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Book Review: 'The Bright Side of Disaster' by Katherine Center

4/26/2016

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One of the genres I was most looking forward to covering for my readers' advisory course was women's fiction – although I do have a bit of an issue with the name and definition of the genre itself. "Women's fiction," as it is so called, is that of books dealing with *traditionally* women's themes: love, loss, divorce, raising a family, etc. But ... umm, hello? With the massive exception of actually growing and giving birth to another human being – are these not all also important parts of men's lives too? Or at least, shouldn't they be? I, and many of my classmates, would say an emphatic yes.

I think the name of the genre also puts women in a bit of a box by telling them (and in turn, telling men) what should and should not be a woman's interests, experiences, etc. Another big issue for me is that by labeling the genre as belonging to women, many men are deterred from reading it. There is no "men's fiction," why should there be a "women's fiction?" While I agree that these types of books definitely belong in their own genre, perhaps a better name for it would be something involving “family” or “relationships," don't you think? 

I find myself most drawn to issue-driven women’s fiction, and am not *generally* a big fan of chick lit. There’s something therapeutic about issue-driven books for me. I like reading dramatic stories about other people’s lives that I can either distract myself with, or connect with on a personal level. For this week’s assigned book, Happiness Sold Separately by Lolly Winston, I found it just OK. I thought the concept and content was excellent (infertility and miscarriages are such a taboo topic and need to be talked about more). I also liked that the characters were portrayed as real humans who make mistakes and have complicated relationships.

That being said, I never found myself personally connecting with the characters. I wanted to slap almost every character at one point or another, and not just out of passionate reader’s distaste. Usually, character is the big draw for me when reading/enjoying books, but the plot of this one was more appealing. Maybe that’s why this book just sort of fell a little flat for me. However, someone who has personally experience infertility (or infidelity, I suppose) could definitely find this book very relatable! The other book I chose to read this week was The Bright Side of Disaster by Katherine Center, reviewed below.

Jenny always hoped to fall in love, get married and then get pregnant. But when those things all happen in a different order, she eventually finds herself two weeks overdue and deserted by her garage band-obsessed fiancé a few weeks before their wedding. Within a day of finding Dean's poor excuse for a break-up letter, Jenny goes into labor.
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Juggling a fussy newborn as a single mom while trying to cope with heartbreak, Jenny gets some unexpected (and much needed) help from her handsome new neighbor, Gardner. Seven months after giving birth, Jenny finally starts to feel like she’s getting the hang of this whole motherhood thing, but life is about to throw her another curve ball. After her first date with too-good-to-be-true Gardner, guess who Jenny finds sitting on her couch when she gets home? That’s right – it’s Dean, who says he’s finally ready to be a father.

Filled with smart humor, anger, exhaustion, disappointment, family, friendship and love, this book features as many different emotions as you would expect from a hormonal, suddenly single and new mom. A touching novel about the trials, tribulations and triumphs of being a first-time mother, The Bright Side of Disaster encompasses just how messy, crazy and unpredictable life can be.  
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I give this book:
★★★★

For another charming pregnancy-related read, check out Bed Rest by Sarah Bilston. Working professional and busybody Quinn "Q" Boothroyd has found pregnancy to be a breeze … that is until her doctor tells her she must spend the last three months of her pregnancy lying prone in bed. Desperate for something to do, Q’s new life parked on the couch leads her to learn a lot about herself and the little baby growing inside of her.
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'The Heretic's Daughter': A Book Talk

4/22/2016

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In addition to all of the different book reviews I am required to write for my readers' advisory course this semester, I also have to produce two book talk videos of titles from a genre of my choosing. For the first of my book talk videos, I chose the historical fiction bestseller, The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent.

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I give this book:
★★★★

A highly compelling and well researched story, The Heretic's Daughter is about the real life persecutions of an alleged witch, Martha Carrier, and her family that occurred in colonial Massachusetts in the early 1600s during the infamous Salem Witch Trials.

​As an actual descendant of the real Martha Carrier, Kent does a tremendous job of telling her ancestor's story, as well as that of the hundreds of other men, women and children who were accused, "tried" and/or executed for supposedly practicing the devil's magic during this historical time of mass hysteria and paranoia.  


I actually read this book over spring break while I was on a road trip down south. Toward the end of the trip when I was starting to get a little "vacationed out," I found myself looking forward to the end of each day when I could return to the hotel room and lay in bed just to read this book.

Read any great books lately — historical fiction or otherwise? Tweet me!
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@TessaFoxReads
#TessaFoxReads

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Book Review: 'Yours to Keep' by Shannon Stacey

4/15/2016

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When I first signed up for my readers' advisory class, the genre I was looking forward to reading the absolute least (well, besides maybe western) was hands down romance. Now, anyone who knows me is well aware that I am an emotional person and can cry over just about anything. That being said, I'm not really into all that mushy gushy stuff, so I had just sort of dismissed the genre for that reason. But in reality, most romance books are much more steamy than they are lovey dovey. And while I can definitely appreciate a good sex scene in my novels, I find it a bit overwhelming when they are practically the entire premise of the book. But now that I've learned a little bit more about the different types of romance novels out there, it turns out some of them might not be so bad!

