Princess, More Tears to Cry by Jean Sasson

First of all, I haven't read the previous books in this series, about the Princess Sultana's life, but I never once felt lost as I read this, the fourth installment. It's artfully done in a manner in which you get bits from the previous books and yet not so much that you feel you missed something crucial. You can easily step into the Princess Sultana's life...and her life, the people she meets and helps, her family--we can learn a lot from what she sees and who she interacts with.

What I learned from this book was that there are two different Saudi Arabian women and I witnessed this most thoroughly through Sultana's two very different daughters. There's the one who lives her life mostly in Europe, has no desire to marry, and rebels against SA's rules every chance she has, from driving (illegal for women) to wearing "scandalous" clothes. There's the other daughter who utterly and completely brainwashed by religious clerics and wants to oppress her own sex. She's completely happy under the ruling thumb of men--but yet she's also one of the rare in which she's not being beaten or raped on a daily basis. If only she could walk in the other women's shoes...hm.

But most strongly talked about throughout the book is the plight of the women and children. We learn of ghastly tales that really do make one want to cry: female genital mutilation; young girls chained up, raped, killed by their fathers; women divorced and beaten for bearing too many daughters; women destitute and unable to support their children because they are not allowed to leave the house and work; women falling over each other in hallways because they can't see around their face veils; women passing out from  heat stroke due to the heavy attire. And yet at the same time we meet a few women, women doctors and social workers and hairstylists, who refuse to conform and have educated themselves in order to help others.

One of the things that saddened me about the stories was how difficult it is to help the women and children. Many times Sultana steps in with her wealth to help a woman in need, but there can't be enough money to save every single downtrodden woman and child. Saudi women must find a way to change the laws and get around the clerics if ever true help can be given. Sultana will not be able to employ or provide money for every single person and her husband won't be able to bribe every cleric. And they are aware of this. Sultana is aware of this and it's so admirable how she does what she can for whatever woman crosses her path. The lawmakers aren't ready for change yet.

Something else I also took from this book: previously I rather thought all men in SA were abusers and thugs and rapists. Having "met" Sultana's husband and son in this book, I realize many men there have educated themselves about women and our capabilities and perhaps in a newer generation things will change. They are not all bad men. Emotional perhaps, but not bad.

I also got a few laughs from this. Sultana's giving birth to her second daughter and a few other scenes.

I am closing the last page with a new appreciation for the SA women who fight from behind their veils for change in any way they can. I found this book incredibly insightful. It has inspired me to seek ways in which I may aid the cause. My only quibbles have to be that at times I thought some people to be too perfect and also some things were repeated a lot.

I received this book on Goodreads firstreads.

Her Brilliant Career: Ten Extraordinary Women of the Fifties by Rachel Cooke

The book title is rather self-explanatory. You know what this one is about. Ten women with brilliant careers in the fifties. As usual with a biography, half of it bored me; and half of it was intriguing. No offense to anyone, but a woman who wrote a cookbook doesn't interest me much; neither does a gardener. But some of the women featured in this book really did interest me and made for good reading:

Sheila van Damm: race-car driver and nightclub manager.

What interested me about her is that she felt great fear before racing. Racing in the fifties was not as "safe" as it is today. The book points this out with hard facts about deaths, not only of drivers but of bystanders being decapitated by flying debris and death from car fires. It was a serious and deadly business and though she was afraid, van Damm kept driving, even entering the most dangerous race in the world. And even better, she was known for finishing every one, no matter her placing. She was also a pilot. When her dad said he wanted to start a charter company and told her to "Go and learn to fly," she did just that. Though it was a failed business, again, this woman faced her fears. She even joined the Volunteer RAF Reserve.

Before rally races, she worked as a driver in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force.
Her side business, her dad's business that she later took over, was running a club called The Windmill. The bits about the club itself really hooked me, even when they weren't related to van Damm herself. Such as the fact they could have nude girls, provided they didn't move, so that women were nude but stood frozen for 12 minutes--except during a particular bad bombing in the Blitz, when one nude girl wearing nothing but a hat broke the rule by thumbing her nose at the planes above.

Also of interest to me are the lady film directors. Muriel Box, according to this book, was a feminist and if you watch her movies and are savvy enough, you'll detect a feminist message/undertone in the films.

Matter of fact, I'm going to watch one of the movies directed by her this week--the only one I could find here in the States available to me, The Truth About Women.

Here is another example of a woman who refuses to give up. While critics were sneering about her last movie, she was hard at work on the next one. It was not a welcoming industry to women in those days--is it now either? I know Hollywood is def male-dominated...

An interesting bit in the book tells about how the film industry came to her, which is very cool because she'd always wanted to work with movies, and one day she meets the right person on a train... I also liked reading about how this woman just walked out of her family home with nothing but a bag, and made good for herself.

She later started her own feminist publishing company, Femina. This "chapter" also introduces us to Betty Box, Muriel's SIL and a movie producer. TBH, I lost interest in the women themselves as I read this and began looking up all their movies as I'm an old-movie buff. I'm sad to say I can't find some of them available for viewing. Namely, Both Sides of the Law AKA Street Corner. Someone, please, make this movie available on streaming or even TCM.

