Consider This Classic: Renae Recommends!

Consider This Classic: Renae Recommends!

Aug 15, 2013

After writing a post about my classics conundrum, I realized a lot of people are interested in reading classics but have no idea where to begin. So, I decided to start Consider This Classic - a monthly feature where bloggers highlight and recommend their favorite classic. They'll tell you when they first read it, why they love it and where to go from there. If you'd like to participate in Consider This Classic, click here to sign up.

To start us off, I asked Renae from Respiring Thoughts to share her favorite classic. Renae reads more books than almost anyone I know - and a wide variety, too! She's an incredibly discerning reader who writes thoughtful and articulate reviews, and I'm so excited that she's guest posting today!

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë

Publication Date: 1848
Originally Published In: United Kingdom
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Goodreads)

Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young widow who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behavior becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced. It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that the truth is revealed and the shocking details of her disastrous marriage she has left behind emerge. Told with great immediacy, combined with wit and irony, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is a powerful depiction of a woman's struggle for domestic independence and creative freedom.

I believe it was a monthly pick for a Goodreads group I stalked back at the beginning of 2012. Before that, I hadn't really paid much attention to Anne Brontë, the least widely recognized of the three Brontë sisters. I started reading this without much knowledge about the book or the author, so I walked in nearly blind, not knowing what to expect.

I honestly cannot express how much this book means to me. I love the way Brontë approaches life realistically and honestly. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall is ahead of its time in many ways. It discusses drug abuse/addiction, unhealthy marriage, the role of women in the world. The story of Helen Graham, a young woman who takes her own life in her hands and does what she thinks best, is important to anyone, anywhere, especially when you consider the time-period in which it was written, the Victorian era, where women's lives where notoriously controlled by the men around them.

I love the characters. Gilbert Markham, our narrator, is a young farmer who has a certain amount of innocence. He's flawed and makes mistakes, which is so important. Helen Graham is strong, intelligent, and independent. The way their lives intertwine is told with skill and finesse.

This is the book I recommend to everyone who wants to know where to start with Classics. I recommend it because it's realistic and down-to-earth, written in a way that's easy to follow along with, and promotes a lot of the values modern readers embrace (females not being their husbands' property, for example).

Persuasion by Jane Austen - While Charlotte and Emily Brontë write Gothic romances that are dreary and full of ghosts and misty moors, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall deals with life a bit more rationally, similarly to Jane Austen. Persasuasion's style of romance is the Austen novel most similar to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, I think. And, of course, it's just a really good novel on its own merit.

Middlemarch by George Eliot - This one's pretty dense, but Eliot comments on Victorian society and culture in the same way that The Tenant of Wildfell Hall does.

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown - This is a contemporary YA novel that deals with an abusive relationship, and how the main character chooses to leave that person. I think it's similar to The Tenant of Wildfell Hall in that it looks at how not every fairytale romance turns out for the best, and that a woman has the power to remove herself from that situation.

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Follow the North Star

Follow the North Star

Aug 14, 2013

Nowhere but Home by Liza Palmer

Release Date: April 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins | William Morrow
Pages: 384 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Paperback
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Goodreads)

After Queenie Wake is dismissed from her restaurant job, she returns to North Star to cook meals for death row inmates.

Hopeful that the bad memories of her late mother and promiscuous sister (now the mother of the captain of the high school football team) have been forgotten by the locals, Queenie discovers that some people can’t be forgotten—heartbreaker Everett Coburn—her old high-school sweetheart.

When secrets from the past emerge, will Queenie be able to stick by her family or will she leave home again?

Thoughts on Nowhere But Home

Let's just start with the honest to goodness truth: I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!

I read Nowhere but Home back at the beginning of June and have had this draft post just sitting there since then. I just loved this book so much that everything I write about it seems inadequate. What words can I string together to convince you that this is a book that is so deserving of your attention? This is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've read this year. 

