Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World’s Greatest Tea by Jeff Koehler
Publisher: Audible Studios for Bloomsbury
Release Date: May 12, 2015
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I chose Darjeeling: The Colorful History and Precarious Fate of the World’s Greatest Tea because as we all know, I love learning about all things Indian. Also, they drink this tea on Downton Abbey and I was curious about how an Indian tea came to be popular in England – if the characters on that show drink it, it must be good tea!
The history of the tea is fascinating. It arrived in India in a dramatic fashion – being stolen from China. Today the tea is grown in tea gardens, which are really huge plantations. The relationship of the tea garden workers to the owners is a totally different arrangement from anything I’ve ever heard of before. This book also touches on the state of Darjeeling tea today. The regulation process needs some work – there is a lot of fake Darjeeling tea out there.
Koehler goes into a lot of detail about the physical properties of the tea and how it’s grown and harvested. This part didn’t interest me nearly as much as the history aspect of the book but that’s probably because I’m not much of a tea drinker myself. Incidentally, I tried some Darjeeling tea for the first time after finishing this book and I thought it was really good. I don’t care much for regular black tea so I think there must truly be something special about it.
I listened to the audiobook version of this book. The narrator had a mellow voice with just a touch of an Indian accent that made it a pleasure to listen too. The only thing I didn’t like was that he used a full-on Indian accent when reading a quote from an Indian person. It seemed odd to do that for a non-fiction book.
I really enjoyed learning about a tiny subset of Indian culture that I knew nothing about before. I think tea drinkers of all sorts will enjoy it as well.
(I received a complementary review copy of this audiobook.)
August 13th, 2015 in
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Plenty Ladylike: A Memoir by Claire McCaskill
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Release Date: August 11, 2015
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
The female senator from Missouri shares her inspiring story of embracing her ambition, surviving sexist slings, making a family, losing a husband, outsmarting her enemies—and finding joy along the way.Claire McCaskill grew up in a political family, but not at a time that welcomed women with big plans. She earned a law degree and paid her way through school by working as a waitress. By 1982 Claire had set her sights on the Missouri House of Representatives. Typically, one voter whose door she knocked on said: “You’re too young; your hair is too long; you’re a girl….Go find yourself a husband.” That door was slammed in her face, but Claire always kept pushing—first as a prosecutor of arsonists and rapists and then all the way to the door of a cabal of Missouri politicians who had secret meetings to block her legislation.
In this candid, lively, and forthright memoir, Senator McCaskill describes her uphill battle to become who she is today, from her failed first marriage to a Kansas City car dealer—the father of her three children—to her current marriage to a Missouri businessman whom she describes as “a life partner.” She depicts her ups and downs with the Clintons, her long-shot reelection as senator after secretly helping to nominate a right-wing extremist as her opponent, and the fun of joining the growing bipartisan sisterhood in the Senate.
From the day she was elected homecoming queen in high school, Claire has loved politics and winning. Her memoir is unconventional: unsparing in its honesty, full of sharp humor and practical wisdom, and rousing in its defense of female ambition.
I chose this book because Claire McCaskill is my senator and I was interested in learning more about her personal life and political career. At just under three hundred pages, she just hits the highlights which was perfect for me. It made it a quick read and kept it entertaining. Most of it is about her struggle to be accepted in the good old boy network that’s so prevalent in politics at both the local and national levels.
I loved that Claire was honest about her almost House of Cards level of scheming to set Todd Akin up as her opponent in her most recent Senate race. You may recall that that he’s the candidate who said, ““If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.” – meaning that if a woman is raped, she can’t get pregnant. Claire wanted him to be her opponent because she knew she could beat him easily after he made that comment. She’s also not afraid to admit that she’s made mistakes along the way and to write about them specifically, like when she said she wouldn’t let her daughters near Bill Clinton, which of course Hillary was not happy about. It’s refreshing to read such unflinching honesty from a politician.
If you are interested in politics and especially women’s role in them, then you’ll like this book even if you don’t live in Missouri.
(I received a complementary review copy of this book.)
August 11th, 2015 in
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Becoming Ellen by Shari Shattuck
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Release Date: August 11, 2015
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Ellen Homes is done being invisible. Well, sort of.
Living with her closest friends, Temerity and Justice, has helped her step out of the shell of invisibility she once hid away in. She still seeks refuge in solitary time and observing from afar, but she has pushed herself to open up to others in ways that bring her unexpected happiness.
But when a terrible bus crash upends her normal routine, Ellen finds herself on a whirlwind crusade for the unseen and downtrodden. Only this time, helping others—including two young children with no one else to turn to—will mean facing a pain from her past that she’s long tucked away.