Moving on, another woman I enjoyed reading about is England's first woman judge, Rose Heilbron. Here is a strong woman who maintained her femininity while rising from lawyer to judge. After her mother's death long before, she put her own dreams on hold to help her family. Something particularly touching she did was to rent a wig and gown and appear at her deceasing mother's bedside, as she knew her mother would not live long enough to actually see her daughter succeed. Her chapter starts with the relating of an interesting case about a burned houseboat. She had one daughter and after the difficult birth, was back in court in just 6 weeks, and this after nearly dying.

I enjoyed reading about a few of these women, but must confess like many biographies (and the reason I tend to avoid them) it drops fact after fact after fact in a manner in which we can't possibly remember half of it. Also, a few of the women seemed unlikable to me, flitting around lover to lover, hurting many people as they go. Is it admirable that they saw what they wanted and took it? Yes, but it's hard to read about people you probably wouldn't stand in real life. I'm not sure I would have chosen some of the women featured myself.

Spotlight: Searching for Normal by Alison Neuman

Searching for Normal is a book about following in the great tradition of creative nonfiction. Detailing her personal experience from the onset of a rare and painful illness at the age of three, Alison Neuman recounts her personal journey coming to terms with an ever-shifting conception of 'normality'. The disease having shaped her life in ways most could never imagine, a carefree childhood quickly morphed into a blur of ongoing hospitalizations, increasingly reduced mobility, and overwhelming fatigue and pain.

But amidst her constant battles with her health, Alison emerged as a champion. Searching for Normal will leave readers awed by Alison's perseverance and strength of character. Her story serves as a pertinent reminder that 'normal', is in the eye of the beholder.

Barnes & Noble

Paperback

Meet the author:

Alison Neuman lives in Alberta, Canada, where she works as a freelance writer. Nearing the end of her studies at Grant MacEwan College, she was inspired to complete the first draft of Ice Rose: A Young Adult Spy Novel. The YA novel integrates her love for gadgetry with the broad imaginative license afforded by the secret agent genre, and features a female protagonist in a wheelchair. It was published in 2010 by Fireside Publications.

Alison’s work has appeared in MacEwan Today, Westword, and the Edmonton Journal as well as on three tracks of the CD release, Outside The Window, and as a credit on the script for Cheryl Kaye Tardif's screenplay adaptation of Whale Song. She was also an "Edmonton Stories' top-ten finalist, a winner in the "Expressions of Hunger" in the Emotional Poetry Category (2009), and a nominee for the Northlands Award for Emerging Artist (2012), Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award, and Avenue’s "Top 40 Under 40."

Alison was also honoured in 2011 for her human rights work in advocating for the rights of the disabled. One of her greatest achievements is an integrative camp she started for children from all walks of life—both with and without disabilities. Camp Mission Access uses a secret agent theme and activities as children of all abilities complete mission activities. Since 2010, she has been a member of iDANCE Edmonton, performing regularly. A musical version of Searching for Normal, will debut at the Edmonton International Fringe Festival in August 2013.
Alison is currently working towards her Master of Arts at Athabasca University and, when time permits, completing her next YA novel.

Follow Alison:

https://twitter.com/crossingts
http://ca.linkedin.com/pub/alison-neuman/14/427/b77
https://www.facebook.com/alison.neuman.14

Follow the Book Tour

Is This Lady Pastor Going from the Pulpit to Prison? Or...

Please welcome J.Q. Rose as she talks about her latest mystery romance...featuring a woman pastor!

Tara and I have at least one thing in common. We like to write about strong women as our heroines. No wimps allowed. I was drawn to Tara’s historical fiction book, Ride for Rights. This YA story is about two sisters who showed everyone they could ride motorcycles across the country in 1916 where there weren’t even roadways! Amazing examples of strong women. I was especially interested in this story because I wrote a non-fiction book for girls, Girls Succeed! I profile fifteen strong women who share their journeys on paths blazing new trails for women in the workplace.

In my latest mystery/romance, Coda to Murder, my strong heroine is Pastor Christine Hobbs. Yes, she’s a female minister, an occupation where women are finally breaking down the barriers to share in the leadership of many denominations in the Christian churches.

In order to write the book, I interviewed female pastors. One woman laughed as she told me how parishioners will make comments to her they would not say to a male pastor e.g. “I like your shoes.”

When asked if it was difficult for a woman to lead a congregation, another minister said, “I have discovered that people don’t care if you are a man or a woman. They just want you to do your job well.”

Pastor Christine Hobbs wants to do her job well, but seminary school didn’t prepare her for obstacles she faces in Coda to Murder. She’s been in the pulpit business for over five years, but she never imagined herself caring for a flock that includes a pig, a kangaroo, and a murderer. 

Detective Cole Stephens doesn't want the pretty pastor to get away with murdering the church music director. His investigative methods infuriate Christine as much as his deep brown eyes attract her.

Can they find the real killer and build a loving relationship based on trust?

Thanks, Tara, for hosting me on your blog. Strong heroines rock!

About J.Q. Rose:

After writing feature articles in magazines, newspapers, and online magazines for over fifteen years, J.Q. Rose entered the world of fiction writing with her first published novella, Sunshine Boulevard, released by MuseItUp Publishing in 2011. Her latest mystery, Coda to Murder, was released in February. Blogging, photography, Pegs and Jokers board games, and travel are the things that keep her out of trouble. Spending winters in Florida with her husband allows Janet the opportunity to enjoy the life of a snowbird. Summer finds her camping and hunting toads, frogs, and salamanders with her four grandsons and granddaughter.