I gave it five stars on Goodreads, and I noted that it made me tear up twice because that never happens to me while I'm reading. It's almost two months later, and I still think about this book. I'm already hankering for a re-read just because I want to spend more time with these characters.

Okay, let me back up a little bit. I first spotted Nowhere but Home at Target, one of my favorite places to look for new releases and up-and-coming titles. I was immediately drawn to this cover - the image, the font, the colors, the title itself... everything about it just screamed READ ME. I didn't buy it that first day, but I ended up going back a week later because I knew I needed to own this book.

Nowhere but Home opens with Queenie Wake being fired from yet another job. She's a chef, but she can't always keep her opinions to herself. And now she has nowhere to go. No job, no money, no future prospects. What's a girl to do? She makes a last-minute to go home - a place she left the minute she graduated high school. Although her sister and nephew still reside there, she's convinced that the town holds nothing good for her.

Growing up in North Star, Texas, wasn't exactly easy for Queen Elizabeth (Queenie) and Merry Carole Wake. Everyone knows about their mother - her reputation hasn't been easy to live down. And Merry Carole having a baby out of wedlock doesn't do anything to help these girls from the wrong side of the tracks. They lived with the looks, snickers and whispers for all of their lives. That's why Queenie took off at the first opportunity and never looked back.

North Star is a small town, and that means exactly what you think it does. Everyone is in everyone else's business. You can't do anything without everyone else noticing and remarking upon it. You can't create a new future for yourself in a place where you can never escape your past. Or can you?

Here's the thing, this book felt so Southern. It's like I could feel the Texas heat rising off the page... and see all the secrets hiding in all that big hair. And the food. Good gracious, y'all! Food plays a key role in this book in a way that's so moving and touching. Why? Queenie takes a job in North Texas cooking last meals for inmates on death row. Her reflections on why they'd choose what they did and her desire to get it exactly right was so endearing. She may be a lot to handle, but she's damn good at what she does.

Asheley from Into the Hall of Books noted in her review: "Queenie has been all over the place in an effort to avoid going home, back to North Star, because that's where both her heart and her heartache lies."

I mean, hello, doesn't that sentence just pack a punch? Asheley nails it, and the joy of Nowhere but Home is in watching Queenie rediscover her heart and confront her heartache. 

Queenie's relationship with her sister is so authentic and genuine. You can feel the tension there. From Queenie leaving and Merry Carole staying behind. From the shadow of their mother's reputation. From the misunderstandings and hurts from their past. From the secrets they keep today. All of those strings have become knotted and have hurt their relationship. And yet they still love each other fiercely.

There are so many things that just got to me in this one. The idea that you can't escape your past. The feeling that you'll never be good enough. The experiences that alter your view of yourself and your value. All of it was just powerful and moving.

I raced through the book, but I savored it at the same time. I'd go back and re-read a paragraph just to linger with it. I have so much more I could say - so many other things that just made this book such a great read. But instead, I'll leave you with a list that will hopefully convince you to take the plunge.

10 Reasons You Need to Read This Book RIGHT NOW:

1. Southern.
2. Secrets.
3. Sisters.
4. Secondary Characters.
5. Savory Eats.
6. Seriously Good Drama.
7. Second Chances.
8. Sports (Football).
9. Saying Goodbye.
10. So Much Falling in Love.

Seriously, y'all, what are you waiting for? I do declare, this book was gooder than grits. It's funny, but not fluffy. It's sad, but not depressing. It's Southern, but not a stereotype. It's this perfect blend - like mixing sweet tea and lemonade - that resulted in a read I won't ever forget. So glad I found this story and took a chance on this small town!

