Fiction – Page 4 – …on the B.L.

Anna of Kleve by Alison Weir

June 20, 2020 RaeAnna

Anna of Kleve; The Princess in the Portrait by Alison Weir

Worth A Read Eh
Length 496
Quick Review Anna of Kleve was the fourth wife of Henry VIII, faring better than any who came before or after, but was she hiding a secret love child?

I have a hard time reading historical fiction because I have a LOVE of history. To the point of obsession. I don’t love historical fiction because authors change and add and revise history like it’s their job, – it is – but the problem for me lies in the fact history is ridiculous enough, it doesn’t need changing. I understand making up conversations and filling in the gaps of history, but come on. I like Aliso Weir because she’s an actual historian with numerous historical nonfiction books and biographies published, focusing on the Tudors and other royal figures. She writes popular history, which is more accessible than academic writing for those who enjoy history and don’t want to be bogged down in academese. Her historical fiction is far more factual than most out there. She just knows her shit better.

Within the first few pages of Anna of Kleve, there is a sex scene. For me, it’s not a selling point, but the other 490 pages pretty much steered clear of the graphic sex scenes. Although, I think a lot of people read historical fiction just for the naughty bits.

Anna of Kleve was the fourth wife of King Henry VIII. She was never crowned, but she became a trusted friend of the king and loved by his children. Where his other wives found tragedy, Anna found a friend. Henry fell in love with her portrait, but he was disappointed by the reality he met. Henry famously told Oliver Cromwell, “I liked her before not well, but now I like her much less, for I have felt her belly and her breasts and as I can judge, she should be no maid.” the night after their wedding when he couldn’t or didn’t consummate their marriage. What does this mean? Alison Weir explores the possibility: Anna of Kleve was no virgin, but had a love child before their marriage.

Weir paints a convincing picture in her latest historical fiction novel Anne of Kleve, but is it convincing enough to change the way history views the fourth wife of Henry VIII? I found it interesting and compelling, but not revolutionary. As a student of history, it’s founded on a rumor that is not new. It circulated during Anna’s own time.

It’s a decent book. It took me a while to get through it. I highly suggest Anne of Kleve for lovers of historical fiction. For me, not my favorite.

Memorable Quotes
“Men did commonly blame the wife if anything went wrong…”
“…he had such a deep-rooted elied in his own righteousness that it would never occur to him that he might have wrecked her life.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Anna of Kleve; The Princess in the Portrait
Author: Alison Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9781101966570

Books, Fiction

Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida

May 14, 2020 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 352
Quick Review A novel diving into the dichotomy between people’s lives on social media and their realties. Tapping into pop culture, the book explores identity in the modern era.

202004281902471640864856162 — Siri, Who Am I? by Sam Tschida | Tiara | Dress | Earrings

I meant to post this last week on the fifth, which was supposed to be Sam Tschida and Siri, Who Am I?’s publishing day, but that would have meant I would have had to write this. I read it weeks ago, but life has kept me away from my computer because puppies. The pandemic pushed the publishing date… so expect this one to hit shelves in January! If you pre-order now, you’re supporting publishers and authors during this hard time, and you’ll probably forget you ordered it, so it will be a surprise to yourself in eight months!

Mia wakes up in a hospital with a bad case of amnesia. With absolutely no idea who she is, what she does, where she lives, or who she trusts, she leaves the hospital in a fancy expensive dress, her phone, and a pretty red lipstick. Through social media, she finds “her” house, which happens to be house-sat by a nerdy scientist. He becomes her right-hand man, helping her piece together her life story.

Siri, Who Am I? is a crash course in pop culture. It’s quite something. I didn’t understand the vast majority or the references because I live under a rock. Hashtags pop up with alarming regularity; I would hate it, but it works in this novel because of the content and story being told. It bolsters the image of the shallow life that is being played out for an Instagram feed. Tschida relies on technology to help the story move; to the point it is more than a presence, it’s a character in it’s own right. Technology takes up the same amount of space in the novel as it does in most of our daily lives.