Connect online with J.Q.

J.Q. Rose blog

Girls Succeed blog 

Author website 

Goodreads

Pinterest 

Buy Links for Girls Succeed:

Smashwords Link http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241825

Amazon Link  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009NY6ZAS

Kobo Link http://www.kobobooks.com/search/search.html?q=girls+succeed%3A+stories+behind+the+careers+of+successful+women

Barnes and Noble Link http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/girls-succeed-jq-rose/1114041658?ean=2940045118033

Sony Link https://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/j-q-rose/girls-succeed-stories-behind-the-careers-of-successful-women/_/R-400000000000000883970

Buy Links for Coda to Murder

Now available at MuseItUp Publishing- http://tinyurl.com/anax9x7

Amazon.com http://tinyurl.com/ap376tb

bn.com and major online booksellers

Out of the Blue by Victor Cruz & Peter Schrager

Victor Cruz did not just come from nowhere. He didn't just appear out of the blue. He came from what some would dub a broken home, streets rife with crime, and a little boy with big dreams became a legend. It wasn't an overnight thing. It came with struggles and stress attached. As Victor says at the end of this book, "You can't wait for your chance. You can't expect it. You have to earn it." Wise words. I think I'll post them somewhere I can see them and remind myself of this when I get frustrated over my writing career.

I learned a lot as I read this. Football players, the pros anyway, are not dumb jocks. They have to make good SAT scores to get into those colleges where recruiters find them. And after reading about the lockout, the financial stuff they go through, the injuries, the stress, the whole drafting process, I have a newfound respect for football players in general.
Cruz grew up in Paterson, NJ and turned to sports to stay off the streets and out of trouble. He was raised by a single mom and his abuela and papi. His dad was a firefighter who wasn't a part of his life till Cruz turned seven. He introduced his son to football. Cruz had a series of hard knocks: gangs beating on him and his friends, shootings, illness in the family, his father dying, bad grades, and just frustration when the NFL kept passing him by. Nothing was handed to this guy.

I absolutely loved how Cruz managed to talk about all his accomplishments without being arrogant. He even credits numerous other players for helping him, teaching him, praises Eli Manning. He talks about other football players' unique stories, not just himself. And when it got to the 2011 football season, I already knew the scores, had watched the games, but Cruz's POV showed me what was going on behind the scenes.

I appreciate Cruz writing this book, taking the time to tell his story. He gives the rest of us, whether you're from Paterson, NJ, or Tulsa, Oklahoma, a feeling of hope. Reading his story, reading about his persistence in the face of adversity, makes me want to overcome it in my own life. He did it. He made it. He dreamed big and accomplished it.

Five bikes. This book was a gift from my mother.

The Chalk Circle, Tara L. Masih Guest Post and Giveaway

This book contains the voices of many people, people who have faced hate, racism, prejudice, questions, anger, confusion...and now voice their own frustrations. Some of the stories/essays impacted me more than others. The woman who was taught that it was a shame to come "from the dirt" only to return to the dirt because she loved it. (You'll have to read it, okay.) There were other stories that made me think as well, but the one that stood out the most for me was the one about Where Are You From? 

As a person who is of numerous ethnicities, was born in one country, raised in another, grew up in one state yet resides in a different one, I never know how to answer that question either. I can't sum up who or what I am in a single word or place. So for me, that essay held a lot of impact.

The rest of the book deserves one's attention too, but I'm not going to go on and on all day. LOL Instead, I want to introduce you to a wonderful lady, a mentor of mine, a woman I admire. I would not be in the writing industry if not for this woman's patience and kind words. She edited The Chalk Circle. Please welcome Tara L. Masih. (Does she have a lovely name? *grins*)

Thanks to Book Babe blogger Tara Chevrestt for inviting me to be a guest. While it’s always nice to be asked to guest blog, I’m especially grateful because the topic I want to discuss isn’t an easy one. And I’m grateful she opened the door by asking me:  Have you ever experienced prejudice? How did it made you feel?

Why is she asking me this? Because I edited a forthcoming anthology that tackles the subject of race and ethnicity, subjects that are often off limits to discuss in public. The essays are compiled from an annual contest I judge on Interculturalism.

The roots of why I started this contest begin in my own bicultural background. My father is from India, my mother is mostly German and English, raised in the States. Mixed marriages are becoming more common now, but they were few and far between in the early sixties.

I was lucky not to experience much prejudice when I was growing up. But there were those awkward questions: What are you? Which kind of Indian are you? Does your father wear one of those diapers? As someone with a bicultural background, I was able to sit back and observe all ethnicities and to empathize with those minorities who experienced a deeper daily bias.

However, I did experience more prejudice when I left home and came to Boston. For the first time in my life, I was followed around in stores by anxious shopkeepers, who worried I might be stealing. I still experience this, no matter how well I’m dressed. And I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it.

