Yay Scholastic! They’re giving 3 of my US readers a copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You can read my rave review here. To enter, leave a comment below by 11:59pm EST on Monday, July 19th. Tweet this contest & leave a trackback below for an extra entry. Open to US residents only. Check out the trailer: In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capital surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capital…
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Synopsis: A history of thrift in American culture. Review: While the history that comprises most of In Cheap We Trust was well-researched and presented, I really wanted a lot more present-day analysis. I really appreciated the chapter on the greenwashing of consumption, and how buying secondhand is, in many ways, a lot more eco friendly than buying something brand new even if it’s made sustainably. I was also hoping for a lot more practical suggestions for being thriftier, but I was just mistaken about what…
Synopsis: How living the Carrie Bradshaw life sent a former fashion editor to the poorhouse. Review: Because Spent is loaded with designer names and European spending sprees, it’s hard not to see it as a real-life Confessions of a Shopaholic. Avis Cardella’s addiction and hoarding behaviors are so glamorous that it’s hard not to be jealous of someone who amassed a huge designer wardrobe and only ended up $8,000 in debt–which she was able to pay off in full. Now, her relationships with men–built as…
Synopsis: In the wake of tragedy, a middle-aged divorcée, her sister, and her two grown daughters retreat to the family home on remote, rustic Tuckernuck Island off the coast of Nantucket, where buried secrets and repressed longings burst to the surface. Review: The Island is a book about loss, grief, and longing, with 3 of the main characters haunted by the untimely death of a lover. The main character, Birdie, has survived a divorce after decades of marriage, and has just embarked on her first…
Synopsis: A white woman writes the lives of the black women who work for her and her friends in early 1960s Jackson, Mississippi. Review: After having a half a dozen people recommend The Help, and then not being able to find it at the library, I decided to take the plunge and buy myself a shiny new hardcover copy. I went in with low expectations, because more often than not I’m disappointed by these kinds of books. Thank goodness I listened to my very smart…
Synopsis: A professional “carer” recalls her idyllic school days, which mask a horror that she and her friends “know but don’t know.” Review: Never Let Me Go is one of my favorite all-time books, and this is the third time I’ve read it. Big life upheavals, like having a baby, always send me back to books I know I’ll enjoy, as a way to comfort myself through a major life transition. If you’ve read it, you’ll know that it’s a strange one to read while…
Synopsis: It’s 2020, and no babies have been born since 1995. Review: I really thought I had read The Children of Men before, but must have just really loved the movie or something. I certainly approved of all the changes made for the screen version, because I was bored silly by this book. Oh well.
Synopsis: A group of misfit classics students at a small Northeastern college take things too far. Review: Love The Secret History! Have read it at least 3 maybe 4 times since it came out back when I was in college. And that’s all I have to say because I finished it at 11pm and had my 2nd baby at 3:20am and I’m a bit too tired to blog 🙂
Synopsis: A rogue fairy escapes her magical world and teams up with a regular boy in order to save Faery and the human world from a devastating threat. Review: Wayfarer might be a fairy story, but it’s mostly set in the normal world and works very hard to keep things grounded and as realistic as possible. I have to admit that I was more engaged by the relationship between Linden and Timothy than anything else that was going on. Wayfarer is the sequel to Faery…