i'm breathing some life back into this thread, go me. anyway, i paid off all my library late fees finally so i've been reading more. here's a couple "book thoughts" from stuff lately-
Honolulu by Alan Brennert
story of a young "picture bride" who journeys to Hawai'i in 1914 in search of a better life.
"Instead of the affluent young husband and chance at an education that she has been promised, she is quickly married off to a poor, embittered laborer who takes his frustrations out on his new wife. Renaming herself Jin, she makes her own way in this strange land, finding both opportunity and prejudice. With the help of three of her fellow picture brides, Jin prospers along with her adopted city, now growing from a small territorial capital into the great multicultural city it is today. But paradise has its dark side, whether it's the daily struggle for survival in Honolulu's tenements, or a crime that will become the most infamous in the islands history..."
this was my first book by this author, and i chose it because i really enjoy historical dramas that are told with accuracy. this book does a really great job of that, plus it's really well-written; obviously Brennert has a lot of fondness for Hawaii, the descriptions of the city at the turn of the 20th century are breathtaking and told with relish.
the story actually begins in Korea and as you follow Jin, the Korean picture bride, through the story you learn a lot about what it was like to live as a Korean woman under not just men, but a land occupied under Japanese rule. Jin is a seamstress with nimble hands it seems. it was kind of refreshing to read a story where 'womens work' is not diminished or deemed uninteresting.
The Princess Diarist by Carrie Fisher
"The Princess Diarist is Carrie Fisher’s intimate, hilarious and revealing recollection of what happened behind the scenes on one of the most famous film sets of all time, the first Star Wars movie."
this was my second Carrie Fisher book. i also read
Wishful Drinking a few months back, but i enjoyed this one more. it was really fun to read Carrie's side of her relationship with Harrison Ford (
Carrison, she calls it). also, Carrie Fisher is ****ing hilarious and refreshingly, apologetically frank. i dunno that i'd recommend this book to just anyone, because a good third of it is old diary excerpts from a diary she kept whilst filming
A New Hope. but i'd recommend Carrie Fisher as an author to just about anyone. i don't usually read 'celebrity' books, but Carrie Fisher is special. or, was special.
anyway, the diary bits are kind of pretentious, but they're really fun to read imo. it made me feel all nostalgic or a bit like reading my own old journals. she also talks about what it's like to be a poor rich person, and the weirdness of having millions of fans.
yeah, it's definitely worth a read.
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
"Her name is Dinah. In the Bible, her life is only hinted at in a brief and violent detour within the more familiar chapters of the Book of Genesis that are about her father, Jacob, and his dozen sons. Told in Dinah's voice, this novel reveals the traditions and turmoils of ancient womanhood--the world of the red tent."
another historical drama... kinda. it doesn't pretend to be accurate, it kind of takes its own spin on the story of Jacob, Rachael, Leah, Dinah and her brothers, but in doing so it sort of makes a statement about perception... and rape culture in general, really. the story, told by Dinah, begins with Jacob and the story of her four mothers: Leah, Rachael, Zilpah, and Belhah. Diamant certainly takes liberties, and if you're Christian, you might not enjoy that so much. but the story of Dinah as told in the bible is pretty shoddy, anyway, isn't it?