How does it make me feel? It is a complicated feeling that starts in my core. In my gut. It’s a sick feeling of nervousness (like when you are completely innocent of speeding but still slow down when you see a police officer on the roadside), and of mild depression and suppressed anger. What can I say to this person, this stalker? Nothing, because in our culture, confrontation is not encouraged and is a sign of aggression. And can lead, in extreme cases, to arrest and even death.

It’s why I empathize with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., when he was confronted on his own front porch. After years of this kind of abuse, how can one not lash out? It’s why I cry for young men like Miami resident Trayvon Martin. And it’s why I want to provide a forum for other such authors to voice their innermost feelings, in the hopes that maybe a police officer, a shopkeeper, or a neighborhood watchman will read this book and learn something about what it’s like to be on the other side.

Thank you, Tara for sharing this with us.

I know many of you, my blog followers/readers, have faced prejudice at some time or another. Remember, keep your chin up. Their words can only hurt you if you let them.

Now, I'm hosting a giveaway for this book. Please leave a comment to be entered for a chance to win a copy of The Chalk Circle. Contest runs for one week.

The blurb: Award-winning editor Tara L. Masih put out a call in 2007 for Intercultural Essays dealing with the subjects of “culture, race, and a sense of place.” The prizewinners are gathered for the first time in a ground-breaking anthology that explores many facets of culture not previously found under one cover. The powerful, honest, thoughtful voices—Native American, African American, Asian, European, Jewish, White—speak daringly on topics not often discussed in the open, on subjects such as racism, anti-Semitism, war, self-identity, gender, societal expectations. Their words will entertain, illuminate, take you to distant lands, and spark important discussions about our humanity, our culture, and our place within society and the natural world. 

Women Heroes of World War II by Kathryn J. Atwood

Not all the heroes of WWII were in the trenches, some were behind the lines and they were women.

This book talks about 26 of those women. Women who hid Jews right in Nazis' basements, women who were radio operators, women were underwent torture, were purposely infected with gangrene, sterilized, women who smuggled fake papers, tried to save sick Jewish kids from ghettos, transported bombs in the bicycles, parachuted into enemy territory... I could mention each one, but the review would be as long as the book.

One that stood out for me: Josephine Baker. Despite her ill treatment in America, she helped the Allies by hiding secrets in her underwear. She was a spy. This woman's chapter was fascinating. There's so much more to her.
Marlene Dietrich...this really shocked me. I confess I'm not a fan. I think she's always a hussy in her movies. (Yes, I watch those old back and whites.) She was German by birth and canceled her citizenship out of disgust for the Nazis. She sent money to get friends out of the country and joined the USO, traveling with the American  troops, pistol in her pocket, as she sang over the radio, sad German songs in an attempt to dissuade German soldiers. She was also a member of the OSS. I didn't know that!

Very intriguing book. Something I noticed in particular. At least half of the stories are about women trying to smuggle/hide/save Jews and when their male comrades were tortured, the men blabbered out names, turning in the women and the resistance organization..but when the women were tortured--sometimes for four months or more--they didn't break. Some died, but none of these women gave names. Interesting. Something to be said for a our pain tolerance there.

Quibble: Though the WASP was mentioned briefly in the opening of the U.S. part, there were no stories, no women pilots featured. I wasn't too pleased to find that. Many of the WASP and the ATA were def heroes. *frowny face*

Four bikes. I bought this on Amazon.

Dog Is My Copilot by Patrick Regan

This wasn't what I was expecting. For some reason, I thought it would be really heartwarming stories about pilots and their dogs. (Yes, I know, I got so excited, I didn't read the blurb thoroughly. Actually, there wasn't that extensive a blurb at first.) Well, the stories are heartwarming, but told in a way that made me think of a really long magazine article.



Though taken aback, I still consider it a very good read. It's not about pilots and their dogs, however, but about Pilots N Paws. There is a network of dog rescue crews on the ground and in the air. PNP consists of pilots that donate their time, their gas, their planes, their flight hours to make sure dog reach potential adoptive home across the country


The first 18 percent was just about the origins of the group. I started losing interest there.. I wanted the dog stories. We finally get them and they're sad and happy. There's a dog who was hit by a train, military service dogs suffering cancer and getting a Veteran's Day honor, dog that crap and pee all over the pilot's plane, a misunderstood herd dog. 


Thanks to PNP, however, the dogs got happy homes. There's also a chapter dedicated to the New Orleans dogs that had to be transported out and there's a pilot who uses snaked as neck warmers. Yep, he transports them too. Pretty interesting.


Some of the stories will make you cry at the abuse these animals have suffered, but in the end you turn the last page with smile, glad there is an organization such as PNP.


Four bikes. I got this from netgalley.

Cruising Attitude by Heather Poole

What a great book!! Though it's a memoir, it's well done. The narrator SHOWS us and transports the reader into the airplane, crashpad, terminal, bar. There's no telling here. I was thoroughly entertained and I was laughing so hard during much of it that my husband demanded to know what was so funny, and I had to read passages aloud to him.


Just some of the content: her early days as a flight attendant with an airline that actually used duct tape on the seats, flight attendant training, skirt lengths and what they symbolize, why you shouldn't date pilots, her own dating experiences with pilots, flying standby (been there!!!), flight attendant breakdowns, problem passengers, finding a place to live in NYC, the horrors of flying the Miami/New York or the Vail flight full of fur coats, and last but not least, working and living with her mother. 


