Julia Reviews Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence

Title/Author:Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence, Narrated by Emilia Fox
Publisher/Year Published: Audiobook: October 2008 by CSA Word (first published 1928)
How I got this book: The Library
Why I read this book: Long car trip alone :)
Rating: 3 stars

I often wonder what makes a book live through history. Why am I still hearing about this book published in the early 20th century and not some other book? The best way to start this review of Lady Chatterley's Lover is to give you the summary off the back of the audiobook:

Lady Chatterley’s Lover was the subject of one of the most infamous trials of the 20th century when its publisher, Penguin, was prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act. Finally, after testimony from expert witnesses for the defense, including E. M. Forster, Penguin was acquitted and permitted to publish the novel in 1960. It quickly became a bestseller, largely on account of its explicit sex scenes and liberal use of four-letter words. Nearly 50 years later the sex scenes are still graphic, even by today’s standards, but the book is now read for its brilliant portrayal of the tenuous relationship between the nobility and the working class. Explicit, romantic, and emotional, Lady Chatterley’s Lover is a tour-de-force, a passionate embrace of life itself. Emilia Fox reads with energy and feeling, further enhancing the narrative and extracting every bit of nuance and subtlety within the text.

Now, there is a nice summary of the background surrounding this book. When I started listening to it, I was relatively unaware of this. I knew it was a banned novel and I knew it was about an illicit romance because of the title. I may have known about the naughty words, but I sure as hell forgot until I heard them spoken to me aloud in a car riding down the highway.

It's pretty safe to say I went into the listening of Lady Chatterley's Lover with a pretty open mind as I had forgotten all of this. In a side note about how I read books, I put books on my TBR list on Goodreads and don't read the description again unless I am looking to read something specific. Lately I just chose and go into the book trusting that I added it for a reason.

Getting to the story, we hear about Lady Chatterley's past and what brought her to current circumstances in the first chapter. This includes how her husband came back from the war paralyzed. They no longer have an intimate relationship and instead are just living in the patterns that they have each established.

We can see she is bored with her life and that leads her to take on lovers, and then THE lover, the Gamekeeper. That is the basic bones of the story, really. I want to talk more about how this fits in with society today, and if the book when listened to by a modern audience is still as shocking.

As a women whose books read in a year consist of almost half romance, I was shocked by some of the passages.

There is a lot of descriptive sexual acts written in the book as well as some fun usages of certain four letter words. I think this fact alone is really what people remember it for. Why was this shocking to me, as I have read about people's intimate sexual acts in sometimes graphic detail? Two reasons that I can think of: 1) it was spoken aloud to me via the audiobook 2)there really wasn't much of a build up to the beginning of any romance.

Let's look at point two first. Lady Chatterley pretty much just sleeps with these men most dispassionately sometimes. There is no emotional connection or even very much attraction sometimes. Then when she finally engages, it's with almost negative participation on her part. Many of her internal monologue makes it feel like having sex with these men is a chore. That didn't sit well with me.

The story rests on the love or love affair between Lady Chatterley and the Gamekeeper (seriously, I think they said his name like four times. He was always the Gamekeeper). But the love didn't seem solid enough for them to act as they did. Was it not believable? At times. Did the overly sexual language pull me out of the story at all? Sometimes.

Did I enjoy it though? You know, it wasn't bad. I think I enjoyed it more because I was listening to it, which brings me back to point number one. Any dirty scenes read aloud by someone who slightly resembles Mary Poppins (especially when she did her Lady Chatterley voice!), just makes me laugh or blush. It didn't help that they always seemed to be in the middle of a passion scene when I was going through a toll booth.

Emilia Fox does a great job bringing each character to life. Her voices were actually quite good and distinguishable. My one complaint is how she did the Gamekeeper. He sounded like a crotchety old man which took the picture of Johnathon Rhys Meyers right out of my head. But overall it was really her reading the story to me that upped the enjoyability factor. And it kept me company on my lonely car ride.

Will I read it again? Probably not. Did I enjoy reading it? Yes, and I am glad that I can say that I have. Going back to my original musing on what makes a book withstand the test of time, I can see why in this case. At its heart it's about taking yourself out of your 'going through the motions routine' and take something you want. Live your life the way that pleases you. And of course, the descriptive dirty-word riddled sex. There is that, too.

