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What Are You Reading: March 2016
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Mar 01, 2016 10:28AM

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I spent my weekend with two books, Mrs Robinson's Disgrace: the private diary of a Victorian lady by Kate Summerscale and American Housewife by Helen Ellis. The pairing was completely unintentional, but as it turned out they complimented each other nicely in that both were about the roles of women in their respective eras.
Mrs Robinson looked at one of the very first divorce cases in England. It was also one of the most sensational and influential in that the laws were changed because of it. It's a sad story of repression and some of the other stories of how the laws left Victorian women completely unprotected were even worse.
On the other hand, American Housewife was over the top humorous short stories about modern day housewives. It had little basis in reality except in that it is an exaggerated commentary on the expectations of contemporary women. It was a delightful listen on audio. I had to keep the volume up so I could hear the book over my laughter.
Currently holding my bookmark is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.
Mrs Robinson looked at one of the very first divorce cases in England. It was also one of the most sensational and influential in that the laws were changed because of it. It's a sad story of repression and some of the other stories of how the laws left Victorian women completely unprotected were even worse.
On the other hand, American Housewife was over the top humorous short stories about modern day housewives. It had little basis in reality except in that it is an exaggerated commentary on the expectations of contemporary women. It was a delightful listen on audio. I had to keep the volume up so I could hear the book over my laughter.
Currently holding my bookmark is The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins.


I've been reading some really great stuff this month. Titles of note include Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith, definitely the darkest yet in the Cormoran Strike series, A Gathering of Shadows by VE Schwab, the second in the Shades of Magic series which was sooooo good, but ended on a terrible cliffhanger, and Savage Season by Joe R Lansdale, the first Hap & Leonard book which I picked up because it is the basis for a new tv series on Sundance. The book that was the most fun was Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen which is a fantasy western with a gender questioning heroine--but really there's a lot more to it than that. It was a total blast to read, something I'd recommend to fantasy fans and those who like genre blending books.
Currently holding my bookmark is H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald.
Currently holding my bookmark is H is for Hawk by Helen McDonald.
The Madman’s Daughter on eAudio (on my phone) and Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory for the Alt Library book club.
Books mentioned in this topic
The Madman's Daughter (other topics)Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory (other topics)