This story is not about Medusa. This is a story about Medusa’s sisters; and they have their own stories to tell.
Medusa’s Sisters by Lauren J. A. Bear is a retelling of the stories of the gorgons, the gods, and humanity during Ancient Greek times, but with a little spin. This story is not about the legendary Medusa. This story is about her sisters, Stheno and Euryale.
From their birth, these triplets became a part of each other’s fates, the good and the bad. They are not monsters born from Titans. They are born with the same shape as humans and the gods of Olympus. Only Medusa is mortal, while her sisters are immortal.
Stheno, the eldest, is their protector. Euryale, the middle child, is just a woman yearning to fall in love and to live in the world of the gods. Medusa, the youngest, is the one everyone loves.
As the sisters watch the devastation of Pandora’s jar to Zeus creating humans over and over again until he gets it right, they one day decide to join the world of the humans in Thebes. After Thebes, it’s Athens.
It is in the land of Athena that they meet their doom of not only Medusa’s demise, but their own. All three sisters turn into gorgons. This is where the true tale of Stheno and Euryale begin.
They watch as Perseus takes the head of their sleeping Medusa, unable to stop him. They witness Pegasus and Chrysaor emerge from her decapitated body. After Medusa’s death, Stheno and Euryale continue to live on their island of Sarpedon. This is where they plot their revenge.
Thoughts
If you are like me, you probably know the Clash of the Titans version of Medusa’s story. I did not know she had sisters who were also turned into gorgons after Poseidon raped Medusa on the altar of Athena’s temple. Nor did I know that Medusa was pregnant with Poseidon’s children and Pegasus was a result of that rape (or that Pegasus had a twin).
Also, I did not know that Orion is the son of Euryale and Poseidon. In other words, I learned a lot from this retelling. I fact checked a lot of the elements in the story I did not know about, and those facts checked out. Hollywood really changed the story of Medusa, and I am not OK with that.
Medusa’s Sisters vindicates Medusa and her sisters. They are the victims. This book uses the actual myth from the original stories, and it does not stray too far from it. I do like, though, the one change where the sigil of Medusa’s face on Athena’s shield isn’t meant to be looked at as Athena honoring Medusa. It is meant for the goddess to remember what she did to their sister. Euryale painted the sigil onto Athena’s shield so she would remember how she had destroyed the woman she loved, all because she thought Medusa betrayed her.
Within this story, is the story of Orion and his dog Sirius. Oh, how I loved their story. I loved the tale of a boy and his dog. The tears were flowing when Orion was killed and then the gods chose to honor him and Sirius by placing them in the stars above Sarpedon, so Euryale could see them every night. [I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about it.]
Even in great tragedy, there is beauty. In sorrow, we find healing, even from our own enemies. This book is a wonderful tale of sisterhood, motherhood, and family. It is a story of love, hope, and strength.
For those who love tales of Ancient Greece, you will definitely enjoy this story.
[DISCLOSURE: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of a book review on this site. My opinions are my own, and are in no way influenced by the publisher. Should you choose to purchase the book or the movie through one of the links in this post, I will receive a commission from the sale at no additional cost to you.]
[Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received copies of the books contained in this post for purposes of review.]
September has a lot of great new book releases from true crime to historical fiction, to apocalyptic novels. Here’s what is on my radar this month.
Always the First to Die by R. J. Jacobs. A horror film actress returns to the manor where her first film was made, a place she swore she would never return to after the horrors that took place there. She is forced to return to the island to find her daughter as a category 4 hurricane hits, replaying the plot of the infamous horror film that made her famous. Releases September 13.
Children of the Catastrophe by Sarah Shoemaker. This historical fiction story begins in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, 1908. Liana Demirgis is being thrust into the spotlight by her mother in order to find a husband. An arranged marriage is made between the Demirgis and Melopoulos families and Liana is wed to Vasili. We follow the couple’s lives as the massacre of Greeks and Armenians after World War I takes place. Paperback releases September 6.
Duet: Our Journey in Song with the Northern Mockingbird by Phillip Hoose. National Book Award and Newberry honor-winner Phillip Hoose dives into the history of the mockingbird and it’s present day use as the rallying call in the Hunger Games. This YA book uncovers the connections between humans and the mockingbird over the centuries from the White House to modern day books. Releases September 13.
Enola Holmes and the Elegant Escapade by Nancy Springer. Oh, I love Enola Holmes and she is at it again. This time, trying to keep a friend with dual personalities out of trouble, while her older brother Sherlock is tasked with bringing the girl back home. What trouble will Enola find herself in this time? Releases September 6.
Fall Guy by Archer Mayor. Book 33 in the Joe Gunther series. This one is for those who love detective novels. When the body of a burglar is found in the trunk of a stolen car, the Vermont Bureau of Investigation discovers evidence in the car linked to an old unsolved child abduction case. Joe Gunther leads his team on the hunt for this psychopath before he kills again. Releases September 27.
Harrow by Joy Williams. Her first novel since Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Quick and the Dead, Joy Williams creates an apocalyptic story about a gifted young girl who stumbles upon a resort filled with elderly inhabitants who want to violently punish corporations and those who created the environmental apocalypse. Releases September 14.
Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah. This is an incredible story that leads to complete doom every which way Koral turns. This new world was hard to understand in the beginning, but once the races begin, you get snared into its net and can’t help but hope that things will get better for Koral and her family. Will she win the race and help her family out of their ruin, especially when the entire world is stacked up against her? This South Asian inspired story releases September 6.
