Goodreads-- My review of Primal Law (which is a stupid title, having read the book)

Primal Law by J.D. Tyler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

So I finished listening to this one and I have to say I cannot decide, was it a bad story or just told poorly. It is light on details, which in an erotic romance can be forgiven if the sex and chemistry is off the charts, which in this book is decidedly not the case.

I feel like this is at the heart of it, a lukewarm retelling of a story that has frankly been told over and over. And yet, there were glimmers...

Ironically the parts of the story, which held more of my attention, centered around two interesting, well developed minor characters-- which, if the author had put as much art and craft into developing the main characters of this book, well my review would have been totally different.

I feel like this book would have benefited from several revisions and some working shopping with respect to character development.

It wasn't horrible, in the way mindless TV isn't horrible, but I am not motivated to read this author again.

I will say this-- the narration was excellent on the audio book. I would happily listen to Kristen Potter narrate another book. That is half of the reason I finished this one.

So I paid $4.95 for the book on Audible during their recent sale and that is frankly all this book is worth.

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I hate to give bad reviews and I seldom do. I will say, this was a good exercise for me as a writer... I may go back and relisten, if only to see if I can learn something. Where I found myself disappointed and why. 

Music Monday: Mom, they aren't even cute

L and I are reading the Lions of Little Rock for the 5th grade Grand Discussion, which is hosted by the school's librarian. The only rules are, you have to be in the 5th grade, you must read the book with a parent, and you and a parent must come to the discussion together.

In the book, the main character is saddened to learn that Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and J. P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson have died in a plane crash.

L asked who they were and we looked them up on You Tube. L was grossly underwhelmed. "Mom, they aren't even cute, just like the Beatles weren't cute. Why are all those girls screaming like crazy."

I told her they were screaming just like girls now scream for Justin Bieber or whoever the hottie of the moment is.

She remained underwhelmed.

I can remember my mom talking about these stars. She was roughly a contemporary of the main character in this book. She remembered the "day the music died."

Buddy Holly... this isn't my favorite song nor is this a style of music that I enjoy per se

Ritchie Valens -- I remember my mom talking about how it was amazing that an Hispanic singer had made such a splash... We watched the movie LaBamba over and over when I was a teenager.

Part side show/comedy with some music. I don't get it, but then this was before on demand video and special effects. The Big Bopper... my mom would sing this one... in a word -- scary.

And the song that brought this to my attention:

Don McLean -- American Pie

So who is the heart throb of this generation? Who would the girls "miss the most?"

Book review: We Need to Talk About Kevin

We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

In terms of prose, this book is beautifully crafted. Shriver is an amazing writer and I will admit, the prose challenged me, which is frankly rare. It took me the first few chapters to get my head around what she was writing and how.

The subject matter of this novel is rough. Read the back jacket and you know what you are getting into. Shriver does not sugar coat, nor is she afraid to look the monsters in the closets right in the eyes and then dare them to blink. She dares you, the reader, to do the same.

I will also say that while we ALL know what happens, we truly have no idea. I made some assumptions in the beginning and Shriver systematically shoots them down, one by one.

I also will admit that she surprised me, really surprised me and disturbed me at one point in the novel.

I have to thank my book club for picking this book, I doubt I would have picked this one up on my own and I am going to look at Shriver's other titles. She is a talented writer and I admire her fearlessness...

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The Letter A...

I have read The Scarlet Letter more times than I care to remember. Oy, it is dense prose, so very dense. That said I was thinking about my recent music Monday post. I don't want to go back to 1776 or even 1850, the time Hawthorne was writing and certainly not 1680-- the time of Hester Pyrnne. Have the people who speak about going back-- really read any of the literature of time, cracked a history book? I don't think so.

I certainly do not want trade my freedoms now for a life that Hester and her daughter Pearl would have lived. A life of a theocracy. Puritan legalism is still alive and well in our culture, it is dying but it was in full force in Hester's life. There is a movement, among mostly Republicans to go back, to go back to this time, where "god" was a legal scholar and where one interpretation of truth and justice was the only interpretation. The grand irony is, when they branded her with the A-- for adulteress, and cast her out, she found freedom. She had rejected their ways and rejected their culture and found a new way. A way of enlightenment. In many ways Hawthorne is speaking through Hester but even in his life time, there was little religious freedom. There was not one state church, but American culture was very wrapped up in repressions of a religious sorts. It was also a time of great rebellion-- on the continent and soon to be had in the United States. Some say Hester is a metaphor for countries and revolution and enlightenment. Maybe so, but the reality is, this is the status of women, at the time. What I have always loved is Hawthorne at least made her an active participant in her life. She was not seduced or raped. She conceived a child in love, at least we are lead to believe that.