Tahleen reviews: "The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels" by Ree Drummond

Title: The Pioneer Woman: Black Heels to Tractor Wheels
Author: Ree Drummond
Publisher: William Morrow, 2011

Rating: 4 stars

I've been a longtime fan of The Pioneer Woman, whose cooking blog is outstanding (as is her cookbook that I own, The Pioneer Woman). She is funny and personable, and just a friendly type of gal from what I've read. I have always wondered about how she ended up on a ranch in Oklahoma, since she has often hinted that she grew up in or near a city and wasn't born into this life of ranch work. When she published her memoir, I got really excited because now I could finally find out!

Her story starts when she is 25 and single, just moved back into her childhood home with her parents. One night while out for a drink with friends, she spots a cowboy across the bar and goes up to talk to him. And thus begins the rest of her life.

I loved this account. It's full of her whirlwind romance with her husband, whom she lovingly calls Marlboro Man (we never know what his real name is, probably because he doesn't want it known by the world), as well as all the pain and joy they experience together throughout the journey. Drummond goes through some really rough times during their courtship, and things continue to be painful and a bit rocky in the first year of their marriage. But through it all, the love they feel for each other is so evident and palpable that it's clear why she gave up the life she knew to spend it with her husband in the middle of nowhere.

Drummond has this way with words that just hooks you. She writes with a lot of humor, which constantly had me smiling as I read. I usually find I take a long time to read nonfiction or memoirs, but not with this one. I flew through it. Another added bonus is the inclusion of a number of recipes she references during her story at the back of the book. This is really just a feel-good story—if you're in need for something funny and romantic with a few dashes of drama, this is a great book to seek out.

Disclosure: This book was sent to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Top Ten Authors Jamie Would Like To See On A Reality Show

Learn more and check out the TTT schedule.

This week was scheduled to be Top Ten Authors I'd Like To See On A Reality Show but I got a lot of feedback about how HARD it was...so maybe not as good as an idea as I initially thought! SO..I opened it up as a Freebie Week but I decided to stick with the topic! 

1. John Green -- I'd love to see John Green on Survivor! As king of the nerds, he'd show all the nerdy/geeky guys who have come on this show to show everyone that it's more about brains than brawn (and then FAIL to do so), how it's done! He'd be charming, entertaining to watch and somehow I think he'd be pretty cunning at the game while also proving you don't have to be a total douchenugget. OR he and Hank on the Amazing Race! BRILLIANT!! Somebody sign them up!

2. Maureen Johnson: Maureen just deserves her own reality show. THE MAUREEN SHOW. It'd be awesome.

3 & 4:  Stephanie Perkins & Kiersten White: I'd love to see the two of these authors on The Amazing Race together! I love peeping on some of their witty Twitter banter but they seem like they would have a good time! Also, I've met Stephanie and SHE IS HILARIOUS...so it would prove to be very good tv!

5. Beth Revis: I don't have a reality show in mind per se but it'd have to be something where you get to vote people out and be ripping out people's hearts while doing so. I learned, while at a tour stop for Breathless Reads, that Beth really loves killing off characters and laughing while doing so. SO, she'd be hilarious to watch because she's oh so sweet but she'd have no problem voting your ass off!

6. Kirsten Hubbard: I'd love to see her on her own reality show that is somewhat in line with Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations but a little more adventurous and fun. She's a world traveler and I'd love to watch a travel adventure show from someone who is around my age!

7. Megan McCafferty: Again, don't have a specific show but she cracks me up and she's super entertaining and I'd root for her until the end!

8. Tahereh Mafi: I LOVE HER. She is so adorable and hilarious and I would love to hear her commentary about the other contestants/houseguests and the general state of whatever reality show she was on. It would make me laugh.

9 & 10: Jonathan Safran Foer & Nicole Krauss:  I would love to see two of my favorite authors  (who happen to be married!) be on the Amazing  Race! I don't really know what their personalities are like but I'd sure like to watch!

