Stacked-Up Book Thoughts: Books about Women

Today I'm thankful for a lovely weekend: the rain ended and cooler weather came in behind it, just in time for a neighborhood outdoor get-together on Friday night.

I spent the the rest of the weekend doing a little work, some gardening, and some chores, but I sneaked in some reading time on the deck whenever I could.

 I'm watching season 2 of Anne with an E on Netflix. I'm still undecided how I feel about this show, which is inspired by Anne of Green Gables but not very faithful to the books. The acting is good, though.

I'm in a slight panic that it's just about August . . . not much time left before my final travel for the summer, and I have so, so much to do before I go. Yikes! Here's what I read last week.

Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras (Doubleday, July 31): Through the alternating viewpoints of young Chula and her family's teenage maid, Petrona, we learn how Pablo Escobar's hold over Columbia affected the entire country, even the children. Seven-year-old Chula lives in a gated community, but the neighborhood guards cannot stop the kidnappings and car bombings. Petrona's family, living in Bogota's slums, has already been victimized, and it's up to the thirteen-year-old to provide for her ailing mother and hungry younger siblings. Each girl does what she can to hold on to hope and to find security, especially as violence and danger comes ever closer to home. It's heartbreaking to witness the girls' maturing realization that their choices shrink with each passing year, and the cost of their unlikely bond is unthinkable. Although entirely fiction, the novel was inspired by events from Rojas Contreras's own childhood. When a drug culture gains power in a community, children, families, and women are particularly vulnerable. The unabridged audiobook (Random House Audio; 12 hr, 26 min) is read in alternating chapters by Marisol Ramirez and Almarie Guerra. Their performances highlighted the emotional impact of the novel and strengthened my connection to Chula and Petrona. (Review copies from the publisher; more at AudioFile magazine.)

Bad Girls by Alex de Campri; art by Victor Santos (Gallery 13; July 17): This graphic novel is set in Cuba on New Year's Eve 1958. Three women, linked only by their association with a night club, each have a reason to flee their current lives before the dawn of the new year. A night of traditional celebrations mixed and the last hours before Castro takes control of the country offers them their only opportunity. Will a "convenient" murder, a cache of dirty money, and street smarts be enough to help them find freedom, safety, and second chances? The women's plights and situations, their clothing, the background music, and the political situation all rang true to me. Through both the words and the art, I felt the women's desperation, and the action scenes gripped my attention. I loved the hour-by-hour setup of the story, and the dark colors of the panels set the mood well. Gunshots were shown by spiderwebbed windows and splashes of light, and the pace was accelerated by overlapping panels within panels. This is the first graphic novel I've read from the Gallery 13 imprint, but it won't be my last. (review copy from the publisher)

Lush by Kerry Cohen (Sourcebooks; July 17). I know there have been a number of memoirs about addiction, and you might feel you don't need to read yet another one, but Cohen does offer something new into the mix. A growing number of women in their forties and above are finding the lure alcohol to be harder to resist. There seems to be no break in the daily burdens of politics, job pressure, children, and marriage. Cohen, who didn't drink much in her youth, started with one glass of wine to unwind in the evening; gradually that one glass became a whole bottle or more. All the while, she took care of the kids, brought in money, and tried to keep her second marriage from dissolving. What makes her story different is that there was no AA and no rock bottom. Her addiction, as it turns out is not alcohol, and I was interested in how she learned to control her drinking and make progress with her true problem. Cohen tells her story with humor and honesty, and much of what she has to say was easy to relate to. I don't have the relationship issues she has, and my glass of wine a night and occasional Sunday afternoon extra have not escalated, but I can certainly see how easily someone could find themselves overdrinking on a regular basis. This is the story of today's women. The unabridged audiobook (Tantor Audio; 5 hr, 40 min) was read by Allyson Ryan. I loved Ryan's performance, which was so conversational that I had to keep reminding myself that this was not an author-read book. She got the humor and the self-evaluation just right. I'm sure her narration elevated my general reaction to this memoir. (galley from the publisher; audiobook personal collection)

Read Me by Leo Benedictus (Twelve, August 7): I started this book for two reasons: it's published by Twelve, which is an imprint I generally trust and it was compared to John Fowles's The Collector, a book I remember loving. Read Me is the story of a man who becomes suddenly very rich and spends his days stalking women. In the first chapter, we see what I think is the near culmination of a stalking; then the narrative jumps back to fill us in on the background. While I didn't hate this book, I found myself uninterested after the first few chapters and began skimming and spot reading just to see what happened. At no point was I compelled to start reading carefully, and I'm still unclear of the outcome of the book. The writing style was fine, but nothing clicked enough to draw me in. Reviews have been mixed, and you may be one of the readers who loves it. (review copy from the publisher)

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Weekend Cooking: Drinking in America by Susan Cheever

Weekend Cooking is open to anyone who has any kind of food-related post to share: Book reviews (novel, nonfiction), cookbook reviews, movie reviews, recipes, random thoughts, gadgets, quotations, photographs, restaurant reviews, travel information, or fun food facts. If your post is even vaguely foodie, feel free to grab the button and link up anytime over the weekend. You do not have to post on the weekend. Please link to your specific post, not your blog's home page.