The footnotes made the novel for me. It establishes passing thoughts, judgements, side comments, questions and more. The footnotes are the inner monologue of the novel. It was a great addition, and I loved them.

It is a twenty-something creation story set in the modern era of Instagram “Thank God for Instagram. I’d already written a story for myself, and damn if it wasn’t pretty.” On the surface, it’s a fun novel and love story arriving just in time for summer. It’s actually far more interesting. Tschida explores the influence of social media on identity. Does personality affect what is put on social media or is social media influencing and changing identity?

As the pandemic continues to rage on, I suggest picking this one up and reading it. Siri, Who Am I? can’t help being fun, but it’s also a probing look into my generations’ obsession with social media.

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bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

Title: Siri, Who Am I?
Author: Sam Tschida
Publisher: Quirk Books
Copyright: 2020
ISBN: 9781683691686

Books, Fiction

Normal People by Sally Rooney

April 30, 2020 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes and No
Length 273
Quick Review The cliché story of the weird girl and the cool guy falling in love in secret and trying to make it work through college but with a lot of sex and bad communication.

20200428_152216 — Reading Normal People by Sally Rooney at home. | Dress

I had planned on writing this after binge watching the show version on Hulu, but life and puppies. I will watch it and do an updated review or side-by-side review. I’ll do a something.

Normal People is one of those books where it’s an almost new take on a very old cliché. Girl is rich. Girl isn’t cute, but she’s not not cute. Girl is weird. Girl is not popular. Boy is poor. Boy is hot. Boy is cool. Boy is very popular. They are both deeply misunderstood by everyone. They figure out the other just gets them. They fall in love because he sees past her weird façade and she doesn’t care he’s poor. They go to college. They don’t break up because they were never actually together, but they’re not flinging it anymore. They get back together, but not actually together because why have that conversation. On and on and on.

Cliché

What is interesting about Normal People is the way Rooney tells the story. The narration is both impersonal and familiar. The narrator seems to be ambivalent at best, while also detailing all the sordid tidbits of scandal and emotion the entire time, meaning the narrator gives a shit but doesn’t want to seem so. Weird, because that’s exactly how the two main characters act. It’s the stupid game of who cares less wins, but everyone actually loses when there is a lack of communication and vulnerability. Oops, I just gave away the moral of the story, but if you have a brain, you’ll pick up on it within the first chapter or so. Pst, it’s also the story of gaslighting and abuse, which makes it more interesting to read because Rooney handles it pretty well.

My first thought when reading it though, ‘Oh my god, where are the quotation marks?’ The dialogue isn’t even italicized. It was really frustrating. I get it. It’s a style thing. But come on. I want my quotation marks. The chapters skip ahead anywhere from a few days to several months and start in the middle of the action. The narrator fills in the blanks and missed events in an intelligent way. Rooney does an excellent job handling flashbacks without calling attention to them or making them awkward. Though cliché, the book pulls the reader through by ending each chapter on a cliff hanger worth reading on.

I love the way Rooney handles group dynamics and group mind. It can be a complicated and difficult relationship to take on as because when it’s bad, it is really bad. She does a great job showing the complexities of group mind and how it can sway even strong and independent minds. I also loved the shitty depiction of women. As much as I want all women to be supportive and wonderful, that’s just not realistic. Women can be as anti-woman as men, and sometimes, the impact is worse.

I wouldn’t call it a great novel, but Normal People is an interesting read. Rooney has an interesting mind and a great talent for shaping sentences and plots. All the sex made me uncomfortable because sex scenes make me uncomfortable. I’m looking forward to watching the show, but not so much the sex bits.

Memorable Quotes
“…she usually felt confined inside one single personality, which was always the same regardless of what she did or said.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: Normal People
Author: Sally Rooney
Publisher: Hogarth
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9781984822178

Blog + Dog, Books, Fiction

Story Time

April 15, 2020April 15, 2020 RaeAnna

Reading *When You Love A Dog* by M.H. Clark with Tess and the puppies! | Shirt | Glasses |Pants |

This may come as a shock to you, but I read a lot. I think story time is important for everyone, including puppies.

