5 comments about The First Queen of England: The Myth of "Bloody Mary".

1. Periodically some historian writes a new biography of "Bloody" Mary I, queen of England from 1553-1558, seeking to rehabilitate her reputation. Her short reign was marked by a rise in religious reaction that resulted in some 270 deaths through judicial murder, the flight of some 800 important Protestants abroad seeking to save their lives, and largely alienated the English public from the Roman Catholic Church. In this book, author and historian Linda Porter sets out to show Mary as a cultured Renaissance monarch, moderate, but determined to revitalize England.
   
   Overall, I found this to be a disappointing book. I think that the author did a good job of showing how Mary had been cruelly treated by her father, and by the powerful men who ruled Tudor England before her ascension to the throne. However, once the narrative reaches Mary's coronation, that earlier treatment seems to be forgotten - as showing her to have been vengeful, or perhaps just another player in the Tudor blood sport of politics, would have undercut the author's recasting of Mary as enlightened monarch.
   
   Further, the author eschews any discussion of Mary's mental instability, for example not going into any great detail on Mary's two phantom pregnancies, or their significance. The author laid a great deal of blame for Mary's subsequent reputation on the person of John Foxe, the author of the Book of Martyrs, but fails to go into any detail on how one book could so overcome the "truth" of Mary's enlightenment.
   
   No, I must say that I did not find this to be a good, impartial book on Queen Mary I, but saw it as more of a whitewash of her flaws. Has Mary been mistreated by historians since her reign? Most certainly. But, was she an enlightened and humanistic ruler, one of England's best monarchs? I think that that is going more than a little too far. Overall, I do not recommend this book.



2. Dr Linda Porter has meticulously researched the tragic life of England's first queen regnant in her vivid and well-written book. For readers who only know the 'myth' of Bloody Mary, Porter's book offers a real glimpse of the all-too-human queen behind that myth. For those who think they know the 'real' Mary, they, too, will have a stunning surprise and fascinating read. We see Mary hurtling toward disaster after disaster, from the moment she's put in the care of her tutor, Jean de Vives; to the confrontations of long, obdurate duration with her father, Henry VIII; through the separations from her mother and her half-siblings; and headlong into a disastrous, love-struck marriage with Philip II of Spain. Mary's story has been much neglected by historians to date -- with the great Dr David Starkey even lumping her together with her half-brother Edward VI as the 'forgotten Tudors'. Yet Mary's reign (as well as that of her brother Edward) was a watershed, not only in English history, but in the history of the Protestant reformation movement that spread with England's nascent empire during her half-sister Elizabeth I's reign. Without understand Mary Tudor, we can't understand why and how Elizabeth and other monarchs acted after her. This is a must read for anyone interested in British history, family history, or the history of Catholicism and the Protestant reformation.



3. I've read a lot about "Bloody Mary" and this book gave me a "devil's advocate" approach if you would. It takes into account all the things she went through in her life, including the horrible way I feel she was treated by her family(Hapsburgs, included) and gives you a look into why she made the decisons that she made. It hasn't changed my mind about her, but it's nice to see a book that isn't totally negative for once.



4. We were sent two of these books rather than the one that was ordered. Of course, they were shrink-wrapped together so that had to be broken in order to keep one. The extra was sent back THAT day but the choices on line to explain why the return was made were very vague. We received about $6.00 back on a $23.00 book. When I tried to email the company to explain, the system wouldn't work. Figures. So, this is my chance, but I'm sure this will never be viewed by readers. Nonetheless, I'll go on record as saying that I'll never order again from Amazon.com due to the lousy service. I dare you to post this.



5. This book took me a lot further into a story I thought I already knew. Though I haven't read any of the works that condemn Mary as a monarch, I hardly felt that this work was overly-sympathetic or forgiving. I think everything was explained very clearly and I enjoyed the book a lot. I give the book five stars because I feel like I learned a lot from it, it was an enjoyable read, and I think the author did a great job putting all of this information together.

1 comments about Slightly Bad Girls of the Bible Workbook: Flawed Women Loved by a Flawless God.

1. Great book. I have read her other books and this one is just as good. We
   use it for a Bible study group.

5 comments about Chicken with Plums.

