Deadly Sisterhood - Ladies of the Renaissance

Have I been in a Renaissance mode lately? Yep. (Just ask me about the different Italian city/states.) While reading Blood and Beauty, I realized that I did not have enough background on who was who during that turbulent time period in Italy.

So when wandering the shelves of my local library I found this title, The Deadly Sisterhood: A Story of Women, Power, and Intrigue in the Italian Renaissance, 1427-1527 by Leonie Frieda. This was a perfect non-fiction match for the Borgia book. Not only does Frieda write about Lucrezia, she writes about her sister-in-laws and the other ladies that were affected by Borgia battles.

And don't let the title fool you, Frieda focuses on the princesses - but their lives are invariably attached and intertwined with the men in their families. She tries to let the women tell their own tales through their letters and writings. And what a cast of characters: Isabella of Este, her sister/rival Beatrice, Caterina Sforza (with her three marriages,) and the women of the House of Medici. Oh yes, and  Lucrezia too!

We learn about the family battles, the gossip, the alliances, the intermarriage, (the fights for choosing a Pope) and how many of these wealthy women influenced the culture around them by sponsoring artists or writers and in Isabella's case - becoming a shrewd art collector. And supporting their husbands, children, and city states along the way.

While to some this may seem a dry history topic, I found Frieda's book to be well written and the stories are fascinating. Truth is often crazier than fiction, and these people lived their lives to the fullest.(Keeping track of the affairs alone can be difficult!)  And since they are all connected via marriage or alliance, the family trees at the beginning of the book were very helpful. I found myself eager to read what happened next in these family sagas. Who needs People magazine when you have the Houses of Medici, Borgia, Sforza, della Rovere, Gonzaga, Aragona and Este? A fun frothy read.

The Astronaut Wives Club: The Story of the Ladies Behind the Spacemen.

I'm not sure what it is about July, but I always think July = the Moon Landing. It was on July 20, 1969 to be precise.  Such an adventurous time! Was Neil Armstrong going to disappear in Moon dust? Would they be able to come back to earth? These were questions that were debated before and during the mission.

But what if that spaceman was your husband or Dad and you were waiting for them to come home? Lily Koppel's book The Astronaut Wives Club tells the other side of the story - from the wives' perspective. They too, had a part to play in the space race. They got to be involved in a lot of the PR, whether they wanted to or not. They had to present the perfect home and family life to LIFE magazine writers and photographers even if that was fiction.

Based on extensive interviews with the wives and a vast amount of research, Koppel presents an entertaining and thought provoking picture of these women who went from being military wives on desolate air bases to having tea with Jackie Kennedy in the White House. And all of this was taking place during the turbulent 1960's and 70's.  

Because the wives were living under NASA's shadow and living in 'Togetherville,'  life felt very different when their husbands got out of the space program. Finding out what happened to the couples and their families afterwards is another fascinating part of the story.

Definitively an inspiring story of the women who helped make history and the space race happen - even if it was mostly behind the scenes. I have read many books on the space program, and this one will be added to that shelf. I highly recommend it. 

An advanced reading copy of this title was received (well, grabbed really cause I was looking forward to this title) at the American Libraries Association (ALA) conference from the publisher.

Bossypants

Tina Fey's Bossypants is really a series of sketches. Sketches about how she grew up - bit and pieces. Chapters about her parents - bit and pieces. And how Second City, SNL and 30 Rock work - bit and pieces. She gives us a good tale, punches it up with some laughs and moves on the the next topic - which makes this book a very fast read. And an enjoyable one. It really is. She really has a nack for showing her reader that she is just like us - and just lucky.

I think my favorite part of the book - besides the essay on child rearing (The Mother’s Prayer for Its Daughter) which can be found wandering online - is where she tells us how hard it was to break the comedy barriers that were still around by the time she got to Second City. She was part of one of the first casts to have an equal number of men and women on it. Before her cast apparently, they had only needed two women to be funny. As someone who knows several funny women, and has worked and performed with some more, I find that insulting to our gender.

