Spinster, In Praise of Women who Crave Their Solitude

Quick! What do you think when you hear the word spinster? Chances are good that you think of a never-married woman living with an apartment full of cats. Whatever image your mind immediately conjures up,  it's likely to have a negative connotation.

Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own by Kate Bolick takes a refreshing look at what it means to be a single woman by choice. It's less of a memoir and more of a history lesson on the kinds of women who have stood up throughout history to defy traditional female roles and stereotypes of Mother/Wife.

Spinster by Kate Bolick. Crown Publishing

Bolick presents the book as her own enlightening of sorts, she introduces us to the five women in history whom she relates most to because of their quest to define themselves first as individuals and then as women. These women are her five awakeners (whom are all writers of some variety and notoriety had either sworn off marriage or done so on their own, nontraditional terms). It's interesting for me, as a woman in her mid-thirties, to ponder what it was like to lack a choice in one's future. My generation grew up as the offspring of divorce, wedlock and normalized feminism and were probably the first group of women who honestly believed that they can tread any path that they choose, whether that means marrying and having children, staying single and focusing on one's career or any combination of both.

This book mingles the feminist historical context of what it is to be a single woman by choice as well as trace the author's own quest for self-discovery through re-examining the lives of her awakeners. She coins the term "spinster's wish" as her private desire "for the pleasures of being alone". And really what woman doesn't desire solitude from time to time? Whether that means a break from the kids/husband or the ability to fully immerse oneself in the things that fill one's life with passion?
Bolick encourages women of all states of coupling to take back the term spinster and make it into something positive.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

Dead Wake: More Than a Story About the Sinking of the Lusitania

There is something about an Erik Larson book that makes the reader embrace, even enjoy, history. Even if history isn't your genre of choice, Larson makes his books completely compelling and brings moments of history to life in a way that is accessible to everyone.

Larson's latest, Dead Wake, subtitled The Last Crossing of the Lusitania, tells the fateful story of the British luxury ocean liner en route from New York to Liverpool. We all know from history class that the sinking of the Lusitania was one of the key events that brought the U.S. into World War I. But this book manages to make the history read like a novel. And even though we all know the outcome, the book still keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, almost hoping history got the telling wrong.

Dead Wake by Erik Larson

The devil truly is in the details, and this book is packed with information about the Lusitania, from details about the passengers to what it was like to travel on the liner. It's odd to say that I felt connected to the "characters" because these people really existed as did their ultimate life and death struggle. Personal tragedy as a story always pulls readers in (hello Titanic, anyone?), but Larson manages to recount each passenger's storyline in a way that makes you feel temporarily removed from the reality of the story.

But this wasn't just a book about the sinking itself. Larson gives the reader political perspectives too, from both the British and the American point of view. As readers, we got into Churchill's head, as well as Wilson's. We learned about Germany's U-boats and how they revolutionized the way wars were fought. There was also the fascinating angle of code breaking.

Of course, as is so often with history, facts later come to light that makes the reader wonder how easily the outcome could have drastically changed. Many small choices and coincidences all came together that factored into the torpedoing of the Lusitania, which as a reader I found to be most fascinating. I also found myself questioning a lot of the actions, or more specifically inactions, that could have altered the course of history.

It's hard to read this book as history, partially because it is difficult to imagine such horrible events taking place despite the fact that we know them to be true; but also mainly because Larson has a knack for telling history in a way that makes the reader understand it in a new light while remaining strictly factual and shying away from any of the Lusitania conspiracy theories that abound.

I devoured this book in four days despite it's lengthy size (450 pages, Kindle version), which is a testament to how it kept me on the edge of my seat and awake well into the early hours of the morning. This book is a great read for the history buff in your life, but would be equally appreciated by those who enjoy thrilling novels. Have a student learning about World War I? They would benefit from reading this as well.

Blogger note: I received this book from the Blogging for Books program in exchange for this review. This review is entirely based on my opinion and contains my honest evaluation.

Tinseltown by William J Mann: Good Old 1920s Hollywood Murder Mystery

Black and white movies. Drugs. Movie censorship. Celebrity secrets. Unsolved murder. If you like all these elements mixed in against the backdrop of the 1920s old Hollywood, then you should give this book a whirl.
Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood by William J Mann is a great pick for those who are big fans of old Hollywood. Mann packs a heaping 480 pages worth of true Hollywood murder mystery into this noir-esque true story centering on the murder of 1920s film director William Desmond Taylor.

Tinseltown, by William J Mann

While the "who done it?" portion of the story is a little slow moving, you have to applaud Mann for the amount of research he must have done to write this book. And it's only slow moving because of the amount of background and detail Mann provides. As a reader, you find yourself engaged in the story to the point where you almost forget everything you are reading really happened. So it's a true story that reads like fiction.
Tinsletown name drops 1920s Hollywood stars left and right so if you are a fan of old Hollywood history, this would be a great addition to your book collection. As someone with very little knowledge of old Hollywood, I came away feeling like this book thoroughly indoctrinated me in the subject matter. It's the 1920s equivalent of TMZ!
My only complaint about the book was that I found myself having to stop very frequently to Google the "characters" in the book so I could 1) put a face with the name and 2) get a little more background on who the Hollywood players of the 20s were. It would've been nice if there were photos in the book.
All in all, this is a good read for anyone who has an interest in mysteries and 1920s Hollywood. You will come away with lots of knowledge of Hollywood in its Heyday!
Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book for review. The opinions stated within this review were my own and were provided without compensation.