I will also give Purtians their due-- unlike our culture, which is very much rooted in Victorianism, males who committed adultery where also branded. That means men like Newt Gingrich, Herman Cain, Bill Clinton and John Edwards would have similarly been branded.

In the North-American Puritan settlements of the 17th century, men and women sentenced for having committed acts of adultery were branded with an "A" letter on their chest (men) or bosom (women). (from Wikipedia)

 That aside, I do not want to return to a time where other people's morality are the judge and jury of my behavior. We can all have an opinion about adultery, mowing the lawn on Sundays, the consumption of beer and wine or brewed anything for matter, eating meat or not eating meat and so on and so on. There is no one right answer. Since our country is founded on the very principles of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It really does not get anymore clear:

Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. (see the real deal here)

So I fail to see how we can say in one breath (I am looking at you GOP) that we want to go back to the time the Bill of Rights was written and then in the next breath say that we need to protect God's commandments? Oh really, which ones and which God? There are so many versions and flavors running around. (and btw I don't really care for any of them.)

Women were no more free and equal partners in 1850 than they were in 1680. Adultery is still illegal in many states in 2012. Now branding, thank goodness is no longer the punishment, but the law is still on the books. (and Ladies... the rules for you are vastly different than for the men. In fact it really is all on us ladies. Oh goodie, look how far we have come...)

I hope I am being convincing here. I really don't want to go back. The correct direction is forward. We learn as we grow and from our mistakes. Remember in 1776 they walked around in their own sewage. On a hot day that had to be so pleasant. Our laws should always error on the side of inclusion. They should not be based on anyone's holy text and they should not ever make someone a 2nd class citizen.  If we think a behavior is inappropriate or a social custom isn't for us, then we don't do it. We can write about it, we can join groups of like minded people, who also don't do it, we can build big buildings and hang out with other people who don't do it, we can discuss with our children openly and honestly why we do or don't so something,  but we cannot make laws that force everyone to do it this "one right way aka OUR way." There isn't one right way.

I like my tea, my bacon, and freedom. I don't like tobacco, raw sewage and narrow minded people.

See, there was that so hard? No need to go back. If some people want to wallow in their own sewage, I am not going to stop them. I am not going to visit them either.

The Library-- my first love

I love the library. I have had a love affair with the library since the first time I ever went to the library with my mother. I used to dream of being locked in the library overnight. All those books. I wanted desperately to get a job working at the library in high school, but it never happened. I did do some work study in college, shelving books in the science library. Not the same, really not the same.

For the last three years, I have volunteered in the school library. I like it. It is basically easy and I am helping the library run smoothly. It maximizes the library budget to have parent volunteers in place of a full time library aide. (I often do the anti-social thing and listen to a book on audible while shelving the books!)

In general I go once a month and can fill in from time to time. Next school year, I will volunteer twice a month. I am not going to do the lunch room. The lunch room grosses me out.

This year as a thank you card, the librarian sent us a note which included the library stats. I thought they were pretty impressive.

35, 121 books circulated and shelved! 

900 holds placed and filled

303 new books added to the collection

550 kids read to every week

49 books highlighted weekly.

50 volunteers.... that means on average each volunteer shelves.... 702 books in a school year!

This summer the kids and I are going to the library weekly and focused on reading this summer. I don't love our local library. It is very small and the collection is tiny compared to the number of patrons checking out. There is another library, a bit further away, that we sometimes go to and it is better!

I think our library system is pretty neat. They do a great job with what they have and I love the focus on community and providing the resources the community needs.

My goal this summer is to read 7 books. I have read one and have another one almost finished. How about you? Are you reading this summer?

Music Monday: Bjork - Army of Me

Bjork - Army of Me

It is safe to say - that many of you knew where we went on vacation. For those still in the dark (actually we went to where it is light nearly all day, everyday in the summer) Those in the know follow me on facebook and twitter. (hint, hint)

We went and stayed in Bjork's stomping grounds. Right - Iceland. Why Iceland, because I have have wanted to go there since I was about L's age and I fell in love with the pictures of Iceland in the National Geographic Our World coffee table book. They were so amazingly beautiful.

