The Reading Group

Right before I read The Sisters, I read Elizabeth Noble's The Reading Group. This was the story of 5 women who come together monthly to discuss their books and, consequently, their lives. Through the course of a year, we see the lives and relationships of these very different women change. Together, they experience births, deaths, affairs, divorce, and raising children.
I am torn on this one. I loved the characters. I loved the emphasis on strong female relationships, be it between mother and daughter or between best friends. I related to certain characters and their issues with their relationships. These women were enduring and empowering.
I loved the references to great books and movies (like my favorite, Gone With the Wind :]). And I cried. Granted I had had a glass of wine at the time, but I laid in the tub, book in one hand- white zin in the other, while tears ran unchecked down my face. And we know I love a book that can make me feel that much.
However, I hated that it gave away the endings to the books the women read. Nerd that I am, that would be the one thing I didn't like. I have this never ending, always expanding list of books to read and I was excited to have a book filled with 12 recommendations. But in discussing the books, the characters gave away the best and most important parts and ultimately ruined them for me.
So I guess the bottom line is that I did like The Reading Group, but if I could do it over, I would read their reading list first. But like I said, that could just be me being a nerd.

The Sisters

Well, as of this past Saturday, I am officially a college graduate! What that means for you all is that I finally have time to write about the books that I have been reading for the past few months. Not to mention, I am back in Tennessee and got a little carried about at the bookstore again, so there will be no shortage of books to come either.
Although I have a bunch of books that I am now ready to write about, I'm going to start with the most recent because it was probably my favorite. I found The Sisters, by Nancy Jensen, on a bargain table at the bookstore down here that sucks up all my money. And for the record, I've found that some of the best books are found hidden on the sale tables.
Anyway, it took me a few months to getting around to reading it with that endless list of mine, but once I did I couldn't put it down. It is the story of Bertie and Mabel, two orphaned sisters living with their drunk of at step dad in the 1920s. The girls are all each other has in the world, and Mabel would do anything to protect Bertie. However, on the day of Bertie's 8th grade graduation, she discovers that her step dad has hung himself and her boyfriend and her sister have run away together. Heartbroken, Bertie is left alone with questions and no way to get answers.
The story then follows the sisters and their descendants through the next 90 years and three generations, through the Great Depression, World War II, and Vietnam and into the new millennium. We see how misunderstandings, stubbornness, and silence can change your entire life.
I really enjoyed this book. I loved figuring out the ages of each character every chapter and trying to picture them in that era, from their hair and clothes to the type of music they'd be listening to. I loved the historical references.  And of course, I loved the strong female characters. It was frustrating to know as an outsider that everything would be fixed if Bertie and Mabel just talked to each other instead of remaining alone out of stubbornness and fear. I thought that The Sisters was a great story and taught a great lesson.