Picking up where Invisible Ellen left off, Becoming Ellen returns us to the touching, poignant, and compassionate world of Ellen Homes as she learns how to navigate the world she has decided to become a part of.
***This review has spoilers for Invisible Ellen but not for Becoming Ellen***
Becoming Ellen is the sequel to Invisible Ellen. I highly recommend reading that book first to really understand who Ellen is. And Ellen is a very damaged individual. She has a paralyzing fear of interacting with other people and has used food as an emotional crutch in the past, although not so much in this book.
As with Invisible Ellen, there are several subplots that have Temerity and Ellen involving themselves in sticky situations to try and help people. Some of these situations involved the foster care system and as foster parent myself, I was bothered by the inaccuracies of how the system works. It’s probably not enough to concern someone who isn’t familiar with the system but I didn’t like it.
Ellen still struggles with anxiety and extreme shyness in the book but she is slowly coming out of her shell. She lives with Temerity and her brother Justice now instead of living isolated and alone. Her scar has been fixed for the most part and her relationship with food is healthier, although still not perfect. We learn more about Ellen’s childhood which is the reason she became the person she is now.
I liked this book but I didn’t love it like I loved Invisible Ellen. I think it’s because Invisible Ellen was mostly focused on Ellen and developing her character. Becoming Ellen is more focused on action and plot. If there is another book, I would like it to explore the character of Temerity more deeply in addition to following Ellen on her journey.
If you read Invisible Ellen then I recommend Becoming Ellen. I enjoyed checking in with Ellen, Temerity and Justice.
(I received this book courtesy of Amazon Vine.)
August 10th, 2015 in
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Is anyone else having trouble keeping up with blogging this summer? I have been severely neglecting this blog and have also been doing a terrible job keeping up with all of your blogs. I’ve been reading – mostly at night before bed – but haven’t made the time to write reviews. I’ve been too busy having fun with my kids during the day and going to their baseball/softball games in the evenings and then cheering on my boys in blue after we get home from the kids’ games (go Royals!) Also, one of my kids dropped my laptop on the floor and it died instantly. I was without a computer for over a week. The horror!
School starts next week and then I should be on more of a schedule and more disciplined about blogging. I love blogging and don’t want to stop. I just need to get back into a routine. And I will – starting next week. For now, I’m off to the pool!
August 3rd, 2015 in
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For Your Love by Beverly Jenkins
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release Date: April 28, 2015
4 out of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Return to Henry Adams, Kansas—an unforgettable place anyone would want to call home. . . .
Mayor Trent July and his wife, Lily, are enjoying life as newlyweds and embracing the challenges and joys that come with being adoptive parents to two wonderful boys. But fatherhood has inevitably forced Trent to think about his own birth mother.
Raised by his grandmother Tamar—and, in many ways, the good people of Henry Adams—Trent was blessed with a childhood full of love. But he can’t help wondering what happened to the scared teenage girl who gave birth to him. And questions that he’s never voiced are now begging to be answered: Who was she? Is she still alive? Why didn’t she want him?
Trent has always believed that no good comes from dwelling on the past, especially when you have a loving family, a strong community, and folks who depend on you. But when the past comes to Henry Adams, Trent has no choice but to face it—and the woman who left him behind. The truth will shake his very being and everything he thought he knew about life, love, and the bonds that hold families together . . . but can also tear them apart.
For Your Love is an utterly charming book about life in the small town of Henry Adams, Kansas. As I live only a few miles from the Kansas border, there were a lot of familiar references, like to watching Chiefs football, that made reading this book even more fun for me.
The overarching theme in this book is the power of community. I love a story where the community rallies together to help people. Several of the children in this book are foster children who have been adopted by residents of the town. As an adoptive parent of a foster child, this warmed my heart, especially because what was mentioned of the foster system was realistic. We all know by now it really bugs me when the foster care system is inaccurately portrayed.
Jenkins’s website says that the Blessings series is a faith based women’s fiction series. It’s not heavy-handed at all though and all of the “good guys” are open minded and forgiving. I haven’t read any of the previous five books in the Blessings series but I had no trouble jumping right in with For Your Love. The author does a great job of providing summaries for the characters and situations as part of the story without slowing it down or making it clunky. I want to read the other books now that I’ve read this one. (I looked at the author’s website and she also writes what look like very steamy bodice-ripping romance novels. I’d like to read one of those too – she must have quite a range!)
For Your Love is the perfect book to read when you need a warm, fuzzy feeling – it’s definitely a feel-good book.
