When do you know?

You know you're spreading yourself thin when it's a WEEK since you last posted!! No apologies, though. :) Just a note to self...

Keep your head, lady.

I just got done watching Benchwarmers with my husband.
What is it about the male of the species that finds farting, vomiting, diarrhea and boogers so entertaining? As soon as the opening credits faded out, I knew I was in trouble. Yes, yes, I laughed throughout the movie on more than one occasion. I also felt queasy a few times...

Let's just say it's not the best movie ever and leave it at that. Okay?

I picked up a Suzanne Brockmann book this past week[btw, she needs a professional webpage. She makes enough money now to get something...nicer, more user friendly, pretty, something...well, okay. It's just my opinion]. The story of Teri Howe--the Navy Reserve pilot--and Stan Wolchonok [I might have spelled that wrong]--the SEAL Senior Chief--is one of my favorites. Brockmann weaves a tale from the previous generation, set during world war 2, that I really admire. She's one of the few non inspy, non women's lit and nonmale authors that has successfully written about that era. Since I love that era, I can really appreciate the tale of triumph. The main characters are charming and real.

So, why do I bring this book up? One that I've read many times. Because for a while now, I've been contemplating Brockmann's heroes and their tendency to be criers--to cry for love, out of fear for a loved one, in sadness... After a while, I became a little jaded. Thinking, she has no idea what she's writing about! Men do not cry, not even when they really love you or they find out something trying and sad. That had been my experience... and so, her heroes sometimes seemed off to me.

Until this year.

We've had a few moments in our house over the past six months.
Maybe her books still overdo it, but I'm more willing to be a believer, too.

Blessed Gaudete Sunday, everyone!
With Love,
Bethanne

Monday Review

I didn't make it through Jennifer Weiner's Certain Girls. I can still say good things about it, though. I loved her characterization. The mom/MC was definitely insecure yet cocky enough to get away with her individuality. The daughter is also well-written, distinctive and vibrant. The secondaries added to my ability to know the Main Characters better without drawing all the attention to themselves...even though they are quirky and fun.

However, the mother is the reason I stopped reading. But it was the portrayal of the mother through the daughter's Point-of-View that bugged me. The daughter, a deaf young woman just trying to break free, has a hard time with her mother's attention. This theme does not bother me. It's not the daughter's angst...

No! It is their combined image issues. Ack! I'm fat, my mom has big boobs and she flaunts them--which is annoying because in the mom's POV we've got her dogging herself because of her LACK of physical attributes--I'm so ugly and that's why I screwed up, thank goodness I found a man who can love me anyway. So what is it? Is she flat chested? or big-boobed?

The overall worst, though [and this is just from reading the first two chapters] was the mother's notion that her daughter was going to do so much better than she ever did BECAUSE she was beautiful. [I get that this is probably one of the main story arcs and that if I could get through the beginning, there would probably be a satisfying resolution] The mother barely survived adolescence as the ugly duckling. She is sure that life would have been better for her if she'd been beautiful. Now, we know the mother is not ugly! [what is ugly anyway?] because no one else perceieves her that way... not even the daughter. Unfortunately, when we hit the daughter's POV again, we find out the daughter has her own self-esteem issues in the beauty department...

And that is when I started pulling my hair out.
Sorry, I just can't keep going. I don't have it in me to watch this mother learn a lesson she really needs. I felt sorry for the daughter, yet at the same time, I wanted to smack her and tell her to WAKE UP! So she has a mom who is a little overbearing... deal with it. She could have a mother who is a drug addict. At least her mom cares!

My all time favorite character in this book is the Husband. I can see this story as a romance... Would rather see this story as a romance.

Thank God for my husband who always tells me--actually, he gets adamant, "Stop reading if you don't like it!" Anyway, this is just one lady's opinion of a well-recieved, well-written novel. And it was well-written, just not my cup of tea in the topic department. :)

Women's Literature

I'm going to read a book by Jennifer Weiner.



I know. Shocking, isn't it? I took the recommendation from Kerri Sparling. I'll have more on that later.


For now, Monday Reviews [will it stick? I don't know.] I just woke and wanted to talk about the book I read last week. My first EVER Allison Brennan book. A women I have all kinds of RESPECT for, just by knowing her from being a part of the same writing organization.

Whoa, cool but wrong Brennan. [something tells me that Brennan shaves an awful lot of herself ;)]

That's better.

Sudden Death was a great introduction to books-by-Allison. Intense, fast-paced, smart. That's how I would describe Sudden Death.

What I really loved about this book was the sympathy I felt for the villain. Well, one of the villains. :D I believe, and I'm learning, that it takes real skill to create emotion like this for a guy who is torturing the good guys.

The more I read the news and hear about the bad stuff, the easier it is to forget that sometimes, it's not all black and white...

Now, on to the basics. Great job on characterization. Loved the way, i could relate to the hero and his cronies. The priest, especially. Torn loyalties there. I get that alot... not because I'm a priest, but because I'm always struggling to stay on the straight and narrow. Though the story isn't about the priest, he played a big role. Wanting to protect his brothers, yet needing to cooperate with the law. The hero, of course, was big, strong, alpha male. I know the time space makes the story a tad unbelievable, but Allison sets him up for the change... you know? Like he's ready to make that leap to commitment, he just needs a catalyst.

Enter: Megan Elliot. The book cover says, By-the-book Elliot. I guess I like that about her. If anything, I considered her self-doubt a little over played, but I still can't say it wasn't true to her character. Love, loved, loved the ending....

Allison worked in the clues, never leaving me behind. You know, some books are about the race. The adventure. Staying one step ahead of the bad guy. Brennan solved me a mystery, and I appreciate that, too. Clues were laid, and I followed them to the end.

...there is one scene I got a little queazy over, so if you have a weaker stomach, try the Weiner book. :D