Really loved this. It was honest, entertaining, and told in a humorous manner. 


Laugh out loud moments for me:


"I could have kissed each and every one of my instructors at that very moment, calling to mind a psychological response known as Stockholme syndrome. Stockholme syndrome happens when abducted hostages (flight attendant trainees), begin to show signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker (flight instructors) regardless of the danger, risk, or torture in which they have been placed.....This is the only possible explanation for why I actually thanked my instructors when we learned that the navy blue polyester getup, all $2000 of it, would be deducted from our first couple of paychecks."


And when she works with her mom who also becomes a flight attendant and hollers out "mom" in the middle of business class when she needs her mom to hand her a bottle of wine.. Nice!!! LOL


And this bit here: "Bob, the stylish pilot, actually saves his standby passes for people he hates. Then he can gleefully relish when they get stranded in Senegal for ten days..."


Too many great and funny moments to list. Nevertheless, a well written and humorous memoir. I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever contemplated being a flight attendant. I wonder how many of you can figure out who the celebrities are she talks about but doesn't name?


Five stars. 

Hospice Tails: The Animal Companions Who Journey With Hospice Patients And Their Families by Debra Stang

This is, so far, the most touching book I have read in some time. I had to dab my eyes on numerous occasions. It's a short read at 100 some pages, but it is loaded with touching stories and moments... It contains enough in those 100 pages to touch your very soul, especially the souls of pet lovers/pet parents.

Like dogs? Cats? Horses? Snakes? There's something for everyone.

There's the man who is afraid to go to sleep for fear he will miss the last dying breath of his loved one. Finally, in the throes of exhaustion, he falls asleep. His little dog wakes him just in time...

There's the woman who reaches out to touch the spot her dog (now dead) had always lied and says, "There you are" before she dies herself.

There's a snake that gives comfort, a cat that helps a woman move past her husband's death, a hamster that brings together a mother and son. And though each one of these stories is sad because someone dies, they are also moments of joy caught in a book forever.

Our pets do so much for us and understand so much more than we give them credit for. This book is a tribute to that. Wonderful. Five stars.

Also, unlike a lot of memoirs that tell and not show, Ms. Stang had a very engaging voice that transported me into the story. A huge thumbs up.

I received this in ebook format from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Eleanor Roosevelt's Life of Soul Searching and Self Discovery by Ann Atkins

This is a very short biography, not a long and drawn out 500 page thing. It tells the need to know information about Eleanor. By need to know, I mean:

Where she came from: A very dysfunctional family. Her father was a womanizer and a suicidal alcoholic. Her mother felt that she was ugly and did not make a secret of it. Imagine growing up in that environment.


How she rose above it: Went to boarding school, dealt with the death of her parents, slowly began to find herself when she met Franklin and it all came crashing down. She married a man much like her father.
She was a doormat for a long time: to Franklin's mother and Franklin himself. It took a betrayal by Franklin and her best friend to make her wake up and begin being just Eleanor again. Unfortunately, in a way, she lost her children to her mother in law.


She stood up for the little people: She stood up for women:


"Eleanor not only conducts her own press conferences, she flaunts the 'men only' rule at press conferences with Franklin, making hers only for women journalists.Since newspapers want to carry stories about Eleanor, this policy give job assurance for many female reporters. What critics deem conniving, Eleanor sees as leveling the playing field."

She stood up for African Americans in her speeches, her policies, and her actions:


"As she is leaving her hairdresser, an African American youth backs his car into her and knocks her down. This being 1959 Eleanor doesn't want to chance a racial incident and tell the young man to hurry on before people can gather."


She supported the troops during the war:


"She walks to each truck load and wishes the boys good luck. On that day, Eleanor's unpretentious ways make her every soldier's mother. Upholding the written rule, "Don't cry in front of the boys," she bids them each farewell. Although those with Eleanor report, "her voice quavered."
Conclusion: An enlightening biography of a woman who rose from a twisted home to make something of herself and change the world. (Great photos in here too.) Four stars due to one minor annoyance that I found a tad odd for a biography: the use of the present tense. 


I received this book from the author.

Shut Up & Dance! by Jamie Rose

The Joy of Letting Go of the Lead - On the Dance Floor and Off.... Yep, that's the "subtitle" of this book. And something the modern day woman needs a bit of guidance with...

This book tells us, basically, that the modern day woman has become so adamant about being independent and strong and not dependent on men that we have become anti man and that we no longer LISTEN to them at all. And sometimes, well, we need to let men be men.


The book does not tell us women to be simpering ninnies that follow our men everywhere, however. First of all, the man has to EARN the right to lead. You don't let your man lead you right off a cliff.. The book doesn't tell us to suddenly become complete followers either, but does make an interesting point: If you start leading (controlling) every aspect of your relationship in the beginning, you will most likely always be the one in control and I don't care who you are, that gets old and there comes a point in the relationship where you go, "why am I doing all the work? Why doesn't he do anything here?" The answer this book pointed out to me: "You never let him!"


That was an eye opening moment for me, right there. Basically, women today can maintain their independence and all,  just every now and then, let your man have a say, LISTEN to what he says (that was a huge part of the book).


