chestnutcurls | July Book List

Yeah...it's a little late.

Middlemarch by George Eliot (e-book)
A very long and, at times, convoluted story of the residents of a small English town. The characters were so well-drawn and I loved many of them. I was impressed by the honest portrayals of marriage, and how, while it can be a wonderful blessing, it can also bring disappointment and things you'll be dealing with forever. The characters and relationships felt fresh to me even though the book was written so long ago. Some things never change. Thanks to

katharhino for recommending this one!

Sunshine by Robin McKinley
Fantasy about a young woman called Sunshine who rescues herself and a vampire from serious danger, thus opening the floodgate to all sorts of hidden things from her past and present. It has elements of a lot of popular books that I've enjoyed. Sunshine reminded me a little of Kaylee from Firefly. :) The story didn't tie into a neat bow at the end, and I think this is the first time I've actually liked that in a book. Disclaimer: It's intense and definitely for adults only.

Bad Heiress Day by Allie Pleiter
Christian chick lit about a woman whose father dies after a long illness and leaves her over a million dollars - with the stipulation that she give it away. It took me a while to get into it, but I ended up enjoying it. It's similar in pace and tone to the Yada Yada series, if you like those.

A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue by Wendy Shalit
The overall theme of this book is that modern feminism has failed women and taken away our freedom - i.e. you can be anything you want to be, as long as it's not a chaste woman, a person who still has ideals and will stand strong for them, a wife, a mom. It's depressing to see what womankind has been pushed to, but also inspiring because it makes me want to do something about it. I don't plan to start dressing in long skirts, but I agreed with just about every word. Fantastic.

Books for July: 4
2009 year to date: 47