for several months, this brought back memories of the women wearing burqas, how uncomfortable they seemed, and the double standard. It reminded me of a time at a lake near San Antonio where I saw three Muslim women sitting on the beach in direct summer sun (very hot) wearing black abayas, waiting and watching while their husbands wearing swim shorts and no shirt played in the water with the kids. It escapes me how some Muslim men don't see how cruel and unfair this double standard is. They claim the cover is for purity, yet if that were true the males would have to cover themselves as well to maintain their purity. Yet, nowhere do we see male burqas or abayas.

3) Most of the story line was about a brutal wife beater. For the wife abusers, the burqa is a great way to conceal bruises.

4) Women under the Taliban had no rights and that is true in many middle eastern cultures still. I'm glad our western cultures got past the "women as chattel" concept. We can only hope the Afghan culture and the rest of the middle east will wake up and stop oppressing half their populations.

5) The Taliban sense of justice is truly warped. In the story, a husband beats a woman, another woman tries to stop him from doing that and ends up killing him to protect both their lives....so the Taliban sentence HER to death because women have no right to disobey their husbands. Scary. Although this story is fiction, it is based on reality.

6) The book reminded me of a Japanese-made film about the life of a woman and her daughter struggling to live under the Taliban. Saw it in Kabul but can't remember the name. Very powerful and depressing movie. It brings the evilness of the Taliban into crystal clear focus, as does this book.

7) The father of one of the women had ostracised her because she was a "harami" (bastard child of his). He refused to acknowledge her and instead married her off to a brutal man far away. At the end, he attempts to gain forgiveness, but it's too late. Made me think of the importance of caring for our children and ensuring they know we love them.

8) The tension that exists in Afghan culture between arranged marriages and marriages desired by both parties is shown. Another example of how the culture is behind the times and inconsiderate of the feelings of people wanting marriage. Too often, the reality there is that a young woman is married off to an old guy that she finds repulsive and, well, old...and often she knows a young man she finds attractive, yet is unable to marry.

9) The ending was powerful with Laila going to the birthplace of her deceased co-wife to honor her and feel connection to the woman.

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a better book than the kite runner in my opinion. The pages exude genuine feeling...it is amazing how the author captures the full sentiments of betrayal with his candid descriptions. This is the heartbreaking tale of two womem, both struggling to find their way in a world that seems bent on caging them in. Despite the odds, they manage to find their escape from hardship in their mutual friendship. Beautiful... a must read!

First off, I must say that this is an important book. There are some reviewers who claim that Khaled Hosseini must have written this with the western reader in mind. This may be true, but in my opinion it is a good thing. He has brought the plight of Afghanistan into the living rooms of those who live in the free world. Some of us may not have ever known or bothered to learn about the horrors that have taken place there; this book makes it personal. I cared about, cried with and for Mariam, Laila, Tariq and their families. I was outraged on their behalf. I wept many times while reading about Mariam's strength of endurance and what it cost her. I wanted to kill Rasheed, Mariam and Laila's sadistic husband. The depiction of the Taliban's sadistic regime left me feeling shell-shocked and harrowed. I honestly don't know how anyone survives such things as these.
There are other reviewers who claim that the "fairy-tale happy ending" ruined the story for them, that it was unrealistic. Well, I did a little research on Kabul. It seems a western reporter went there and remarked to a survivor in Kabul that everyone must be in terrible sorrow. "Are you kidding?" responded the survivor. "We are happy! After all this to finally have some peace, it is a happy thing!" Out of the horse's mouth. So it seems Mr. Hosseini's ending was not so far off the mark of reality after all.
This is an important book because of all that it made me feel, and I am thankful to live in a country where Afghani expatriots are free to write books like this. My life is richer for the experience and privelege of reading A Thousand Splendid Suns.

I first listened to CD's of this book on a very long and boring car trip. Of course I had already read and immensely enjoyed The Kite Runner. Well, this is even better, although somewhat more harrowing. It shares the same elegance of writing style, surprising, when one considers that English is not Hosseini's first language. The local color of Afghanistan is fascinating, but more interesting yet is the detail of injustices to women that is so unlike that which exists in Western society. Even though the book is, I presume, fiction, there is nothing self-serving or deliberately sensational about it. To say it is merely a good read is to do it a dis-service. Marvellous!

an unexpected page turner for me. the glass castle caught me off guard in its honesty and reawakened my understanding of another world that lies beyond all the comforts of home. touching, that the author writes without judgment or resentment even though the story inspired both emotions in this reader.

From the first page, this author grabbed me and I couldn't stop reading. I wanted to feel sorry for the family, but never once did I get the impression that they felt sorry for themselves. From struggle to success these kids are all surviors. My heart went out to them all during the book. I would recommend this book to all of my friends.

This memoir got book deals for several dozen marginal writers with bad childhoods, but those books have been awful compared to this one. Jeannette Walls has enough experience as a writer to tell a story. We have the typical bad dad -- the Angela's Ashes model where he may be a drunk and a gambler who doesn't take care of his family, but when he shows up, he's a Peter Pan figure who makes everything so much fun and magical for the children, they can't help but love him anyway. At first, the reader sort of loves him, too, but then the irresponsibility escalates.