Really, if you don't trust your man enough to "follow" his lead, you probably shouldn't be with him. (That's my own words.)


Key points the book makes: LISTEN to your man. Make him EARN the right to lead. You must LOVE yourself before you even know what you want in a man and a man will love you. Relinquish CONTROL every now and then. It's gotta be a two way street.


Favorite quote: "When I am actively listening, when I make it my business to simply follow my partner's lead, I am empowering him. I am giving my leader the gift of respect and attention. I'm doing him the favor of not behaving like I'm his teacher, or worse, his mother. If a guy wants me to spin myself around doing fancy moves so he looks good on the dance floor when his lead hasn't earned it, he is in effect asking me to dance alone. And then, why do I need him?"


Four stars because some of the exercises didn't interest me much (I am so not dancing with a shopping cart!) and there were some stories towards the end I didn't see the point of, but I found this book to be a real eye opener and I see what I am doing wrong in my own relationship.


I received an ARC of this from the publisher.

Grip: A Memoir of Fierce Attractions by Nina Hamberg

This is a memoir.. of a woman who chooses one wrong man after another. By wrong man, I don't mean men that leave the toilet seat up, have chronic bad breath, little peckers, or incredibly annoying habits, but men with violent tendencies. 

Ever heard the saying about how women choose husbands like their dads? The memoir starts with telling readers a bit about Nina's parents and their failed marriage. It goes on to chronicle an attack she received from a potential rapist at the age of 18... and how no one in her family wanted to talk about it, to defend her... This is a huge turning point and I'm not a psychologist, but I think it determined a lot of choices that Nina goes on to make.


There's the feminist movement and arguments about art. There's a film class full of sexist pigs, an angry cop, a decent but boring boyfriend, and then there's bad relationship number one, Stephen. Stephen ends up in jail and not a moment too soon. Though he doesn't attack Nina, he attacks another woman. Why is Nina drawn to these men? After Stephen, comes Lee. Lee and her meet in martial arts, something the author excels at. She'll never be beaten again.


There are warning signs with Lee. In the beginning stages of their relationship, he decides to leave her for an old girlfriend after spending just one more weekend with Nina and he says during lovemaking, "I wish Irene could see how we make love. So she'd know how to do it." OMG!!!!! Dump his ass!


For reasons I'm sure a shrink would have heyday with, she doesn't dump his ass. She marries him later. And I gotta insert this cause it shocked the hell out of me and it also explains a lot about the author's choices.. at her own wedding, her mother says, "I'm sick of it.. All I've heard, all day long, is how pretty your gown is. Why is everyone talking about you? Why doesn't anyone say something about my dress?" Holy crap! It's your daughter's wedding, lady! It's not about you!


You can see there were many parts of this book that evoked some feeling in me, either of outrage, pity, hope... Nina grows throughout the book, told more like a novel than a memoir.. she learns to defend herself both physically and emotionally and in the end, she finds happiness and learns to leave abusive relationships behind. It's not an easy road to get there, but it shows that with time, all women can get there.


I loved this memoir. Well narrated, entertaining, and insightful. My only problem, the only moments I found myself frowning were with the dogs. The first dog, she leaves outside to the point it runs away. The second dog is lost in a fire. A third dog is ran over by her car while she's driving and she doesn't stop. Being a huge dog lover, I was upset by this, but it is a memoir and I appreciate that the author is truthful and doesn't paint herself to be better than she is. She's a woman who has made mistakes. I found it pretty admirable that she is so honest throughout the book.


Laugh out loud moment: A friend of Nina's mother is too dumb for words. Love this remark from her: "I love to shop for bridal gowns. Wore one at each of my weddings."


Five stars and this is an ARC that I received from the author. It's my true and honest thoughts about the book. I recommend it for women everywhere. Ladies, you CAN get past abuse. You CAN find happiness.

Be Brave, Be Strong: A Journey Across the Great Divide by Jill Homer

I am in awe of this woman... not only can she write a good yarn, but her story is amazing. I mean how many of us would ride a mountain bike from Canada to Mexico in rain and over 11,000 foot mountains in just 24 days? With only two outfits and a bag of junk food and a sleeping bag?

Jill Homer did. It's called the Tour Divide and she did it in 2009.. first try. Her narrative begins in Alaska with her long time boyfriend suddenly calling it quits.. and whereas most women would curl up and cry about it, Jill decides to keep going. It's not easy and she doesn't even realize she's going to do it practically till she's at the starting line, but she does it.


She faces bears, rides next to antelope, talks to cows, has flat tires, deals with a broken gps, braves mud and mud and more mud, climbs and climbs and climbs, wrecks, bangs up her knee, lives off sour patch kids candy half the time, runs out of water, loses her breaks in Colorado (YIKES!!!), and even deals with food poisoning and a hurt friend. But she still does it.. she makes it. 


Along the route, she contemplates giving up... but numerous things keep her going, the desire to outdo her ex boyfriend, the fear of public humiliation... 


What I really liked about her story besides her bravery, determination, and gumption is how amazing some people were along the way.. Perfect strangers offered her food, drink, board, opened their homes to her. It's amazing and touching how many people are willing to help others still today. I loved how Ms. Homer acknowledges each and every one of them. I also enjoyed the parts with John, a fellow rider. I wondered what would happen there...


