Category: books

Sea Change…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay1 Comment
Blogher Book Club’s newest title is Sea Change by Jeremy Page. I was compensated for this blogher book club review, but all views and opinions expressed are my own. 
Guy and his wife Judy form two thirds of a perfectly raw and honest family unit. Together with their four year old only daughter Freya they spend their days caught up in moments and seeking adventure- noticing the art in life’s little details and cherishing the beauty that is what they have. Their worlds each wrapped up in the other’s, that is, until one such adventure leads them unexpectedly into tragedy. 
Motivated by grief at what Guy perceives as the loss of everything, he takes to a life of solitude at sea. There among the waves and his solace, each night as the sun goes down it is within the pages of his diary that Guy’s life truly lives as he weaves the story of what his perfect little family of threes life may have been like- had that tragic incident not occurred. 
Jeremy Page crafts a story that has such beautifully painted imagery that the reader,( in this case myself) couldn’t help but be swept up in. Knowing virtually nothing about boats, life at sea or anything else relating to such things- Jeremy wrote in such a way that i felt i did. Drifting along, between Guy’s reality and fantasy lives it was so easy to connect with his character in an empathetic and personal way.
Truly, every page in this books captivated me so completely. Weather I found myself caught off guard by a turn in the story or not- I loved the writing and the vivid detail, and human honesty so much that it all just came together perfectly. The way this story unfolds, poetically unpredictable proves that Jeremy Page is master among writers… 
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Have a little faith…

Published on by Mae @ RainydayinmayLeave a comment
There are foods and smells and all sorts of warm cozies that the holiday season brings about- which the majority of us find endearing. Around our house though, it honestly is the approach of Thanksgiving which gives us the warm fuzzies because we know that holiday movies are within reach. 
We Wagners love a good holiday movie! 
Have you read the book Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom? I haven’t, but it is on my reading to-do list. Before I ever got the chance though, Hallmark snagged it up and made it into a holiday movie. 
Have you caught the trailer yet? 
Here… 
Amazing, right? 
Chills? For me, a little bit. Especially at the line “I came here for you but I kept coming back for me.” 
I for one can’t wait to see this movie. 
What do you think? 
Do you love holiday movies? What is your favorite?  
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Theodora- Actress, Empress, whore… {A review}

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay1 Comment

The most recent title in Blogher’s book club is Theodora by Stella Duffy. This is was a paid review for Blogher Book Club, but the opinions expressed here are entirely my own. 