I thought she was very polite about gender politics at SNL. It is obvious she still works with them and is on the NBC Network. But you can tell she is thrilled that sketches with just female members of the cast get on the air. And her chapters about "becoming Sarah Palin" are interesting. She comments how she was never good at doing impressions - mostly because she never 'looked' like anyone famous, and then this happens. She just got lucky.

Lucky my eye! The woman has talent! A very fun read, but I wished it was longer!

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog

Lisa Scottoline is a crime fiction writer who writes legal mysteries. Imagine my surprise when I discovered her latest book Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog: The Amazing Adventures of an Ordinary Woman. I did not know that Scottoline also wrote a column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. These essays are chick lit for the older gal. And they are full of fun.

You will laugh at her stories of her family - she refers to them as the Flying Scottolines. She has a elderly mother who resists getting an emergency cell phone and refrains from using her hearing aid. Her gay brother who fights with their mother - long distance (the fun bit is that he lives with his mother.) And a daughter who is leaving the nest after graduation. And then there are the animal members of the family - the dogs, cats, pony and chickens. (The stories about the arrival of the chickens is pretty funny.)

And then there are her observations on getting older and suckered into expensive face cream, can one really find decent jeans, and the concept that her car has finally become her house. (I can relate to that one!) She's even figured out how to eat a drive thru salad in the car. As she says "it wasn't pretty."

She writes a bit about her books - and being on a book tour - but mostly these stories are about family life and the wackiness of 21st century America, when having multiple divorces doesn't raise an eyebrow. (She calls her ex's - Thing One and Thing Two!)

Try it - it is a very funny and fast read. Great for a bit of light hearted reading before bedtime. I think I will look for more of her columns online! A very good read.

When Your Lie about Your Age, The Terrorists Win

Humor is very subjective. And things that did not make you laugh when you were twenty, may make you keel over with laughter when you're forty. Life changes you, I guess. Or maybe your ability to laugh at yourself.

In the book, When Your Lie about Your Age, The Terrorists Win: Reflections on Looking in the Mirror, Carol Leifer manages to do just that. She looks at her life and just laughs. Leifer, a stand up comedienne, and writer for shows like Seinfeld and the Larry Sanders Show, shows us a snapshot of her life as it is at 50 years of age.

Some of her observations:
- She claims that "after 40 the body develops a wicked sense of humor".
- "You may not rationalize eating an entire pint of ice cream by claiming it was for the calcium."
- The sunny side of the street is the one with the threat of cancer on it."

With these silly bits how can you go wrong? A very fun quick read - but a sense of wry humor is a must!

CookOff: Recipe Fever in America

Do you watch eagerly any and all cooking competitions on the Food Network? Do you dream of entering the Pillsbury BakeOff? If so then Amy Sutherland's book Cookoff: Recipe Fever in America is for you. Sutherland captures the history, enthusiasm and a bit of the wackiness that is inherent in these contests that are promoted as being all American. But do these contests really reflect what America eats? Or is this a case of the contestants giving the big food conglomerates what they want? And are they really cooking anyway? Or just assembling ingredients?

Sutherland delves into all those questions and many more as she follows contestants to the Pillsbury, garlic fest and other cook offs and well as a couple chili competitions. Just who are these people who compete? Some are what they call "contesters" people who have been doing this for quite a while. (Pillsbury has limits now on how many years you can compete at the contest - three!) Some are fresh faced newcomers just thrilled to be at their first contest. Most of the branded contests have women as the majority of their contestants. Men on the other hand dominate the chili and BBQ contests.

Sutherland has a great way of making these folks come alive in her writing. And she shows them to be very human with all their foibles, humor and passion. Most of these people love food and love to be creative in the kitchen. And it shows. Check out the mania and maybe you too will compete. A very entertaining read.

Bright Lights, Big Ass & More

What can you say about Jen Lancaster's books? They are funny. They are relatable. And sometimes she says those not so nice things that you were just dying to say!

Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why It Often Sucks in the City, or Who Are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? is her sequel to Bitter in Black and it continues the tale of money and job woes and their slow recovery. It also tells the story of Jen's book deal which happens whiles she's in temping hell. And then there are those wacky neighbors? They never have those on the glam TV shows!

Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big or Why Pie is Not the Answer is a story about losing weight. But it also the story of someone trying to accept their body, make it healthier, and figure out how she got that way and make some changes in her life. She makes the working out horror story seem funny, and brings a great "everyday" woman appeal to the typical "trying to change myself" memoir. If it is on thing you learn - Jen is not typical. Very funny and inspiring.

Lancaster's next book is supposed to be a memoir about growing up. I can't wait to see her perspective on it. And to laugh about it. Her books are very good reads.

Bitter is the New Black

Jen Lancaster is not a nice person sometimes. Come on and sit next to me, sister! In her memoir Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-centered Smart Ass, or Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office - yeah what a subtitle - she tells it like it is. She goes from being a "on her way up the corporate ladder" yuppie/shopaholic to being an unemployed mess, and trying to recover from the downfall. In the meantime, she marries her long term boyfriend (for the gifts - their broke, but the fact that the hotel where they have it is having a porn convention is a stitch), gets a pair of dogs that like to chew her expensive footwear, and starts a website to get rid of the frustrations. And that website catches on. And thus a writing career is born.

This book is a combination of many things. It's a a study of employment dos and don'ts, job searching dos and don'ts (if they tell you they want you to work on a pretend business plan and come back for another interview - they really are just scamming you out of a consulting fee - cause they are going to steal it if it is good.), and learning how to live within your means. Along the way you have the wacky family stories (her mother being hungover the day of the wedding - insisting she only had one glass of wine - that kept getting refilled), the touching moments between Jen and Fletch (he's a keeper!), and an example of what not to do while your drinking too much (phone calls are bad). It is also a book about the myth of the American dream that mass marketers want everyone to spend their money and time achieving. She learns that one the hard way. But everything is done with humor and being a smart ass doesn't help sometimes - but it sure is funny.

Take the Office, mix it with Bridget Jones, with the acidity of Seinfeld, and add Chicago and there you will have this book. Cause you know it is all about Jen. Very funny. I can not wait to read the next one.

Thin is the New Happy

Thin is the New Happy: A Memoir by Valerie Frankel is a thought provoking book. Frankel who is a prolific writer of magazine articles, Chick Lit fiction, Young Adult fiction and a few non-fiction titles, has her work cut out for her when she decides to explore her obsession with body image. She is brought to this self discovery when she realizes that her daughter is the age she was when she started dieting. At 11, Frankel started down the road of weight loss and lack of self esteem about her body weight. Having a mother who focused on it, didn't help either. Frankel takes the brave step of exploring her past and changing her future.

Frankel is a funny quirky writer on her best days, and she brings those skills to play here as well. Certain passages of the book will hit too close to home for many women, and others will bring you tears with her self effacing humor. She compares her story to other women, and finds that she is not alone in the body image struggle. But she is determined to conquer her demons and not pass them down to her daughters.

Part of this book is memoir, part of it is self help too. She reveals her past bluntly and with humor. (Sometimes however, with contemporary memoirs, I find myself saying "Too Much Information!" here.) But she does triumph. No, it is not instantaneous. It is a struggle; within her family, her professional life, and with herself. A good and inspirational read.

This Organic Life

This Organic Life: Confessions of a Suburban Homesteader by Joan Dye Gussow is already considered a "classic" in the growing number of books being put out that are about "going Green." Written in 2001, she predates Barbara Kingsolver's experiment of growing everything you eat for a year. This is not an experiment. This is how she lives.