About Beverly Jenkins
Beverly Jenkins is the author of thirty historical and contemporary novels, including five previous books in her beloved Blessings series. She has been featured in many national publications, including the Wall Street Journal, People, the Dallas Morning News,Vibe, and many other publications.
Find out more about Beverly at her website and connect with her on Facebook.
Check out the other stops on the tour:
Tuesday, June 9th: The Book Diva’s Reads
Wednesday, June 10th: Reads for Pleasure
Wednesday, June 17th: Black Page Turners
Wednesday, June 24th: The Reading Cove Book Club
Wednesday, July 1st: Tina Says …
Thursday, July 2nd: I’d Rather Be At The Beach
Monday, July 6th: Sort of Beautiful
Tuesday, July 7th: Chaos is a Friend of Mine
Wednesday, July 8th: lifeofafemalebibliophile
TBD: Rockin’ Book Reviews
TBD: Queen of All She Reads
TBD: Imaginary Reads
TBD: Jorie Loves a Story
(I received a complementary review copy of this book.)
July 7th, 2015 in
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It’s Stitch Fix
time again! You all know that I love Stitch Fix. Haven’t heard of it? It’s a personal styling service. When you sign up, you fill out a detailed style profile. Your stylist will pick out five items of clothing and accessories and send them to you for a $20 styling fee. You have three days to try everything on in the comfort of your own home. Send back what you don’t want in the handy dandy prepaid envelope they provide. If you keep at least one item, you get a $20 credit to cover the styling fee. Keep all five and get 25% off everything!
Each Fix comes with a note from your stylist. Here’s my note from my rockin’ stylist Kalesa. Before your fix is shipped, you have the opportunity to leave your stylist a note with any requests you may have. I try to leave my requests pretty general because being surprised is part of the fun. My note for this fix was probably my most specific so far. I told Kalesa that I have two weddings coming up this summer and would like some dress choices for those. I also requested Just Black jeans. I’ve gotten a few pairs in different styles from Stitch Fix in the past and I love them. They always fit perfectly. Lastly, I requested Margaret M pants. They come in a ton of colors and patterns and are so flattering. I have one pair in kelly green and wanted more because they look fab on me (if I do say so myself!) As you will see in the photos below, Kalesa did an awesome job fulfilling all my requests.
Let’s start with my choices of dresses to wear to the weddings. First up is the Cleokai Therese Shift Dress:
My second choice was the Gilli Adison Dress:
And lastly, the Pink Martini Indira Dress:
From the get go, I planned on only keeping one dress because that’s all I needed to wear to the weddings. I kept the Pink Martini dress. I love the fun floral print and the fit and flare fit. I also loved the Gilli dress but I couldn’t think of anywhere I would wear it. I’m trying to be more selective about what I keep and only keeping items that I totally love and will definitely wear. I’ve already worn the Pink Martini dress to Mother’s Day brunch and one of the weddings. I’ve gotten a lot of compliments on it.
Just Black Dean Ankle Zip Skinny Jeans
I’ve gotten several pairs of Just Black Jeans from Stitch Fix and they all fit like a glove. (My top is from a previous Fix.) This pair has a zippered detail at the ankle:
These jeans fit perfectly but I already have a pair of Just Black jeans with a different color zipper detail that I got in a previous Fix so they went back.
Margaret M Emer Printed Crop Straight Leg Pant
OMG – I love these pants so much! The print is so cool. They will go with any solid color top. Definitely a keeper!
Even though I only kept two items from this Fix, I consider it a major success. I got two pieces that I LOVE and were exactly what I requested from my stylist.
If you decide to sign up for Stitch Fix, I would really appreciate it if you used my referral link. When you sign up for Stitch Fix, you’ll get a link of your own! Let me know in the comments if you have any questions.
July 5th, 2015 in
Stitch Fix |
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I Regret Nothing: A Memoir by Jen Lancaster
Publisher: NAL
Release Date: May 5, 2015
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Sure Jen has made mistakes. She spent all her money from a high-paying job on shoes, clothes, and spa treatments. She then carried a Prada bag to the unemployment office. She wrote a whole memoir about dieting…but didn’t lose weight. She embarked on a quest for cultural enlightenment that only cemented her love for John Hughes movies and Kraft American Singles. She tried to embrace everything Martha Stewart, while living with a menagerie of rescue cats and dogs. (Glitter…everywhere.)
Mistakes are one thing; regrets are another.
After a girls’ weekend in Savannah makes her realize that she is—yikes!—middle-aged (binge watching is so the new binge drinking), Jen decides to make a bucket list and seize the day, even if that means having her tattoo removed at one hundred times the cost of putting it on.