Nothing But the Night: Leopold & Loeb and the Truth Behind the Murder That Rocked 1920s America by Greg King and Penny Wilson. For my true crime lovers, I can’t sum this up any better than the actual synopsis. The synopsis alone makes my jaw drop. SYNOPSIS: Nearly a hundred years ago, two wealthy and privileged teenagers―Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb―were charged and convicted in a gruesome crime that would lead to the original “Trial of the Century”. Even in Jazz Age Chicago, the murder was uniquely shocking for the motive of the killers: well-to-do Jewish scions, full of promise, had killed fourteen-year-old Bobby Franks for the thrill of it. The trial becomes even more sensational by the revelation of a love affair between the defendants and by defense attorney Clarence Darrow, who delivered one of the most famous defense summations of all time to save the boys from the death penalty. The story of their mad folie à deux, with Loeb portrayed as the psychopathic mastermind and Leopold as his infatuated disciple, has been endlessly repeated and accepted by history as fact. And none of it is true. Using twenty-first century investigative tools, forensics, and a modern understanding of the psychology of these infamous killers, Nothing but the Night turns history on its head. While Loeb is seen as the architect behind the murders, King and Wilson’s new research points to Leopold as the dominant partner in the deadly relationship, uncovering a dark obsession with violence and sex. Nothing but the Night pulls readers into the troubled world of Leopold and Loeb, revealing a more horrifying tale of passion, obsession, and betrayal than history ever imagined. Releases September 20.
Resurrection: Book One of the Manifestation Trilogy by Paul Selig. For those looking for spiritual guidance, renowned channel Paul Selig, channels the Guides for guidance and wisdom in manifesting our next phase in humanity. Releases September 20.
The Best Friend by Jessica Fellowes. For those who love thrillers, this book explores the friendship between two women. Friends at a young age, their story takes a dark turn after men come into their lives. Releases September 13.
The Deceptions by Jill Bialosky. This book qualifies for the tag of writing about strong women. As a woman’s life unravels at the seams, this teacher/poet spends her days in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, sitting before the Greek and Roman gods. They come to life, forcing her to choose between myth and reality. This book is an exploration between ‘female sexuality and ambition.’ Releases September 6.
The Witch and the Tsar by Olesya Salnikova Gilmore. This retelling of Ivan the Terrible intertwines the tsar’s story with the mythical witch Baba Yaga. Yes, the witch who lives in a house with chicken legs. Part goddess and mortal, she is blessed with youth and a very long life. She is thrown into the tsar’s court to care for his ailing wife, Anastasia Romanovna, who is being poisoned by someone in the tsar’s court. The rumor is Ivan’s volatile behavior came from Anastasia’s death, thus beginning his reign of terror across Russia. This book intertwines the myths of the gods of old with the new Russia that formed as Christianity took over the land. Yaga faced more than just an irate tsar, she also faced an unknown evil that was taking over the land. Was this evil the workings of a madman or the amusement of the gods? Gilmore does an excellent job of making Yaga a participating spectator during this time in history. Yaga is an inspiring demigod, a heroine, and not just an ugly, old witch. Releases September 20.
When I first read a few years ago that women detained by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in detention centers were being sterilized involuntarily, I thought that cannot be true. After reading “Take My Hand” by Dolen Perkins-Valdez, I now understand the US Government has been using sterilization on the poor, especially on people of color over the last 100 years. And I’m mad as hell about it.
“Take My Hand” is a historical fiction novel loosely based on the 1973 Relf v. Weinberger case where two sisters, ages twelve and fourteen, were sterilized without their consent in Montgomery, Alabama by a federally funded agency. In this story, we follow Civil Townsend, a nurse hired by a clinic to help women and girls with their reproductive health. She believes that all women and girls should take care of their reproductive health. Her mission is to help them.
She is responsible for administering Depo-Provera shots to two girls living in a one room shanty where they live with their father and grandmother. They live in complete squalor.
The girls are ages 11 and 13. The youngest does not speak and has developmental issues. When Civil learns that the youngest has not even had her first menstrual cycle, she questions why the girl is required to receive birth control.
Her friend, Ty, informs her the shot is not FDA approved and causes cancer in animal subjects. This alarms Civil and she realizes this may be similar to the Tuskegee experiments. She decides to stop giving the girls the shots and either get them on birth control pills or altogether stop administering birth control to them since they are not sexually active.
But her supervisor is monitoring the situation and notices the doctored reports. She shows up at the girls’ home and gets dad and grandma (both cannot read) to sign a slip of paper to take the girls to the ‘clinic’ for their shots. At least, that’s what they thought they were signing.
When Civil visits to let the youngest girl know she got her into a special school, she discovers the girls were taken to a hospital to be sterilized. By the time she gets to the hospital, it’s already too late.
Ty’s parents are lawyers and decide to help the family get justice for what has happened. A young white man is assigned to the case to help them. It catches the eye of Senator Ted Kennedy and he brings the family to Washington, DC to tell a Senate committee what happened. The story makes national news and more stories surface from across the nation of women and girls forced to be sterilized by federally funded agencies.
Reports appear of mothers in the midst of childbirth forced to sign papers that will allow the doctor to sterilize them after the birth of their child. The doctors threaten to not deliver the child if they refuse to sign the papers. In California, doctors report that poor Hispanic women are forcibly sterilized. More and more stories come to light as to how bad the situation really is.
We have found that sterilization is the rule, not the exception. It is widely endemic in this country. It is a form of reproductive control.
Last year we did a survey and found that although two-thirds of federally funded clinics’ patients were white and only one third are Black, 43 percent of those sterilized are Black. A report from the United States government…found that between the summer of 1972 and the summer of 1973, twenty-five thousand adults were sterilized in federally funded clinics. Of these, 153 were under the age of eighteen.
“Take My Hand” is terrifying and shocking as you learn that this atrocity happened and continues to happen. This is a war waged against women, especially those who are poor.
Our bodies belonged to us. Poor, disabled, it didn’t matter. These were our bodies, and we had the right to decide what to do with them. It was as if they were just taking our bodies from us, as if we didn’t even belong to ourselves.
The fact that involuntary sterilization still occurs is unfathomable. How is it that an administration that is anti-abortion and pro-life is also pro-sterilization?
There’s also a conversation that underlies all of this and that is the importance of women’s sexual and reproductive health. Throughout the world, talking about any of this is taboo. From first periods to menopause, no one talks about women’s health. It is shunned. In some parts of the world, women and girls do not have access to sanitary napkins or tampons. Girls end up dropping out of school when they get their first periods, because they do not have access to something as basic as pads or tampons.
Sexual health is health care.
Women needed access to reliable birth control and information about their reproductive health.