Literally raised to be a child prostitute, Theodora of Constantinople’s story takes her from those tragic beginnings to becoming the empress of Rome and achieving Sainthood. While it is quite the story, very little is actually known about the real life of Theodora.  The things in which author Stella Duffy’s mind imagined being Theodora’s life left me disturbed. I really struggled with whether or not to start this post on that note, but here I am. I just couldn’t paint a deceitfully pretty image of a novel that left me a little scarred.
Throughout the course of her life, the loss of Theodora’s bear trainer father leaves a predominant hole within her. At age 5 though, when she is placed in the care of eunuch Menander, along with her sisters- she begins to reconcile that aching absence with Menander’s harsh abuses and disapproval. Menander’s purpose is to train the girls in his care to be actresses. Unfortunately, actresses bore little resemblance to what we know and were actually highly sexualized acrobatic dancers- (of sorts) who were used alluringly to entertain men visually until the ripe old age of 12 {TWELVE!!!} when they were ready to entertain them privately.  You know, in their bedrooms…
And so her story goes from bad to worse. She neglects her own eventual child, experiences tragic losses, whores herself out to anyone (including minors) to further her own desires. She steals, she lies, she manipulates, she has a freakish amount of overly detailed sex and all for the glory of what- religious advancement politically? I don’t know… Every time I sat down to this book I felt ill. Maybe the incidents overly adjective consumed, are mirror images of a past culture. If they are, I don’t want to know. Call me naïve, but as the mom of a young girl- and as a woman who was sexually abused as a child- this book deeply offended me. The idea that Theodora would be connected to Menander for the whole of her life, and seeking still for his in life AND beyond the grave approval just ate at me. Although I do empathize with her upbringing and the strong will she seemed to develop as a result- I felt nothing about her character to be relatable or more than one dimension-ally corrupt.
Critically, here is where I am at with this book- in Duffy’s attempt to write a work of historical fiction, I feel she fell incredibly short. Her dialogue and descriptions are more infused with modern dialect of an American era than anything historically based. Vulgarities and profanities are offensively stuffed throughout the pages of this novel in ways far more crass and vulgar than I would expect in any historical book- even one with content such as this. Which leads me to my next criticism in regards to the writing in/of this novel- the story. Though based more out of Duffy’s imagination than anything fully concrete- as a writer I can’t help wonder why anyone would want to tell this story at all. Obviously I am not the author, or any of the people quoted with their acclaim for this work of hers. I am however a woman, in an era where I thought we were trying to become better examples for future generations of women- proving that they do not have to whore themselves out to be successful. Spottlighting successful and strong women for others, as well as the growing generations of girls would take me far from Theodora’s direction…
The fictional character of Theodora, (inspired by the real Theodora of Constantinople) is a non-redemptive and horrible person. I turned page after page, truly expecting every ugly detail to be stepping blocks for some major moment and some incredible redemption. One never came- and as for the big, life changing moment Theodora experiences- it somehow only served to offend me more.
I am not a prude in life, in film or in the books I read. That being said though, this book was too much and I could never recommend another soul sit through it. 
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"bad" books, and why we need them…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay1 Comment
Dear V.C. Andrews/Andrew Neiderman, 
Oh… But once a girl, was I, who cringed at the idea of reading a book for fun. Then, one day, a well intentioned adult decided to share one of your novels with me. 
I was ten… 
While, at thirty five, I still fancy myself an occasional “easy read” of one of your stories- I am sure most would agree that ten was a bit young.
That being said, I am glad she shared them… 
Reflectively I have to admit that this very deed, of opening my eyes to the world of such books may have been the key thing that saved my life. Before V.C. Andrews books, (most of which is ghost written by Andrew Neiderman) it had never occurred to me that step fathers should not have sex, french kiss, or other similar things with their step children. This was my life, it was simply something that happened. I hated it, it terrified me, but what could I do about it? As far as I knew, every family’s closed doors hid this truth. I had no idea that adults could be complicated, and their odd actions could come off as jealous or abusive because they were simply hurting humans who had no idea how to deal. Before I dove into the your fictional world, I had no idea that there was anything good inside of me or that I could simply change my life and/or circumstances and yield completely different and safe results… 
During the time, in my life, when these dawnings and realizations were rising in me- Heaven Casteel was my best friend. I lost myself in a series of books in such a way that I finally understood the possibility of seeing books as an escape. They were my escape. 
My lifeline… 
In more ways than one, your books changed my life. (another way being that i now adore books and love to read.) Once, many years ago, I was asked “why does such trash have to be written?” 
I did take it a little personal… 
When people stop making stupid decisions, like abusing or molesting their children- and when parents stop projecting their bitterness and disappointment on their growing children, therefore stunting them- maybe the world can settle down and read books about sunshine, sugar and poetry. In the meantime, i wish that people would stop insulting the possibility that someone might need a tragically twisted story about a young girl. 
God knows that I did… 
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“bad” books, and why we need them…

Published on by Mae @ Rainydayinmay1 Comment
Dear V.C. Andrews/Andrew Neiderman, 
Oh… But once a girl, was I, who cringed at the idea of reading a book for fun. Then, one day, a well intentioned adult decided to share one of your novels with me. 
I was ten… 
While, at thirty five, I still fancy myself an occasional “easy read” of one of your stories- I am sure most would agree that ten was a bit young.
That being said, I am glad she shared them… 
Reflectively I have to admit that this very deed, of opening my eyes to the world of such books may have been the key thing that saved my life. Before V.C. Andrews books, (most of which is ghost written by Andrew Neiderman) it had never occurred to me that step fathers should not have sex, french kiss, or other similar things with their step children. This was my life, it was simply something that happened. I hated it, it terrified me, but what could I do about it? As far as I knew, every family’s closed doors hid this truth. I had no idea that adults could be complicated, and their odd actions could come off as jealous or abusive because they were simply hurting humans who had no idea how to deal. Before I dove into the your fictional world, I had no idea that there was anything good inside of me or that I could simply change my life and/or circumstances and yield completely different and safe results… 
During the time, in my life, when these dawnings and realizations were rising in me- Heaven Casteel was my best friend. I lost myself in a series of books in such a way that I finally understood the possibility of seeing books as an escape. They were my escape. 
My lifeline… 
In more ways than one, your books changed my life. (another way being that i now adore books and love to read.) Once, many years ago, I was asked “why does such trash have to be written?” 
I did take it a little personal… 
When people stop making stupid decisions, like abusing or molesting their children- and when parents stop projecting their bitterness and disappointment on their growing children, therefore stunting them- maybe the world can settle down and read books about sunshine, sugar and poetry. In the meantime, i wish that people would stop insulting the possibility that someone might need a tragically twisted story about a young girl. 
God knows that I did… 
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