They’re six weeks old today. They love playing outside, eating all the food, gnawing on plants, pooping everywhere, and taking naps. I can’t wait for them to learn how to climb stairs. Carrying thirteen heavy, growing puppies up and down the stairs four plus times a day is exhausting. Although, I’m going to have a great butt when this is all said and done. They have loved running around Amanda’s – read this post if you don’t know what I’m talking about – backyard and laying in the sun. Today, they spent nine hours outside; 70° couldn’t be better for them. They’ve also found a love of playing in water. When it gets warmer, we’re planning on filling the kiddy pool, the one they were born in, for them to splash around.

Whenever I sit down, all thirteen fuzz-butts come running and volley for a place in my lap. It’s heaven. They always sit so cute, I thought it would be a great time to read them a book, or, at least, pose with a book for a super cute picture. It did not go quite so smoothly. They were too excited about literally anything else to crawl in my lap. We’ll try again another time, but we did get some cute photos and a lot of bloopers.

Reading with as many puppies as I could wrangle.

I bought When You Love A Dog by M.H. Clark from a store here in Houston back in February before the puppies and Tess arrived on the scene. A week later, my house had fifteen dogs instead of the one. When you love a dog, you take on a lot of responsibility and tasks you probably wouldn’t otherwise, like not sleeping, cleaning poop, doing laundry at 4:00 am, bottle feeding every two hours, spending thousands on emergency vet runs, moving in with your best friend so the puppies can be safe and happy, making stinky puppy food at 1:30/5:30 am, and so many more things. I took on Tess and the circus because I love Beau with my entire heart. Tess needed someone to love her and help her through this time, and that person was me. I knew it the moment I stood in the field coaxing her into my arms. I’m exhausted, broke, homeless (not really, but it kind of feels that way), and I couldn’t be happier. Loving dogs has always been the best part of my life. Now I can love thirteen puppies and help them find their furever homes so other people can love a dog too.

When You Love A Dog is a cute little book perfect for any dog owner. I can’t wait to decorate one of the rooms in my home with pictures of all the puppies, Tess, and Beau and fill that room with sweet little books like these. “When you love a dog, someone waits for you, with a true and joyful heart.” It couldn’t be truer. My life is hectic and exhausting, but I have never felt more loved by my fur babies and my friends. This has been an incredible blessing.

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna + Tess + The Circus

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Title: When You Love A Dog
Author: M.H. Clark
Illustrator: Tatsuro Kiuchi
Publisher: Compendium Publishing
Copyright: 2018
ISBN: 9781943200986

Books, Fiction

The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry

April 3, 2020 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 320
Quick Review It’s a fun novel filled with interesting characters and weird dramas, making it the perfect book to curl up with and distract from the pandemic outside our homes.

The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry in Houston, Texas. | Dress | Watch |

In this strange time, we need as many reading options as possible to expand our minds or at the very least distract us from the raging pandemic going on around the world. The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry will definitely keep you busy with a drama fueled plot set in Austin, Texas.

Roxy is an artist working in the deli at the original Whole Foods and struggling to get laid and pay her mortgage when an ex-boyfriend, Everett, moves in to help cover the rent. She’s more committed to never getting back together with Everett than she is to committing herself to a vegan lifestyle. Her cat, Charlize Theron, and dog, Roscoe, keep her company. Instead of confronting Everett, she writes him letters to tell him what he’s doing wrong, what he needs to do better, and telling him about her life. The living situation doesn’t last, but Roxy keeps writing the letters without ever sending them. She’s working through her jealousy of her best friend and college friend’s corporate jobs, but, as an artist, she doesn’t want one herself. The artistic slump is real for Roxy when a new, sex-driven, outgoing, LuluLemon-wearing friend, Artemis, comes into her life and shakes things up. Roxy becomes intent on taking down LuluLemon, which is taking up prime real estate in Austin. Austin is under attack, and she wants to do something about it.