One item that is very important to mention is that many of these women and girls felt like they had no choice but to accept sterilization. Those who accept government assistance (welfare, food stamps, housing, Medicaid) are subjected to constant government intervention. Government officials constantly came and went out of their homes. For some people, they were threatened that if they did not submit to sterilization, mandatory birth control, etc., they could lose their government assistance.
In some cases, people were not given the proper information on sterilization and Depo-Provera. They were not told that the surgery was not reversible. Side effects of Depo-Provera were not discussed. At times, clinics were not advised on the procedures regarding sterilization or the administering of it. Women and girls were not given alternatives to birth control. For thousands of women and girls, their right to have children was taken away from them without their consent.
That’s the most important thing here…their right was taken from them without their consent.
Women in prison as recently as 2006-2010 faced forced sterilization. Less than a hundred years ago, sterilization was forced on those institutionalized. Many women during that time were not mentally ill. A woman with irregular periods, or a woman whose husband wanted to rid themselves of their wife to marry another woman, could be institutionalized.
During the Trump administration, rumors of detained female immigrants who were forced to be sterilized made the news. But the only response became disgust, and then yesterday’s news.
The war on women needs to end. We don’t hear of men undergoing forced sterilization because they are poor or an immigrant. Their right to their own bodies is not under attack by the government. But for women, we are constantly threatened. It needs to stop. We need to stop being a taboo. Our reproductive health and overall women’s health needs to be considered important in the medical field. When I want to talk about menopause and what happens to the body changing, I need my doctor to be able to know what exactly that is and advise me on what to expect. When we are provided a vaccine, make it not just for men in mind, but women, too. Sanitary napkins and tampons should not be taxed. They are a necessity. It should be covered as a health need.
Why not provide adequate birth control to all women? There would be less abortions if women had the proper medical care and access to it. Give them other alternatives to birth control. Sterilization should be a choice, not something forced upon women by the government. Truthfully, I have to ask, why is the government so obsessed with controlling a woman’s body? Women must really scare them.
I have to say, this book made me mad. It is a difficult read, but necessary. Everyone needs to understand the way war is raged upon women, especially those who live in poverty and are a person of color. Women are not yesterday’s news. We are victimized daily in a numerous amount of ways, because we are women. It needs to end.
[All quotes are from “Take My Hand” by Dolen Perkins-Valdez]
[Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher for purposes of a review. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links.]
Last week, I stopped into Barnes & Noble where Brad Meltzer introduced his latest book, “I am Jim Henson.”
I do not normally go to children’s author events, but I decided to go to this one. I’m glad I did. I was not prepared for the incredible lesson I was about to learn.
These books appear innocent on the outside. They are stories about important figures in human history. From Martin Luther King, Jr. (a book that is constantly sold out) to Rosa Parks, Helen Keller and Amelia Earhart, these books are designed not just as a history lesson for children, but as an underlying act to encourage children to become someone amazing.
There’s good in all of us. Sure, we’re all different. Some of us have beards, or no hair, or blue fur, or green flippers. But goodness lives within each of us. That’s an idea that should never get old. Believe in the good of the world. Create something new. Share what you love. And find others who believe in those favorite things you dream about. Together…
It starts when we’re kids. That’s when we learn some of the best things in life. Laughing. Sharing. Imagining. Dreaming. Creating. Never stop doing them. And never stop being kind. There’s nothing wrong with being a do-gooder.
Think of your life as a hill that must be climbed. There’s no correct path to get to the top. We all zigzag in our own ways. At some point, you’ll slip, you’ll fall, you’ll tumble back down again. But if you get back up and keep climbing, I promise you…you will reach the top. Don’t let anything hold you back. Our lives are what we make of them. There will always be obstacles. But there will always be ways around them.
In my life, people tried to knock me down. Tried to make me feel less than I was. They teased me for being small. Being black. Being different. Let me be clear: NO ONE should be able to do that. But if they try, you must stand strong. Stand for what’s right. Stand up for yourself (even if it means sitting down). When you do…others will follow. I am Rosa Parks. I’m not a politician, or a president, or an actor, or a famous business owner. I’m just an ordinary person. But I’m also proof that there’s NO SUCH thing as an ordinary person.
These books are not just for children. Adults need to read them, too. We need to be reminded that these people were just ordinary people who did something incredible with their life. Their stories are a reminder that no matter how ordinary we are we can change the world.
That is the point of these books. But there’s also an even bigger message. We are living in a time where our political climate threatens our livelihoods. We see how the bully won the election and it gave rise to white supremacists who threaten people that are not 100% white. [One teacher at the event told me that following the election, every child in her school was on suicide watch.]
Children are scared. Adults are scared. But it is in these very books, we see how being defiant and choosing to do good, choosing to do what is right and overcoming obstacles as they arise, can make us into extraordinary people. We can rise up.
The book that had the biggest effect on me was “I am Rosa Parks.” It made me sad and embarrassed to know how America used to be. Even though the Civil Rights Act of 1964 happened, we are seeing America revert back to darker days. Everything that made America great, we are told is not so great. We are told that equality between human beings is not a great thing. We are told that being a bully is ok. It is accepted to be the bully. America wants the bully to lead us.
We are told that the things we know in our heart are true and good are BAD. What these books tell us is to stand strong. We have to stand up for ourselves. We may be a bunch of ordinary people, but an ordinary person can change the world. That is self evident in these books. WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.
I highly recommend buying these books not just for the kids, but for yourself. We sometimes need to be reminded to believe in ourselves. It is so hard to remain strong each and every day after facing the onslaught of bullying and fear we live in.
These books serve as a reminder that we can follow our dreams. We can overcome obstacles. We can be the change, just like President Obama says we should be.
Read them to remind yourself of who you are and who you can become. Read the books to your children. Let them see that these people were just like them. They were kids too and they grew up to do something wonderful just by being themselves.
EXTRA: Over the last year, two of Meltzer’s children books had an overall 91% increase in sales, which is completely unheard of in the publishing industry. This was in direct correlation to the election. Those two books were “I am Martin Luther King, Jr.” and “I am Rosa Parks.”
