The One Hundred Nights of Hero

 The One Hundred Nights of Hero by Isabel Greenberg (2016) 224 pages 

I read this on Libby. I like the color scheme of the art and the fantasy of this setting, an alternate land called Early Earth. "In the tradition of the Arabian Nights" is the perfect way to summarize this book. The author is British so cheeky describes the sense of humor in these feminist folk tales. Cherry and Hero outsmart the wicked suitor, Manfred, like Shahrazad delayed the vengeful Sultan, with stories. Hero wins over the guards and others with her stories in a world where women are supposed to be illiterate and powerless. She subverts all expectations.                        

Lillian Boxfish takes a walk

Lillian Boxfish takes a walk / Kathleen Rooney, read by Xe Sand, 287 pgs.

Lillian is 84 or 85 if you add back that year she has been lying about for a LONG time.  She is still living in New York, the city she moved to in her twenties and has loved ever since.  She came as a youngster and made her mark.  At one time, she was the highest paid woman in advertising, she is a published poet and a force.  Now, in her old age, she has fewer remaining friends and acquaintances but is certainly not opposed to making new ones.  She is walking on New Year's eve.  First going to her planned dinner and then probably home but instead, she continues on.  She meets new people and she reminisces about her life, her loves, the good times and the bad.  We learn a lot about Lillian on this walk.  Mostly we learn that she is an interesting woman who has seen a lot and knows a lot.

I listened to the audio version and Xe Sand does a great job of capturing Lillian's voice.  I also enjoyed the interview with the author at the end of the audio where I learned Lillian is based on a real person, Margaret Fishback whose papers were donated to Duke University. A great listen.

Into the water

Into the water / Paula Hawkins, 388 pgs.

Hawkins burst onto the scene with "The girl on the train," arguably the most checked out book of 2015 that resulted in a couple of feature films.  This book is good but very different.  A mother kills herself at the local "drowning pool," a famous site of many witch trials, suicides and murders through the ages.  She leaves a teenage daughter who is struggling after her best friend also committed suicide.  Lena knows more than she lets on but then so do many other characters in this book.  Speaking of characters, there are a lot of them.  Hawkins shines a light on each of them and makes you doubt their story.  For some reason, this book just doesn't pack the punch of the first one.  Most of these characters are not very likable and I felt like "The girl on the train" gave a good name to black-out drunks.  I certainly would not discourage reading but be aware the two books are very dissimilar.

American Housewife

American Housewife / Helen Ellis 188 pgs.

This book is wonderfully funny. A collection of stories, each one better than the previous one. It is pretty impossible to pick your favorite because they are all so good but who can resist "Take it from cats" or "The fitter"?  Probably nobody could.  Thank you Kara for recommending this book, it is my favorite of the year so far.  Do yourself a favor and give it a read.

How to be a woman

How to be a woman by Caitlin Moran 305 pgs.

Thank God for books like this one.  Like so many other things, I learned that I've been doing the woman thing all wrong.  Now that Caitlin Moran has tutored me, I'm sure things will be better.  Caitlin herself started out a friendless teen with the nickname "fatso". She has built herself into a very successful woman, wife, and mother.  That in itself is impressive and that is before you figure out just how damned funny she is.  I like the way she does not apologize for who she is or how she thinks.  Well stated Caitlin!


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How did you get this number

How did you get this number by Sloane Crosley  274 pgs.

Crosley is an excellent essayist and also reads her work on the audio version of this book.  The stories in this collection range from college age to close to present day.  Her earlier book (if memory serves me here) focused more on her childhood.  Not all of her stories are funny but all have a sense of humor and keep you wanting to read or listen.  I look forward to her next book. 

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It looked different on the model

It looked different on the model: epic tales of impending shame and infamy by Laurie Notaro 221 pgs.

Have you ever gotten trapped in clothing that was too small?  Laurie Notaro has.  She almost had to wait in the dressing room for a week or so until she lost enough weight to get out of that blouse.  Have you ever turned anyone in to homeland security for buying up too many kitchen timers on ebay?  You guessed it, Laurie has.  This woman is BUSY, let me tell you and most of what she does is funny.  Be careful at the post office if you end up behind her.  She practices "Prairie Medicine" and has no problem confronting the young man sleeping in her yard.  Laurie is underrated so don't miss this great collection of her stories.

A Bad Day for Scandal

A Bad Day for Scandal/Sophie Littlefield 290 pgs.

A great antidote for War and Peace although still loaded with philosophy and relationships...instead of romance, there is more lust here. Stella Hardesty is my kind of woman...confident, strong, with a life calling for justice and what is right. Stella continues her adventures in this third book by Littlefield...each of which keeps getting better. In this book Stella and her assistant Chrissy (who is very satisfyingly becoming a real computer nerd) are dealing with one dead body and a couple of missing people and a former Prosper resident isn't missed by most of the current residents. Stella's relationship with the Sheriff continues to heat up little by little and another love interest presents himself. The dialog and the situations in this book are quite funny. A short conversation between Stella and Chrissy goes like this:

"Hey Stella, how's a gun better than a man?"

Stella smiled, She could think of a few ways - depending on the man. And the gun. "How?"

"If you admire a friend's gun, and tell her so, she'll probably let you try it out a few times."