Another Award, To Me

The Sisterhood Award



I won this award about a week ago from redladysreadingroom. Thank you very much.
I love the badge it reminds me of the 60's.

I am going to do something different I am going to add a few of my book club buddies because they have great attitude and keep on hanging in there. They don't have a blog but they sure deserve it. Here is to you girls, for putting up with my whining and complaining. Lets see if they will be brave and comment on my blog.

I nominate of course Boston Bibliophile
and Bermuda Onion
Carrol Sallas of Our 38th Ave. Diva Readers Book Club
And Perri, she and I love to talk books.
Amy of 38th Ave. Diva Readers, she is another one that deserves it and is hanging in there. She just had a hip replacement and came through like a trooper.


Here are the rules to spread the sisterhood spirit:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate up to 10 blogs which show great attitude and/or gratitude!
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Remember to link to the person from whom you received your award.

I am sorry this is not the usual way to do it. I don't have alot of blogging friends to begin with so thought to do a change and add some of my friends that have a great attitude with books. Here is to you girls.

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Can't Wait To Read

From Caitlin Price from FSB Associates:
The Midwife by Jennifer Worth. I can't wait to read this but I want to delve right in to it. Since I was a R.N. This perks my interest.


At the age of 22 Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwfe in post war London's East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies. From the plucky warmhearted nuns whom she lives. To the woman with twenty four children, to the prostitutes and dockers of the city's seedier side illuminate a fascinating time in history.

There is a glossary of medical terms in the back of the book. I am very anxious to dive right in.

Goody Bag, From Book Club Girl

Look what I received from Book Club Girl:

A mouse pad so that I never forget Book Club Girl.
This is the list of books:
A Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hanover
Matrimony by Joshua Henkin( our book club planx to have a meeting to discuss the book with Joshua via conference call.
First Darling of the morning by Thrity Umigar
The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris
Things I want My Mother To Know by Elizabeth Noble

The Ten Year Nap

The Ten Year Nap
By Meg Wlitizer
Thank you Caitlin of FSB Associates for allowing me to review this book.


The Ten Year Nap is about four mothers that worked till they had their children.
They were content staying at home and taking care of their children and families. The story opens up on a sleepy morning in New York City when the alarms are sounded across town.

Amy, Jill, and Roberta ask themselves many quilt ridden questions. They question their decision that they have made for themselves. Should I have went back to work or am I content taking care of my children. This is a question that is probably asked many times in back of stay at home mother's heads. Amy's mother, a novelist questions her daughter about going back to work.

Ten years later they wake up( hence the title), and find their children becoming independent. Finding that their children need them less and less. What is a 40 something mother to do?? Should she go back to work. Or stay with her children.


The book is a jumping off point for book clubs for possibly stay at home moms. This is a good book that would have a good discussion. I can see it getting a little heated. Amy lost herself after her son was born. She woke up to ask, who am I. I think the novel asks what makes a mother, and what makes a good mother.

There were times I was routing for Amy other other times I was down right angry. saying are you stupid.

Who is to say if it is right or wrong. I can remember when I was a young mothers there were heated discussions of The Mommy Wars. This is interesting is it possible to have happiness in both worlds.

Who is to say if it is right or wrong. I can remember when I was a young mother and I wondered the same thing. I would feel guilty leaving my child going to work and and not being there for him.

Who knows what the right answer is. I just know that I was a stay at home mother and I did what I felt was best. I am not going to give any opinions because this would be a very heated argument.

I have seen chick lit books on the subject but never any book to make you think about it.

This is a great discussion starter for stay-at-home-moms book clubs.
I could not connect with these characters that well but I wanted to continue the book. I could relate with what the characters were going through and that led me to finish it. If you were expecting a resolution there was not any.
I give it ****/*****(4/5) for just the attempt for trying to tackle the issue of parenting. Staying at home vs. working mom.

Orange Prize Long Listed, Announced

The Orange Prize is given to a woman author. That is judged to be the best full length work of fiction written in the English language. The Orange Prize is given in the U.K. It can not be a short story or translated from another language.