1. Drawn in bold black and white, Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel illustrates the moving and disturbing life and last days of her uncle, Nasser Ali Kahn. He was a famous Iranian musician, loved for his virtuosity, and the sensitivity with which he played his beloved tar.
   
   It's a tale of how a man's happiness was gradually eroded by his culture, loss, suppressed feelings, and unrealizable expectations.
   
   The story starts with an older man in black walking down a city street. He encounters a slender woman with her grandchild. He hesitates. Asks if her name is Irane. She doesn't recognize him. Wonders how he knows her name. He, Nasser, apologizes and walks on to a friends business where he hopes to buy a replacement for his recently broken tar.
   
   We later learn that the broken tar had special meaning for Nasser. When he was a young man, the parents of the woman he'd fallen in love with forbade her to marry him because he was only a musician. Losing her plunged him into deep depression. He had difficulty playing. Nasser's tar master tried to console him by telling him, "To the common man, whether you're a musician or a clown, it's one and the same. The love you feel for this woman will translate into your music. She will be in every note you play." He then gave Nasser his own tar and instructed him to go on playing.
   
   From then on, Nasser's joy was his music. His playing thrilled his audiences
   
   Since childhood he'd been unable to meet the conventional expectations of others. His mother's, his brother's, his teachers', the parents of the woman he loved, his wife, his children.
   
   His mother urged him to marry a woman he didn't love so that he would forget his loss. Although the woman he married did love him, she resented his music. His children, influenced by their mother's attitude, became estranged from him. This drove him further and further into his music.
   
   After he failed to find another tar equal to his broken one, feeling that without that tar and his music there was nothing else he wanted, Nasser came to the conclusion, "To live, it's not enough to be alive." He decided to die.
   
   This where the novel really begins. Through Satrapi's masterful construction, we are able to piece together what we need to understand who Nassar was, and why he would make this tragic choice.
   
   Satrapi reveals Nasser's life and character by skillfully rearranging temporal events - picking up a incident, then dropping it, and then weaving it in later on in the story with new threads. She loops the past into the present, the future into the past. Sometimes, from frame to frame, she switches back and forth between the past and the present, showing how a character's unhappy memories and lingering hurt become emotional IEDs on the path to true understanding.
   
   There are many lenses through which to "see" another person, many ways in which to know them. At Nassaer's mother's funeral, a mystic tells him the story of five men in the dark trying to describe a whole elephant from the part each has touched. "We give meaning to life based upon our point of view," he tells Nasser. In Chicken With Plums, through characters and events, Satrapi gives us the whole elephant.
   
   As the novel progresses, Satrapi's drawings become more expressive and surreal, adding more decorative touches. Her work resembles animation, almost cartoonish, but her story has the depth of a great novel. She has the timing of a film maker, knowing just what to show when, and how to keep the mystery and tension to the end.
   
   Chicken With Plums has touched me deeply. It's a heart breaking story of love on many levels, fulfilled and unfulfilled. I believe Nasser died of a broken heart. Without Irane and without his music, he could not find a way to be in this world.



2. Having read Persepolis I and II, as well as Embroideries, I was excited to snatch up Chicken With Plums as well. And despite some of the negative reviews here (which almost dissauded me), I found this book one of Satrapi's most magical, perfect creations. It's quite different than the autobiographical, child-like Persepolis I, though readers of Persepolis II and Embroideries will recognize the general tone and style. That said, it's a work that takes you by surprise with its directness, honesty, and sheer invention.
   
   The book follows the last eight days of Nasser Ali Khan's life, as he decides to resign himself to death after his wife, in an argument, destroys his precious "tar"--an Iranian sitar-like instrument. He is a master musician, renowned throughout the country, and the great love affair of his life (despite one thwarted human one) was with this reciprocating instrument. Unable to find another tar to requite his passion, he loses all taste for life and its joys, and decides to stay in bed until Azrael, the Angel of Death, comes for his soul. While waiting, we get a series of flashbacks and flashforwards as he--and others--recount the stories and anecdotes that frame his life. Reading this book is like listening in on family stories around the dinner table, which by their very nature are fragmentary, interrputed, and from multiple points of view.
   
   Though a simple story, the manner of telling it is amazingly complex and mesmerizing. Satrapi's storytelling is at its most concise here, but so much is revealed about the very human passions that shape a life, and how blind we are even to the people we live with. This is a magical book, filled with Satrapi's beautiful characterizations of the people she knew and loved. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.