Gussow is a friendly writer. She makes herself sound like the cheery next door neighbor with the good gardening tips that we would all love to have. Going "Green" is nothing new to her. To her this is just good gardening. And she manages to do it in a small plot that has flooding issues, by the Hudson in the outer suburbs of New York. Her and her artist husband's struggles to create a "retirement" home from a very old property takes center stage in the book. She is more concerned with the garden - because that is what already provides them with most of their food. And it is a struggle. And their life is a struggle. And each growing season is different and has its own unique challenges.

A great story about how the careful care taking of the land provides you a glimpse into the character of the people. A story of patience and hard work, and a must read for vegetable garden lovers. And there are some great recipes for those times when you have an explosion of vegetables. A very good read.

The Blossom Street series

In this series of books, author Debbie Macomber manages to take simple stories about the intersecting lives of women and bring life, enthusiasm and warmth to some great characters. It sounds like it should be easy - but it is never easy creating characters that in the end the reader wants to chat and visit with -long after the story is over.

Her first book, The Shop on Blossom Street, starts with Lidia who is the owner of A Good Yarn knit shop. Lidia is trying to keep her newly opened store running. She is trying to set up a series of classes to bring more people into the store. Her students have had varied lives. Jacqueline is a bored older woman who is convinced her husband is cheating on her. Carol is happily married but is trying to start a family but with only painful results. And Alix is the younger one who has been reared by the school of hard knocks, and whose tough outer shell protects a creative woman inside.

The next book is entitled A Good Yarn. Lidia has started a relationship - but she is scared it will end like all the others. Her new batch of students are: Elise, an retired, older divorced woman who is not so pleased to have her ex-husband come into her ordered life; Bethanne is a mother with teenagers, who is going through the fallout of a divorce; and Courtney, a teenager, has just moved to the area to stay with her grandmother who has signed her up for the class.

Will Lidia make a success of the shop? Will the others meet their goals, and deal with the surprises - both good and bad - that happen in their lives? Macomber does deal with their disappointments and set backs. That is one of her talents in making these characters seems real. They could be the gal down the street or your mother's best friend. She also brings a nice inter generational theme to most of the stories. It continues to give you the feeling that you could be a part of this group of women. Macomber manages to combine their lives and twisting story lines to provide satisfying good reads. Try them. But I warn you - they might give you a craving to knit!

Twenty Wishes

Debbie Macomber's latest book Twenty Wishes continues her Blossom Street Series. This time the lead character is book store owner, Anne Marie, who is recovering from her husband's death. She gathers together a group of friends who all happen to be widows, for a Valentine's party. After a few drinks and laughs, she comes up with the idea of making a list of twenty wishes - something to hope for and dream about - just like when you were kids. It is not necessarily a "to do" list, but a wish list. The other gals like the idea, and to Anne Marie's surprise, they start taking the idea seriously.

Some of the wishes are fairly simple like - wanting red cowboy boots. But some are harder for Anne Marie to put down on paper. She has been very unsure of herself since her husband died. Their relationship was not the best when it ended and she has been wrapped in her sorrows for a while. This list making is offering her a chance to leave her grief behind. As part of a wish, Anne Marie volunteers to work at a school as a lunch buddy, and becomes involved with the life of her new young friend, Ellen.

Macomber's characters are always interesting - but you wish you had more time with some of them. She starts out with four, and really only focuses on three of them. Perhaps another book? But she does a great job with plotting, and bringing unconventional twists to their lives. The women are all recovering from their losses, and it is interesting to see the individual perspectives on their former marriages, their twenty wishes and dreams for the future. A fun read. And a neat idea...hmmm - twenty wishes...

Comfort Food

Did you ever wonder about the lives of the people behind your favorite cooking shows? Does it look perfect on TV? But is it really? Or is it all just an illusion? Take a peek into the life of a cooking show host in Comfort Food by Kate Jacobs.

Augusta "Gus" Simpson is feeling a bit introspective about her life. She is going to turn 50, is going to renew her contract for another season of her cooking show and she is a bit worried about her grown daughters. She's used to being the organizer, the caretaker, but something has been missing lately. She keeps thinking about the old days when her husband was still alive, and those years she struggled after he died. But she really has a nice life - so she shouldn't complain.