The nominations will be decided soon. But you can view the long list at the Orange prize site. There are a few American writers that have been nominated. I look forward to this every spring. I have not read any of these yet.

What are your thoughts of the nominee's Post me a comment. I am interested to see if any one has read them and did they deserve to be long listed.

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Patience: My ideal Book Club

Carol Fitzgerald,the founder of bookreporter.com is a great resource for book clubbers, and bibliophiles.
I stubbled on her site around 1999. I became a regular when I moved down to SC. Up in New Jersey I had belonged to three book clubs. A library, a book store book club
( independent), and my shul book club. All of my book clubs were passionate about the written word, and we pulled the books apart. We had a few literature professors, and yes we did have men in this group. It was a even balance.

When I moved to Myrtle Beach, everything changed. This is not a cultural community.
The book clubs I encountered were not about the book. They were a social gathering. As you might expect I was not happy with any that I attended. It is ok to have a social. But to have 10 min. dedicated to the book, and the rest of the time a social gathering. That is not a book club, that is a excuse to have a get together.

My only connection to books was through bookreporter.com. This was my pipeline for books. I could not share my excitement with books with others. But I could learn about up and coming books from bookreporter.com. Thank g-d, for bookreporter and the internet.

I don't know what other people do before the internet or people that live in less dense communities, where there is not any book clubs, or culture in the communities, but I would go batty.

Bookreporter.com, is the central information of everything about books.
She also has offshoots from that for book clubs,called readingguides.com.
Carol, and her team have developed a very good website. It is full info. about the authors and their books, up and coming books, author interviews, and contests,
readingguide.com, just started a blogs with a wealth of info. about book clubs too. This was my resource about how to start and maintain a book club.

She is always trying to improve the website she ask visitors for comments and suggestions. I would take a peak, but I am sure once you make that first visit you will become a regular.

I did not did find the club I wanted classics, and contemporary.
I did start a book club. it forced a shy person like me to come out of my shell.
What did I know about running a book club. I usually was a observer not a talker.
I imagine the reason I opened up is because I saw what I lost. Our book club is not like what I had before in NJ. But I would rather have this than not have one at all.

There is the online book clubs, but they are rather one sided.
Barnes and Noble has one. And it seems there is much conversation.
But the technology is too confusing and overwhelming.

Bookclubgirl.com, has developed a great idea. It the closest book club without your actual presence. The great thing is it is live. Maybe in a few years they will be able to develop a book club with sound and picture using a videocam( I think that is what they call it).

I will then be able to find the book club of my dreams( literature,and contemporary). Till then I will continue with the book club and be happy, I still
have one I can still go to

Wow, From Boston Bibliophile

I am very honored and humbled to win this award from Bostonbibliophile
thank you Marie. Marie, does a great job on her blog and does great reviews.
She writes great reviews on Jewish literature as well as secular.

This is the award:

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award."

Now I must choose eight bloggers that I feel the same way Marie feels about me.
I have lost touch for a while with some of the bloggers they probably have forgotten me.

Jewish Wishes
Kathy at Bermuda Onion
Books on the Brain
The Printed Page
Every Day I Write The Book
Red Lady's Reading Room
Book Lady's Blog
Literatary Menagerie
Literate Housewife

I would like to thank all of you for enriching my life with blogging. It has been a great ride and hope to continue.

Look What's In My Goody Bag

I feel like a little kid in the candy store this week. I have received so many unexpected packages.
I don't mean to gloat but I never win on any blogs. But I do at book club girl's blog this is the third time in the last few months.
This is what I won for my book club:

# Book Club Girl mousepad Coasters for Your Next Book Group Gathering
# Matrimony by Joshua Henkin
# First Darling of the Morning by Thrity Umrigar
# The Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover
# Things I Want My Daughters to Know by Elizabeth Noble
# The Girl with No Shadow by Joanne Harris

One of the gifts is Matrimony, which our book club is planning on reading. The author, Joshua Henkin and I have had some correspondence. He is planning on joining us in July for our book club.. This is a great prize for our book club anniversary party. Any of you have any ideas for a contest to win these great prizes??

