What a gal!

Condoleezza Rice: A Memoir of My Extraordinary, Ordinary Family and Me covers her childhood in segregated Birmingham, her close-knit family life, education, and rise through professional, educational, and political worlds. I went into this knowing almost nothing about Condoleezza beyond her serving in the White House under President Bush but by the end of this book I felt that I knew her as one knows a friend. I think what I found most surprising is that she still teaches classes (Managing Global Political Risk if you're curious) at Stanford University. This book runs chronologically as most autobiographies do but two of the biggest focuses are her relationship to her parents (she is an only child) and her professional life as an academic and political scientist. She is an accomplished, intelligent, and ultimately fearlessly ambitious woman. She has never married but seems genuinely happy with her single life (sounds familiar). She makes no bones about her many achievements which include but are not limited to being a proficient pianist and fluent Russian speaker. I also appreciated that she included photographs, a chronology of her career, and a glossary of historic events and people during her lifetime. I'd say that this book would be good for anyone looking to learn more about women in politics and/or what it was like for this particular woman who was raised during segregation in the tumultuous city of Birmingham...and still make it to the upper echelons of government. Good for history buffs and political junkies. 

Source: Amazon

What's Up Next: Recovery: Freedom From our Addictions by Russell Brand

What I'm Currently Reading: Star Trek Destiny #2: Mere Mortals by David Mack

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Pants: More than just a leg covering

The second book chosen for the feminist book club I belong to on Goodreads was The Color Purple by Alice Walker. This was the first time I had read this classic despite it being on my radar for a looooong time. (I haven't seen the film either...) I have quite a few thoughts about this novel. In fact, I ended up taking notes so that I could let the story sink in a little further before I wrote up my final review.This is a story of oppression in a variety of forms. The setting is rural Georgia (although we do jump to Africa for a portion). It's written in journal format primarily by the main character, Celie, a young black woman coming into her own in the early 1900's. There are a lot of themes in this book besides oppression. One of the biggest is sexual awakening and liberation (not just sexual). Also, pants. Pants play a major role and symbolize independence, comfort, and self-sufficiency to name but a few. This book is teeming with powerful women. The strength of women is shown in a variety of forms. There is Sofia who is physically strong but is torn down by the constraints of her race. However, she learns how to build herself back up and to be better than before. There is Mary Agnes who is originally called Squeak but finds her voice in more ways than one. There's Nettie who might be my favorite as she used her chance of happiness wisely. She stayed strong in her faith not only of God but her sister. Good can happen to good people. There's Shug who can be a difficult character to like. She does what (and who) that she wants and she doesn't apologize for it which is probably the point. Women are taught that we should apologize for doing the same things men do. It is through her that happiness (and pants) makes its way into Celie's life. Then there is our main character, Celie, who had the toughest time and experienced the most growth. Spoiler alert ahead! The character goes from a frightened, sexually abused child to a confident woman in a polyamorous relationship. The book has been adapted for film, stage, and radio. Its message is a timeless one. If you haven't had the opportunity (or the inclination) to read this classic I think there's no better time than the present. :-)

PS I told you I had a lot to say. XD

PPS This is the second book from the feminist book club on Goodreads called Our Shared Shelf started by Emma Watson.

**If you're interested in buying this book or any books really, you can click here or here. The first will re-direct you to AbeBooks and the second will re-direct you to The Book Depository. These are great websites for purchasing books (AbeBooks carries inexpensive used and out-of-print books and The Book Depository ships free everywhere in the world). Full disclosure: I will receive a commission on all sales made by following either of these links. I wouldn't recommend a site that I didn't use and you are under no obligation to purchase anything. :-) **

Underwhelming

Sometimes it's best not to start a book with a high sense of anticipation because you may be setting yourself up for disappointment. This isn't the case 100% of the time (thank goodness!) but the few times it happens it is SUCH a bummer. This is precisely what happened with I Am Scout. I've been curious about Harper Lee for a while now as her name (and novel) are such a big deal for my home state of Alabama (and the world if I'm being honest). Therefore, when I heard praise for a young adult biography on this esteemed author I knew it had to be added to my wish list right away (it's been on my Amazon wish list since the fall of 2011). I expected to get an in-depth story about an author that seemed to be synonymous with civil liberty and the South. What I got instead were anecdotes from former classmates who admitted they weren't even close to Lee. I have to give Shields credit where credit is due because he certainly did his research as best as he could with the resources that he had available to him. It is a well known fact that Harper Lee is not in the habit of giving interviews and even when she does they are short and impersonal affairs. She wrote one of the most influential novels of the 20th century and then seemed to adopt the life of a recluse. If you're picking up this book in the hopes that you'll find out more about the woman who penned To Kill a Mockingbird then I'm afraid you'll be dissatisfied with the outcome.

Well, here's another one that I've had on my wish list for quite a while: The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman. You guys already know my love of this author and when I got wind that he had written an adult fantasy novel I had to jump on it. As you may or may not be aware, Gaiman generally sticks to the young adult audience and hasn't written for adults in 8 years so this was a HUGE deal among the reading community. The story centers around a narrator who travels back to his hometown only to discover that the women he had met as a child were still living there...unchanged. I started it this morning and even though I'm only through the first chapter I already know this is going to make it to my list of favorites. :-D

I'm typing this on an iPad in the airport...

...and it's not even my iPad.

As you might have guessed this is a post from the road...sort of. I quickly finished up Beautiful Creatures before I left home and I am seriously jonesing for the next book in the series, Beautiful Darkness. So I guess that tells you what I ultimately thought of the book. Full of angst that only a teen romance seems to deliver and bursting with elements of the supernatural, Beautiful Creatures was an absolute delight. For a book with over 500 pages, I certainly didn't feel the burden of reading to the end. The characters were relatable (despite supernatural powers), the setting a perfect backdrop for drama, and the love story enchanting. GO AND READ.

In lieu of having the next book in the series I thought I'd change gears and read a memoir. This is one that I've been wanting to read for quite some time. It's Russel Brand's My Booky Wook: A Memoir of Sex, Drugs, and Stand-Up. Yes, it's that Russell Brand. The opinionated, slightly off-kilter glam rocker who occasionally plays parts remarkable dissimilar from himself (or entirely too similar if you've seen the movie Arthur). If you've ever seen his interviews you know the man is not entirely what he at first seems. He has a sharp mind and an even sharper tongue. I know that I'm in for quite an adventure with this one.

Now it's time for the wait for the plane. 1 hour and counting...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!