As a Texan, it’s fun reading books set in my state. Austin is weird, and Roxy loves it as a native, mimicking the author. I love the mention of Austin sites, cementing this odd little book in real life experiences.

The entire book is a series of letters written to Everett from Roxy. She is keeping him up to date on her life in a diaristic tone. They are never sent, but it allows her to write to a friend and catharsis her way through the ridiculous encounters happening to her or she puts herself in. I would call The Roxy Letters well written and fun. The narration is incredibly sassy and very in line with the way an intelligent 28 year old would talk to a friend…. I would know because I’m a semi-intelligent 28 year old with at least one friend, probably. Lowry does a great job creating fabulous echoes and letting things come full circle without being saccharine or trite.

There are magical little moments pushing against the linguist patriarchy in an endearingly hippy-dippy way. Roxy often prays to Goddess instead of God. It’s fun and light while still raging against the patriarchy; there’s a huge undercurrent of female empowerment and friendship without being angry or in your face. It’s feminist in the way I’ve always been a feminist. It’s about women without excluding or hating men.

Lowry did ruin the word “nest” for me. Thank you for including a sex cult… It was a fun addition, and it made me incredibly uncomfortable.

The Roxy Letters by Mary Pauline Lowry will be out in five days on April 7, 2020! Preorder it so you can enjoy it during your quarantine because that’s what I did.

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: The Roxy Letters
Author: Mary Pauline Lowry
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9781982132453

Books, Fiction

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates

February 20, 2020 RaeAnna

Worth A Read Yes
Length 406
Quick Review Delving into magical realism and familiar themes of justice, humanity, freedom, and equality, the era of slavery is raging in Ta-Nehisi Coates debut novel.

The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates in Galveston, Texas | Dress |

Ta-Nehisi Coates’ writes incredible essays and nonfiction, which are entertaining and thought provoking. I couldn’t wait to see what Coates would do in a world he created himself. Set in pre-Civil War Virginia, The Water Dancer is an impressive piece of fiction.

Hiram Walker is the son of a slave and the Lockless plantation owner. His mother was sold when he was young, and he was taken in and raised by another slave on the plantation. The community is made up of Quality, slave/land owners, the Tasked, slaves, and classless whites. Hiram is an exceptional human because of his photogenic memory, but he also possesses the gift of conduction, the ability to travel across great distance through waterways. He eventually travels to Philadelphia through the Underground Railroad, where he meets Moses, a legendary Underground member.

One of my favorite parts about the story is the way it is framed and told. Coates introduces Hiram in a death scene in chapter one. It captures the readers’ attention and holds it. There are also breaks in the narrative, where Hiram speaks as an older wiser man reminiscing about his younger years and even to speak directly to the reader. There is a lot of dependence on mysticism and suspension of reality. Coates shows the evils of slavery through the eyes of a slave. He also shows the entire society was trapped in the horrific cycle. Everyone suffered. No one was free.

Story wise, it’s very interesting, well thought out, and thoroughly researched. Honestly, it’s rather forgettable. I’m having a hard time writing a decent or even remotely in depth review because it did not sweep me along. I read it and had to make myself keep reading. It’s not a novel I just had to know what happened. I remember the beginning far more than the ending.

The Water Dancer is a combination of intriguing, boring, and well done. To be honest, it’s really hard calling, the beloved writer, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ prose boring, but it was. I thought it dragged on and on at times. Maybe part of it is that I don’t really like fantasy. I’ve never been a huge fan, and this is very much a fantasy novel. Although, I don’t think that has much to do with it. The fantasy bits were interesting and did not overwhelm the plot.

Memorable Quotes
“She’d gone from that warm quilt of memory to the cold library of fact.”
“I was a man well regarded in slavery, which is to say I was never regarded as a man at all.”

bisous und обьятий,
RaeAnna

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Title: The Water Dancer
Author: Ta-Nehisi Coates
Publisher: One World
Copyright: 2019
ISBN: 9780399590597