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#274 ~ The Red Queen

The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory

Published by: Simon & Schuster

Published on: August 2010

Page Count: 400 pages

Genre: Historical Fiction

My Reading Format: Hardcover review copy sent to me by the publisher.

Available Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Giveaway: Simon & Schuster graciously provided me with a second hardcover review copy of The Red Queen for one of my lucky readers. For an entry, simply fill out the Google Form at the end of the review. Just for fun, tell me what color you would be if you were queen.  Entries are accepted until Tuesday, August 17 at 11:59 PM EST. Good luck!

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My Review

Margaret Beaufort is a devout little girl. She spends as many hours in prayer as her mother and nurse will allow. She is fascinated with Joan of Arc and pictures herself one day running a monastary. That is never going to happen. As the daughter of deceased John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, she herself is in line for the throne. The House of Lancaster has very few heirs, so it is imperative that she marry and mother sons as soon as possible. She is married to Edmund Tudor at the early age of 12. Within a years’ time, her husband is killed defending the Lancasters, but he leaves her with a son in her belly. She is certain that her son will one day be the King of England because she believes that God spoke this to her as He spoke to Joan. She makes it her live’s mission and duty to see God’s will be done.

The Red Queen is the second novel in Philippa Gregory’s series about England’s 15th Century Plategents. The Red Queen is a good counterpart to The White Queen. It balances out Elizabeth Woodville’s story in more ways than one. It tells the Lancaster family’s story where the first told that of the York family. Margaret is devoutly Roman Catholic where Elizabeth was mystyical. Elizabeth was tentative about the future of her family while Margaret is rarely indecisive. She believes that God’s will is for her son to be the future King of England and, as it’s God’s will, she had no cause to ever doubt it. It also compliments the first novel by discussing her views of Elizabeth and whether she was a witch. You saw Margaret’s intentions behind the correspondence that gave Elizabeth hope. The two books fit together like puzzle pieces in that way.

There were two aspects of Lady Margaret’s character that stood out for me – her self-righteousness and her resentfulness. She is certain that God speaks to her as he did to Joan of Arc. Therefore, she believed she could not sin or be in the wrong. Over time, a supposed grace from God became her own personal infalibility. She may have felt that Elizabeth was deluded by her relationship to Melusina, but Margaret was no less misguided herself. She had to believe that she was special to God because the alternatives left her cold. Had she been born a boy, she would have herself been in line to the throne and her very existence would have been cherished and protected. As it was, she was just a bridge to the next generation of the House of Lancaster. Her ultimate destiny never concerned anyone but herself. Knowing that her family, most especially her mother, thought of her life as nothing more than a means to an end infuriated her. I think she was driven more by that resentment than anything else. The House of Lancaster got the son off of her that it wanted, but she created a sense of her own control where she had none through her special relationship with God.

I really enjoyed The Red Queen, especially after having read The White Queen. There were sections where Lady Margaret’s self-righteousness started to iritate me in similarly to Catherine of Aragon in The Constant Princess, but plotting and the scheming kept me interested.  I especially loved the  relationship between Margaret and her third husband, Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby.  All things considered, he was a perfect match for her.  The novel finished especially strong on the battlefield at Bosworth. I knew the outcome beforehand, but I still found myself holding my breath a little.  Although the next book in this series will feature Elizabeth Woodville’s mother, I’m looking forward to meeting Lady Margaret once again as “the mother-in-law.”  I am really enjoying this series and highly recommend The Red Queen.

Other Voices

You’ve heard what I’ve had to say.  Why not check out other bloggers?

Devourer of Books
My Fluttering Heart
Booking Mama

#265 ~ Not That Kind of Girl

Not That Kind of Girl by Carlene Bauer

Published by: HarperCollins

Published on: June 29, 2010

Page Count: 288

Genre: Memoir

My Reading Format: Trade paperback review copy provided by the publisher.

Available Formats: Hardcover, paperback, eBook

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Today it is my great pleasure to be Carlene Bauer’s host on his TLC Book Tour for her memoir, Not That Kind of Girl.

I have a lot of fun working as a tour host for TLC Book Tours.  They always have great books and authors on tour.  Check out their website for more information on this tour and the others that they are hosting.