The Books
Here are the current children’s books available from Brad Meltzer. He is developing 100 stories about ordinary people who did extraordinary things. This is just the beginning, so start collecting.
To be released later this year:
Disclosure: I may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support my work.
I apologize for the late selection for this month’s Kindle First selection. I celebrated my 40th birthday on July 1st and then went on vacation…just a staycation and a break from everything work related. But enough about that…about this book.
“I had a secret: I wanted to leave the earth in a spectacular fashion. Specifically, by leaping from the Eiffel Tower.” So begins this provocative coming-of-age novel about a teenage girl bent on self-destruction and revenge, set in the City of Light.
It’s the summer of 1999, the end of a millennium. In the mind of Nessa Baxter, a girl from rural Illinois, Paris is the remedy for all of her woes. The death of her beloved brother and the betrayal by her classmate Kat has left Nessa bereft and doubtful about her future. She plans to exact revenge on Kat during their renegade French Club trip. Along with classmates Whitney and Kiran, the four girls embark on a series of misadventures in Paris. As part of her plan, Nessa starts a game of Truth or Dare that spirals out of control.
A suspenseful psychological drama, Midair is the story of a young girl’s descent into darkness and the secrets we keep, even from ourselves.
So far, the reviewers are giving “Midair” 4 stars overall, which is very promising that this will be a good read.
We will have the book club on September 15th.
For those who are new to Kindle First books, Amazon selects 6 books a month before its release to the general public and makes them available to Amazon Prime members for free. After a month, the book becomes available for sale to the general public. For Prime members, you get 2.5 months to read the book, 1.5 months for non-Prime members.
You can join the discussion by posting your comments below (or in the book club post thread on September 15th), on the PW Facebook page or in the GoodReads.com book club for The PW…all links are on the side. You can also sign up for the club by entering your email address in the PW Book Club Sign Up on the right.
Looking forward to chatting about “Midair” with you in September.
We’ll be discussing “About the Night”on Friday, July 15th. I have to say, I enjoyed this book so much, I ended up ordering a physical copy to highlight the beautiful phrases throughout the book. For those who have read the book, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Sorry for the delay on posting this up. I literally forgot until this morning and had to smack my head for forgetting to check my calendar (and I’d written this down at least 5 times).
Feel free to respond in the comments below or later on this evening on the Facebook page. I’ve also created a space on Goodreads for all discussion on books at PW. It will also allow for a chance for everyone to get to know each other, to discover, talk and recommend more books.
Here are some questions for “Star Sand”:
Did you like the book?
Who was your favorite character?
What did you think of the book split up into three parts?
In this day and age, do you think if we were caught up in a war that we could take in and care for an enemy deserter?
Do you think if we were at war, do you think you would be able to live like the people of Hatoma Isle? Not only did they seem resourceful, but they looked out for each other. Do you think you could do the same?
Star Sand is named after the type of sand that is found at Hatoma Isle. Did reading about this little island encourage you to want to visit and gather your own bottles of star sand?
The brother echoed a lot of the war’s propaganda. This is something you see a lot of in most countries. What were you thoughts on the brother? Do you think he was right, keeping strong to what the government said was the right thing to do? Or do you think holding true to the human side was the right thing to do?
Do you think the sisters knew about the cave and what was going on in there?
What did you think of the ending?
I’ve posted my answers to the above questions at the Goodreads discussion board. You can find the Star Sand discussion here.
The May Amazon Kindle First selection is Anat Talshir’s “About the Night.” Here is a description of the book.
On a hot summer day in 1947, on a grandstand overlooking Jerusalem, Elias and Lila fall deeply, irrevocably in love.
Tragically, they come from two different worlds. Elias is a Christian Arab living on the eastern side of the newly divided city, and Lila is a Jew living on the western side. A growing conflict between their cultures casts a heavy shadow over the region and their burgeoning relationship. Between them lie not only a wall of stone and barbed wire but also the bitter enmity of two nations at war.
Told in the voice of Elias as he looks back upon the long years of his life, About the Night is a timely story of how hope can nourish us, loss can devastate us, and love can carry us beyond the boundaries that hold human beings apart.
For Amazon Prime members, you can get the book now for FREE a month before it is released to the general public. For those not Amazon Prime members, you can pick up a copy of the book on June 1, 2016. We’ll be discussing the book on July 15, 2016.
For those who would like to join the discussion, sign up in the PW Book Club email box to the right. Details will be sent to you as the date draws nearer.
For those who would like to join our next book club discussion, Roger Pulvers’ “Star Sand” will be discussed on June 15, 2016 to give people, that weren’t able to get an early release copy through Amazon’s Kindle First, time to read the book. Also, if you are a Kindle Unlimited subscriber, the book is a free Kindle Unlimited book. The Kindle price is $5.99, paperback is $9.91.
If you have any questions or comments, please leave them either in the comment section below or on the Facebook page. Looking forward to hearing from you!
For those wanting to participate in this month’s book club discussion for “The Light of the Fireflies,” you can find the discussion HERE. Feel free to share your thoughts of the book on the Facebook page.
Since this is the first book club, we’re making this open to anyone who’s read the book to comment on the book. So if you haven’t finished reading it yet, no problem. It will remain on the PW Facebook page.
Also, you can comment on the book here if you don’t have Facebook.
Here is the original Facebook discussion and my responses to kick the book club off.
“The Light of the Fireflies” by Paul Pen Discussion Thread.
Hello everyone.
My name is Michelle Kenneth and I’ll be moderating our first book club discussion for Paul Pen’s “The Light of the Fireflies.” This is an Amazon Kindle First book, so if you subscribe to Amazon Prime, you get early access to the book before it is released for FREE. On the first day of every month, they release a group of selections that you can choose from.
For March, I selected Paul Pen’s book. I’ll be selecting the next book tomorrow after they release their selections. [In the future, as we get more interest in the Book Club, I’ll let someone else pick out the next month’s selection.]
So on to the discussion…
1) What did you think of the book?
2) Were you shocked by the ending of the book?