So Quotable

"I can't be the only one faking it. I'm not the only lonely small-town girl drowning in this big city. I'm not the only refugee feeling invisible and alone. I'm not the only one who wants to scream, 'NOTICE ME! I MATTER!' Maybe everyone is faking it. Maybe they're just better at it than I am. People walk around me on the street as if I'm not even there. It's quite something. I left North Star because I was tired of every move I made being tracked and judged by a cabal of gossiping ladies. I oftentimes wished I could go unnoticed as I move through my life in that tiny town and now here I am. Utterly invisible. Dreams do come true, kids."

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Keep Calm & Carry On

Keep Calm & Carry On

Aug 13, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so it makes perfect sense that I'd love this feature!

I love historical fiction, and books set during World War II are some of my favorites in that genre. I chose the title of my post - Keep Calm & Carry On - because it was originally designed by the British government as a motivational poster at the beginning of World War II. It's become a popular and well-known slogan today, but I love knowing where it originated.

Top Ten Books Set During World War II

1. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak - Oh, this book. I just can't even begin to tell you how much I love it! Narrated by Death and set in Germany, I haven't read anything quite like this one. This is one of my favorite YA books, and it further cements why I have so much love for historical fiction.

2. The Soldier's Wife by Margaret Leroy - Set in Guernsey (a British Crown dependency off the coast of Normandy) during the German occupation, The Soldier's Wife was a thought-provoking and lovely read of a woman in a difficult situation.

3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows - Want more of Guernsey? You've got to pick up this book! Told as a series of letters, this book is one I absolutely adore. The people, the place, the story... it's all so endearing!

4. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys - Set in Lithuania and Siberia, this book highlighted a part of history that I'd never heard about before. It was a sad read, telling a story of extreme suffering and abuse.

5. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand - This non-fiction book was hands down one of the best books I've ever read. The story of Louis Zamperini was emotional, powerful and incredibly moving. I have never read a book that touched me quite like this one did!

6. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank - The diary of a young Jewish girl in hiding in the Netherlands is heartbreaking. She's relatable - just a normal teenage girl whose life changed in ways she probably never could have imagined.

7. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry - I read this book, set in Denmark, when I was younger, and I think it's one of the reasons I have such a soft spot for books set during World War II. I was already a fan of historical fiction, but this book left me wanting to learn even more about this period in history.

8. The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom - This is another book that is just so moving and gripping. The ten Boom family risked their lives saving Jews from the Nazis, and they were ultimately sent to concentration camps for their actions. This is a book that just stays in your mind and takes up residence in your heart.

9. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein - Set in both England and Nazi-occupied France, this is a more recent favorite read. It's a little confusing and hard to get into at first, but it ultimately packs a punch. It's a tale of courage and friendship that deserves all the praise it's been getting.

10. The House at Tyneford by Natasha Solomons - Opening in Austria and moving to England, this novel was written so beautifully. The language itself was moving - and I loved getting a different perspective on the war. Following a Jewish woman who flees her home for safety, I couldn't put this book down.

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Love Don't Cost A Thing

Love Don't Cost A Thing

Aug 12, 2013

The Distance Between Us by Kasie West

Release Date: July 2013
Publisher: HarperCollins | HarperTeen
Pages: 320 pages
Source & Format: Bought; Kindle ebook
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Amazon)

Money can't buy a good first impression.

Seventeen-year-old Caymen Meyers learned early that the right are not to be trusted. And after years of studying them from behind the cash register of her mom's porcelain-doll shop, she has seen nothing to prove otherwise. Enter Xander Spence - he's tall, handsome, and oozing rich. Despite his charming ways and the fact that he seems to be one of the first people who actually gets her, she's smart enough to know his interest won't last. Because if there's one thing she's learned from her mother's warnings, it's that the rich have a short attention span. But just when Xander's loyalty and attentiveness are about to convince Caymen that being rich isn't a character flaw, she finds out that money is a much bigger part of their relationship than she's ever realized. With so many obstacles in their way, can she close the distance between them?