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Summary from the Publisher

Raised in evangelical churches that preached apocalypse now, Carlene Bauer grows up happy to oblige the God who presides over her New Jersey girlhood. But in high school and college, her intellectual and spiritual horizons widen, and she becomes skeptical of the judgmental God she’s been given. Still, she finds it hard to let go of the ideals she’s been raised with, and to rebel as she knows she should. She loves rock and roll, but politely declines offers of sex and drugs; she thinks the Bible and the Norton Anthology of American Literature are equally authoritative guides to life. Since there are no churches worshipping the Jesus Paul Westerberg sang about in “Can’t Hardly Wait,” and no tidy categories for those who are neither riot grrrls nor altar girls, she hovers between a hunger for the world and a suspicion of it.

In her twenties, however, determined to make up for lost time, Bauer undertakes a belated and often comic coming-of-age in New York City. Between late blooming at parties and staying late at work, it seems that she might become as bold as she’d hoped to be—even if the late blooming is a little more hapless than highly erotic. And yet the city and its pleasures do not distract her from another hope: that she might learn how to have a faith that she can truly call her own. Enter the Catholic Church, and a conversion. But then she falls in love, and loses her religion—which leaves her wondering just what it means to be good.

Sharply written, hilarious, and touching, Not That Kind of Girl is the story of one young woman’s efforts to define worldliness, ambition, and love on her own terms—while believing in, among other things, The Smiths, Virginia Woolf, and the transformative power of New York City. Fellow restless seekers will find solace in Bauer’s struggle to create meaning in the face of overwhelming doubt, and fall in love with the highly original voice at the center of this unforgettable debut.

My Review

All things pointed to me loving Not That Kind of Girl, a spiritual memoir by Carlene Bauer.  She tells of her upbringing in an evangelical Christian home, her conversion to Catholicism, and ultimately letting go of God and her inner good-girl. I’m intersted in the stories of those who grew up in an evangelical household because it’s so much different than my own, Catholic upbringing. That she later chose to become Catholic made me want to find out why.  Once I started reading, I discovered that we are roughly the same age and that we share very similar musical tastes and influences I became even more excited. While very well written, Not That Kind of Girl did not work well for me. Bauer is extremely intelligent and is logical in the examination of her spiritual history. It’s just that cerebral approach that kept me at an arm’s distance.  She provided intellectual arguments for who she was and the choices she made, but she doesn’t let her readers see into her heart.

While very different memoirs, Not That Kind of Girl reminded me of Eat, Pray, Love.  In both memoirs, I felt that the author were prone to over-analyzing.  In tone, this memoir reminded me of The Mistress’ Daughter.  Both are well written memoirs, but with a cynical edge that made the authors remote and untouchable.  That’s not why I read memoirs.  I read them because I want to share in another person’s experiences, be they delightful or terrifying.  It’s a way of connecting to others and consider my own life.  I just wasn’t able to get that close this time.

Because of the potential it had at the start, I wish that I had enjoyed this memoir more.  I have always been curious evangelical churches.  To someone used to the same routine week in and week out, those services seem so alive.  Having attended many such services over the years, they just haven’t clicked with me.  As lively as they are, they’ve never clicked with my soul the way the Mass has as I’ve grown older and matured.  I really wanted to know why Ms. Bauer left and joined the Catholic Church.  In the end, I never really understood.  She related to Dorothy Day and her conversion.  She liked the Liberation Theology and the focus on social justice.  Still, knowing about the history of the Church and the sexual abuse scandals, she converts.  Shortly thereafter, she finds herself unable to sit through Mass thinking about what the priest might have done, might have thought to do, or might have covered up.  Without the emotional connection to the author, it all seemed hollow.

I am glad that Ms. Bauer is happy with her life in New York and with the spiritual choices she’s made.  Perhaps her memoir would be more up your alley, though.  If you’d be interested in reading Not That Kind of Girl, I would be happy to send you my gently read copy.  Leave a comment here letting me know.  I’ll use my favorite Randomizer to select the lucky reader.