3. I just finished Chicken with Plums, and I loved it. It has about a human condition. In this case a man, who is living a life that he felt he did not own, except his musical instrument, and the secret it held for him.
   It is deceptively simple, but it is deep in what it conveys to the reader.
   I noticed some readers felt that the book was not finished, or they were confused about it. However, I found it very clear, honest, and funny at times. It made me sad too. I wonder how many of us live a life like Nasser Ali Khan, the musician? The life that is not truly an expression of our hearts.



4. This is a story of a man who lives for music and a tragic love. It is a very simple yet wonderful tale of a man who doesn't seem to know how to live. He becomes a great musician but can't work and loses the love of his life due to his devotion to music. Without music and his memory of great love, he dies. The man's family, friends and relatives don't seem to count in his estimation of life. I found this book very moving and very touching. I think some reviewers took offense since it differs from her most famous book but this one holds its own and is very special. I highly recommend this book. It is very touching and the ending is just as tragic as the main character's life.



5. Marjane Satrapi, Chicken with Plums (Pantheon, 2006)
   
   Satrapi's fourth book gives us biography instead of memoir this time-- the story of her great-uncle Nasser Ali Khan, a musician who decides to die after his wife breaks his favorite instrument. We are taken through the final eight days of Khan's life, as friends, relatives, and his own consciousness try to change his mind.
   
   I admit that my somewhat cool reaction to the book is almost certainly a product of the complete overload of memoirs and memoir-like biographies with which the market is currently glutted; I'm relatively sure this will be my last one for a long, long while, save one series-memoir I'm in the middle of. I say this because it's certainly not a bad book; Marjane Satrapi is a witty writer, and no less here than in her other books; Chicken with Plums is as enjoyable as anything else she's done. I just couldn't get my head round it as much as it deserved. ***

5 comments about A Charmed Life: Growing Up in Macbeth's Castle.

1. I was very disapppointed in this book and am very surprised it has received so many positive reviews. It was shallow and offered little - if any - insight into the author's family. The stories were superficial and often just depicted the author's narrow view of each set of circumstances.
   I am now reading Miranda Seymour's book "In My Father's House," and the difference is remarkable. It is so much more insightful and the writing is outstanding.



2. I found this book well-written and thoroughly engrossing, although I believe that the original British title ("Title Deeds") is more descriptive of the contents, particularly given the current and continuing legal wranglings. However, the double entendre would be lost, I think, on most Americans. The author aptly calls this a personal memoir, rather than a biography, of her father, but I couldn't shake the feeling that, notwithstanding her attempt at some rudimentary psychoanalysis of and conciliation with her father's memory in the final chapter, she is still highly conflicted about her feelings concerning not only her father, but also her birth mother and stepmother. Charmed life? I don't think so.



3. Liza Campbell's account of growing up at Castle Cawdor is hard to put down. She shares the tale of intensly personal detail which left me a bit envious at the end of the first chapter, but weary with relief by the end of the book. The story had an enevitability, yet was surprisingly fresh as it rocketed to the horrible conclusion. She was brutally honest, right up until the conclusion, where I felt that her love for her father greatly softened her final assessments.



4. This was a beautifully written memoir about what goes on behind closed doors in the so called "upper class" Campbell family. Sad to see what drugs and alcohol can do to someone who had so much already and so much to give (but didn't). I found the historical background to the scottish aristocracy really fascinating and educational without being boring. I would have liked to know more about the other members of the family and how they all felt about the way they were ultimately betrayed by their father and revolting step-mother.



5. I stumbled across this book when searching for something else. I was intrigued by the title because I once traveled to Scotland and wanted to visit Cawdor, but it was closed as it was the off season. I did however travel the general area, and I looked forward to reading about her life at Cawdor. I was richly surprised to uncover a wonderful gem of a memoir filled with references to the Scottish landscape I so enjoyed visiting. Ms. Campbell is an excellent writer. Her use and command of the English language was a pleasure to experience. Her story, and that of her siblings, was something out of a fairy tale in many regards, yet it was also a nightmare, easily recognized by others who grew up with an alcoholic parent. I enjoyed the book immensely and recommend it highly. I have tremendous respect for her, cemented by the fact that in the notes at the end of the book, she thanked her mother for her permission to share with readers intimate, yet privately painful experiences of her marriage. I greatly look forward to another book penned by Ms. Campbell.

