The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

First of all, don't you love the cover? And the red font? How stunning! If that doesn't grab you from the start then I think you need to rethink yourself.

Also I had heard that this book was a great read so when I saw it at the Goodwill (where else?) I grabbed it off the shelf. It certainly grabbed me. How could I pass it up with such a beautiful cover? My question to myself was, "Could I paint that?"

But you may be asking yourself, "What is a red tent and what is its significance?"

You will find out if you read this book but I will give you a hint ... what comes once a month for most women? Now maybe the tent in and of itself was not the color red but what happens inside it does include that color. But more goes on there than mere cyclical necessities. The tent is where the women can talk and share their thoughts and where they can rest from their work.

Ok, women out there, do you wish you had a red tent where you could rest from your work for about three or four days every month, and you would be handed food and cared for? Sounds like a plan, right?

But this book really is about the biblical Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and their women and events behind the scene of the events. What went on with the lives of these people in a daily grind of living not to mention of birthing lots of children for the men. The more you had, the merrier you were supposed to be, or rather the richer. You could say, Look at me I have a billion sons to carry my seed on and on. I am great and powerful.

I am being facetious but there is a lot of birthing going on in this book. After all it is mostly about the women behind the men.

That said I liked the book. It was not a cliff hanger as the Bible seems to be at times during the events covered but it does capture what it would feel like to be a woman at that time. It is spoken through the voice of one of the daughters, Dinah. I haven't yet opened my Bible to see if see is specifically named so I need to get with that program. I personally don't remember her and she seems to be invisible most of the time in the book.

At any rate, I hope your Spring was full of interesting reads and that your summer proves to be even more exciting. Mine is getting a boost by the next book I am reading. A David Baldacci. I'll clue you in after I have read the whole thing.

Ta ta for now!



September by Rosamunde Pilcher/A Book of One's Own by Thomas Mallon/Cordina's Royal Family by Nora Roberts/In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden

OK. So you are probably wondering why I have a gazillion book titles in the heading!?! It's simple. I am reading them all at the same time. Yes, it's true.

I started with In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden who is, as you know from previous posts, one of my mother's favorite authors. It is very interesting but is slow so I picked up another book as well to read that moved along in a faster pace. I will tell you about it next. But first let me tell you a bit about Godden's book. In short, the House of Brede is a convent. Thus the slowness of the plot yet you get to look into the lives of the novitiates as they go through the process of becoming a nun or not. Also the thoughts of the mother superior as well as the nuns who have lived there for a long time. Each has their duties within the convent and tend to gravitate towards tasks they are suited for, such as cooking or gardening. Is there jealousy, gossip, or actions among the ranks that need to be subjected to submission to the work of the Lord? Well yes. They are only human. If you were brought up Catholic or you are just curious what goes on behind convent walls, then pick this book up.

It is centered on a woman who has been climbing up the corporate ladder of success only to get to the top rung and decide there has to be more to her spiritual life and her life in general. To tell you the truth I haven't finished this book yet as I am reading so many at one time. So I don't even know if she decides to stay or go.

Have I finished any of the books listed above?

Yes, I finished September by Rosamunde Pilcher while I was visiting one of my daughters. This was the book I picked up to read as I was also reading Godden. I left Godden behind on the table beside my couch and toted Rosamunde with me on the two hour plane flight. Before I knew I had landed and the lady beside me woke up from her silent nap.

As some of you may know, Rosamunde is my Dad's all time favorite author. This book is essentially a sequel to The Shell Seekers. So if you liked that one then get this one and continue to read about what happened to Noel Keeling after his mother died suddenly. Did he shape up and fly right? Also, as you have probably guessed, this book culminates in the month of September for a family wedding. Who shows up and who does not?  Does the past show up to unravel people's feelings about themselves. Is there forgiveness? As only Ms. Pilcher can do, the story moves along at a pace that one enjoys and she doesn't leave anything out. You really get to know the characters by the time you have read 536 pages in a hardback. Yes, that's what I had and it was a doozy to hold while laying on my side in bed at night to read before going to sleep. I had to prop it up on a pillow.

But it was all worth it. Thank you, Miss Rosamunde for another good companion in my life. It is sitting on my book shelf amongst the other Pilchers. Are they having a family reunion while I am asleep and gossiping about me?

"Isn't she just a darling? She keeps reading our books and saving them for posterity on her shelves. What a jewel. I think she's a keeper too, don't you?"

Since I finished September there wasn't anything for me to do but I had to go to the local Goodwill with my daughter and buy another book to read. Ok, so I bought more than one book but at those prices who can resist? One, which I have yet to finish but which has motivated me to write a "common book", is called A Book of One's Own by Thomas Mallon. The cover got my attention as it looks like wallpaper designed by William Morris long ago. Thomas read many personal diaries written by famous people that have been stored in famous libraries. He shares his insights about  those diaries and what they mean and about the people who wrote them. All very faciscinating. I had to read the book with a fine tipped Sharpie at the ready to underline fabulous lines. Therefore I read it like having a good meal. I chewed every bite slowly and got all the taste out of each morsel. I haven't gotten to dessert yet so I can't quite pat my lips and put down my napkin. Perhaps I will finish digesting all these books at one time and I will feel so full that I will actually not read for a day.

I doubt it.

Another book I bought at that Goodwill was Cordina's Royal Family by Nora Roberts. It's a romance novel and like all romance novels it is about falling in love and usually with someone who really gets under your skin and makes you furious at every turn yet pushes the right love buttons in due time and you can't resist them and yada, yada, yada. This one is woven around someone with amnesia who has to relearn how to be Her Royal Highness all over again. At least she woke up into a filthy rich monarchy!! We don't feel too sad for her. It's a good filler and if you are into romance novels then she has written a multitude of them that will fill your heart. I'm not really sure I will finish this one but I may if I am in the mood. Haha.

Well there you have it.

For now.