Please be sure to check out the rest of the stops on this tour:

Thursday, July 1st: Tales of a Capricious Reader

Tuesday, July 6th: The Book Nest

Monday, July 12th: Drey’sLibrary

Wednesday, July 14th: As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves

Thursday, July 15th: she reads and reads

Tuesday, July 20th: Heart 2 Heart

Friday, July 23rd: Knowing the Difference

Monday, July 26th: Bookshipper

Tuesday, July 27th: Life In Pink

Wednesday, July 28th: my books. my life.

Thursday, July 29th: Suko’s Notebook

Friday, July 30th: A Fair Substitute for Heaven

Monday, August 2nd: A Certain Bent Appeal

Wednesday, August 4th: Sara’s Organized Chaos

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Have a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day, everyone!  I hope you’re all wearing green because I don’t want a single one of you to get pinched. Let me know if the Leprechauns play any tricks on you.  That’s all Allison has been talking about this week.  LOL!

While you have the luck o’ the Irish today, be sure to check out my current book giveaways:

The Wives of Henry Oades

Raven Stole the Moon

Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show ~ this one is especially appropriate because it’s set in Ireland

Fireworks Over Toccoa Contest

I have recently read Fireworks Over Toccoa by Jeffrey Stepakoff.  I’m working on my review, which will be posted next week. [Sneak Peak: I think people will find this to be a fun beach read this year.]

In the meantime, I wanted to let you know about an incredible contest being held by St. Martin’s Press.  It’s underway beginning this week and will be open until March 30, the novel’s publication date.

Here are the details Sarah sent me (emphasis mine!):

Go to the book’s website.  There, you will find:

Garth Stein Giveaway ~ Raven Stole the Moon

I reviewed Garth Stein’s Raven Stole the Moon on Tuesday and I am very excited to host a giveaway of this book today.  Sarah from Terra Communications graciously is making this giveaway copy available to one of my readers. Thank you so much, Sarah!

One of the most interesting aspects of this novel was the background on the spirituality of Alaska’s Tlingit people.  Raven, for whom the book is titled, is an important figure.  The kushtaka were granted special powers  by Raven and their role is this novel is the most chilling.  To enter this contest, leave a comment here telling me if you’ve read much about the spirituality of indigenous people.  If so, what has been your favorite story?

For a second entry, tweet about this contest.  Be sure to let me know by including @lithousewife in your tweet.

This contest will be open for 1 week.  I’ll accept entries until 11:59 PM EST on March 18.  I’ll announce the winner on March 19th.  Good luck!

Random Bookish Questions & Winners

Blogiversary and Tainted Winners

I cannot tell you want kind of day it was today.  I found out late this morning that my web hosting provider had to remove access to an essential file, causing my blog to be out of commission for most of the day.  I guess you don’t truly realize how much something is a part of your life until it’s unavailable.  I will never take my web hosting for granted again.

In thanksgiving for it being back up and running (yay!), I am announcing the lucky winners of two of my recent contests: my 3rd blogiversary and Tainted by Brooke Morgan.

Winner of Tainted

Congratulations to Lisa for Lit and Life!  Lisa, I’ve got your address, so keep an eye on your mailbox.

Blogiversary Winners

I used Random. org to select three numbers between and including 1 and 88.  Here is what the great randomizer on the net sent back:

1G iPod Shuffle: Congratulations to Sam!

3 book Grab Bag: Congratulations to Bonnie from Redlady’s Reading Room!

1 book  Grab Bag and Bookmarks for the Library of your Choice: Congratulations to Melissa from The Betty and Boo Chronicles!

If your name isn’t listed here, I have another giveaway in progress for one of two signed copies of Kathleen Grissom’s The Kitchen House.

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• #233 ~ Tainted ~ Blog Tour and Giveaway (literatehousewife.com)

An Afternoon with Kathleen Grissom

I loved Kathleen Grissom’s debut novel, The Kitchen House.  As soon as I knew she would be in my area, I made plans to see her.  When I told Jaime from Confessions of a Bibliophile about the event, she agreed to come with me.  Saturday was a blogger’s day out for me.

We’ve been having a lot of winter weather in Southwest Virginia, but Saturday proved to be a clear, if not windy, day.  I had never been to the Givens book store in Lynchburg before.  I was pleasantly  surprised because the Givens in Salem looks a lot like one in this video.  The Lynchburg store sells both new and used books as well as children’s toys.  We were there a few minutes early, giving me time to buy additional copies of The Kitchen House and to do a little browsing.