3) When they revealed who the father of the child was, were you surprised at this revelation? Did you assume the baby’s father was who the sister claimed the baby’s Father was?
4) What did you think of the real story of how they ended up in the basement and how they attained their burns?
5) As the boy tells the story from his point of view, he knows his brother is just a little off, but never to the extent we see in the back story. Based on what is revealed in the back story, did you imagine that the brother could be dangerous to society?
6) Overall, what were your thoughts on the book? Would you recommend it to your friends/family?
Diary of a Perfectionist Wannabe: I’ll start the discussion off…
1) Simply put, I did not like the book at all. Generally speaking, the incest involved and the elements of what the brother did to that girl…just not something I would normally read.
2) I was shocked by the ending of the book. I think as a woman, I’m generally concerned for the safety and well being of other women. I assumed the sister was the victim in this, sexually abused by her father. I never imagined she was actually a very bad seed. She was just altogether evil. Did she deserve getting knocked up by her brother? Was that some sort of justice? I don’t think it was. At the end, when she is killed, I thought it was a saving grace for everyone. They were safe from her torment, and she finally escaped her family.
3) I assumed the entire time the father was the father of her child. I never even imagined it was the brother that had knocked her up.
4) I really didn’t like their back story. This family was absolutely crazy. If they had called the police to begin with, they never would have gone into that basement. They never would have received those burns. I’m sure the town would have taken into account that the child had a mental disability. He didn’t report that he had found the girl because he did not know he was supposed to do that. Sure, there may have been villagers talking about how the kid sexually assaulted the girl while she was broken, but they could always move and start over. Why hide the corpse? The boy just didn’t know better. The Sister, she was evil within herself. She would have been better off leaving her family, especially after the way they ‘saved’ the boy the way they did.
The next question is…would you have followed in their footsteps or would you have called the police to save your disabled son?
5) I was very shocked when I read what the Brother did to the girl. It was just difficult to fathom he was a sexual deviant. Then to find out he had sex with his sister…I have to ask how that happened. She seems to fight well for herself. Was she raped? Did he have sex with her while she was asleep? How did he do it? It’s obvious she hates her brother and always has. How was he able to take advantage of her?
If you were in the Sister’s shoes, would you have tried to kill the baby, too? Personally, I don’t even want to think about being in her shoes.
I also could not imagine that the Brother was a danger to society. Part of me thinks that the family just made one too many wrong decisions in an attempt to ‘save’ their favorite son, thus making the situation out worse than it really was. It’s not like the boy killed the girl (or did he)?
6) Overall, I didn’t like the book. I assumed that the reason why they were all in there was because of some nuclear attack or apocalyptic happening…or maybe they wanted to be rid of society that judged them for their appearance after a fire. To find out why they went down into that basement…come on. They were a family of cowards.
Would I recommend this book to anyone? No. Just because it’s not my type of book. A lot of people on GoodReads recommend the book, even though it is very dark.
This book is so haunting it will stick with you for life just because of the disturbing images throughout the book. All throughout the book, I kept wondering how in the world the author came up with this idea.
As we go along and make this a regular book club, we’ll change how the book club is done, so make sure to sign up with your email to join the PW Book Club on the right hand side. Also, as more people join, I’ll let others pick out the next month’s Amazon Kindle First book on the first of the month.
I’ll be announcing next month’s Kindle First book tomorrow.
For those who don’t know what Kindle First is, you can read more about it HERE.
One of the resolutions I make every year is to read 52 books a year. At the end of last year, as I started following more and more bibliophiles on Instagram, I was shocked to see that some people read over 100 books by the end of the year. I could never imagine doing that feat. 52 books seemed doable, even though that resolution went to the wayside over these last couple of years.
This year, I wanted to make sure I didn’t just read 52 books, but that I read MORE THAN 52 books this year.
My method of attack is this:
Read 50+ pages every day. On the weekends, read 100+ pages.
While you’re at work, walking, doing dishes, getting ready for work, listen to audio books.
Once a month, do a quick read that’s less than 150 pages.
Finish books you started in the past, but never finished.
After seeing all of the different Instagram challenges, I thought I’d do my own to get people to challenge themselves to read more this year.
Here is how the challenge works:
Choose a Reward for Yourself. Pick out an item that you really want, that you could save for along this journey. Be it a vacation, a luxury handbag, a pair of obscenely overpriced shoes, a class you’ve always wanted to take…pick something that would be considered a serious treat for yourself. You should reward yourself for a job well done. Make sure this is something you’re going to enjoy!
Come up with a pricing system. This will depend on the price of the item you are saving for and what you can afford. For instance, I reward myself if I don’t purchase the book. If it was free, a library book, or a gift, I put away $25 after I’ve completed the book. If it’s a classic (a more challenging smart book), I reward myself $100. If it’s a book for Book Club that I purchased, I allow myself $20. If I purchased the book in order to read it, because I just had to have it, only the retail price listed on the book goes into the reward jar, and the amount I actually paid for the book comes out of the reward jar. Taking the money out of the reward jar to pay for the book is my way of making sure I don’t spend money on unnecessary purchases. The only exception to purchasing the book is if it is for the Book Club. If the book is currently in my personal library, because I am making it a challenge to read what’s actually in my personal library this year, I’m rewarding myself $50 per book completed.That’s the reward system I’ve set up for myself. As you can see, the books I really want to challenge myself to read more of, I set the prize at a higher price in order to encourage myself to read more of those books.
Keep track of what you read. I used to keep track in a journal of what I read every year, including the amount I earned. Now, I keep track in my calendar. I keep stickers handy so I can place a sticker on the days where I completed a book. It’s a good way to visually see my progress and if I’m staying on track with a book a week (at the minimum).