5 comments about The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club: Power, Passion, and Politics in the Nation's Capital.

1. THE GEORGETOWN LADIES' SOCIAL CLUB is a fascinating read.
   
   The title of this book actually was a phrase first coined by then-President Ronald Reagan, according to author C. David Heymann.
   
   Heymann has attempted the unusual: A group biography which interweaves the stories of the different members of one discrete, if informal, group.
   
   Heymann does a good job in exploring the personal histories of the members of this club, a troop which primarily included Katherine Graham, Evangeline Bruce and Pamela Harriman. Of this bunch, only Sally Quinn, the youngest, still is alive.
   
   Heymann offers the standard versions of their lives, but he also dishes some dirt about their affairs, promiscuity and family suicides.
   
   It is amazing how much power these women had yielded over the highest ranking members of the federal government. This power was gently applied during socializing at various festivities which ranged from barbecues to black-tie dinners.
   
   The heyday of the ladies was during the Kennedy administration and, in consequence, THE GEORGETOWN LADIES' SOCIAL CLUB re-acquaints its readers with the Camelot myth.
   
   Perhaps unavoidably, in the effort to be scholarly and thorough, the prose in this volume is less interesting than the women it is describing. To paraphrase an old joke, these were no ladies. Bluntly, they sound like witches, every one of 'em. Yet probably just because of this personality trait, their stories make for an fascinating read.



2. This book falls into the "guilty pleasure" category, and does it ever succeed on that level! It's forty years or so of American political history -- the McCarthy era, the Cold War, Vietnam, Watergate, the Reagan years -- told from the perspective of the Georgetown social set. It doesn't purport to be a comprehensive history of the period. Instead, it chronicles the lives, the successes, and the follies of five wealthy, highly connected hostesses in the nation's capital. Above all, we learn about the spectacular social events that they put on.
   
   This book is like People magazine on steroids. Nasty spats, unsolved murders, extramarital love affairs, lifelong vendettas -- all here. As can be imagined, JFK and his women play a role, as does Elizabeth Taylor in her John Warner years. (Remember the late 1970s?) Some of the sourcing is a bit dubious. Of course, most of the main characters are now deceased and can't sue for libel anyway. Pamela Harriman would not have liked her characterization, it's fair to say.
   
   All in all, lots of fun, and if you learn something about power and privilege in America, all the better.



3. I like The Georgetown Ladies' Social Club very much. I have always been fascinated by the rich and/or famous, and this fills the bill very well. All of the women portrayed are or were interesting in their own right but were first actually noticed for their husbands instead of themselves. I believe any of these women could have accomplished anything in business, just like the men did, but unfortunately women didn't count for much in the past except for decorating the husband's arm, raising children and throwing parties. I love this book and recommend it with five stars.



4. Spectacular view of how politics was played out in the 50's and 60's Washington DC. A really fascinating book.



5. EXCELLENT BOOK ABOUT GEORGETOWN AND WASHINGTON DC. WOULD HAVE LOVED TO HAVE READ MORE . THE LIFE OF THE GEORGETOWN COMMUNITY AND GREAT LADIES OF POWER CLUBS AND GENTLEMAN FROM WASHINGTON POST TO JFK AND MANY MANY MORE. THE SOCIAL SIDE OF THE LADIES OF GEORGETOWN AND THE WASHINGTON DC AREA AS LIFE IS LIVED IN THE COMMUNITY OF SUCH AN ELITE FEDERAL CITY WITH ITS PASSION IT'S POWER MAKES THIS BOOK AN EXCELLENT SOURCE OF INFORMATION OF LIFE IN OUR NATIONS CAPITAL AND GEORGETOWN............

5 comments about Baghdad Burning: Girl Blog from Iraq.

1. I have staunchly opposed the invasion of Iraq even before it became a reality, but not even I, with my distate for the neocons and the mockery of America that is George W. Bush, expected this to turn out this poorly. But we only see, for the most part, the bad things when the victims are US - Americans.
   
   I'm so glad this book is out. It shows the reality Iraqis face, and it shows that by and large this immoral war made their lives worse.
   