They set up Kathleen’s reading by a fireplace with a portrait of Edgar Allen Poe above it.  It was really a nice area.  I hadn’t been expecting her to be looking for me, so I was pleasantly surprised to learn that she had read my review.  She was as happy to meet me as I was to meet her.  She introduced Jaime and I to Eleanor Dolan, the poet who has mentored her along the way.  Both women were warm and charming.

I brought my new Flip video camera along to capture some of the event to share with you.  One word of caution: I won’t be receiving any Oscars for best cinematography any time soon.  I don’t have a full-sized tripod for my Flip (a definite wish list item), so I did the best that I could.  The first video is a little shakier than the last two.

Kathleen began the reading by explaining how The Kitchen House came into being.  Here is a clip about the origins of her novel and her reading of the Prologue:

Kathleen also read one of my absolute favorite scenes from the book. It is between Lavinia shortly after she became acclimated to life on the Pyke plantation and Papa George, Mama Mae’s husband:

The final clip is in answer to a question about Kathleen’s next novel, which takes place in her native Canada:

I really enjoyed listening to Kathleen talk about the book and her writing process.  An afternoon with a book blogging friend and a new author.  What a nice way to spend the day.

After the reading, there was a book signing and I bought a copy to have singed to giveaway here. To make it even better, Kathleen, after reading my review, brought another copy with her to giveaway. So, I have two signed copies of The Kitchen House to giveaway here!

This contest is open to U.S. and Canadian readers and will be open until Monday, March 1st at 11:59 EST.   For a chance to win, simply leave a comment here.

TSS ~ Sometimes It Even Happens Here

Every time I read about people getting the chance to meet authors on book tours, I get really jealous. Living in SouthWest Virginia, the opportunity to visit an author while on a book tour is few and far between.  Next Saturday, that will change at least for the day.

Kathleen Grissom, the author of The Kitchen House, will be stopping in Lynchburg at Givens Books at 2pm on February 13th.  The book was published on the 2nd, so it’s hot off the presses.  It got me out of my reading blahs.  I just could not put it down.  I read The Kitchen House last month and absolutely loved it.  Check back here on Friday for my review.  I will also be posting about the book tour during my next Sunday Salon post.  If all goes well, I’m hoping to have a signed copy to giveaway.

In the meantime, you can check out Kathleen’s site.  On her About The Kitchen House page.  There are some great resources there, including pictures I wish  I had seen while I was reading the book.  There is a book trailer as well.  I just finished watching it.  A slight word of caution: if you don’t like to know much about a book before reading it, you might want to hold off on it.

Now, be honest.  How many of you thought I was referring to this weekend’s snow storm?  Well, that news also fits my post title.    We had a great time sledding in the snow and making a snowman.  Thankfully we were able to make it to church this morning and then to the mall.  I had a serious case of cabin fever since this weekend was the second in a row that we were snowbound.  Yesterday morning I took a short video of our front yard.  We didn’t get hit as hard as some of my book blogging girlfriends in Northern Virginia or Maryland, but it was an anomaly for the Roanoke Valley.  I want to thank everyone who stopped by on our Friday snow day.

Reading and Reviews This Week

This week I read and reviewed Tainted by Brooke Morgan as part of the author’s TLC Book Tour.  I’m hosting a giveaway of Morgan’s debut novel, so be sure to check out my review.

I also finished Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls.  I started that during my reading malaise and put it down because I didn’t want it to be ruined by my lack of reading enthusiasm.  I thought it was a great companion to The Glass Castle and will be reviewing this novel soon.

For those of you not watching the Super Bowl (I’m assuming anyone reading this isn’t – who watching the big event would also read book blogs during the show?), I hope you enjoy your evening snuggled up with a good book.  I’ll be reading Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliot.

#218 ~ When She Flew ~ Book Tour and Giveaway

When She Flew by Jennie Shortridge

Today it is my great pleasure to be Jennie Shortridge’s host on her TLC Book Tour for her novel, When She Flew.  I would like to thank her for sending me both a copy of her book for review as well as one to give away to a lucky reader.  Please see the end of my review for a list of the blogs who are on this tour with me.