A very good book. My only complaint is at times it was too much repetitive detail. Just too much at times about everything she ate and the details of the trails. At times, I found myself skimming over that stuff.. just wanting to find out what happened next. 3.5 stars.


Laugh out loud moment: "At mile 62, my throat was dry and my drinking bladder still empty, but my own bladder was completely full. The organ bulged and pressed against my abdomen until I was certain I could feel urine leaking out of my eyes. If it was only a need to pee I might have strongly considered just letting it go - after all, I was already drenched in sweat and wetting my shorts in that manner wouldn't be that much different. But there were other way I needed to relieve myself, too, way that I didn't want to end up in my shorts.." (Wouldn't you know, that's when  a vehicle ends up driving by! LOL)


Favorite quote: "I only had myself to rely on in the end. I had to truly trust myself when the going got tough. And when the going did get tough, I dug deep inside myself and I persevered. I had been brave on my own. I had been strong on my own."


Found an awesome picture of Jill Homer on this website.. it's of her at the finish. Check it out. http://www.rocbike.com/2009/07/07/jill-made-it/

I won an ebook of this on LibraryThing Member Giveaways.

Biker Chicz of North America by Edward Winterhalder, Wil De Clercq

This is a nonfiction containing profiles/biographies of 22 different women in North American that ride. They don't sit on the back of their husband's bikes like I do. (Hey, I tried! I'm deaf and the clutching thing proved a bit complicated for me and no, I don't want to be staring at a little red light when I should be paying attention to the road...) They ride their own. 



Those familiar with my reviewing style know that when I review nonfiction books, I don't just blabber away about the writing style or its content and leave it at that. I like to give my followers some highlights. Thus, I chose the most fascinating of these 22 chickz (not an easy task) to share with you.

Imagine, waltzing into the Harley offices with no experience in magazine production whatsoever with a 16 page mockup and a proposal to start a Harley magazine. Ballsy, huh? Cris Sommer Simmons did it with her friend and fellow female rider, Jo. "..we really didn't know what we were doing and what to expect. It was a bold move but we were really passionate about starting a magazine and about Harley motorcycles." 


This 16 page mockup and passion for bikes led to Harley Women Magazine.

Lucky Belcamino started her own biker chick club, the East Coast Biker Chicks. This woman has been a chef, a recovery agent, and a real poker player. Her club started with a mere 8 members and now had "the distinction of being the largest and loudest all-female motorcycle club in New England."

Gevin Fax.. whatta woman. She's not only a biker, but a musician, stunt woman, and an African American/Native American female who fought her way up the corporate ladder. She worked for United Telecom and discovered she was not getting promoted because "she was black and she was female." 


Gevin didn't settle for a low position. She fought for her rights and after a long battle, she won. "My lawyer warned me from the outset that I better be prepared for a long battle, that it was going to get ugly. And ugly it got. The company did everything it could be wear me down and cause me to fail. They gave me the worst possible jobs, messed around with my shift schedules, provoked me, you name it, they did it. But I never took the bait, always showed up for work on time and never balked at what I was assigned to do."


Awesome Fearless Female!! Did I mention she also did bike stunts???

Becky Brown started Women in the Wind that began with ten members and became over 1,700. I like this quote from her, "I'm not sure why riding a motorcycle was an idea I had to act on, except that I was always a tomboy and felt the boys were having more fun compared to the girls." LOL. 


This woman was also one of the first women to work in Textileather Corporation's production department. She applied for and received an industrial electrician's apprenticeship. This was a domain very much restricted to men at the time. She had 8000 hours of on the job training and 4 years of trade school. 


Becky is proof that "we can do it."

Laura Klock has broken numerous records at the Speedway in Bonneville, Utah. Both of her daughters are now racing as well. "They are the first mother-daughter-daughter trio in the history of land speed racing to hold records at the same time." 


I like this quote from Laura, "We all know that accidents can happen on the street and in racing but it's not something you dwell on. If you do you're better off parking your bike in the garage and leaving it there. You have to keep your head in the right place and keep your focus."

Gina Woods hosts a radio program called Open Road Radio and began Gina Woods' XX Chromes All Woman Bike Build in which a team of women get together at various venues to build a motorcycle. These are not women running around in bikinis and striking sexy poses. These women are dirty, greasy, and got tools in their hands. Right on!!!!

Vicki Roberts Sanfelipo is a biker and nurse who began an important safety course for fellow bikers about dealing with motorcycle accidents, Accident Scene Management Inc. "The course is seven and a half hours long and is based on U.S. DOT First Responder Curriculum." There are four segments: preventing further injury, assessing the situation, contacting EMS, treatment. 


This chick also had the first ever wedding on Crazy Horse Monument with both her and her husband's bikes at the altar. 

Lorrie Penteluke is a survivor story. While being a passenger on her husband's bike, they were hit by a drunk driver. She suffered massive internal injuries, lacerations, tissue and ligament damage, broken hands, and as soon as she healed, cared for her husband who had 50 percent of the bones in his body broken. 


How many of you would get back on a bike after that experience? This woman did, but not as a passenger. She got her own bike in order to prevent both her and her husband from being hurt at the same time again. She also started a leather shop and her and her husband began selling bike parts and custom bikes. 