Unfortunately, he is married to and having children with a self-centered artist (and she's not particularly a good artist, you can see her work on YouTube; she's ordinary)who is mentally unhinged. Most of the time she is oblivious to the terrible way the family lives, and when she is aware of it, she just cries and retreats into herself. She raises her children like animals, pretty much leaving them to fend for themselves, and she doesn't seem to connect to them like the father does, who is no more than a child himself. At least she doesn't drink. And she encourages everyone to read and treats the babies like fellow adults, so they mature quickly.

The way the children cope is almost miraculous. I'm not saying it isn't true. I guess under such dire circumstances, even small children can bring a creative survival instinct to the table.

I suppose out of respect for their privacy, Jeannette Walls is less detailed about how her siblings manage after they all leave home at such an early age. I'm thinking they must have arrived in New York City as teens sometime in the 1980s. Is it really this easy to get jobs and find affordable places to live in NYC? Now I feel really bad that I never tried it.

Walls also doesn't give any more detail about the mother's real estate holdings which provide a shocking conclusion to the book. It's hard to believe she never called to find out what they were really worth, and it's shocking they haven't forced the mother to sell them off. Maybe they're waiting for her to die. And if they're not worth much, it would negate the ending of the book, which is more dramatic with the possibility that all this time, the children were suffering and yet the mother had valuable property. (But if she had sold it, she and her husband would have blown all the money, even a sensational amount, in record time anyway, on foolish things. They were more childlike than the children.)

I applaud all the five star reviews who actually "GOT IT", in stark contrast to the negative ones who were obviously too short-sighted and couldn't see the forest for the trees. The author's depth of character is to be admired for her insight and compassion to see the redeeming qualities in her parents. In spite of the parent's chosen path in life, obviously not to cherish a shallow life full of "fancy things",the parents instilled in the children independant thought, principles, values, pride, self-sufficiency, self-worth, and how to love. A good many of the wealthiest children in the world are sadly lacking in all these qualities. BRILLIANTLY DONE BY AN OBVIOUS BRILLIANT, SPECIAL HUMAN BEING!! BRAVO!!!

The Glass Castle was so good that I couldn't put it down.
I am a mother of two children and would do anything to keep them healthy and safe. It's shocking to me that some people who choose to have kids are incapable of taking care of themselves, let alone their children.
It's a must read, difficult at times due to the abuse. We read it for our book club and it was a big hit.

Great book, I enjoyed it very much. More of a chick book but I'm in touch w/ my feminine side.

When I worked at Barnes and Noble, people would come in all the time, wanting to buy "The Secret Life of Bees". It was on the Bestseller list at the store just recently as I can remember...Around April or May of this year. I never understood why, I guess because I've been reading so many romance novels, never bothered to look at anything else. Plus it just didn't interest me, until I was at the movie theater and saw the coming attractions for this book. I said, damn, this movie looks real good. Then they said the title, and I nearly jumped out my chair. SO THAT'S THE REASON WHY EVERYONE KEPT BUYING THIS BOOK. I had to read it. I'm so glad I went to the library to get it. This book is so good and so funny. I hate cause it's taking me a long time to read it. That's because I haven't felt like reading, but I'm going to buy this book so I can add it to my collection of books (even though they are all romance). Lilly cracks me up with the things she says (Dakota Fanning definitly fits the part of Lilly) and Rosaleen, I feel so bad for her, but she has me laughing as well. Actually, they all have their quirks but that's what makes them unique. Sue Monk Kidd did an excellent job with this book. I know now to not really judge a book by it's cover, and there's more to books than romance novels. LOL

My husband and I listened to Secret LOB's while traveling. We listened going and returning but didn't get it finished. We spent the next afternoon relaxing and finishing the cd. We both felt it was one of the best Books on cd. Another book on cd for a really long travel is The White House by Margaret Truman. You can listen, stop, and return to listening weeks after for the trip home. She researched the White house and has many interesting inside stories of the people who lived and visited the White House.

The Secret Life of Bees is one of those books that is always talked about yet might not be as good as people say it is. You don't really know until you read it yourself. It has reached such a high pedestal in today's literature that it might just be hype. But it is certainly not. This novel was one of the best I have read this year.
Lily Owens, fourteen years old, is growing sick of her home. Conflicted by the memory of the day her mother died, Lily has to also deal with her mean father T.Ray, who routinely makes her kneel on grits. After her nanny Rosaleen ends up in jail, Lily decides it is time to take charge. She busts Rosaleen out and travels to Tiburon, South Carolina. All she has left of her mother is a little picture of the Black Madonna with Tiburon written on the back. Lily and Rosaleen are immediately taken in by three beekeeping sisters who have secrets to give and secrets to keep. Along the way Lily realizes the true meaning of home and family and meets a group of very special women.
This book is wonderful and relatable. As a teenager myself I find Lily very easy to listen to and to care for. The story moved along quickly, but didn't spare any detail. Every heartbreak and triumph committed by the characters was felt substantially. This book is not hype; it is truly a gem. And with the movie coming out, this book will certainly become appreciated and loved by more people all over the world.

This book was thought provoking, funny, truthful and very touching. I needed to read it slowly so I wouldn't miss any of the details. A great book for a vaction, even if the vacation is in the comfort of your own home. Enjoy!