   To end my review, I'm not surprised some Americans wrote in her blog that she wasn't Iraqi (I guess speaking English makes one NOT non-American?) and one even said that had it been up to him, he would have vaporized Iraq 10 minutes after the WTC fell... this after Bush went on national TV and admitted Iraq had NOTHING to do with 9/11.



2. "When Bush 'brought the war to the terrorists,' he failed to mention he wouldn't be fighting it in some distant mountains or barren deserts: the frontline is our homes, and the 'collateral damage' is our friends and families."
   
   Riverbend, a young Iraqi woman, writes jarring dispatches from her deteriorating city of Baghdad as it descends into the chaos following the 2003 invasion. Her blog, which is clearly aimed at American readers, provides a window into Iraqi life under occupation far beyond the sanitized reports filling our TV screens and newspapers. She describes daily battles we seldom hear about, such as the battle for sleep in the hellish summer heat when the electricity is cut off most of the time; the battle for an education when schools are raided and the country suffers marked 'brain drain' with the flight of many of its intellectuals; the inner battle for the courage to go out shopping after fundamentalist militias begin beating and abducting women. She tells of sleeping in her clothes every night, pockets stuffed with valuables and identification papers...just in case...and the aunt who orders Riverbend's brother to keep watch on the roof while she bathes, because she doesn't want to be caught naked should American troops suddenly burst into their home. Tragedy is always close by, with the abduction of a cousin, arrest of a neighbor, and violent death of another neighbor while visiting relatives.
   
   Riverbend's moving personal narrative is complemented by biting, often witty political commentary and passages from various 'links' on Riverbend's blog. Her depiction of life as an Iraqi woman completely dismantles the claim that the war 'liberated' the country's women, who are now forced to cope with U.S.-backed Shiite fundamentalist militias such as Badir's Brigade, known for terrorizing women who refuse to wear the hijab. As a female, Riverbend is forced to give up a good job as a computer programmer, and watches with dread as the Coalition Provisional Authority installs extremists on the Iraq Governing Council, which she deems "the most elaborate puppet show Iraq has ever seen."
   
   Though her blog paints an ominous picture of the situation in Iraq, Riverbend uplifts her many readers with the very humanness we are so rarely allowed to glimpse through the dehumanizing rhetoric of war. The ability of an ordinary (though in many ways extraordinary) young woman to reach audiences around the world is an inspiring testament to the democratic potential of the dawning Information Age.



3. I have been to Iraq (recently)and e-mail daily with many Iraqis. This blog was NOT written by a genuine Iraqi girl. My suspicion is that it was written by someone from the US who is/was over there. There is a cadence in the writing of Arabs writing English that this blog totally lacks. Her opinion are those of what an American (probably living in the Green Zone) thinks Iraqi girls should write. I have never heard any young Iraqi woman (and I know several) who know so little about Iraqi history, Arab culture, Islam etc. Her vocabulary choices are completely wrong for a non-native speaker. I do humanitarian work in Iraq and I agree with many of her sentiments (I hate Bush, the war etc), but I still think this is not what it claims to be. Sadly, people seem to want it to be real, instead of listening to actual Iraqi girls/ women who have more interesting things to say.



4. I really liked that this was a real blog, I can't wait to read the next one. Riverbend does talk alot about politics in the book and I am not real good w/ politics so I was having a hard time following it all and those parts were kinda boring me to death, so I skipped around alot. What I was hoping to read more of was her daily life, what she does around the house or outside or where ever. Just what HER day to day life is like during the war. But even though I had to skip around alot, I absolutely love the book. Her blog is so long I have alot of catching up to do. I hope they put her whole blog into books, its so much easier to take it everywhere or even in bed than be stuck at a computer reading it.



5. With the Internet, we are now able to read accounts of war by noncombatants who are not journalists - while the war is happening, even as armies invade and bombs fall. Someone has called Iraq the first postmodern war in that we get simultaneous reports of what is happening from many different points of view besides the "official" ones. This remarkable blog by a young woman in Baghdad is a day-by-day record of the experience of the war in her city - and told from the perspective of someone not unlike her Western readers (so convincingly that some readers consider her blog a hoax). She writes fluent English and is familiar with American culture; she is educated, urbane, politically informed, and computer savvy (having worked at a software company before the war - a job that was lost at least in part because she is a woman in a rising tide of fundamentalist sentiment). Most of all, she demolishes any stereotypes of Iraqis that Westerners might have - stereotypes that often serve to justify the war itself.
   
