Bleak House Read-a-Long and Self-Imposed Read-a-Thon results

So, my self-imposed read-a-thon did not go as well as I'd hoped.  I did manage to read The Rebel Wife by Taylor M. Polites--294 pages--(REVIEW) and I made some progress in The Crown by Nancy Bilyeau.  Did not read any of Gone with the Wind, The Secret History, or Macbeth. =O(  We are going to stay at the Opryland Hotel today/tonight and I'm not taking my computer (you're shocked, I know) so I'm hoping I can get some reading done tonight after we go back to the room.

Bleak House Read-a-Long


March, April, May...hosted by Wallace at Unputdownables.  I have been wanting to read this one for a while now.  Really looking forward to it!

Details:

• You do not have to be a book blogger to join.
• We will be reading the book in March, April, & May (13 weeks), with the first discussion happening on Friday, March 2nd / the book is 817 pages (paperback, Barnes and Noble Classics edition) so that’s roughly 9 pages a day.
• Don’t be intimidated. We will be going at a slow pace and discussing the book throughout our reading. The discussions are quite fun, and make the reading process very enjoyable!

Read more at Unputdownables....

Reading and Posting Schedule:

Beginning Friday, Febraury 24th and ending Friday, May 25th.

READING SCHEDULE:

Week #/ dates :: Place in which to STOP

Week One/ February 24- March 1 :: Chapter 6
Week Two/ March 2-8 :: Chapter 10
Week Three/ March 9-15 ::Chapter 15
Week Four/ March 16-22 :: Chapter 20
Week Five/ March 23- 29 :: Chapter 24
Week Six/ March 30- April 5 :: Chapter 30
Week Seven/ April 6-12 :: Chapter 34
Week Eight/ April 13-19 :: Chapter 39
Week Nine/ April 20-26 :: Chapter 45
Week Ten/ April 27- May 3 :: Chapter 51
Week Eleven/ May 4- 10 :: Chapter 56
Week Twelve/ May 11-17 :: Chapter 61
Week Thirteen/ May 18-24 :: The End

POSTING SCHEDULE:

Post #/ date post should be up on blog:

Start up Post/ Today!
Week One/ March 2nd
Week Two/ March 9th
Week Three/ March 16th
Week Four/ March 23rd
Week Five/ March 30th
Week Six/ April 6th
Week Seven/ April 13th
Week Eight/ April 20th
Week Nine/ April 27th
Week Ten/ May 4th
Week Eleven/ May 11th
Week Twelve/ May 18th
Week Thirteen/ May 25th (Final Review)

** Please don’t forget to come to this blog each Friday and share your thoughts in the comments section of the weekly Read-a-Long discussion (see below for more information).**

Further details on the process

Will you be joining us?

Book Nooks (8)

Book Nooks 

*Every weekend* 

Founder: Sasha Soren (Random Magic) 

I'm hosting through April 2012.

Show us something pretty!

Commentary:  Can you see the cozy window seat behind the ladder?  I absolutely love this one.  What a clever idea! I'm thinking this is either a loft type area or a small sitting area leading to the upper rooms of the house.  So awesome! And the red walls and wood of the bookshelves give it a cozy library feel.

Photo credit:  unknown
Source:  http://downlo.tumblr.com/post/2718950528/fantastic-reading-nook
Join in: Add your own Book Nooks post 

Book Tour: Book Review--The Rebel Wife by Taylor M. Polites

My thoughts:
I must get one thing off my chest at the outset.  Once again, I find myself very frustrated by how women were treated in the past.  In our present times, when a woman's husband dies, she has rights.  In most cases, she is the executor of her husband's estate and is usually the beneficiary of the life insurance and/or will.  Of course, there are cases where a will may be in probate or a man may not leave anything to his wife (mostly in some cases of wealthy marriages), but for the most part, a woman has the right to her husband's possessions and/or money upon his death without having to worry about a family member (or other person) bullying in on her territory.  Not so in ages past and nowhere is this fact more apparent than in The Rebel Wife.  Augusta's husband, Eli, has died and she was under the impression that they were a well-off, well-settled family.  Not according to her cousin, Judge.  But she is getting conflicting stories from him and Eli's trusted and loyal servant as to the truth about the money.  And Judge's treatment of Augusta, his literally taking over everything and treating her like she has no rights, is beyond infuriating.  Mr. Polites does an excellent job of portraying exactly the situation that would have occurred back then and, although infuriating, it is the reality of the way things were.