Paula reviews The Uninvited Guests by Sadie Jones + Giveaway

Book: The Uninvited Guests: A Novel by Sadie Jones
Publisher: HarperCollins, May 2012
How I got my hands on it: Received an ARC from HarperCollins

 Rating: 4 stars

The setting: The Uninvited Guests takes place in one evening at the Sterne house. The Torrington Family is throwing a birthday party for Emerald. While it may seem like a simple evening- the family is worried about losing the house and the quiet party gets interrupted by a train crash nearby. The railway tells them that it is their duty as the closest estate to take in the travelers until the railroad can be fixed and they can continue on their way. Although as the night progresses, something seems off about the travelers and the Torrington Family experience a lot more than they expected.

It's hard to talk about this book without giving too much of the twist away. It was a very enjoyable and a very quick read. I found myself narrating it in a voice similar to the narrator from "Pushing Daisies" or "The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy" and I think that made it infinitely more entertaining and I highly recommend doing that.

The book is a comedy of manners set at the turn of the century. There was a lot of commentary on what the proper thing to do was. Such as: "The traveler's are third class citizens, is it really necessary to feed them?" Or "Fine we'll feed them, but does it have to be the food from our feast?"

I think my favorite character was the youngest daughter, known as Smudge, who wanted nothing to do with the party. Instead she was plotting what she called "The Great Undertaking". Smudge's pass time was tracing all the animals of the house onto her wall. She had already traced all of the dogs and cats- and so while the family was trying to organize dinner, she decided to sneak a pony inside to trace it on the wall. She was... somewhat successful.
 
Overall it was a really enjoyable book that I definitely recommend you check out. Thankfully HarperCollins sent me 2 copies of the book. So I don't have to be selfish and keep this darling little book to myself. So it's GIVEAWAY TIME. I will be giving away both copies. So follow the directions on the Rafflecoptor and 2 lucky winners will be chosen (at random). Good luck!

- US ONLY!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Kelly's review of "Revived" by Cat Patrick + giveaway

Title: Revived
Author: Cat Patrick
Published: 8 May 2012 (Little, Brown Books)

Summary from goodreads: "As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life. A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency’s true goals, she realizes she’s at the center of something much larger—and more sinister—than she ever imagined."


Due to this AMAZING description, I eagerly devoured Revived in just a few hours. What I didn't know was what an emotional roller coaster I was in for -- not emotions within the book/plot, but my feelings towards the book overall. Basically the entire first half of this book annoyed me to no end. It's very rare that I stray from the historical fiction genre, so it's no surprise that the slew of modern brands, stores, and TV shows were a bit weird to me. However, I think the constant inundation of mentions of TOMS, etsy, Target, and Arcade Fire would annoy ANYONE. It felt like you were talking to that one irksome person who always name-drops all of the "cool" and important people he knows. Also, from the book's description, I was expecting Daisy to be some daredevil who skydived and went bull-riding for fun........no. Not in the slightest. She stays in her room and does...well, not much else. Her previous deaths were all mostly accidents. Where were all of these "extraordinary risks?" 


Luckily, after about the first 150 pages, the plot picked up tremendously. Questions and suspicions arise as Daisy's identity and future are in balance. Daisy experiences a real death with no ability to use Revive and bring them back. Towards the book's climatic ending, I'll admit that I became nervous and my palms sweated a bit -- a 180 degree turn from how I felt towards the beginning of the book! Get through the less-than-exciting beginning and the ending/twist will blow you away.


Overall, I think that the characters and their relationships were my favorite part. Daisy was sweet and likable. It was interesting to hear about her past and her memories of death, dying, and the consequences. I loved her relationship with Matt, it was a great picture of young love! It's a bumpy road with happiness, laughter, and fights. I did question her decision to tell him her secrets so quickly, however -- secrets that could be deadly for both of them. Her friendship with Audrey was abrupt but cute to read about. I loved Daisy's little makeshift family as well. These elements all made it relatable and enjoyable. I'd rate Revived anywhere between 3.5 and 4 stars!


Giveaway!
 It's a sad fact, but the truth is, I have absolutely NO more space for books. This may be unlucky for me, but not for you guys! I'm giving away my copy of Revived to one of you! Just fill out a form HERE to enter! US residents only please.