   In the 13 months covered in this published volume of her blog, we see the American invasion become an occupation, and the initial sporadic resistance to it evolve into a widespread insurgency with a mounting death toll. The focus, unlike news coverage, is on the casualties among noncombatants, and we are reminded on nearly every page of what it is like to live life literally "under the gun." And in a city where law and order are up for grabs, citizens must arm themselves for protection, while running the risk of being taken for "terrorists" because they are armed. Added to that, there are daily explosions, kidnappings, home invasions, and the continuing problem of power shortages. Meanwhile, the TV and internet news reveal the blunders of the American authorities and the follies of a do-nothing, American-installed provisional government. Then we hear again of the siege of Fallujah, with its staggering loss of civilian life, and finally the humiliations on all sides of the photos released from Abu Ghraib. Most poignant and disturbing is her retelling of the 1991 Amiriyah Shelter massacre, in which 400 women and children were killed by an American missile during the Gulf War.
   
   There is understandably a lot of anger in this book. While certainly justified - often even restrained and measured - the book avoids becoming an endless and wearying diatribe. The mood modulates among a range of emotions and attitudes. We are treated at times to interesting descriptions of Iraqi culture, accounts of daily routines (like filling the water tank on the roof), and reports, laced with irony, of the laughable incompetence of appointed public officials, plus rejoinders to readers who have sent her emails revealing their own ignorance. Finally, the book is a record of clinging to sanity in a world gone very wrong. For those who support the war, don't support it, or are indifferent about it, it's important to read for what it has to say about the impact of foreign policy decisions on those whose lives are - through no fault of their own - suddenly in harm's way.

5 comments about Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding My Self.

1. This is a great book. Frances Kuffel bares her soul and hits the nail on the head describing the sadness and shame of obesity. She also reveals her charm and uniqueness that reminds us of the value of each soul. She did it - she lost the weight and has kept it off. It doesn't change the journey of the lessons of life, but it makes it much easier to move and breath, and be acceptable to society. Parts of this book made me laugh, and parts made me cry. Bravo!



2. I read this book last summer when I was on vacation in Cape Cod. It takes a decent book to keep you glued to your beach chair instead of enjoying the ocean, but I was hooked. Then I got home from vacation and Googled "France Kuffel" only to discover that Frances was fat again. What a disappointment. It sort of negated all her efforts and my time. From what I can tell about her life today, she is walking dogs and obsessing about things, which leads me to conclude that the real root of her problems are mental and the fat is just a symptom. Nonetheless, her willingness to reveal all the personal details of her life is commendable, as many of them are very easy to relate to for those of us carrying extra pounds.



3. This book could have used a patient and nurturing editor. There were some sections which were vividly written (Frances' days on "Planet Fat") and other parts (the "work" of OA) which seemed to be hastily written. And, to discuss the weight loss rather than the book, I would speculate that one reason Frances has difficulty maintaining a healthier weight is that she may have something of an addiction to her prior identity as a "Fat Girl."
   
   All this aside, I read this book as more than just one woman's journey from Planet Fat to the land of the average bodied. What I looked at was how someone was able to change their identity...or at least, work on changing their identity. In the author's case, she found the support to do so in the community of OA, in carefully and consciously restructuring her environment (the weighing and measuring of food, the daily calls). She then found that when she achieved her goal, there was still more work to be done...learning how to dress, relate, handle social rejection, to assimilate herself in middle age to the average sized world with its own issues and problems.



4. I have read several weight loss stories and this book was THE WORST! Most readers buy weight loss stories/books for encouragement and motivation..this book does neither. Ms. Kuffel starts the book in diary form telling of her feelings during her prior fat and boring life. Then she finds a support group (no detail), and voila, she's 168 lbs. She did not even cover ONE DAY on her diet...what foods she ate, her menu, her thoughts or tactics to keep her from straying, etc.. She did not divulge anything!! All she said was to "abstain from sugar & flour". To be honest, I was quite pee'd off. This book left me empty-DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY. If you'd like a couple great weight loss (motivational) books, I recommend "The Incredible Shrinking Critic" by Jami Bernard or "The Weight Loss Diaries" by Courtney Rubin. They are honest, funny and offer motivational insight.



