Reading Post # 13
Feb. 11th, 2006 01:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
desertvixenLet's see.
I've read another 2 Anne Perry mysteries, Pentecost Alley and Ashworth Hall. Not bad at all. I was starting to figure out the who and why in the former, but the end still had a twist. I liked the latter better, however. The "murder at a house party" one never fails to entertain me. I'm also looking forward to seeing how one of the ongoing plot twists she put in (blatantly, as I had it pegged within a page) kicks out.
Nursing Mother, Working Mother by Gale Pryor was... not as good as I was hoping it would be. I was hoping for more practical advice on dealing with the issues, and if I have to read one more thing that has women "reshaping" their jobs because they had a baby, I will SCREAM. It's NOT an option for me. I have 2 options: quit the Army or stay in the Army. There's no telecommuting, there's no flexible hours, there's no part-time available to me. I realize some people put this out as a reason why women shouldn't be mothers and be in the military, but enough women have dealt with it that I can't believe there's not a useful book on the subject.
Mommy Made (and Daddy Too) by Martha and David Kimmel was about feeding your infant/toddler, when you can safely introduce stuff, and making your own baby food if you're revolted by the jars. It also DOES NOT assume that if you're interested in this, you must be s stay-at-home-mom/domestic goddess. I'm looking forward to trying it out. It's also well organized and simply explained, but not talking down.
We picked up a nifty coffee table book from Discovery Channel, Extreme Nature by Mark Carwardine. The photos are great, and it's one of those collections of weird and scary animal and plant facts.
Catherine of Aragon by Garrett Mattingly was a good read, and worth keeping on the history bookshelf. However, it was more a history of Tudor-era European diplomacy, masquerading as a life of Catherine of Aragon. Diplomacy and her story are very intertwined, but the book definitely took a detour or 2.
Thud! by Terry Pratchett. I finally treated myself to the hardcover. I was... quite entertained. The female vamp was knocking me out. The ladies' night out also was hilarious, and ended the way I predicted it would. Nice addition to the Discworld shelf.
A Bride for Lord Beaumont, one of the Zebra Regencies from 2000, I think, was pretty good. It had a few predictable twists, but some not-predictable as well. Again, I enjoy the whole "country house party" dynamic.
The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory. Well, I should have learned my lesson from this: http://desert-vixen.livejournal.com/70659.html#cutid1
But people keep asking me if I've tried the author's stuff, and I keep feeling like I should. So, I got a cut-price copy of the HC from my book club, and dug in. Spoilers: I think it sucks. There's not another word for it. Finishing it was painful. You keep hoping things will get better, but they DON'T. One, I think the author's jumping off point is totally a wrong assumption. Second, I just couldn't get behind how she DREW the character, how she made her this almost-sociopathic plotter, and how she interacted with people. It just completed rubbed me the wrong, wrong way. I won't be reading another by the same author, and I haven't decided if I keep it as a warning, or try to give it away. Anyone interested?
DV
I've read another 2 Anne Perry mysteries, Pentecost Alley and Ashworth Hall. Not bad at all. I was starting to figure out the who and why in the former, but the end still had a twist. I liked the latter better, however. The "murder at a house party" one never fails to entertain me. I'm also looking forward to seeing how one of the ongoing plot twists she put in (blatantly, as I had it pegged within a page) kicks out.
Nursing Mother, Working Mother by Gale Pryor was... not as good as I was hoping it would be. I was hoping for more practical advice on dealing with the issues, and if I have to read one more thing that has women "reshaping" their jobs because they had a baby, I will SCREAM. It's NOT an option for me. I have 2 options: quit the Army or stay in the Army. There's no telecommuting, there's no flexible hours, there's no part-time available to me. I realize some people put this out as a reason why women shouldn't be mothers and be in the military, but enough women have dealt with it that I can't believe there's not a useful book on the subject.