Don’t dip into the reward jar until the first day of the year. I’m speaking from experience here. You are doing two things for yourself…you are working hard towards a goal and you need to learn to save for the reward at the end of the journey. It is no fun if you get to the end of the journey and realize there’s no reward money there because you spent it already.For many people (including myself), saving money can be very difficult when we live in a society where we get what we want, when we want it. We don’t save for the future or save for something we want. Since I started the KonMari method, I have stopped the consumer cycle. I was literally overflowing with stuff. I vowed that if I wanted something new, I would have to save for it using the reading challenge. I’m not allowed to buy the item now. I have to work towards earning the right to have that item, so that I would appreciate it more in the end because I would know how hard I worked to earn that item.Keep the money in a safe place. Keep it safe from yourself (if you think you’re going to dip into the jar). Earn some interest off the money while you save. Just keep plugging at that savings and don’t touch it until January 1st.
But It’s March
Ok. I know I started this challenge for you to join in March. If you’re a bibliophile, you’ve probably already read at least 10 books this year already, so you are on track. If you are starting from scratch, we can go at this in 2 different ways. You can either: 1) fast track (and over the months I’ll tell you how) or 2) do this as a full 52-week challenge, let the challenge run through 2017 and you can access that cash on March 1, 2017.
Whichever method you decide to do, I’ll be helping you along.
For those who are Amazon Prime members, I’ll be making recommendations from the Kindle First collection. If you choose the same book that month, I’ll have a Book Club sign up where we can discuss the book at the end of the month. [Amazon Prime members can choose one book each month from the Kindle First collection. These are books selected by the Amazon editors to read prior to the book’s release date. If you’re an Amazon Prime member, this is part of your membership, no extra charge.]
For those who need to get their extra books in via audio books, I highly recommend Kindle Unlimited. It’s around $10/month to access many books on your Kindle device or app. Just make sure when you select the book to borrow that it says Read and Listen For Free on the tab. If it doesn’t, you may have to pay extra for the Whispersync/Audible audio recordings. What about Audible membership? Audible is $14.95/month and that’s just for one audio book a month. Kindle Unlimited with Whispersync/Audible allows you to read the book and if you need to put the book down, you can switch it to audio and listen until you can read the book again. Audible doesn’t allow that. It’s just the audio book.
The only reason you should have Audible is if you want a book that is not audio available on Kindle Unlimited. I used Audible for Book Club selections when I was having problems getting back into the swing of reading books again after my surgery. 2016 is actually the first time I’ve actively been reading a lot of books since my surgery in 2013. I didn’t want to give up Book Club, so I listened to the books until I got comfortable with reading books again. So if you’re concerned about not being able to read as much, seriously consider audio books. You can listen to them wherever you go when you can’t pick up the physical book.
The March Challenge
So here’s the March challenge. We essentially have five weeks this month. Your focus is going to read/listen to no less than five books. Here are the five books I’ll be reading.
A book about the Circus – Water for Elephants: A Novel (this book is available with audio for Kindle Unlimited members, remember to look for the ‘Read and Listen for Free’ option)
For those not in a book club, I highly recommend joining a book club. You can find these at your local library or bookstore. It’s a great way for you to meet other bibliophiles such as yourself. It gives great insight into the book that you may not have even realized while you were reading. It’s also a good way to meet new people and make new friends. Books are meant to be shared.
If you don’t want to join a book club, since our book club is reading a classic, you can substitute option #2 with a classic or read what we’re reading.
For the Amazon Prime members that choose the same Kindle First book as I do and want to join in our own book club, please comment below, tweet me (@MichelleDoPW or @MichelleKenneth), ping me on Facebook, or tag me on Instagram (@diaryofaperfectionistwannabe). I’ll share the additional details in an upcoming post.
For those taking the March Challenge, ping me on social media using the hashtag #PWMarchBooks so that we can all find each other and share what we’re reading this month. I’ll Repost/Retweet, etc. so we can all connect to each other.
* For those playing catch-up, include a short book of poetry and choose at least 2 books this month that are less than 150 pages. If you can, try to boost your reading by listening to a couple of audio books. You can listen to these in the car, at work, while you’re working out, walking, etc.
The summer is starting to wind down. With only three weekends left, many are running off to get that one last vacation in before the fall arrives. For me, June, July and August are my months for vacation, which means taking a bit of a break from writing and the blogs. September is when I’m back in the saddle again. From film festivals to NY Fashion Week, to movie premieres, to NHL training camps, to the start of the Metropolitan Opera season…my working season begins. That means the content on this site will increase.
There will be more interviews from authors, publishers, celebrities, and artists. There will be more reviews, talks about books, films and the arts, a special fashion edition, and a new project unveiling that I’ve been working on over these last couple of months.
If you think content isn’t going up fast enough, as my artist friend Borbay describes the site…the word “Perfectionist” is in the title. That means that the content here is meant to be far superior so it takes a little longer to create it. People will just have to wait.
For now, let’s talk about what reading material is on the radar.
I had the pleasure of meeting Kim Thúy back in May when she was signing copies of her latest book Mãn. I had never read her works before. I just saw the book in the Book Expo newsletter from Random House Canada and knew I wanted to get my hands on it. She signed it “To Michelle, Thank you so much for coming back to me again.” You’ll find out soon on the site why that little inscription is a bit serendipitous {TEASER}.
What I was not expecting fromMãn was how beautifully written the book would be. It’s a quick read, but also the type of book you have to reflect upon as you go from chapter to chapter. Each chapter is only a paragraph or two long. In that one simple paragraph, she can tell an entire story, but she does it so beautifully that you go back and re-read the sentence, stumbling over each word slowly in order for it to sink in.
What makes Kim’s works in both Mãn and Ru: A Novel so unique is that she has perfected the art of storytelling by using very few words to tell an entire story. Each word she has chosen sinks deep into your soul and you are left pondering the words over, letting your tongue roll over each phrase she has chosen in each tale.
Both books are a compilation of stories of Vietnamese immigrants. She weaves each of their stories from one to another, using a choice word in each chapter to connect to the next story. For instance, she uses the word ‘red’ to end a story in one chapter and then uses it again in the following chapter to tell the tale of another immigrant. That one word can create a strong connection from one person to the next. In a way, it’s the same as how people read and connect to her books, no matter where they are from. The term “communism” can create a bond with a person in Eastern Europe because they can understand the struggle the Vietnamese went through, even though their experiences were totally different. That one word means something powerful to them. That one word is a lifetime of stories and struggles, of hunger, fear, anger and upset. Just one word can invoke so much passion in a person…just like a simple word like ‘red.’ That’s what makes Kim Thúy’s books so thought-provoking…one simple word can create a flood of feelings that enables the reader to connect to the book itself.