5. I picked this book because I wanted to read about someone else who has struggled with compulsive overeating and who has recovered/is recovering from it with some success.
   
   I really did appreciate the descriptions the author, Frances Kuffel, gave of her life as a compulsive overeater - her thoughts, her feelings, her food associations, the secretive nature of this problem, the amount of time, energy and money taken up by food - eating it and thinking about it. I could identify with so much of her experience.
   
   But...
   
   There was as much about the book that I disliked as I liked. Frances Kuffel is a writer by trade and she seems to have written this memoir with an audience similar to herself in mind - that is, for other writers and people in the "literary circle". In my opinion, her use of "big words" detracted from the message of her story. Despite the fact that I have a graduate-level education, I found that on most pages of this book, there were either words or references that I did not understand. I came across so many words that I have never heard of that I lost count. I wasn't far into the book when I lost the desire to look them up as well. I ended up doing my best to approximate the meaning of unknown words using context clues, then moved on. In addition to so many "big money" words, there were countless references to classic literature (which I will admit, I did not "get"). There were also many "relates" to plays, Broadway productions, classic movie stars and gay icons (Barbara Streisand, etc.).
   
   So...all that was annoying enough, but...
   
   Toward the end of the book (p. 228 out of 257 total), Ms. Kuffel drew a comparison between the end of a 3-month relationship and the loss of a child:
   
   "I'd been disappointed in love when I was fat, but it was the grief of miscarriage, a deformed possibility of mostly unadmitted love that couldn't survive gestation. This was a funeral for an infant. It had a name and a personality and a future. And it was dead."
   
   I found this so offensive, it's hard for me to put into words how I felt when I read it. My jaw dropped. It was one of those, "Oh, no she didn't!" moments. I could hardly believe it. I mean, where on earth does she get off comparing the end of a three month relationship - even if she did fall in love - to the death of an infant???? I get that she was making a point, trying to explain the pain she felt over the loss of her first love relationship. But comparing it to the death of an infant??? Even comparing it to a miscarriage would have been outrageous in my opinion. I read that passage over several times and shook my head, marveling over the fact that Ms. Kuffel had the nerve to even think those words, let alone write them out for the world to read. And on top of that, her words presumably had the approval of an editor and a publisher as well. I don't get it.
   
   Imagine my surprise when just 12 pages later, I found another stunningly inappropriate comparison regarding that same failed relationship:
   
   "City Hall. The fountain where the Boy from Connecticut and I had kissed such a long kiss that I could probably find our shadows seared into the concrete like the immolated citizens of Hiroshima."
   
   OMG. I don't even know what to say to that.
   
   I think it's a shame that this memoir contains such glaring drawbacks because Frances Kuffel's story is such a touching one. She conveyed her struggle with compulsive overeating and obesity and the challenges of recovery that face her every with such honesty. I saw myself in so many of the things she did and recognized my own feelings in so many of the feelings she described. It is a comfort to know that there are other people in this world who interact with food in many of the same ways that I do, and that at least some of those people have found a way to manage their addiction.

5 comments about Anchored In Love : An Intimate Portrait of June Carter Cash.

1. 
   I love the story of Johnny and June. You don't come across many love stories like there's. I read that book in 2 days. They are a real family with problems like every other american family. John Carter did a lovely job exposing the family they were. A must read for anyone!!!



2. This was a horrible book. Not only did he bash his sister, his Aunt and the medical and nursing staff that helped take care of his parents he did little but copy what his mom wrote in her book or what was written in "A Man Called Cash". Every other paragraph was just taken from one of these books with commentary from him. At one point in the book he calls his sister a pathological liar? I just think if you want to know the true story of this amazing women read her Autobiography and John's as well. This book was a major disappointment.



3. In 1995, I had the wonderful opportunity to see Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in concert. What a memory that forever lingers in my mind. I was aware of most of the hardships of the Cash/Carter Family, but was unaware of June's struggle with prescription drug abuse.
   The Carter Family & The Cash family leaves a big legacy in American music. John Carter Cash pulls no punches through out the book. He shares their ups and down, happiness and torments. The life and legacy of June will forever live on through her music. Johnny and June were wonderful parents, and the love for their children shines through.



4. This was a great book and defintly worth reading. June carter is such a intersting woman, it was such a treat to go inside thier lives thru thier only son John Carter. I would recomend anyone who is a fan to read this book. It is also great for anyone who is not a fan because it is a great story about love patience and faith.