I have a lot of fun working as a tour host for TLC Book Tours.  They always have great books and authors on tour.  Check out their website for more information on this tour and the others that they are hosting.

My Review

What our ancestors would have considered minimally acceptable living conditions greatly differs from what would be considered acceptable today.  Houses are not a recent invention, but even in the early 1900s people in the United States lived in sod homes as the America expanded West.  Those same ancestors survived and thrived, leading us to where we are today.  Regardless, choosing to live in the outdoors on property you don’t own is now against the law.  If you do so with your minor child, you run the risk of having your family broken up by Social Services and being charged with neglect.  Raymond Wiggs discovers just after bird watchers tip off the police after spotting his daughter Melinda alone after she wandered off too far entranced by a beautiful blue heron.  After locating the two along with several of her fellow police officers from Columbia, Oregon, Jess Villareal questions whether the state is capable of determining what is best for this family.  She questions whether she can actively participate in taking Lindy away from Ray – even for a short time.  As divorced mother estranged from her only daughter and grandson, her career in the police force is the only thing that makes her feel whole.  Is Jess willing to risk even that to ensure that this small, peculiar family remains together?

Birds play a prominent role in this novel.  The title evokes flight and Lindy is fascinated by them, devouring all that she can about the birds native to the Pacific Northwest.  It is not surprising that from the very  beginning of this novel, which opens with Lindy’s report on barn owls, I was reminded of the following verse from the Gospel of Matthew:

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ~ Matthew  6:26

While I might not want to live in a forest, many birds do and they are just fine.  Ray and Lindy had made peace with nature and lived there happily for many years before they were discovered.  Given that it has been done since the beginning of time, why couldn’t – and why shouldn’t – someone with the proper knowledge of the outdoors live in a well-constructed tree house?  If that person is a loving parent who makes his child’s well-being and education a priority, why  shouldn’t that person be left alone to raise his family as he sees fit?  Yesterday’s luxuries are today’s requirements it seems.  In another 100 years, would society find our homes and our parenting neglectful?  Has society lost sight of what is truly important to sustain life?  There isn’t an easy answer to these questions, which are sure to spark some interesting and lively conversations.

Until agreeing to host this TLC Book Tour, I had never read any of Jennie Shortridge’s fiction.  I am so thrilled that I took a chance on her and on When She Flew.  I found it to be thought-provoking, fast-paced, and fun to read.  The plot never suffered as we learned more about Jess and Lindy’s past, their insecurities, their regrets, and their joys.  It felt right that a mother longing to be part of her own daughter’s life again would fight so hard to see that Lindy and Ray stayed together.  She provides Lindy with the strong and secure female role model her mother could never be.  It also made me question my perceptions of what makes a home both physically and emotionally.  I was as entertained throughout this novel as I was satisfied when I finished it.

Giveaway

I have a copy of When She Flew to give away to one of my readers.  This contest is open to readers from the United States only.  I would love to make it international, but my shipping budget isn’t what it used to be earlier this year.

Entering this contest is easy.  Simply leave a comment here telling me what your favorite bird is and why.  The contest is open until 11:59 pm EST on Saturday, December 19th.  I’m planning on announcing the winner on December 20th, my dear husband’s birthday.

For the record, my favorite bird is the American Robin, the State Bird of Michigan.  Isn’t he beautiful against the backdrop of the tulips?  I wonder if he isn’t really Dutch like me?

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Jennie Shortridge’s TLC Book Tours TOUR STOPS:

Thursday, December 3rd:  The 3 R’s Blog: Reading, ‘Riting, and Randomness

Monday, December 7th:  Linus’ Blanket

Tuesday, December 8th:  Book, Line, and Sinker

Wednesday, December 9th:  Luxury Reading

Monday, December 14th:  Book Addiction

Tuesday, December 15th:  Hey, Lady!  What’cha Readin’?

Wednesday, December 16th:  A Novel Menagerie

Thursday, December 17th:  Book Club Classics

Monday, December 21st:  Entertainment Realm

Tuesday, December 22nd:  Dolce Bellezza

Monday, December 28th:  Book Chatter

Tuesday, December 29th:  Caribousmom

Wednesday, December 30th:  Presenting Lenore

Monday, January 4th:  The Brain Lair

Tuesday, January 5th:  Redlady’s Reading Room

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