I also won Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews, for book club girl's Blog Talk Radio that will be broadcast.
We will be talking to Mary Kay Andrews. The new book is Deep Dish. I read her other one's and she is a dish. A fun one to read , it is full of laughs and odd-cap humor.


Go to Blog Talk Radio to sample the other authors that have stopped by.
You can visit Book Club Girl for more info. You listen in and can respond. It is better than a online book club. because you can listen to and participate in the club live or can listen later, but unfortunately, it won't be live.

Since I did not participate in Marcia's, Mailbox Monday I thought I would share with you the books I received:

Fifty Is Not A Four Letter Word by Linda Kelsey from Hatchette books. Thanks Miriam

Buffalo Lock Jaw by Greg Ames this is from Gayle at Every Day I Write The Book

Curse of the Spellmans. and Revenge of The Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. Lisa sent me all three in the series since you have to go in order.

Our book club received 12 copies of Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos. Thank you Bookreporter.com, Carol Fitzgerald and her staff for compensating our book club.

Thank you Karen for sending me The House on Tradd Street and her new one that will be out soon The Last Hours.

My son just announced we need a new house just for all the books I keep getting.
This just happened when I started blogging. I don't have any other place for them they are all over the floor. What are you going to do with all the book??? good question....

As you can see I will be busy for a while.
So what great tidbits did you receive??

They Keep On Coming

Books and more books they keep on coming.
Now that I am officially on sprink break. I can devote my time on my blogs.
This one and, Jewish Rantings.
This is a update on our book club, The 38th Ave. Diva Readers. There has been so many health issues and family members being sick a few of us decided that we would give a vacation to the book club for a couple months till June. I am not kidding everyone has been sick. My best friend, Amy just had a hip replacement and another one had surgery. One of my other friends fell and hurt herself badly, she is in a sling. That is the bad news.

Now for the Good News, a couple years ago our book club met for our Chanakah book club meeting. We won books, and a author call in. I am not going to tell you who. I don't want to embarrass her. But because of what happened I was very embarassed. The author never called. Needless to say I was very embarrassed. I sent email after, to bookreporter.com, Carol, and her staffed worked very hard to rectify it pretty quickly. We received 12 copies of books and was promised another 12 copies of Stephanie Kallas's new book when it is published. I then sent Carol is, a email and received 12 copies of Sing to you for my book club. I plan on using it as favors, our anniversary tea that will be coming up. This is great because I have tried to get books this year for our party this year without any luck. I am sure it is because of the economy.

My next surprise, I received from BOOK CLUB GIRL, My book club won a packet of books and mouse pads for my book club. I am so excited. Can't wait to use it for the anniversary party.

Prohibition: The Big Joke Research Paper

Hi everyone, If anyone is wondering what happened to me I survived midterms. Now I can celebrate with spring break. My last assignment was a history paper.
I decided my argumentive paper would be on the prohibition. I just loved researching and finding out about the 1920's. I wish I had spoken to my grandmother and grandfather about this time period. It always seems you don't appreciate it until it's too late.

I was able to fit in a paragraph or two about F. Scott Fitzgerald and the prohibition and how it ties in to the prohibition.


My argumentative statement was: The 18th amendment was not taken seriously. The Anti-Saloon League put the pressure on the political parties. This caused the formation, and increase in crime, mobsters, gangsters, bootlegging, the speakeasy,corruption inside and outside the U.S. government. The title of my paper is called: The Big Joke: Prohibition from 1920-1933.

I found some great websites to visit about the flappers,the women's movement, and the writers( the lost generation), the cultures and events of the 20's, the mobsters, gangsters, and gangs.
If interested you can visit here or here

Teachers must not expect as much from students like they used to. I have written a paper twice for history class. Each time I always had a cover page for my reseach paper. Not one other student did. I know I am much older than these younger students. But I take pride, I worked very hard on this paper why not put a cover sheet and staple it together. I have never heard of such a thing. I know this is petty, but handing a paper, to a instructor with out it being stapled is just lazy. To me it is not finished until the extra step with a cover page and a staple or a report cover is on there. It just urked me. What is the big deal going the extra mile. Things have most definately changed. I remember when I was in college before it was mandatory that a cover sheet and a report cover was on the paper.
Maybe I am too old to understand this.