So when I learned the flight is just over 4 hours from NYC. I was sold.

As I believe in truth in writing, I am writing this post before our trip and scheduling it. Right now we are likely still in bed, as we got back very late last night. I am pre-writing. Later this week, I will upload pictures and give you all the scoop. I am hopeful that we loved the place as much as everyone says we will and that it is as beautiful as it looks online and in coffee table books. Hawaii was, when H and I went there on our honeymoon many, many moons ago. I think volcanic islands have that in common.

Stay tuned. But for now, amuse yourselves with another Bjork hit!

Goodreads: Loving Frank

Loving Frank by Nancy Horan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I think this story is beautifully written, the prose blending well with the obviously detailed historical research. It is surprising that this novel is Nancy Horan's first.



I was so surprised having studied FLW's work in college to discover that history as all but removed Mamah from his life. How like historians to omit that which they cannot understand or not fit into an "appropriate box."



It is clear from this novel that Mamah plated a pivotal role in Frank;s work and his life.



While some of her choices are difficult to understand, I think this is a loving portrait of a woman, struggling with being true to herself and to her sense of duty.



A good read and very thought provoking. Worth the time. Another book I will file under - I am so glad I read it but I would never have picked it up, if my book club hadn't selected it.



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Goodreads: The Bronte Project

Bronte Project by Jennifer Vandever

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I loved this book. The prose is easy to read and very engaging. While one must not be a Bronte scholar, some understanding of the Bronte sisters, their works and their lives is helpful, to really grasp, how clever Vandever was.



I enjoyed some of the absurdity in the story, it was delightful and clever and while some of her characters are stock archetypes, it works. This is as much parody of literature as it is a love story.



At first the ending brought me up short, I will say I did not see it coming, not really, even though perhaps I should and it in some ways reminds me of the final scenes of the movie The Piano, not only in drama but in terms of rebirth and the claiming of personal power.



This book is worth picking up and at 288 pages - it is a quick winter read.



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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Not that I am the most clever girl in the world, but rarely do thrillers or crime novels keep me in suspense until the end of the book.

Stieg Larsson had me guessing, until he was ready to reveal the truth. Brilliantly written/translated (although the bagel bit was troubling - I have never eaten a bagel in Europe. Never. True, I haven't ever been to Sweden, but still.)and with characters who are real, gritty, likable and detestable, with well developed plot lines and many little interesting tangents, which might or might not reconnect, but which never take away from the story. This story is complex and it is actually two, maybe three stories in one and I find I like that, when it is done well. Suffice to say, this one is done exceptionally well.

I think the frank discussion of sexual content is not gratuitous as some reviewers have suggested. This book depicts the lives of real people, in a real way, with the ugly bits included. For me, that is why this works so well.

I started reading this in print and then switched to audio version. The audio version is so well read and engrossing, twice I drove past my destination, so taken with the story.

I finished this last night and immediately downloaded the next in the series. Larsson has hooked me.



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Goodreads: Fear of Flying, Eric Jong

Fear of Flying by Erica Jong

My rating: 3 of 5 stars




***Update**

While I could not read this book, finding it hard to read bits and put it down and pick it up, without having to flip back a few pages and re-read, I did end up finishing it - but in audio book form. I found having the book read to me, to worked wonders.

I purchased the audio version on Audible.com and the narrator is wonderful and the book really comes alive.

I found myself really loving the frantic prose and the jumping from topic to topic and while reading the meandering of Isadore's mind proved challenging, listening to them was rewarding and pleasant. I actually found myself thinking about all the craziness she was explaining and experiencing, instead of drowning in the words on the printed page.

I think this book is very well written, and rich with fantastical phrases and very rye and sage observations, very relevant still today and worth being read. I don't actually  like any of the characters and while I would like to say I am grossly disappointed in Adrian Goodlove turning out to be a worthless, spineless, fraud - what does one really expect from a character deliberately named Goodlove.

I am glad I got creative and took a chance on the audio book, it really did make all the difference.



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Word Choice

Or more correctly choice words. Four letter words. I use them from time to time. Sometimes those little zingers are just the thing. Sometimes they are overkill or frankly, as I tell the kiddos, there are better word choices out there, anyone could use that word, so go find the RIGHT word.