I must say that it's interesting that I would be reviewing this book for Tribute Books at the same time that I'm also reading Gone with the Wind.  The contrasts between Polites's portrayal of reconstruction in the south and Mitchell's are profound.  Now don't get me wrong.  I still love Gone with the Wind, but one must appreciate Polite's non-stereotypical depiction of the times.  While Mitchell made the freed slaves seem comical in many ways, Polites has shown a more surly side to these people, who had so much hope in their future as free men, only to discover that things were not going to be any better for them.  Perhaps even worse.  This surliness is believable and certainly understandable.  And though we appreciate the plucky and resourceful Scarlett O'Hara, the reality is that she would not have been able to accomplish what she did in those times.  And the dastardly Rhett Butler with the heart of gold.  There aren't any of his sort in this book.  The war has broken these men and made them angry, greedy, and dangerous.  And so, we read Gone with the Wind for the entertaining story of Scarlett's exploits, but The Rebel Wife is to be read and enjoyed for it's historical accuracy.

On a final note, I must say that this book is beautifully written and it's quite obvious that it was meticulously researched.  For a history buff like me, this is the best kind of historical fiction.  A book that allows a reader to experience the realities of the past and really feel it on a physical and emotional level.

About the book:
Set in Reconstruction Alabama, Augusta “Gus” Branson's is a young widow whose quest for freedom turns into a race for her life when her husband Eli dies of a swift and horrifying fever and a large package of money – her only inheritance and means of survival – goes missing. Gus begins to wake to the realities that surround her: the social stigma her marriage has stained her with, what her husband did to earn his fortune, the shifting and very dangerous political and social landscape that is being destroyed by violence between the Klan and the Freeman's Bureau, and the deadly fever that is spreading like wildfire. Nothing is as she believed, everyone she trusts is hiding something from her.

About the author:
Taylor M. Polites is a novelist living in Providence, Rhode Island with his small Chihuahua, Clovis. Polites’ first novel, The Rebel Wife, is due out in February 2012 from Simon & Schuster. He graduated in June 2010 with his MFA in Creative Writing from Wilkes University. He has lived in Provincetown, Massachusetts, New York City, St. Louis and the Deep South. He graduated from Washington University in St. Louis with a BA in History and French and spent a year studying in Caen, France. He has covered arts and news for a variety of local newspapers and magazines, including the Cape Codder, InNewsWeekly, Bird’s Eye View (the in-flight magazine of CapeAir), artscope Magazine and Provincetown Arts Magazine.

Taylor M. Polites' website

Taylor M. Polites' blog

Taylor M. Polites' Facebook
Taylor M. Polites' Twitter

Tribute Books Blog Tours Facebook


The Rebel Wife blog tour site

Hardcover
Price: $25.00
ISBN: 9781451629514
Pages: 304
Release: February 7, 2012

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eBook
Price: $11.99

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The Real Sugar!

I must thank my fellow book blogging friend, Wallace at Unputdownables, for writing about this awesome lady over at her other writing gig, Book Riot.  In her recent post, Dear Sugar, Can't Wait to Meet You, I learned about this person, aptly named Sugar, who has been offering incredibly honest and helpful advice to individuals about a myriad of issues over at The Rumpus.  I read just two of her posts the other day and I was hooked.  The big thing with Sugar was that she was anonymous, but on Tuesday, she finally revealed her true identity.  HERE is the post detailing everything to do with her 'coming out.'  Oh, forgot to mention...her real name is Cheryl Strayed!

Here is one of her most awesome posts, in my opinion:

DEAR SUGAR, The Rumpus Advice Column #48: Write Like a Motherfucker

Believe me when I say, you're bound to find a post she has written that will speak to you on a very personal level.