From attempting a juice cleanse to studying Italian, from learning to ride a bike to starting a new business, and from sampling pasta in Rome to training for a 5K, Jen is turning a mid-life crisis into a mid-life opportunity, sharing her sometimes bumpy—but always hilarious—attempts to better her life…again.
I always enjoy checking in with Jen. After reading so many of her memoirs, I feel like she’s a friend. Speaking of her being my friend, she came to Kansas City a few weeks ago and I went totally fan girl on her. She had mentioned during her talk that one of her dogs is on Prozac. When I went through the line, I told her that if it made her feel any better, one of my cats is on Prozac. (For real!). In I Regret Nothing, she writes about her trip to Italy and I told her that I have also been to Italy. I could tell she was fearful that I would never shut up because she looked me directly in the eye and said firmly, “Thank you for coming.” What she meant was, “Get a hold of yourself and move along scary fan girl.” And I don’t blame her at all – I could have yammered on forever if not prompted to beat it.
This memoir is more introspective than Jen’s other books because it’s about her making a bucket list and then trying her best to cross off the items on it. Some stories, like the one about her attempting to ride a three-wheeled bicycle, are really funny. Other stories are not so funny, like the one about her Internet trolls. Which by the way, that’s another thing I wanted to talk to her about. I’ll just write it here since I’m sure she reads my blog every day. Jen, don’t let the trolls get into your head. They are pathetic individuals and giving them attention just makes them worse. You are awesome no matter what any anonymous coward online says. Do not feed the trolls.
This book had some really funny parts but overall was not as humorous as her other books. And I don’t think it was meant to be. As Jen is maturing and taking her life more seriously, I expect that her books will reflect that. And I’m fine with that because she’s my BFF and I still want to know what’s going on in her life, funny or not. If you haven’t read any of Jen’s books yet, I recommend starting with her first two – Bitter Is The New Black and Bright Lights, Big Ass – to get a sense of her biting wit and sarcastic yet sometimes clueless self.
I’m wearing my pearls because Jen always wears them! Does she look scared that I will stalk her in the parking lot after she leaves? She’s hiding her fear well.
Reviews of Jen’s memoirs:
Such a Pretty Fat
Pretty In Plaid
My Fair Lazy
Reviews of Jen’s novels:
If You Were Here
Here I Go Again
July 3rd, 2015 in
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The Hope Factory by Lavanya Sankaran
Publisher: The Dial Press
Release Date: April 23, 2013
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
Anand is a Bangalore success story: successful, well married, rich. At least, that’s how he appears. But if his little factory is to grow, he needs land and money, and, in the New India, neither of these is easy to find.
Kamala, Anand’s family’s maid, lives perilously close to the edge of disaster. She and her clever teenage son have almost nothing, and their small hopes for self-betterment depend on the contentment of Anand’s wife: a woman to whom whims come easily.
But Kamala’s son keeps bad company, and Anand’s marriage is in trouble. The murky world where crime and land and politics meet is a dangerous place for a good man, particularly one on whom the well-being of so many depends.
The Hope Factory chronicles the lives of Anand, a wealthy factory owner and Kamala, a poor maid who works in Anand’s household. The difference between the classes in Bangalore is striking. Kamala lives in a one room building without electricity or running water. She thinks that the fact that American housekeepers live in multiple room houses and even have cars is a myth. She desperately wants her son Narayan to stay in school and off the streets so he can have a better life than her.
I love books about India and Indian culture. This book was a reality check about the wide income disparity and heartbreaking poverty that exists in the country. The lives of both main characters were not romanticized. The characters had depth and even though they all had flaws I was able to empathize with most of them. The situations they were in had my stomach in knots – especially Anand trying to get more land to expand his factory. It’s a sign of great writing when it evokes such an emotional response in me. Even if you’re not as intrigued by all things Indian like me I think you will enjoy this book.
(I received this book courtesy of LibraryThing’s Early Reviews program.)
June 18th, 2015 in
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China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Publisher: Doubleday
Release Date: June 16, 2015
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
I adored Kevin Kwan’s debut novel Crazy Rich Asians. You may recall that in my review of Crazy Rich Asians, I wrote that I hoped Kevin Kwan wrote a sequel. Well, apparently Kwan totally reads my blog because he did! If you haven’t read Crazy Rich Asians, you’ll probably want to read it first. You’ll get more out of China Rich Girlfriend if you know more about the characters.