Her ability to weave these stories together using choice words is also a way of understanding how everyone in the book is essentially linked to each other. They may have in common that they are all Vietnamese immigrants, but there’s more to it. It links their life experiences from how we show love through food to what it means to let go of the person you love. From coming from well to do families to all of a sudden finding themselves as refugees in a foreign land, living as janitors, seamstresses, farm hands, etc. Then there are those who come from poor families who marry up and move to North America through marriage. She opens our eyes to the life of the immigrant in North America. They may have been from rich families or were doctors or professors in Vietnam. They sacrificed who they were to start over again in another country. Some were stripped of everything, others found opportunity. How do they evolve under those circumstances?
The stories are all very humbling. The writing style is unique and beautiful. I will forewarn you that you will be very hungry after you read her books. I have been eating Vietnamese, Chinese and Thai food every single day since I read Mãn. As you’ll discover in the book, the connection with food is about love…the love a mother shows to her child. The love a wife shows to her husband. It’s what bonds a family and friends together.
I highly recommend reading both of her books. You will not regret it. Your soul will thank you for the fresh drink of beauty.
If you’ve read the reviews of Harper Lee’s latest Go Set a Watchman: A Novel, people are really mad. It’s not even a story. It’s just a rant.
SPOILER: Atticus Finch is a racist.
That’s what really has everyone up in arms. But that’s because most of us had no clue when we read To Kill a Mockingbird that Atticus was anything but fair and colorblind. To find out he was a racist?!?!
This is where I want to remind everyone that Go Set a Watchman: A Novel was the first novel written by Harper Lee. It was also rejected by the publishers. They liked the characters, but it needed a stronger story. Go Set a Watchman: A Novel laid the foundation to the setting and the characters, but it needed a story. That’s when Lee came back and gave the publishers a new book entitled To Kill a Mockingbird. That was the book they published and it became a Pulitzer Prize winner.
What makes Go Set a Watchman: A Novel so difficult to digest is that it takes place 20 years after To Kill a Mockingbird. We know the story. We loved Atticus Finch, Scout, Jem, Dill and Calpurnia. How could we all of a sudden be shocked that Atticus was a racist and that Calpurnia didn’t really care for her or Jem?
You have to keep in mind that Go Set a Watchman: A Novel was the first book, not the second book. It was also the book that was originally rejected. When she came back to the publishers with To Kill a Mockingbird, maybe she decided to make Atticus fair and not a racist. Maybe Calpurnia really did care about the kids and didn’t care about the fact there was a black and white barrier. Maybe Harper Lee fixed what was really wrong with Go Set a Watchman: A Novel and made the characters into ones that would be cherished for all eternity when she wrote To Kill a Mockingbird.
Would I recommend it on its own? No. It’s a rant, not a story. BUT, if you’ve read To Kill a Mockingbird, you need to read Go Set a Watchman: A Novel to truly understand the entire context of the times, racism, and Alabama. For those who are writers, it’s actually an interesting look into how you can be rejected from one story, but you can go back and rewrite it based on the same characters and create a masterpiece. Sometimes a complete do over is the key. She learned from her mistakes and came out with one of the best novels of the 20th century. That is a life lesson within itself.
I decided to take a little break from reviewing the tall stack of books I received from publishers so that I can read something without the pressure of it feeling like ‘work.’ I was ordering a couple of books for the Book Club when Amazon recommended this book. It looked like such an interesting story that I decided to order it as my ‘fun’ book (i.e. a book I chose, rather than was chosen for me by someone else).
I always love stories that take place in Paris, but I really love stories that involve books as a means for adventure. Any book lover understands that love of the book itself and what the adventure means. They understand that little happy place. So take a bookshop apothecary that is located on a barge, a bookseller that finally opens up that letter the love of his life left for him when she left him 20 years ago, a bestselling author that is being hounded by crazed fans and you have an adventure of how a bookseller is trying to make amends with the love of his life by setting sail on his bookshop barge to make right where he went wrong.
In all honesty, I kind of want my own Bookshop Apothecary…a bookshop that prescribes the right books to people, rather than selling whatever books people want to buy. Sometimes the latest novel just isn’t the right book for that person during that time in their life. Trust me when I say, I’d like to take back all that time I spent with Gillian Flynn’s “Dark Places.” I put up with it because it was a Book Club book, but damn if I’ll ever read another one of her books willingly. She’s too dark for me. An Apothecary would have stopped me from even purchasing that book, explaining that the book just doesn’t go with my personality.
I will say that I am enjoying this book. I’m now at the part where he embarks on his adventure. It’s really exciting. The author has already used the love of books to charm me into loving the lead character. Can’t wait to find out what happens!
***
September is a big month for publishing houses. The majority of new releases come out at that time. Stay tuned for our list of what to read in September.
Over the last ten years, I have come to fall in love with the writings of Carlos Ruiz Zafon. His claim to fame is the amazing novel, “The Shadow of the Wind.”
A friend had suggested I read this book, because she heard someone else suggest it. I read the book, absorbed it, and fell madly in love with the story. Zafon went on to write two books connected to this bestseller: “The Angel’s Game” and “The Prisoner of Heaven.” Each book lived up to the extraordinary storytelling of “The Shadow of the Wind.”
For those who love books, the adventure into a Zafon book creates a new-found love of books all over again.
Like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, many of Zafon’s books that pre-date “The Shadow of the Wind” were originally written in Spanish. Now, for the English speaking bibliophiles who love Zafon’s works, we have to wait for the translations into English. They have been slowly, but steadily coming out one by one.
Within those translations, we discover Zafon’s first love…young adult fiction. That’s how he started out, writing young adult fiction. Each story he’s written is so miraculous that it stays with you for life. You never forget a Zafon tale. He is a master storyteller.