That's what I call a remarkable recovery.

Gloria Tramontin Struck is eighty five years old and she still rides. Her goal now is to take a ride with her ninety something year old brother who can no longer "keep up with his kid sister anymore." 


This gal is my favorite, partly because I love history so much. Someone really needs to write her memoirs. She was an original Motor Maid! "The MM is the oldest motorcycle organization for women in the world." Gloria is one of the longest standing members still riding after 64 years. 


And this woman worked on airplanes!!!!!!! Whoo hooo!!! She worked at Bendix Aviation factory when she was 18 as an inspector during WWII. And she must've made a good impression cause when the fellows came back, the factory kept her on (It's a well known fact that most women were "let go" cause this was a "man's job." Grrrrr.) She then worked in the radar and automatic pilot division where she wired components. Thus, this woman helped pave the way for women like myself, today. 


At 85 years old, Gloria still rides to Daytona Bike Week every year. Favorite quote: "I'm concerned about traffic conditions, sure. You have to be if you want to be a survivor. So many drivers are not paying attention. They're on their cell phones or texting and doing all kinds of things when they should be concentrating on the road. Heck, I've seen women apply lipstick or fix their hair using their rearview mirror while driving. How crazy is that? Can't they do that at home?"


My husband and I agree.

And something I learned from this book that I never knew before.. Elizabeth Taylor had a bike called Purple Passion. 


All in all, I consider this a must read for all biker chicz, whether you ride your own or sit behind your man, or have a Harley, Triumph, or Kawasaki.. I received this from the author upon request. It's just the perfect read to feature on Book Babe. 

Totally Scared: The Complete Book on Haunted Houses by Dawn Colclasure and Martha Jette

This book had me totally scared. No joke. One night as I was reading this in bed, I got to the pictures of ghostly orbs and began reading about Dan Guthrie's demon ghost and I got scared. I had to set the book aside for fear that it would give me nightmares..

Orbs in Rob Rapiti's haunted Hamilton, Ontario home. When the picture is sideways like this,
one can see a face.. see it?? In the center.... Click on it...blow it up. Trust me. Are you scared yet? 

Two words come to mind as I attempt to describe this book. Spine-tingling and informative. Don't believe me? Ask my husband. The entire time I was reading this book, I was turning to him and either telling him about the Winchester Mansion or making spooky ghost noises or repeating the Lizzie Borden chant and adding my own evil laughter.

Obviously, I really enjoyed it...

A quick summary: It's a book about haunted houses. It talks about different haunted houses, buying a haunted house, dealing with ghosts, getting rid of ghosts, movies about haunted houses, and more.

I am going to recap some of the things that fascinated me.

There is a haunted painting of an octagonal house. Bought in an antique shop, a woman named Meena Svara took it home (a previous buyer freaked out so bad he had returned it to the store packaged in layers and layers of covering) and the painting would move from from horizontal to sideways (unaided) and scared Meena's cat. It also had a "cloud-like black shadow" pass across it and envelope it entirely before disappearing. Meena also swears she seen figures moving back and forth across the windows in the painting. Her cats even pawed at the windows. "She has also seen faces at the windows and changes to the house and grounds." There's much more about this painting and I was intrigued by all the data about it.

A girl named Pamela was accidentally pushed by her father down the stairs of a house in 1930, Ontario. She died. Her ghost began to haunt recent inhabitants of the home and an Ouija Board got some answers. She led the current residents and ghost investigators to the attic where they found a locket with her parents' pictures in it wrapped in a newspaper from 1930. With the locket returned to her, the nine year old agreed to move on to the next world.

Hamilton Paranormal took this photograph of the first landing of the stairway where Pamela tumbled to her death in 1930. Her image showed up in the upper half of the landing’s window and looks like she might be holding a doll."

Reading about LaLaurie House in New Orleans had me gasping with shock. The atrocities committed there on slaves were appalling. In 1834, it was discovered that the mistress of the house was keeping slaves chained to a wall and committing "medical experiements" on them. "One woman, for example, had both arms and legs cut off with patches of skin in a circular motion dotting her body.. Another had her mouth sewed shut with animal feces inside."

I could go on but it's really pretty gruesome. It's no wonder that place is said to be haunted.

Winchester Mansion in San Jose, CA was built by the widowed Sarah Winchester. Her husband was the son of Oliver Winchester, owner of Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Sarah was supposedly haunted by spirits who had been killed by Winchester rifles. When he husband died, leaving her 50% ownership of the company and an income of $1000 dollars a day (in 1880!!!), she used it to build a home for 38 consecutive years straight. A medium told her to build a house for the spirits and as long as she continued building, she would never die. The house stands today with 60 rooms, 47 fireplaces, 10,000 windowpanes, and three elevators. There's more to this too..

Even the younger George Bush has seen a ghost! In the White House!

In the Hollywood section, I was surprised to learn that George Clooney hired a psychic to help him contact his deceased but very loved 300 pound pot belly pig. 

Nevertheless, there's no end to the interesting or spooky stuff in this book. I'm glad one of the authors, Dawn Colclasure, contacted me about reading this and sent me a copy. I never would have heard of it otherwise and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the reading of it.

Highly recommended, but not before bed! 5 stars.