book-review, literature

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

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The more things change the more they stay the same. Melina Green is a playwright who believes she can’t get anything seen on stage due to a scathing comment from a renowned critic during a contest when she was still in college.

When she wins a contest to put on a play after her best friend submits her manuscript under a male pseudonym, art and life become similar. The play is about a distant relative Emilia Bassano, who lived in the late 1500s. A ward of English aristocrats taught the arts and a gift for storytelling, she was forced to be the mistress to Lord Chamberlain. The tale that unfolds portrays her as Shakespear’s Dark Lady. Her story, intertwined with Melina’s, is about a writer needing to hide behind a male face/name to be considered as talented.

Interesting premise. I preferred Emilia’s story to Melina’s, which seemed very self-centered and whiny. The truth is still here, as there are still so many women publishing under her first initials only (example: JK Rowlings)

book-review, Family Drama, Women's literature

Every Tom Dick and Harry by Elinor Lipman

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Elinor Lipman hits upon another fun one. Emma Lewis is taking over her parent’s estate sale business. She is living in their home rent free, and her father’s friend and her high school algebra teacher Frank is moving in as a renter. A former “bed and breakfast” that had more use for the beds than for breakfast, is going up for sale and an estate sale is needed. Emma jumps on the opportunity, coming to realize the open secret of the town – it was a brothel. Emma begins dating the handsome new Police Chief, and Frank begins dating the mother. Screwball comedy ensues. Light, fun romantic comedy.

book-review, LGBQ+

This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel

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Rosie and Penn fell in love, got married, and had kids. After 3 boys they decided to try one last time for a girl. Then Claude was born. Creative, smart, and by 5 years old obsessed with becoming a princess. ER Doctor mom and Author Penn go to great lengths to keep this a family secret. While they tried everything to support their child, the complexities of what this truly is and the choices that must be made are overwhelming. And secrets are difficult to keep. When this is reveled the confusion grows for everyone. The truth of this is stark. No matter what is done there are two sides to each choice. While there are a few things missing, like the mom not knowing what additional resources to use to help, it faces a difficult topic with compassion. The fact that there is no one answer is the point of the story.

book-review, books, reading

The Phoenix Pencil Company by Allison King

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Monica Tsai, a reclusive computer science college student, is torn between the project her professor has her working on and the need to help her recently Alzheimer’s diagnosed grandmother. Through her work on the project EMRG, an application that is to connect people, she finds a connection to her grandmother’s cousin. As she works to untangle the past, she learns of the magic that existed in the family to reforge or recreate the words written with handmade pencils from the family company. A family saga follows them through wars and distance, always returning to the heart – of the pencil or of the family. What happens to the stories written in pencil appears to be going the same way for the digital content. As her grandmother faced the question of is it right to share other’s words without their knowledge, so does Monica.

The work for her professor is about journalling to leave a digital record of who you are and what your life was. The work for her grandmother was the same, but through the process of reforging from a pencil. Either way, the importance of leaving your story for others to share is the focus.

YA Lit

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

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In the year 2044 the world is harsh to those that don’t have much. The escape is into a virtual reality game called Oasis. Created by James Halladay, a pop culture fan of the 1980s, who passed away five years earlier. Control of this program/world is to be gained through an “easter egg hunt”. Clues are hard to find, and no one has been able to find them in all these years.

Eighteen year old Wade Watts spends as much time in Oasis as possible. With few friends, and few resources, he is able to project who he wants to be by selecting an avatar and hiding behind it. This is where he meets his friends. And you can’t believe that it is Wade that solves the first clue. The world takes notice, and the chase is on – and is real in both Oasis and the real world.

Great puzzle, engaging characters, and a timeless message. Be true to who you are, and you will always find your place.

Black Experience, book-review, books, literature, reading, Women's literature

What ever happened to Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul

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This novel is a story told by two people – Kitty Karr, a star actress, and her former co-star’s daughter, Elise St John. When you start you are with Elise, and you are sent in circles trying to figure out who she is, how she is connected, and why we should care. The Kitty Karr parts are fascinating, learning how she came to California in a long and winding fashion. It is even more circuitous to finding out the relationship to Elise St John.

In the end, this was an easily guessed premise that has been used many times. I did, however, enjoy Kitty’s story. Elise’s seemed too contrived.

literature, Women's literature

The Book Club for Troublesome Women by Marie Bostwick 

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Set in a planned suburb in 1960s Northern Virginia, this story follows four women come to feel held back by the strict rules and expectations of the time. Each woman came to the neighborhood for different reasons, but all of them are unhappy in their own way.