I would love to hear from other teachers what they expect from their students. Is this just laziness on the students part, or do the teachers not expect this any longer when they do research papers?? Love to hear.

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Little Red Book

In honor of National Women's Month Anna Basai will is hosting a blog tour of
My Little Red Book.


This is a small book of stories of litle girls when we grow up.
You guessed it, it is called the cursed or blessed event called menstruation.
This depends on how you were raised and the attitudes that you were brought up on.
These stories range in age from young women to older women. It is a book of stories that these women are professionals and non-professionals, young and old, famous and not so famous women that share their stories on their first time they got their periods and their experiences.

One story takes place in Germany during the holocaust. Of all places she got her period when she was on the train. Other stories are down right funny. Some are sad.
There are some girls that were not ever told about once a month getting their period.
One mother never told her daughter she had to find out from her sister. One girl's father was so proud it was announced at the dinner table. That would be so embarrassing. Other girls thought they were dying.

This would be a good book for a conversation starter. to discuss this with other In a youth group such as Girl Scouts, church youth groups, and synagouge youth groups, a book club of young girls and mothers too. This book would help pre-teens to talk about their fears of their bodies,and compare notes with each other. Many girls when I was growing up were afraid to ask anything and you always heard horror stories. I wish someone had wrote this kind of book when I was growing up.
Educating ourselves empower us. Just a added note there are discussion questions on the book website to consider. I wish I could have a group that we could answer thses questions. I would love to hear the responses from other women.


I attempted to talk about this among my friends( they are in their 60's).
They are not quite as open minded as I. They really did not want to talk about this.
But hopefully the younger women are much more open minded then my social circle of friends.



When I was growing up in the 70's my mother never talked about it.
When it came to sex education my mother gave me a book and told me to read it. It was never discussed again. I don't remember getting my period and what it was like. I probably could not wait to get it. Because I thought something was wrong with me because I was so late, I was 16.

I have a 18 yr. old son. I am very open with him. I remember talking with him and discussing reproduction, protection, diseases. etc. Thank G-d I am not like my mother when it comes to not telling. I am pretty open with David. If I had any pre-teen daughters I would have given this book to them to open up a dialogue with them.

I don't know why in my generation this is considered dirty. I am Jewish and there are laws for orthodox women that women stay away from their husbands for a certain amount of days. Then the women go to the mikvah(a large bathtub). It is not told to us but we can pretty much feel that we feel dirty. This law is held by the very religious women.

I would like to thank Anna for sending me a copy.
There will be a book blog tour hosted by Anna from Hatchette Books.
Here is a review by The New York Times
I can't wait to see what the other bloggers think.

Coming Up For Air

I have been so busy lately that I have not had a chance to write a post or visit my emails for over a week. I have had a American history exam that was last Thursday(The Native Americans, Gilded Age, Progressive Age, Spanish American War, Theodore Roosevelt).
I have more interest in European History than American history. Pretty bad, wouldn't you say. Up to 2 days ago even when I spoke to my teacher I did not get as excited as Western Civilization. As my exam got closer to the day of the exam. I was getting more interesteded in American history. But sorry to say I still have more interest in Europe. But at least the Progressive age is more exciting now to me. It now makes sense about the big business in the guilded age and the progressives in early 1900's, and social darwinism all brought social change to america to "The Little Guy".
If it was not for T. Roosevelt who knows what would have happened.

I have a practical, like a midterm in Anatomy, tommorrow and then a test on Wednesday on Skin, Bones and Muscle. G-d help me if I get through. Then I have a paper I have to write. I am going to do it on Prohibition and the Progressive age possibility. I would love to do a paper on The Roaring 20's and Prohibition and with F.Scott Fitzgerald. But then the paper gets too complicated. I have this week after my Anatomy exam to decide what I really want to write.

It has been a week since I have been on the computer. It is nice to be back...Just found out I won a contest from Book Club Girl.
But I don't remember what it is. I will be finding out soon.
See you all soon...