But then the other shoe drops. Her network has decided her show might not be renewed, her staffers start leaving and she finds out that the network is not one big happy family. She is asked to revamp her show to get better ratings. They think her show needs some va-voom. And then they bring in a former Miss Spain - Carmen Vega- to liven things up. Gus needs to play nice to survive. But will the new "family" format work? Can cooking together save Gus' relationships with her daughters? Will Carmen keep stealing the best lines and the best ingredients? Will someone end up with a knife in their back?

Stay tuned for all that and more. A real fun beach read. Enjoy.

Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank

Okay - if that title doesn't grab you - or if you do not think it is funny - then this is NOT the book for you. However if that title makes you laugh, come on down and read Celia Rivenbark's Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank and Other Delicate Words of Southern Women.

Rivenbank is a syndicated newspaper columnist from North Carolina. And dang is she funny! Most of these humorous essays are from her columns where she tackles motherhood, wacky celebrities, marriage and plain ol' southern oddities. I haven't swallowed so many laughs in a long time ( I was trying to read this in a quiet environment.) She has a way of getting to the heart of the absurdities of modern day life. She's definitely a laugh out loud kind of gal.

I was so excited about her and this book - that I promptly ordered her other ones to read. My new "funny author" discovery. A very fun read!

A Hoe Lot of Trouble

A Hoe Lot of Trouble by Heather Webber is a quick and easy book that goes down fast while serving up some fun characters and a decent mystery. When we meet Nina Quinn, owner of a landscaping firm, she is still reeling from the fact that her husband, a cop, cheated on her. She is having issues with her teenage step-son, and she is hoping his snake is found soon. Her Italian mother is hounding on her to get her dress fitted for her sister's wedding. And then she finds out that the man who inspired her to become a landscaper has been found dead. And his family thinks it was murder.

Nina definitely rises to the challenge, with humor and resolve. When she says she is tired - we believe her! She also has someone stealing tools from her job sites - and she is determined to figure out who it is - and it is not going to be easy when most of your staff is on probabtion. (That's what happens when your cousin is a probation officer.)

Nina is an engaging character and it will be interesting to see where her author takes her. A fun read.

To Go Gray or Not To Go Gray - That Is the Question

Does she dye her hair or doesn't she? That question was asked in an old advertisement for hair coloring. It is not a life and death social issue, but it matters to many people, many of them women. How much is our hair color tied into our self esteem and our vision of ourselves? Is it just one more fashion statement or an example of how our society values age? Or are we just fighting the aging process with all our might? Anne Kreamer brings up these issues and many more in Going Gray: What I Learned About Beauty, Sex, Work, Motherhood, Authenticity and Everything Else That Really Matters.

Kreamer starts her quest with her own hair. She sees a picture of herself taken by a friend and is appalled by how bad she looks with her dyed hair. She thought it made her look younger but instead she finds it makes her unnatural and she is tired of the constant upkeep it requires. As she makes her decision to go natural, she investigates society's view point of gray hair - from advertising, to Hollywood, the business world, politics and beyond.

Kreamer writes well, and as a result, this is a thought provoking book. So should one go gray? It becomes a very very personal choice. A great read.

Bento Box in the Heartland

As much as we like to think that society has changed how it views race, it really depends mostly on the individual - on your environment, your upbringing and sometimes where you live. In the book, Bento Box in the Heartland: My Japanese Girlhood in Whitebread America, A Food Memoir by Linda Furiya, she points out the situation when telling her story of growing up Japanese American in small town Indiana in the late1960s and 70's.

This book is as much a memoir of her childhood as it is of her family's. Her father was born in the U.S. but was sent back to Japan, in the late 20's, to stay with relatives after his mother's death. He was trapped in Japan when the war started and only made it back to the States in the 1950's. Her mother came to the U.S. in 1961 as an arranged marriage fiance. One of their commonalities was their love of food from their homeland. And it becomes a focus in her book as well - perhaps because she later became a food writer, or perhaps because she realized that their ethnic food brought them together as a family.

