Two Bluestockings

Public Domain Photo courtesy of George Hodan In honor of Valentine's Day, the girls sat down and wrote out their top fictional crushes. Aarika: Jayna, I think we should have a long talk about how my sex-capades are MY business and not yours. But, because I am a team player, I will share my literary fantasies with the world. Because I am the biggest team player. So, without further ado…who would I do?  1: I am going to have my Queen get the first credit. I love Sarah J Maas, Queen Maas from here on out. Bow to our queen! Okay, enough fangirling. Our man Rowan from her Throne of Glass series. I do not know why I have a thing for guys who would not put up with any of my nonsense, but I do. My husband (Hi, I love you. Jayna told me this was my homework!) He literally puts up with none of Aelin’s shenanigans but trusts her to no end when she comes up with her chaotic plans. That is true love. So, I would have to ride that wave if I were her. But I am married so I would never. I married ...

This book came to me during an incredibly busy week. I opened it up, scanned the first few pages, and said, "This is not for me." It had a lot of references to men feeling emasculated if their wives worked and women being fake to keep the peace. I almost put it down, but I'm glad I didn't. (First, you should know that my specialty is researching women's mental health, which is why I react so strongly to these implications.) Thankfully Lomazoff-Marron is also not a fan of such things either, because her women not only rose from the ashes of their lives, they came back stronger and more authentic. The book begins with Jonathan and Meredith Perkins. Jonathan is painted as the hard worker with "business acumen," whose business is booming. Meredith is the art history major turned housewife, who attempts to find contentment in decorating her house. Enter federal agents, who arrest Jonathan for fraud and embezzling. The Perkins' world crumbles, and Meredith...

Okay, so I have a confession. I love books like this. Not only are the titles confusing and fun, I make a movie up in my head of what the plot is before I start the book. I don’t even read the back of the book, I make my own Hallmark version in my mind, then dive in. For better or for worse. Because, let’s be honest for a minute, sometimes these books are train wrecks that you just have to look at because you are stuck in traffic, and you left the real book in your other bag. I can happily say that this book is not one of those. This book is cute and funny and more on the realistic side than other books in this category. (The only thing I will mention is the criminology aspect had some incorrect procedures, but I will leave my college education on the party killer side of my brain). I enjoyed the characters. They are all loveable, honest and reminded me of my own family. We are loud, we love each other to a fault, and we meddle by accident because most of us are fixers. So we fix. Whic...

This is one of those things we all do. If you read a lot of books, you have come across a book you just could not finish. And let me tell you, I loathe this. I wish I was one of those people who could power through a book that doesn’t grab them, but I am not. These are five books that I could not finish, no matter how hard I tried. 1: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte is the most recent I was unable to finish. And I tried, believe me. Jayna gave it high praise and Jane Eyre , by Emily's sister Charlotte, was great. So I gave it a go. I made it 10 pages in and HAD TO STOP. It felt like my brain was coming out of my nose, and I needed the feeling to cease and desist. I apologize to anyone who loves this book. Classics are just not for me. They are too formal. Why do you have to talk to me like I am your grandmother you only see on holidays because you want the inheritance? 2: Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King is one I hate to say. I love Mr. King’s book, but this book does no...

          I do not have the poet's soul that Aarika has, so I was quite nervous to read this book. Shiva contacted us via email, and he struck  me as an extremely warm individual, which also makes it difficult for this critic. Aarika says I have no soul--she has also not seen me ugly cry over Old Yeller .          Shadow: Unparalleled Waves of LIFE was intended to be part of a collective effort between Shiva Vangala and his cousin, Satheesh Kotoju. They wanted to write and publish with the pen name SanthuSnehama, however this dream ended when Satheesh died unexpectedly in 2019.           The book is very short, clocking in at 16 poems. It is beautifully illustrated, and each poem has its own black and white illustration that helps to convey its meaning.          When read with the knowledge that this was to be a collected effort, you can feel a spectrum of emotion...

Welcome to the first installment of "Coffee Break Thoughts" with Aarika. During this coffee break, Aarika had to consider the following questions: Which character do you think should have survived his or her story? Which character would you kill off? The One Who Should Have Lived: Aarika Baxter Manager, Reader, Mom, Coffee Villain This one is for Queen Maas... Queen, I am coming for you! Bring back our Sam! He did not deserve the death he was given. He was a pure soul whose only crime was loving and adoring our super vain and egotistical Celaena. He showered her with love and attention, hopes and dreams, a future without death and blood, and you took that away from us. I understand why he needed to die. I do. I understand why you destroyed my heart and my commitment to the pure cinnamon rolls in your books. But Sam?! He is the reason the books happened. I get it. But it's still not fair. Give him back to us! We're not okay! You have caused us all to need therapy and w...

Aarika and Jayna sent Maureen some questions to get to know her better. They are included here for your entertainment and in hopes that you will be further encouraged to check out Maureen's book Woven. The Two Bluestockings' review for that book can be found here !  Do you try more to be original or to deliver to readers what they want? I think writing is an art, and so I try to be true to myself when I write. I learned a lot about writing when working on Woven, my first novel. I learned about the difference between commercial fiction and literary fiction, after some well-meaning people tried to rework my book to make it fit a formula: intro characters, intro a problem, try to solve the problem and fail several times in spectacular fashion, solve the problem and live happily ever after. That did not work for this book and for a while I thought maybe I could not write a novel after all. But then I started to think about art and how an art dealer might have said to Picasso, “Yo...

    See Aarika? I'm shocked at the accusation  Jayna here! Aarika says I am a monster because it is rare for me to give five stars to a book. It rarely happens. Vonnegut is my favorite author, and I think I gave only one of his books a five-star rating. (That book was  Slaughterhouse-Five,  if you're wondering.)      First, I take reading very seriously. My husband will tell you that I have books stacked around the house, and each one is full of notes and highlights. I read every day because it matters to me. I enjoy the storytelling, the characters, the style, and everything that makes up a book. I want them to be perfectly executed, so I can savor the experience.       With that in mind, here are my ratings broken down to help our listeners/readers understand how my mind works:      One Star: I didn't finish the book. The grammar and spelling mistakes might have frustrated me, or the plot was too confusi...