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Although I like a glass of wine with dinner and have no hesitation having a drink when the occasion calls for it, I'm a long way from being an alcoholic. What's more, as far as I know, no one in my family is addicted to alcohol (or anything else). Yet, for some reason, I have a fascination with reading about booze and its effects on individuals and society.

One of the better "drinking memoirs" is Susan Cheever's Note Found in a Bottle (1999), in which she talks about her life with and without alcohol and her relationship with her father, who was also an alcoholic. When I learned that her newest book was to be an examination of America's attitudes toward drinking, I knew I had to read it.

Susan Cheever's Drinking in America examines the role alcohol played in shaping the United States, from the moment the Pilgrims set foot on Cape Cod to the modern obsession with rehab clinics and coming clean. Cheever, of course, discusses the laws, social attitudes, politics, economics, and science of drinking in America. But this book is far from a boring history.

In particular I loved the way Cheever explodes our purified images of American icons, from Paul Revere to modern-day presidents. For example, did you know this?

A brew house was one of the first structures built in Plymouth, and it was soon joined by a local tavern. The Pilgrims believed beer was an unalloyed good, a "good creature of God." People who did not drink were suspect and "crank-brained." (p. 25)

Umm, not your second-grade teacher's version of the uptight colonists!

Here are some other things I learned:

• Although Washington's troops were low on food and decent boots that horrible winter they spent in Valley Forge, they somehow had enough rum that the general was able to order double rations to help the men survive the cold.
• Remember Johnny Appleseed merrily planting wholesome apple trees throughout the east? Well apparently he was not planting eating apples, but cider apples. Thanks to him, even the poorest of settlers could indulge in a warming drink.
• Richard Nixon was the ultimate cheap date, known to get almost falling-down drunk on just a couple of drinks. Sometimes he'd be passed out from alcohol and unable to handle a middle-of-the-night international emergency--the only drinking president thought to have been this incapacitated.

Cheever's conversational style and eye-opening stories make this book difficult to put down. On the more serious side, she examines the role alcohol played in all our major historical events, including war, the settling of the west, the women's movement, and the writer's life. I had no idea how alcohol went from being a normal part of everyday life in the United States to being banned during Prohibition to becoming the touchy issue it is today.

Susan Cheever's Drinking in America is a very readable account of a sideways view of American history. You don't want to miss this one.

Published by Hachette Book Group / Twelve, 2015
ISBN-13: 9781455513871
Source: Review (see review policy)
Copyright © cbl for Beth Fish Reads, all rights reserved (see review policy)

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Imprint Friday: Twelve

Have you heard of Hachette Book Group's unique imprint Twelve? The amazing range of books and the singularity of the imprint's philosophy put Twelve on my favorite imprint list. Twelve was founded in 2005 with the idea of publishing a single, significant book each month. As the publisher explains, their goal is to offer:

Works that explain our culture; that illuminate, inspire, provoke, and entertain. We seek to establish communities of conversation surrounding our books. Talented authors deserve attention not only from publishers, but from readers as well. To sell the book is only the beginning of our mission. To build avid audiences of readers who are enriched by these works – that is our ultimate purpose.

I love the concept of finding twelve books that deserve individual attention and that belong on everyone's reading list. The books I'm featuring today (from the 2014 list) meet and exceed the imprint's desire to publish books that will make you think and that will prompt wide discussion. I haven't finished reading all of these titles yet, so look for full reviews in the coming weeks.

The Scarlet Sisters by Myra MacPherson introduces us to two woman who were brazen enough to stand up for what they believed in. Women didn't have many choices in the late 19th century, but sisters Victoria Woodhull and Tennessee Claflin were not easily subdued. Among their many claims to fame, singularly and together, were being the first women to open a brokerage firm, the first woman to run for president, and the first women to publish a right-wing weekly. They were, in fact, considered too radical and scandalous for the U.S. women's movement, so the sisters eventually moved to the UK, where they continued their fight for equality. Author MacPherson is no stranger to gender inequalities or to the repercussions of being a strong, smart, opinionated woman in a man's world. Well-researched and based on firsthand accounts and historical documents, The Scarlet Sisters is as easy to read as a novel but will have you proudly waving your feminist flag.