One of the most enjoyable parts of the book is when a Japanese family friend in Chicago tells them about the Japanese grocery stores and restaurants they have found in the area. The Furiya family makes a trek to the big city, with coolers for some authentic Japanese supplies. Her father is overwhelmed by the bounty. And her parents decide that if they drive all night home they can spend the money on fresh fish, that they had put aside for a hotel! It was the first of many treks to Chicago.

I was enthralled with her views of her family's life and their struggles. I grew up in an area in the Midwest that had an influx of Asian immigrants, and was curious to see the view from the other side. And her descriptions of the food they ate, made me look up ingredients and recipes. A wonderful book. And it will make you want to go out for some Japanese food.

Get Out or Die - a Roman Britannia mystery

Did you ever wonder what life was like during Roman Times in Great Britain? Have you ever taken a look at the Roman ruins in Bath or London, and have seen just how permanent they are constructed? Those buildings were build to last. The Romans were there to stay.

Take a look at Jane Finnis' book Get Out or Die. It features a traveler's inn on the Roman roads to the city that would become York. Aurelia and her Roman family own the inn and stables, which is hard enough to keep going with the transportation costs of hauling wine from Gaul, but now someone is trying to kill Roman travelers. Not good when your livelihood depends on a frequent supply of guests. And each traveler that has been murdered, has the words "Get out or Die" on them.

Just who is trying to start a uprising of the natives? Most of the nearby town is pro-Roman or is it? Who can they trust? Which locals are friends and which are enemies? Aurelia is not some ninny - she's a centurion's daughter and she is not leaving her land with out a fight.

Finnis has a great sense of the early Britannia, but since there are only bits and pieces known about that time period - she fills in the holes skillfully. Aurelia and her hotel family are great characters, and it is an exciting story, as the danger keeps getting closer and closer to them. A great read.

Hemlock Falls Mystery series

Claudia Bishop has a fun series with the Hemlock Falls mysteries. She has two sisters Meg and Sarah"Quill" Quilliam running an inn in New York state. Meg is the chef and older sister Quill is the manager. They are transplants from New York City and are not considered "locals" by the fellow townsfolk. Their relationship with the town (Quill's boyfriend is the sheriff) and with co-workers and guests seem to dominate the books. The mysteries are solved by both sisters with Quill doing most of the leg work.

The books are fun - character packed, they move fast and the mysteries are not sticky sweet cozies. (Some gruesome deaths in the second book!) I am hoping that they are a little less character packed as the series moves along, because you really need the character list at the beginning of the books to keep everyone straight.

I read the first two in the series A Taste for Murder and A Dash of Death. Both were good reads and I am looking forward to the characters' growth in the series.

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America

Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America is a book authored by Barbara Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich when railing against polices in the current presidential administration, tells her editor that some one should do a book on the jobs of working class people. He tells her she should write it. And thus began the idea for the book. She puts her regular life on hold and takes various jobs to see if she can live the American Dream for a month on those wages. To vary the experiment she goes to different states - Florida, Maine and Minnesota. She uses her maiden name and does not list that she has a degree on her job application. She has other limitations and personal restrictions, but ends up with these jobs: waitress, an nursing home aide, a cleaning lady, and a retail worker in a Walmart.

Within this book, she points out some interesting things about this working world - the rise of testing - both drug and psychological in the hiring process. How workers are so busy with the struggle of living that they really don't have time or money for anything else. And that most are unaware of the rights they have as workers. She writes of her co-workers with compassion, and a bit of guilt, for she realizes that if it were not for her college education, as a middle aged woman this would probably be her working world.

The hardest part of this book is realizing that for most of us - we are only a few paychecks away from living this kind of daily struggle. Very thought provoking, and makes one appreciate what one has, and it will make you leave a bigger tip at the next restaurant you go to. You may not appreciate her politics, but you will realize that for some, the American dream is far off. A very good book.