That said, I think that our touchiness with subjects that deal with alternative lifestyles, sex, violence, and gender, are supported with the creation of a curtain of "obscenity" and that curtain is woven together with banned words. We deem obscene that which we are not willing to face, deal with or acknowledge. Erasing words from the collective vocabulary is the human equivalent to an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

This story in the Other Paper caught my eye the other day.

If the mainstream wants to ostracize a group, then the easy way to do that is to make that groups vocabulary or words taboo or obscene. Culture depends on a common language or vocabulary. Word choice matters.

While I am not a lawyer and therefore some of what Chris Fairman says fails to make some sense to me, I do agree with the premise of this article:

Fuck reviews notable Supreme Court decisions that, Fairman argues, have empowered institutionalized censorship in the form of state anti-obscenity statutes and actions by federal agencies like the FCC. The book also includes chapters on “Genderspeak in the Workplace” and “Fuck in Teacher Speech.”

Fairman is concerned not only with state-regulated speech, but with moralists who push for self-censorship and government enforcement of their own linguistic taboos.

“Refraining from the use of fuck only reinforces the taboo,” Fairman writes. “Silence empowers a small segment of the population to try to sanitize our vocabulary under the guise of reflecting a greater community. Taboo is then institutionalized through law.”

I do know however that this sanitizing of speech is insidious. It is a question of who gets to decide. I have a real problem with the "government" being that who. I also have a problem when those choices are made with the desire to exclude. Who gets to decide is the real question.

Words are the vehicles, which we as humans, writers, journalists, mothers, fathers, children form our thoughts and ideas into something tangible to share. Words have power.

Don't believe me. Take a gander at the Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence. A big giant F-you to the king of England - and obviously words with teeth enough to start a war...**

**Disclaimer - While I have not read Mr. Fairman's book, it is on my to be read list. That said, I have read the bill of rights and the declaration more than once.

GOODREADS: Sexing the Cherry

Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book is a conundrum to me. It is beautifully written. It is more prose poem than novel. Calling this a novel did it a great disservice in my mind.

Passages and passages of powerful, beautiful imagery. In terms of exploration of the nature of love, relationships, self and time, this book earns 5 stars.

In terms of actually pulling all of those things into a cohesive and assessable story or book, it falls short. I often had the feeling this book grew out of an series of writing exercises. In some parts of the work, it is very tight, frames well and there are a number of "tricks" which seem to work well, only to be abandoned.

I also think that the addition of the last quarter of this book, does it a great disservice. I could have been happy without the "Sometime Later" section. Ending the book on page 124, I think does actually tie together a number of the loose ends, not neatly, but then there is nothing neat and tidy about this book, not in style, execution, exploration or point of view.

But the final passages on pages 123, 124 really, I think answer alot of the linger questions - for both narrators. For me - it brought me to place of peace and place to think and acceptance.

I think the "Sometime Later" section works. It does not work at the end of this book, even though some of the ladies in my book club felt it did work. It feels contrived and it feels like it is self consciously connected dots which refused to be connected in other sections of the book.

I think the "Something Later" section, if it has to stay, would work better in the beginning. Start there and work backwards. I think it would help the reader form a story and I think it propels the plot alot better. It also I think, fits with the playing with time and exploring the realities of time and space.

All in all I am glad I stuck with this book and saw it through to the end. Had this not been the book club selection, I doubt I would have. I am glad I did and I am going to read some of her other works, if only to experience her beautiful use of language and poetic imagery.

A word to the wise, this book is not shy about sex, violence and her brand of feminism is radical, typical perhaps of the time period, but her point of view may not be widely shared.

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Lolita

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
This is - aside from Catcher in the Rye, the worst book I have ever had to read. Beyond the pale horrible. I will give him that he can play with language and words. Pity he did not bother to do so with a story worth reading. Humbert is too stupid to live and frankly the plot plods along. There is nothing interesting or exciting about this book and while maybe Nabokov was going for some sweeping indictment of American Culture or something - it is in short - an epic fail.I did not finish it. Not going to waste my time.

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Book Review: Veronica

Veronica: A Novel by Mary Gaitskill


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I became aware of Mary Gaitskill's work when she was featured in Poet & Writers magazine. This is the first book of hers, that I have read.

I found the book strangely compelling and repulsing, all at once. I am not sure I agree with her world view, but what she does well is capture the world of the mind. The second self it seems to me. Alison, the narrator is trapped in her own confusion it seems to me.