The required romance novel for the entire class to read was Trial by Desire by Courtney Milan – a regency romance set in 1841 England filled with a whiny male lead and way too many petticoats for my liking. While it was refreshing (and a little unexpected) to find so many Feminist themes in this book, it was my most disliked out of any that I had read for the class thus far. After all, you (or at least I) can only read about someone's pants stiffening so many times before it starts to get a little old ...

Hopefully there aren't upcoming titles for this class that I like even less, because that would be a pretty difficult feat to accomplish. Lesson learned: Regency romances are not for me! All that being said, I was surprised to find myself actually quite enjoying the contemporary romance novel I picked to read this week, called Yours to Keep by Shannon Stacey. Below is my review.

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I give this book:
★★★★

Within hours of returning home to New Hampshire after a long stint in the Army, Sean Kowalski is stunned when a stranger named Emma Shaw knocks on his door claiming to be his fiancée. It turns out the long-legged landscaper was looking for a way to put her grandmother’s mind at ease after she moved to Florida, so Emma fabricated an intimate relationship with one of her best friend’s handsome relatives.

With a visit from her grandmother looming, Emma must convince this "stranger" Sean to play the role she invented for him or come clean to her grandma that she lied about the whole thing. With no other real plans of what to do now that he’s out of the service, Sean eventually agrees to the crazy scheme – surprising Emma, his family and even himself.
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A cute and comical contemporary romance, Yours to Keep will have readers laughing at and rooting for Sean and Emma as they attempt to keep up the happy twosome charade in front of both of their families. After the two actually get to know one another it turns out “being a couple” comes pretty naturally to them – even if they are the only ones who can’t see it.
If you enjoy light reads like Yours to Keep, be sure to check out the other books in Stacey's Kowalski Family series. Looking for another contemporary romance filled with family drama, humor and a fake boyfriend? Too Good to Be True by Kristan Higgins follows the story of 30-year-old Grace Emerson, a history teacher who was dumped by her fiancé for her sister two weeks before their wedding. Desperate for something to say when people keep questioning her about her love life, Grace invents a new boyfriend of her own … one who just happens to look a heck of a lot like her new neighbor that she may or may not have called the cops on and beaten with a hockey stick.

Overall, this week of class gave me a newfound appreciation for the romance genre and the millions of people who read it. Fun fact:  Romance books generally outsell all other fiction genres, making up approximately 13% of the fiction sales market! Who knew?!
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Celebrate National Library Week 2016: Libraries Transform

4/8/2016

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It's that time of year again folks, National Library Week! This year's theme "Libraries Transform" could not be any more accurate of what libraries do. Looking to improve your health? Libraries have tons of books about healthy eating, diets and exercise. Want to make your daily commute more productive (and fun)? Check out an audiobook and listen to it on your way to work! Searching for technology classes to better your computer skills? Libraries offer many *FREE* programs (both technology-based and otherwise) for patrons of all ages. Not only libraries transform their patrons, they also transform their communities!

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. This year's celebration is April 10-16. The week designates a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and advocacy. All types of libraries – be it school, public, academic or special – are recognized and participate in this honorary week of recognition.

Celebrations during this year's National Library Week include the following:
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  • Monday, April 11: State of America's Libraries Report released, including Top Ten Frequently Challenged Books of 2015.
  • Tuesday, April 12: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers.
  • Wednesday, April 13: National Bookmobile Day, a day to recognize the contributions of our nation's bookmobiles and the dedicated professionals who make quality bookmobile outreach possible in their communities.
This year's Honorary Chair of National Library Week is Gene Luen Yang, an award-winning graphic novelist and the 2016-2017 National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. His 2006 book, American Born Chinese was the first graphic novel to be a finalist for a National Book Award and the first to win the American Library Association’s Printz Award. It also won an Eisner Award for Best Graphic Album. 
Looking for ways to honor your library this week? Here's
what you can do:
1. Join the ALA's Libraries Transform
​public awareness campaign
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2. Help spread the word on social media
3. Take part in the Because _____________.  #LibrariesTransform promotion
4. Take part in the 
Libraries Transform
​Video Challenge

5. And most importantly: Visit your public, school or academic library!
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    Author

    Tessa Fox is a 26-year-old Early Literacy Librarian at the Grayslake Area Public Library in Grayslake, Illinois. After working in the journalism and publishing fields, Tessa decided to dedicate her life to books and public librarianship, and went back to school to get her Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she graduated in December 2016. Tessa has been working in public libraries for the past four years.


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