Thoughts on The Distance Between Us

After loving Kasie West's debut novel, Pivot Point, I was excited to learn she had another book coming out only a few months later. I was even more excited when I saw that The Distance Between Us was a contemporary with a charming cover! The red clothing and warm glow from the sun? I was already sold on the book before I'd even started.

Then, I met Caymen Meyers. She's sarcastic, sassy and has a bit of an attitude... So, basically, I loved everything about her. From her witty banter to her loyalty to her mom, I was crazy about her as a character. With a single mother and barely enough money to make it each month, Caymen hasn't had it easy all her life. Instead of being bitter, she's just focused on helping out wherever she's needed and trying to make her mom's life easier.

But, because of her life experiences, she's got a chip on her shoulder when it comes to money. So, when a boy stumbles into the store exuding wealth, she doesn't want anything to do with him. But Xander Spence won't be deterred that easily. He's wealthy, yes, but he's also charming and thoughtful. He's interested in Caymen, but she's got to move past her pre-conceived notions of what it means to be rich.

Honestly, it's a simple concept but I really loved it! Was it predictable at times? Sure. But it was also adorable and funny. I was smiling so much while reading it, and that's a great thing in my opinion. The friendship that develops between Caymen and Xander is so charming and perfect. They don't just magically fall in love after meeting. The characters were my very favorite thing about this book! Even the secondary characters were memorable, realistic and lots of fun.

The ending was a little rushed, but it didn't make me love the book any less. If you want something fun, engaging and light, this is definitely the book for you! With fabulous dialogue and delightful characters, The Distance Between Us will leave you smiling long after you turn the last page.

So Quotable

"Sometimes it's hard for me to start something because I'd rather not try at all than fail at it."

"But nothing good ever happened without risk."

"I know this. And yet..."

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Continuing On...

Continuing On...

Aug 6, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and The Bookish. Every week they post a new topic/top ten list and invite everyone to share their own answers. I'm so obsessed with lists - so it makes perfect sense that I'd love this feature!

Top Ten Books I Wish Could Have Sequels

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - In a dream world, this book continues and I no longer feel the need to buy every Austen spin-off that catches my eye. I'd save so much money.

2. The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum - Although I love how this book ends and it doesn't need a sequel, I'd still like to see more of Emily Haxby. I fell in love with this book when I first read it, and it's only grown on me more with each re-read.

3. Holier Than Thou by Laura Buzo - This book is begging for a sequel! The ending is really open-ended. So, of course, I want more answers about what happens with Holly. What decision does she make? I MUST KNOW.

4. Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta - Technically, I'd also love a sequel to Jellicoe Road and more of Saving Francesca and/or The Piper's Son... Anyway, I think Looking for Alibrandi is the one I'd most love a sequel to because it has the most ambiguous ending. I'm hoping there'd be Jacob in that future.

5. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell - I'm re-reading this now, and I already know I'm going to be wishing for an official sequel once I'm done. I remember being so sad when it was over the first time I read it. I need to know what happens in Scarlett and Rhett's future!

6. The Sky is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson - Honestly, I just want a sequel to this because I want to read more from Jandy Nelson. So, basically, if she just wrote something else that'd make me happy, too. But I would enjoy a sequel or companion to this book!

7. Nowhere But Home by Liza Palmer - One of my favorite reads this year, I actually really loved how this book ends. But I'd still like to return to North Star, Texas, and see what happens with Queenie, Everett, Merry Carole, Cal and all the rest of the gang.

8. Attachments by Rainbow Rowell - Another favorite read this year, I've recommended it to so many of my friends already. I know that it had such a great ending (that I loved), but I still have my grabby hands all over a sequel!

9. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - Another classic that just begs for a sequel! I recommended it to my cousin, knowing she'd text me as soon as she finished about the ending. Sure enough, she wants a sequel just as bad as I do.

10. The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater - I would love more Thisby, Sean and Puck. Seriously, I would love more time in this setting and with these characters I absolutely adored. And maybe there'd be some more swoons!

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