Veronica is a woman she meets while temping in NYC in between modeling jobs.

The counter balance of the ugly and the beautiful and the elegant and the profane is amazingly well done. While it could have come off as trite, it doesn't.

The organization of the book is interesting and it works, although it does make the book hard to start, I found, the flipping thru the past, present, and middle, seemed strange at first.

My biggest issue is even in the end, I just did not like Alison very much. I never really connected with her. Maybe we aren't suppose to, I am not sure.

I also think that MG's message is very strong, but not preachy, I like that. I like that she leaves things rather unresolved and not packaged and neat and trite at the end. I really like that.

Overall I feel the first half of the book is the meat of the book. For me anyway. I found the ending worked, but not as well as the beginning and the middle. I also think that some of what she includes about Alison today - the friends she lunches with, was extra in a way, as was some of the details of her childhood. I felt as if MG had chosen one set of details or the other, the story might have been stronger.

Her style is amazing and her use of language very poetic, but blunt and clean.

I also appreciate that she does not over write - but I sometimes feel like MG throws us something and then leaves it very unresolved, in a ways that feels off to me. I think she handles John and Alison's relationship very well. That felt connected for me, by the end, but there are other things, other details which seem to have the potential to add something but don't.

What I do like and the flip side of my critic above is the fact that I think she is being accurate. I think life is like this. A series of events, with seemingly no real connection, except for the fact that they all happen and are experienced by us in a sequence

I will say that this book is gritty. It is blunt and frank. MG makes no real effort to clean it up or sanitize it any way.

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Book Review: Perfection

Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal by Julie Metz


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
When I picked this up at the library, I was unsure of what to expect. By the 10th page I was hooked. Metz has a beautiful straight-forward style and her ability to tell a story is wonderful.

She not only tells us a story, she tells us about the people in the story and she reflects on the story, she seeks to make connections, she is honest about her emotions and she is naked in them also.

That said, the book has some stylistic issues which gave me pause. While I like the going back in time, I found it jarring, when I am told by chapter heading I am one place and then we go back 20 plus years. I get why she did this, but I still stumbled over it and it is a technique she employs more than once.

I also think the last 1/3 of the book is the weakest. I suspect you have to show the entire cycle, but I felt towards the end or almost end, we had information which really in my opinion added little value to the overall story. It was just information. That said the last 10 pages (well maybe 7) really were very useful also. I like the messy neatness of it.

Metz also has a real talent for sentences which jump off the page and grab you. They are singularly profound and arresting and buried in a sea of beautiful yet very normal text.

I think she handles the subject beautifully, I admire her desire to understand, to not be drown in anger, to try and put together the pieces of an amazingly complicated puzzle, to seek a place where she can understand some most un-understandable actions. I think she also gives us an amazing glimpse at how people, all sorts of people deal with grief and disappointment.

She also does not rely on excuses or gimmicks.

All in all this is well worth reading.

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Book review

The Awakening and The Struggle by L.J. Smith


My rating: 1 of 5 stars
While I enjoy the TV show, I cannot say I enjoyed this book at all. I thought the characters lacked depth and honestly it dragged.I have to say the story was also just not very well rounded. I finished the book, becasue I honestly hoped at some point it would improve. I have no plans to go out and read the rest in the series, in part becasue it has not been favorably reviewed and this was arduous enough to slog thru.

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The Wrong Mother; Sophie Hannah

I picked this book up on a lark, while shopping with my mother. I do like mysteries and particularly British ones. This one was a delight. Her writing style is straightforward, but still twisted in terms of plot lines.

She has about three narratives going and they all fit together, one I could have lived without, but the rest was in their head, deep and twisted.

I think she handles this delicate topic very very well, the fact that motherhood is hard and life long and a struggle and guilt abounds in heaps and heaps.

All in all this was a delightful read, it took me awhile to actually read it, not because the story was challenging or the writing hard to digest, but purely because I am super busy right now.

I also love all the delicious British slang. So fun. I also learned a new word. Scrote. Not nearly as funny to say as 'wanker' but then it is a bird of a different feather, now isn't it?

Bye Bye Summer

I cannot believe school starts next week. The summer seems both endless and short at the same time. I was feeling like we got nothing accomplished, but that is not true.

* Took our first ever camping trip to Northern Michigan. Heavenly.