5. It took me many months to decide how I felt about this book. At first I was pissed off. What? June died a fat Junkie. My junie? But then it made sense.....along with Peggy's book...their longtime Caregiver...who wrote of being let go in the end.....can you say ENABLER...? And her bold proclamations of JOHN Carter being so distant and negectful toward his parents in the end. Perhaps, he was unsupportive of what was going on. Its hard to watch people hurt themselves.
   
   THen I wrestled with his honesty. Slice it with a knife Honesty till your heart is flayed.
   
   OH, right.... his father is Johnny Cash, its in his Blood.
   
   The man comes from hearty, truthful people on both sides. The Carter's were not people that tiptoed around life by God, they grabbed it by the Balls and gave us country music.
   
   And that Johnny Cash....well he left a little trail of his own.
   
   Plus, John Carter Cash is a recovering boozer/User himself....been to so many interventions....like June and JOhn said....addiction ran thru their family like a Turkey thru the corn. They were so funny.....anyhow....When you suffer thru addiction....Call me Mrs. Rehab....and you struggle to lift others...and you bury freinds and family ......John Carter has lost much Family and Freinds...your knowledge of the disease grows but your sadness and despair does too.
   
   I think this book is a testimony of his true love for his parents. Real love. For the real people they were.
   
   And then he let us see them?
   
   That was generous. He doesnt need the money.
   
   He let us decide if we wanted to love them for the Real people they were.
   
   I do, but in doing so, I lost the Rocks of Gibralters I wanted them to be.
   
   John Carter Did good.
   
   The best thing He has ever produced, hands down.
   
   I love the Cd too.
   
   Boy did good.
   
   Boy moved me.
   
   And as long as he is doing that, the Carter-Cash name(s) carry on.
   
   Thank You.
   
   C

No comments about Madame de Stael: The First Modern Woman.

5 comments about Love, Janis.

1. Janis' sister, Dr. Laura Joplin, provides the reader with special insight to many core concepts of Janis, such as Janis' mission of encouraging freedom of expression for all, on every subject, as well as her passion for ending racial and all other forms of discrimination. Janis so humorously exposed hypocracy and so wonderfully raised questions that many are afraid to ask. What irony that her gifts to the human race were cut off so prematurely by some of the traps of life.



2. I thought this book was outstanding. Not only does it give good insight on what made Janis tick, it gave a very indepth history of the hippie movement from it's earliest conception. I found it fascinating.



3. I WAS PLEASANTLY surprised at the way this book showed us the real Janis. I was expecting a glossed over version of her life, but Janis's sister told the good and the bad. Through it all you can sense the love and affection her family had for her. Laura Joplin is an excellant writer and her insights on why Janis did the things she did was very refreshing. I was 13 years old when Janis died and had already begun to be a part of the rejected "hippie" crowd. My crowd was the first in our school to be a part of that culture. I identified with alot of what Janis went through and I remember buying her albums and listening over and over. I loved her. I remember the days of pot and LSD and speed, and my personal favorite, quaaludes. The drug culture was much different then and much safer. I thank God for a praying Grandmother and for a fear of needles, or I could have gone further and ended up like Janis. Few of our group ever experimented with injecting, but I could understand how Janis got caught up in it. This book showed a side of Janis that was so much like us and showed that she was really an insecure girl wanting acceptance like the rest of us.
   Thank you Laura, for giving us insight to the real person your sister was.



4. Laura is no Balzac. She doesn't share the reality of her sister's life in a way that makes it as important and real the way a master would. But, what can a person expect? She does share and reveal much. It's way too much to ask that she (Laura) could write a book that truly reveals the depths of Janis' life and times such that it will influence people for ages to come. I would like such a work because I feel that Janis' life should not be forgotten. If you have feelings for Janis like I do then this book is a must read. If someone someday takes what Laura has written and makes it into a book that captures all of the emotion and reality of Janis' life and times so that even a casual reader will be amazed then that will be an amazing book. I think Laura would agree.



5. once i started to read this book i couldn't put it down until it was finished, was sad to see it end. it gives alot of detail into janis joplin's early family life as well as school and friends and the start and finish of her music career. would recommend this to any joplin fan, a must have!!