I love the subtitle of Barbara Ehrenreich's Living with a Wild God: "A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth about Everything." How does a mature scientist turned objective journalist reconcile her view of the world with a long-repressed spiritual moment experienced by her teenage self? In this frank and thought-provoking memoir, Ehrenreich looks back on her family's difficulties, her lifelong search for the answers to the big questions (What does it all mean?), and her solid atheist beliefs, all colored by a singular mystical moment early on a California morning. Balancing her personal visions with her scientific background, Ehrenreich struggles to find explanations. Her insistence on entering the blurry space between the religious and secular spheres gives her coming-of-age journey an individual slant. In the end, readers will wonder where their own beliefs fall in Ehrenreich's world and whether the author found the peace she was seeking. I bet this would make a great book club selection.

Randi Davenport's novel The End of Always explores tough issues, particularly domestic violence in a Midwest family at the turn of the last century. All young Marie Reehs wants is to escape the fate of her mother and grandmother and leave the fear, cruelty, and beatings behind her. Between the unwanted attentions of an older man and her sister's equally strong desire to maintain the status quo, Marie finds it difficult to sustain hope. When she meets the charming August, she is sure she has found her happy future at last. But like her foremothers, she may have misjudged the man and the brand of love he was able to give. Although fiction, The End of Always is based on the true-life story of the author's great-grandmother and the very real threat of violence women felt then and still feel today. The juxtaposition of the beautiful prose with the ugliness of Marie's situation makes this an engaging read. The fact that the events and people are, for the most part, true will make you cringe. Are women really any safer today than they were then?

Have you ever heard of Laura Bridgman? She was once one of the most famous women in the world. What were her accomplishments? She caught scarlet fever at the age of two, which left her deaf and blind. Five years later, she enrolled in the Perkins Institute and became the first deaf, blind person to learn language--decades before Helen Keller entered the spotlight and history to create an enduring legacy. What Is Visible by Kimberly Elkins gives Bridgman her well-deserved due. The novel opens with a meeting between a very young Helen Keller and an elderly Bridgman. Keller wants to know everything about the older woman, who begins to tap out her tale. I am fascinated with Bridgman's journey to learn to communicate and the circumstances of her rise to fame. Thanks to Elkins's thorough research and deep empathy, the world will once again remember the woman who found a way to preserve her humanity and dignity by learning to spell her thoughts onto the palms of others.

True crime meets wine connoisseur in Maximillian Potter's Shadows in the Vineyard. Who knew that the wine industry could lead to poisoning, suicide, and a full-blown criminal investigation? When the proprietor of the Domaine de al Romanee-Conti vineyard, origin of the most expensive and most coveted wines in the world, received a note demanding that he pay €1 million or the vines would be destroyed, he regretfully failed to take immediate action. Sticking to the facts of the case, Potter weaves a tale that is as well-paced and gripping as any thriller novel. From the history of the famous wine to the details of the French detectives' operations and from the major players to the local traditions and culture, Potter draws us into the drama, building the tension up to and through the perpetrator's confession. The book started out as an article for Vanity Fair, but after interviews, tours, wine tastings, and newfound friendships, Potter knew there was much more to say. Wine lovers and teetotalers alike will love Shadows in the Vineyard.

Every day the news is filled with some kind of scandal: from sports (the latest is the Ray Rice) to politics (most famously Nixon) to business (remember Enron). In Glass Jaw: A Manifesto for Defending Fragile Reputations in an Age of Instant Scandal, Eric Dezenhall talks about how events spin out of control and offers sage advice on what to do when you find yourself embroiled in controversy. You don't have to be among the rich and famous to benefit from his lessons: We can all use some tips on how to avoid stabbing ourselves in the foot, how to think before tweeting, and how to offer a sincere public apology. I'm particularly interested in how social media can be used (or maybe should not be used) to calm the waters, what makes a scandal, and what roles the entertainment industry and twenty-four-hour news channels play in augmenting every little mistake. Dezenhall uses familiar events, from many sectors to illustrate the do's and don'ts of surviving the media heat. The discussion is broken down into easy-to-digest, short sections, and each chapter ends with a succinct takeaway thought. Important reading for everyone who has an on-line presence.

I hope you have found at least a couple of books to add to your wish list. There is so much good reading here, you might want to consider marking your calendar so you never miss the monthly offering from Twelve.

To learn more about the Twelve imprint and to see the complete list of books they've published, visit their website. You can also follow them on Twitter, like their Facebook page, and check out their YouTube channel (be sure to watch the What Is Visible video).

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