* I attended the Kenyon Review's summer writing workshop. Inspirational.

*E was ill at 4th of July, but L and I managed the fireworks.

*L had her tonsils removed and spent 2 weeks being quiet and recovering. Towards the end of the 2 weeks I had to sit on her big time.

* L attending camp at E's preschool, took dance camp, and art camp. She loved it. Leanring and having fun during the summer.

*E went to camp every week M-W-F, in part to hold our spot for fall and in part to give me time for school and time with just L!

*L and I painted pottery

*We went to the Zoo and Zoombize Bay a fair amount

*H took L to DC to visit his cousin and see the sights.

I had thought we might have more time for running around, but we were busy

*L and I both had killer B-day parties

*We went to one wedding, staying overnight in a hotel! A highlight for the kiddos

*Farmers markets trips and we grew our own tomatoes

I read about 10 books and had 2 MBA classes.

So all in all, it was a busy, fun and productive summer. Looking forward to school starting and having a "normal" routine.

Books

I got tagged elsewhere, but thought there was no harm sharing it here also...

Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you've read that will always stick with you. First fifteen you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

*****

1. A Fan's Note - Fred Exeley, that he killed himself might refute my ascertain that he was not crazy, but rather I think this book sticks with me because it was proof that I was not crazy, other people had crazy ideas floating around their heads and it was more than ok - someone might help you share them, by publishing them...

2. Es geschah an der Mauer - Rainer Hildabrant, I bought this in Germany the Summer of 1990, it has haunted me since. I bought in the shop next to a place, in Berlin where Nazi's killed 12 resistance workers. They hung them with piano wire. I have never fully reconciled in my head, how the slaughter of so many went without notice... or protest.

3. Pleasure of My Own Company - Steve Martin. What a charming book. I loved it. I blogged about it recently.

4. The Time Travelers Wife - Audrey Niffenegger, maybe my favorite book of recent memory. People either love or hate it... Cleverly crafted and a wonderfully rich story.

5. A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court - Mark Twain. I think this is Twain's best work. It is a tad preachy, but what a powerful novel about human nature.

6. Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri, this collection of short stores is dramatic in its simplicity. The last three - which are a trilogy of sorts brought me to tears.

7. The Hindi Bindi Club - Monica Pradhan, this book proves that mother daughter issues are present in every culture.

8. The Kommandant's Girl - Pam Jenoff, I am a big fan of fiction that examines the gray area. I blogged about this one also. People making seemingly impossible choices...

9. Resistance - Anita Shreve, I am mixed on her work. Talk about someone who rehashes the theme, casting it in any number of settings. This is a short book, but intense. I am still not sure how I feel about this book, but in terms of a griping story. This is it.

10. Forever - Judy Blume, I read this in middle school. I somehow knew I was not supposed to like this book, but I did like it. I reread it a number of times.

11. Tiger Eyes - Judy Blume - somehow this is the Judy Blume novel that "good girls" read. I loved it. I read it a number of times also.

12. Wie kommt das Salz ins Meer - Brigitte Schwaiger, this is a great read, a contemporary feminist questioning of marriage and life of a young woman, unhappy, trapped at home.

13. Damage - Josephine Hart - this quote has stuck with me for years... I know it to be true - then and now... "Damaged people are dangerous. They know they can survive." ... her follow up novel Sin, is no less distributing.

14. The Hand Maiden's Tale - Margeret Atwood - I find all of her work disturbing, but in a profound way. Her last book, about the alien's in the trees - so disturbing I can hardly think about it.

15. Lucky Man - Michael J Fox - a living in the moment manifesto. Better live this moment.

Like being 16 again...

I will come out and say it - I have read and I loved every single book in the Twilight series. My collage age baby sitter started the madness and I have to say I am glad she did.

I think the books are compelling - well written and frankly exactly what I read when I was 16. They held my attention and have sparked something in my imagination. The story is sweet and very much the stuff of young girls fantasies.

I think that they stories are compelling because they are so grounded in fantasy - but at its core there is a message - there are little tidbits of wisdom. But they are like tea sandwiches and not the huge mega sub sized message most adults think teenagers need.

In a time of half naked women on MTV and sex in the high school bathrooms - I think these stories are refreshingly old fashioned - while not down playing the laws of human interaction, attraction and desire.

They are worth the read and they are at the end of the day fantasy and sometimes that is exactly what a good book should be - entertainment.