Mommy Made (and Daddy Too) by Martha and David Kimmel was about feeding your infant/toddler, when you can safely introduce stuff, and making your own baby food if you're revolted by the jars. It also DOES NOT assume that if you're interested in this, you must be s stay-at-home-mom/domestic goddess. I'm looking forward to trying it out. It's also well organized and simply explained, but not talking down.
We picked up a nifty coffee table book from Discovery Channel, Extreme Nature by Mark Carwardine. The photos are great, and it's one of those collections of weird and scary animal and plant facts.
Catherine of Aragon by Garrett Mattingly was a good read, and worth keeping on the history bookshelf. However, it was more a history of Tudor-era European diplomacy, masquerading as a life of Catherine of Aragon. Diplomacy and her story are very intertwined, but the book definitely took a detour or 2.
Thud! by Terry Pratchett. I finally treated myself to the hardcover. I was... quite entertained. The female vamp was knocking me out. The ladies' night out also was hilarious, and ended the way I predicted it would. Nice addition to the Discworld shelf.
A Bride for Lord Beaumont, one of the Zebra Regencies from 2000, I think, was pretty good. It had a few predictable twists, but some not-predictable as well. Again, I enjoy the whole "country house party" dynamic.
The Constant Princess by Phillipa Gregory. Well, I should have learned my lesson from this: http://desert-vixen.livejournal.com/70659.html#cutid1
But people keep asking me if I've tried the author's stuff, and I keep feeling like I should. So, I got a cut-price copy of the HC from my book club, and dug in. Spoilers: I think it sucks. There's not another word for it. Finishing it was painful. You keep hoping things will get better, but they DON'T. One, I think the author's jumping off point is totally a wrong assumption. Second, I just couldn't get behind how she DREW the character, how she made her this almost-sociopathic plotter, and how she interacted with people. It just completed rubbed me the wrong, wrong way. I won't be reading another by the same author, and I haven't decided if I keep it as a warning, or try to give it away. Anyone interested?
DV
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no subject
Date: 2006-02-11 11:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-11 11:20 am (UTC)Just spotted it, I was browsing through some older entries a moment.
If you don't mind reading about a completely manipulative woman (who, yes, got seriously manipulated by 2 of the best in the business) and a doomed love affair that didn't ring true to me, not to mention character's total contempt for any number of the men in her life... then I'd still say go ahead. But from what I've read of Catherine of Aragon in history, it doesn't fit.
But then, people who are big on history are probably not the intended reading audience.
DV
no subject
Date: 2006-02-11 11:24 am (UTC)Back to square one.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-11 02:39 pm (UTC)Granted, I think my family has mutant immune systems. Almost none of us have any allergies of any kind, and we abhor anti-bacterial anything because of the whole "super-bug" thang.
If you can figure out how to make full-time Army and motherhood work, let me know. I can't seem to figure that out.
no subject
Date: 2006-02-11 02:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-11 03:28 pm (UTC)I see women who do it. Many of them are dual military as well. But no real strategies have been offered.
Dropping to the Reserves in my next incarnation with the Army may be the plan we go with.
DV
nursing and working
Date: 2006-02-11 03:12 pm (UTC)Re: nursing and working
Date: 2006-02-11 03:26 pm (UTC)It is.
I guess, what I was looking for was more of a book on, "How to do this, and not go crazy". Which may have to be written after this experience.
DV
Re: nursing and working
Date: 2006-02-11 03:33 pm (UTC)Re: nursing and working
Date: 2006-02-11 03:44 pm (UTC)I meant, what I was looking for when I picked up Nursing Mother, Working Mother after the author of another book that I thought was refreshing, rather than rose-colored.
Yes, by all means, send on any practical experience you have via email!
desert_foxb5@yahoo.com
DV
no subject
Date: 2006-02-16 02:35 pm (UTC)Thanks for the Dreadful Warning.
Good luck finding applicable books and/or advice! Is Star Creche of any help?