Connect
Sponsors
Currently Reading
-
Terms
The Book Lady's Blog is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Reviews and articles posted here are property of The Book Lady's Blog and are not to be posted elsewhere without permission. Please contact me if you wish to post any of my work, or any excerpt thereof, in any other location or format.
Miscellaneous
Meet Bookrageous!
Technical Stuff
Design Credits
Aug
26
I Can Haz Pillow Talk!
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
My IRL friends like to joke that I eat the internet for breakfast. On good days, I feel like this is true. You know, those are the days when I’m managing to blog, tweet, respond to email, and somehow READ THE BOOKS that make this whole machine keep spinning in the first place, and I’m doing it productively.
(As opposed to most days, when I’m doing it all and feeling like nothing is getting done. I think there’s something to the idea that multitasking actually makes us less efficient.)
But where was I? Oh, yes, eating the internet for breakfast.
Those are the good days, but on the bad days, I feel more like the internet has eaten me. Or, my brain, to be more precise.
Those are the days when Bob hands me a cup of coffee, and I respond not with “thank you,” but “I can haz coffee?” Or when a friend delivers bad news and I say not, “God, I’m so sorry,” but “Oh, sadface.” I know. It’s bad. The interweb speak is creeping into my daily life.
And now it has made its way into the bedroom. Read more
Book Lady Favorites, Now Out in Paperback!
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
I’m playing with format a bit today…let me know what you think?
One of the things I hear most often from readers is that they wish I reviewed more books that are available in paperback. I tend to read from galleys and ARCs and to review new releases that are usually just coming out in hardback, but many readers find hardback books cost prohibitive, or they can’t get them from the library as easily, or they prefer the convenience of paperbacks. And so on.
So, here are a few books I loved that are now out in paperback.
For more info and links to my reviews: Read more
Be Bookrageous…It’s for the Children!
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
A few weeks ago, we talked about the concept of bookrageous and the importance of making books fun and exciting again. Not long after, the Bookrageous Blog went live, and we posted our very first podcast.
Now, I’m thrilled to tell you that the Bookrageous Calendar, in which 18 crazy book people pose in all kinds of situations to exhibit their bibliomania, is finally complete!
Just Read It: THE IMPROPER LIFE OF BEZELLIA GROVE by Susan Gregg Gilmore
2010 at 5am Posted by Rebecca Schinsky
Published August 17, 2010 by Crown
I won’t be writing a review of The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove because of a conflict of interest—I’m fortunate to call Susan Gregg Gilmore a friend, and I’ll be interviewing her at Fountain Bookstore tonight, and I don’t review books by authors with whom I have personal relationships—but I wanted to share the book with you anyway because I’ve spent a few lovely afternoons enjoying it.
The synopsis:
Nobody in Nashville has a bigger name to live up to than Bezellia Grove. As a Grove, she belongs to one of city’s most prominent families and is expected to embrace her position in high society. That means speaking fluent French, dancing at cotillions with boys from other important families, and mastering the art of the perfect smile.
Also looming large is her given name Bezellia, which has been passed down for generations to the first daughter born to the eldest Grove. The others in the long line of Bezellias shortened the ancestral name to Bee, Zee or Zell. But Bezellia refuses all nicknames and dreams that one day she, too, will be remembered for her original namesake’s courage and passion.
Though she leads a life of privilege, being a Grove is far from easy. Her mother hides her drinking but her alcoholism is hardly a secret. Her father, who spends long hours at work, is distant and inaccessible. For as long as she can remember, she’s been raised by Maizelle, the nanny, and Nathaniel, the handyman. To Bezellia, Maizelle and Nathaniel are cherished family members. To her parents, they will never be more than servants.
Relationships are complicated in 1960s Nashville, where society remains neatly ordered by class, status and skin color. Black servants aren’t supposed to eat at the same table as their white employers. Black boys aren’t supposed to make conversation with white girls. And they certainly aren’t supposed to fall in love. When Bezellia has a clandestine affair with Nathaniel’s son, Samuel, their romance is met with anger and fear from both families. In a time and place where rebelling against the rules carries a steep price, Bezellia Grove must decide which of her names will be the one that defines her.