***This review will have spoilers for Crazy Rich Asians.***
On the eve of her wedding to Nicholas Young, heir to one of the greatest fortunes in Asia, Rachel should be over the moon. She has a flawless Asscher-cut diamond from JAR, a wedding dress she loves more than anything found in the salons of Paris, and a fiancé willing to sacrifice his entire inheritance in order to marry her. But Rachel still mourns the fact that her birthfather, a man she never knew, won’t be able to walk her down the aisle. Until: a shocking revelation draws Rachel into a world of Shanghai splendor beyond anything she has ever imagined. Here we meet Carlton, a Ferrari-crashing bad boy known for Prince Harry-like antics; Colette, a celebrity girlfriend chased by fevered paparazzi; and the man Rachel has spent her entire life waiting to meet: her father. Meanwhile, Singapore’s It Girl, Astrid Leong, is shocked to discover that there is a downside to having a newly minted tech billionaire husband. A romp through Asia’s most exclusive clubs, auction houses, and estates, China Rich Girlfriend brings us into the elite circles of Mainland China, introducing a captivating cast of characters, and offering an inside glimpse at what it’s like to be gloriously, crazily, China-rich.
China Rich Girlfriend picks up about two and half years after Crazy Rich Asians ended. Nick and Rachel are finally getting married, assuming Nick’s meddling mother will stay out of the way. They are also searching for Rachel’s birth father, which brings them to Mainland China. If you thought the ultra wealthy class of Singapore in Crazy Rich Asians was over the top outrageous, you haven’t seen nothin’ yet! China is all about new money billionaires who have it and want to flaunt it unlike the discreet rich in Singapore. As unfathomable as some of the things the billionaires in this book do, they are actually true to life. Kwan spent time in China researching this book. He has said that he actually had to tone some of the crazy things the wealthy do because even though they actually happened, they would not be believable to the reader.
In addition to catching up with Rachel and Nick, we also get to see what Michael and Astrid and Kitty and Bernard have been up to. A whole new cast of characters who live in China and Hong Kong are introduced as well. My favorite new character is Corinna, a consultant who helps new money Asians integrate into the billionaire class. She teaches them how to act and dress refined and lets them in on insider information like which hotel is the right one in which to have high tea and that one refers to the Mandarin Oriental hotel as simply “the Mandarin”. I think the funniest part of this book is the memo she sends to a new client outlining everything she must to do fit in with the ultra-wealthy. She gives her a reading list with books like Pride and Prejudice and Anna Karenina on it. Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is on the list but crossed out! I’m going to assume that means that Kwan thinks Franzen is as big of an ass as I do.
As always, I must point out any references to Unitarian Universalism since they are quite rare in popular culture. In this book, a character says, “I didn’t really care for that we-are-all-nature Unitarian minister.” So funny!
I didn’t think this book was quite as good as Crazy Rich Asians but I still liked it a lot. Kwan uses footnotes in this book in the same way he did in Crazy Rich Asians. They are informative but also sometimes so droll I was laughing out loud. If you enjoy comedies of manners and laughing, this book is for you. Kwan has said he originally planned Crazy Rich Asians to be the first book in a trilogy. I hope he sticks to his plan because I want to visit these characters again.
(I received this book courtesy of Amazon Vine.)
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NurtureShock: New Thinking About Children by Po Bronson
Publisher: Twelve
Published In: 2009
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
One of the most influential books about children ever published, Nurture Shock offers a revolutionary new perspective on children that upends a library’s worth of conventional wisdom. With impeccable storytelling and razor-sharp analysis, the authors demonstrate that many of modern society’s strategies for nurturing children are in fact backfiring–because key twists in the science have been overlooked. Nothing like a parenting manual, NurtureShock gets to the core of how we grow, learn and live.
Nurture Shock’s basic premise is to take traditional parenting techniques and ideas and turn them on their heads. For instance the first chapter, called The In Inverse Power of Praise, is about how over praising children can have the opposite effect of what the parent intended. The child’s performance may actually decrease. Each chapter cites studies and research the authors have uncovered to support their conclusions. Most of the authors’ assertions make total sense after they explain the research that’s been done on the subject in question, even though it contradicts conventional wisdom.
My favorite chapter, that I think every parent should read, is Why White Parents Don’t Talk About Race. I have long railed against the notion of color-blindness being a sincere or realistic perspective and this chapter helps explain why. When parents don’t talk about race, it leaves children confused and often thinking any mention of race must be bad because their parents never talk about it.
This book is more about how children’s brains work and doesn’t have that many specific techniques that a parent could just lift out of the book and put into practice. However, if a parent has a better understand of how her child’s brain works and what her thought processes are, then she will be better able to come up with ways of dealing with her child that works for her family.
I think this is definitely one book every parent should have in his/her arsenal.
May 29th, 2015 in
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