I am currently reading his final young adult fiction book, “Marina.” Over the past year, I’ve struggled with getting back into reading and traveling the world. A lot changed in me after the tumor was removed. Many things that I loved, I didn’t care for anymore, even though I knew it was important to fall back in love with those things again.
“Marina” has finally made me fall back in love with books and travel again. Zafon is such a masterful storyteller that you can’t help but get caught up in the story. You hate putting the book down because you feel like the story is going to continue on without you and you may miss something. You not only connect with the characters, but you truly feel like you, yourself, are part of the story…that this is now a part of your own story.
I have never encountered a writer that can continually, work after work, do what Zafon has done. He captivates the reader from page one, drawing them into this tale of wonder and intrigue, making us see the streets of Calcutta and Barcelona as if we are standing there with the character, looking over our shoulders as we, too, can hear the snapping of a twig behind us. We can feel the heat of summer, or the crisp breeze of autumn, hear the rustling of the leaves, and feel the adrenaline rush through us. It’s what makes us quickly turn the page as we become sucked into the world Zafon has created.
I have had many favorite authors in the past, but Zafon is clearly in a league of his own.
When discussing his hopes for his young adult fiction, Zafon wrote on his website, “They remind me of what the discovery of reading meant to me.” That is exactly what “Marina” has done for me post-op. I’ve read many books since my surgery. From Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” to Alexandre Dumas’s “The Count of Monte Cristo,” to the “Divergent” series and Joseph Delaney’s “Spook’s Apprentice,” none of them have instilled in me the love of reading, adventure and travel like Zafon has done. He raises this sense of excitement and intrigue in his work that makes you want to be a better human being, because you understand how important knowledge is through books.
If you are new to Zafon, I recommend starting with “The Shadow of the Wind” and then moving through the subsequent novels that followed. Then after you’ve read the adult fiction, go back and read the young adult fiction. You will begin to see his mastery in storytelling. It is as if he has perfected the craft like no other before him could.
After I read “The Shadow of the Wind,” I only wanted to read more and more stories about the love of books, but nothing compared to that masterpiece. He made me fall in love with books all over again.
Picking up “Marina” all these years later, he’s done it to me all over again. I have fallen back in love with reading and wanting to travel the world. He’s helped me rediscover the two things in life I love most.
Here are Zafon’s works (in English) [click on picture to purchase at Amazon.com]:
I just finished reading “The Septembers of Shiraz” by Dalia Sofer. It really made me think a lot about religion, privileges and circumstances.
I’ve learned over the past few years that it is difficult to be friends with people that are not in the same class as you financially. The main reason has a lot to do with how money makes others feel.
For those who have abundance and can buy their own freedom, they can’t trust those who do not have these same privileges. Why? Because the green eyed monster can take its toll. In places like Iran (where the setting in this book takes place) where the mullahs rule, having abundance is looked down upon.
They will rob a man who worked hard to have the finer things in life. They will say that they have a right to those things. They take from others what they did not earn. They justify their thievery by saying that someone who worked hard for those things did not deserve them.
The thing is, we see this everywhere. People who are less fortunate blaming those who are fortunate and worked hard. That’s not to say that everyone doesn’t work hard. It’s just sometimes people think that people that are more fortunate didn’t earn it or work hard for it. We all do…but the type of labor performed is different in every circumstance.
Some people work 18 hour days and even though they have a family, they are married to their work moreso than to their own families. They miss out on that treasure because they’ve determined that providing for them was more important then nurturing them.
Others make their family their priority, and in some people’s eyes, that makes that family the richest family around. Some people can’t have a family, so seeing a couple with a few kids running around will make them a little bit jealous.
What one man’s fortune is can be different for the next man. It doesn’t always involve money. Being fortunate requires a lot of work in life (no matter how it’s performed). We oftentimes give up one thing so that we can have another thing.
I gave up the thoughts of getting married and having a family of my own because I was more fortunate in my career. I’m already well aware that if I were to have a family I would have to choose whether to give up my career or let my children be raised by nannies. With the way my life has been going, it’s better to just forego making that decision and continue doing what I’m doing…that is until God changes my circumstances.
A lot of people assume I’ve always had money. The truth is…there was a time when I had to hit rock bottom in life and try to be the starving artist in order to realize what it was I wanted out of life. I remember how my diet consisted of chicken broth (which ironically is still the case but that’s due to different circumstances).
During that time, I didn’t have a choice…I could only afford chicken broth. Now, it is a choice.
I always like to remind myself of where I came from and how I rose above those circumstances to be where I am today. I was fortunate in my path in life. But this is my path. It is not meant to be traveled upon by anyone else but me.
We make choices as we go along this path in life. We have a choice of suffering or letting go of the suffering and realizing that we don’t have to suffer in life. We are in charge of our own life and the choices we ultimately make. Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” is a great example of this.
When people allow jealousy in to dictate how they will treat the next person…it’s not right. Shakespeare did not call it the green eyed monster for nothing! Jealousy is a monster. It changes people. It makes them bitter, evil and mean. It does not serve anyone any good to be jealous. It only promotes more hate in the world.
The “Septembers of Shiraz” really made me think a lot about life and our circumstances. It’s not just a story of a Jew that is thrown in prison by mullahs in Iran. It has a lot of deep meaning to it.
It also really made me dislike religions even more. It’s just amazing how much hate is spread if you believe differently then the next person. To be ridiculed, tortured and forced to believe in something you don’t is to me…absolutely STUPID. Can’t we all just get along?
You believe how you want to believe. I’ll believe how I want to believe. The only thing we can agree on…is just being neighborly. Love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Last week, I stopped into Barnes & Noble where Brad Meltzer introduced his latest book, 
(falls into the Classic category)
(this book is available with audio for Kindle Unlimited members, remember to look for the ‘Read and Listen for Free’ option)
(next book in the Chronos Files series, also a Kindle Unlimited book)
1. Kim Thúy,
2. Harper Lee, 
Currently reading: Nina George, 
Over the last ten years, I have come to fall in love with the writings of Carlos Ruiz Zafon. His claim to fame is the amazing novel, “The Shadow of the Wind.”
I just finished reading