Margaret feels bored and restless. She wants more from life than baking the perfect cake or hosting the perfect dinner. With her kids in school and her marriage feeling strained, she decides to start a book club to meet other women and use her mind again. She invites Charlotte, the mysterious new neighbor from New York, who agrees to come if the first book is
The Feminine Mystique.

Viv, a former Army nurse and mother of six, is excited to finally have time for herself now that her youngest is in school. She and her husband still share a strong, loving bond, even in the middle of their busy home life.

Bitsy is the newest and youngest member of the group. Recently married to an older man, she feels lost and unsure of her place in this new community.

As the women read the book, they begin to see that their private frustrations are shared by many others. They start questioning the roles they’ve been told to accept and begin pushing against the limits placed on them. Through the book club and the feminist books that are chosen, they support each other as each woman finds her voice and begins shaping a life that feels true to who she is.

This is a story about recognizing that women’s roles were too confining—and about the strength that comes from friendship, honesty, and choosing your own path. The book club becomes the support system they all needed to stand up for themselves.

book-review, books, Family Drama, reading, Women's literature

The Wedding People by Alison Espach

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When you read the book’s description, you expect a fun romantic comedy. Phoebe Stone is the only hotel guest who isn’t part of a big wedding in Newport, Rhode Island. It sounds like a light story. But that first impression is wrong.

Phoebe arrives in Newport with only a green dress and a plan to end her life. She even blurts out her plan to the bride, Lila, in the elevator. Lila becomes angry because a death at the hotel would ruin her perfect wedding week.

Phoebe, who has spent years hiding her pain, suddenly starts telling the truth to everyone around her. This honesty opens her up to new possibilities in her personal and work life.

Lila also begins to trust Phoebe. She feels Phoebe is the only person who will be honest with her, even about small things—like food stuck in her teeth. Lila admits she has been living the way she thinks others expect her to, not the way she truly wants.

As Phoebe and Lila push each other to face the truth, both women confront their own grief, fears, and hopes. Whether dealing with failed IVF, divorce, or loss, they are each trying to build a future where they don’t feel alone. These deeper conversations make the book much more emotional and thoughtful than a typical rom‑com.

books, Historical Fiction, literature, reading, Women's literature

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

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Inspired by the life of Martha Ballard, a well‑known midwife from the 1700s, this book gives a close look at a world where women had to live very carefully. They worked hard at home, supported their husbands, raised their children, and went to church. Anything outside those roles was risky. A woman’s word was rarely trusted. She could only speak in court if her husband stood beside her. Even years of hands‑on experience meant less than a man’s formal education. And if a woman became pregnant outside of marriage, she carried all the blame and shame.

In this setting, Martha Ballard is asked to examine the body of a man pulled from the river. With no doctor in town, her experience as a midwife made her the closest thing to a medical expert. The dead man was a well‑known citizen who had recently been accused of a violent rape. One of the other accused men—the town magistrate—decides that a newly arrived doctor should give the official opinion instead. This doctor immediately contradicts Martha’s conclusion that the man was murdered.

Against this backdrop, we see Martha support and protect women through her work as a midwife, pushing back against male arrogance and sexism. We also see her try to raise her children, especially her sons, to be good and responsible people. Her husband loved her and even taught her to read and write, which gave her opportunities most women of the time did not have.

Some of the conversations between the Ballards, and between groups of women, felt more modern than I expected, which made me wonder how much creative license the author used. Still, the story was interesting and worth reading. I do prefer her other book, The Wife, The Maid, and The Mistress. That was really good.

Asian Culture, Asian Culture, books, literature, read around the world, reading, Uncategorized

Amanat: Women’s Writing from Kazakhstan by Various Authors

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I’ve been trying to read books from around the world to learn about different cultures, and that led me to this collection of stories by women authors from Kazakhstan. Kazakhstan is in Central Asia and is bordered by Russia to the north, China to the east, and Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, the Aral Sea, and Turkmenistan to the south.

The stories in this book were originally written in both Russian and Kazakh, and they span many different time periods. It seemed to me that the language used in each story might reflect the political leadership at the time it was written, though that’s just my impression. Each story offers a small window into the country’s culture and traditions. Together, they show powerful moments of what life was like for women in different eras.

If you enjoy learning about people around the world—and seeing how our lives can be both similar and different—this collection is a meaningful and eye‑opening read