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botanyandbookends's reviews
154 reviews
All the Single Ladies: Unmarried Women and the Rise of an Independent Nation by Rebecca Traister
2.0
Perhaps my hopes were too high for this book. It had the potential to be a ground-breaking study of the immense ability for women to make a great difference in the world - without the assistance of a partner. Single women completely handle finances and everyday burdens on their own. To be able to be of service in someway beyond the everyday sounded like a perfect celebration.
However, I was disappointed in the 'us vs them' mentality of the writing. Single women should be celebrated, there's no doubt. But not at the opposition to married women. Choosing to make a difference in the world should not be predicted by marital position or occupation. Unfortunately, the author too often mocked the married woman or 'housewife' in an effort to uplift the single ladies. Had she left off the sacrificial jabs at married women, the book would have been a success. I know many awesome single ladies. I would have liked to singularly celebrate their successes without having to disparage all others.
However, I was disappointed in the 'us vs them' mentality of the writing. Single women should be celebrated, there's no doubt. But not at the opposition to married women. Choosing to make a difference in the world should not be predicted by marital position or occupation. Unfortunately, the author too often mocked the married woman or 'housewife' in an effort to uplift the single ladies. Had she left off the sacrificial jabs at married women, the book would have been a success. I know many awesome single ladies. I would have liked to singularly celebrate their successes without having to disparage all others.
South and West: From a Notebook by Joan Didion
4.0
Didion never disappoints. Her writing style draws the reader in to her private thoughts and allows us to stand behind her articulate descriptions and simply nod in agreement.
The Rooster Bar by John Grisham
4.0
You always know what you’re going to get with Grisham - he doesn’t disappoint. Love that he tackled an ever-growing problem in this book: the student debt that has crippled many students and the banks that provide them.
To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin
4.0
“She smelled of silver tarnish and old cake crumbs..” Doesn’t that immediately conjure up the crookedly old woman that she was? Mmmmm, I adore imagery.
It was a late night last night so that I could finish this sweet and easy novel taking place in the late 1800’s as Paris watched the building of the Eiffel Tower for the World Fair. Realizing the harrowing feats of building the worlds tallest monument, level by level, rivet by rivet...it was a good reminder that safety organizations haven’t always protected blue collar workers and their dangerous environments.
‘To Capture What We Cannot Keep’ reflected the social boundaries so prevalent in 19th century Europe and that sometimes the heart falls outside those stalwart yet potentially malleable lines.
It was a late night last night so that I could finish this sweet and easy novel taking place in the late 1800’s as Paris watched the building of the Eiffel Tower for the World Fair. Realizing the harrowing feats of building the worlds tallest monument, level by level, rivet by rivet...it was a good reminder that safety organizations haven’t always protected blue collar workers and their dangerous environments.
‘To Capture What We Cannot Keep’ reflected the social boundaries so prevalent in 19th century Europe and that sometimes the heart falls outside those stalwart yet potentially malleable lines.
Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House by Michael Wolff
3.0
I’m not a fan of Trump’s (understatement) but I still had to read this book with a grain of salt. I am leary of any clearly biased book even though I wanted to embrace every single word as absolute fact. Maybe my defenses don’t want to *believe* it’s even possible for such a rube to be in our highest office (eye roll...is it 2020 yet?!) Thing is, it can’t all be fake or skewed or ‘all lies’. And that’s what keeps me up at night. This was definitely an interesting read!
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
4.0
‘The French night lay full and soft and warm outside my window...’
I wouldn’t call myself an official Francophile, but I do really enjoy stories that take place in Europe, Paris in particular. Late last night I finished reading ‘The Alice Network’, by Kate Quinn - a book about women spies during World War I. It was based off true historical heroines who spied and shuttled information back and forth across enemy lines. Messages wrapped inside rings, written on petticoats, wrapped around hair pins, or placed inside false bottoms of a cake box. Women excelled since popular belief was that women weren’t smart enough to spy or courageous enough to sneak across enemy lines. They were simply meant to be pretty adornment for a German soldier’s roving eye.
The author’s note at the end of the book, as well as excerpts from historical documents, were an added benefit to this historical fiction. Quinn’s elegant phrasing and descriptive imagery beautifully wove together a tale of feminine heroics as well as inevitable war-torn sadness.
‘We lingered inside are fragile bubble of happiness, the kind of happiness that sits on top of melancholy as easily as icing on the cake.’
I wouldn’t call myself an official Francophile, but I do really enjoy stories that take place in Europe, Paris in particular. Late last night I finished reading ‘The Alice Network’, by Kate Quinn - a book about women spies during World War I. It was based off true historical heroines who spied and shuttled information back and forth across enemy lines. Messages wrapped inside rings, written on petticoats, wrapped around hair pins, or placed inside false bottoms of a cake box. Women excelled since popular belief was that women weren’t smart enough to spy or courageous enough to sneak across enemy lines. They were simply meant to be pretty adornment for a German soldier’s roving eye.
The author’s note at the end of the book, as well as excerpts from historical documents, were an added benefit to this historical fiction. Quinn’s elegant phrasing and descriptive imagery beautifully wove together a tale of feminine heroics as well as inevitable war-torn sadness.
‘We lingered inside are fragile bubble of happiness, the kind of happiness that sits on top of melancholy as easily as icing on the cake.’