Jen's Top Ten Favorite Book Quotes

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created here at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here will answer. Everyone is welcome to join! All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Future Top Ten Tuesday topics are posted here.

I love quotes.  Whether they're from books, songs, movies or people.  I love them.  I'm always writing down quotes I like on random scraps of paper or pasting them in a blank word document.

Jen's Top Ten Favorite Quotes from Books:

1. “I like to see people reunited, I like to see people run to each other, I like the kissing and the crying, I like the impatience, the stories that the mouth can't tell fast enough, the ears that aren't big enough, the eyes that can't take in all of the change, I like the hugging, the bringing together, the end of missing someone.” - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
2. “Atticus told me to delete the adjectives and I'd have the facts.” - To Kill A Mockingbird
3. “Don’t ask for guarantees. And don’t look to be saved in any one thing, person, machine, or library. Do your own bit of saving, and if you drown, at least die knowing you were heading for shore.” - Fahrenheit 451
4. "But still, I find the need to remind myself of the temporariness of a day, to reassure myself that I got through yesterday, I'll get through today.” - Where She Went
5. “You've got to have pride in your home. You are where you're from. Otherwise, you're always going to be lost.” - Amy & Roger's Epic Detour
6. "Girl Scouts didn't teach me what to do with emotionally unstable drunk boys" - Anna and the French Kiss
7. "Sometimes you read a book so special that you want to carry it around with you for months after you've finished, just to stay near it." - The Book Thief
8. “No matter how careful you are, there's going to be the sense you missed something, the collapsed feeling under your skin that you didn't experience it all. There's that fallen heart feeling that you rushed right through the moments where you should've been paying attention." - Invisible Monsters
9. “Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can't take their eyes off you.” - I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
10. “If you look for perfection, you'll never be content.” - Anna Karenina

Those are just a handful of my favorite book quotes!  What are some of your favorites? 

Daisy's Review of The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze

Title/Author: The Last Princess by Galaxy Craze
Publisher/Date published: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, May 1st 2012
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Happily ever after is a thing of the past.
A series of natural disasters has decimated the earth. Cut off from the rest of the world, England is a dark place. The sun rarely shines, food is scarce, and groups of criminals roam the woods, searching for prey. The people are growing restless.
When a ruthless revolutionary sets out to overthrow the crown, he makes the royal family his first target. Blood is shed in Buckingham Palace, and only sixteen-year-old Princess Eliza manages to escape.
Determined to kill the man who destroyed her family, Eliza joins the enemy forces in disguise. She has nothing left to live for but revenge, until she meets someone who helps her remember how to hope — and to love — once more. Now she must risk everything to ensure that she not become... The Last Princess."

You guys, I'm always happy to read a dystopian or post-apocalyptic novel and I'm ALL about the princesses! And I have a huge obsession with anything to do with England and their royalty. So when I saw them combined in The Last Princess, I just knew I had to read it.
But I'm sad to say it has left me... disappointed. And I'm going to do a 'Jana' and let you know through a list what exactly happened for me to feel that way.

1. I found myself wondering if pages were missing: It was a pretty short book and while that's not always a problem, to me with The Last Princess it felt like there was just a whole lot of things that were missing. Like they'd been there but had been cut away to make the book shorter. I found myself actually wondering if the e-ARC I was reading was faulty and missing huge chunks of the story, but I don't think that was the case.

2. I felt lost: The story felt all over the place and everything seemed to be happening at once without a moment to reflect or get to know the characters or to just figure out how much time had actually passed. I felt lost while reading this book and that's not a good way to feel for me personally.

3. Failure for me to get a sense of the main characters' identities: I've finished the book and I'm still not sure what to say to characterize Eliza. To me it's a problem when I can't do that for the main character, cause it all revolves around her right? I mean, I should be able to tell you what makes her Eliza and I can't. I should be able to tell you more about the love interest besides him being blond.

4. The romance: I would like to tell you that the romance was sweet, but instead I have to say it confused me. I mean, seriously, these two were together for a whole whopping day and she's in love? I mean, really? REALLY?

5. Cruelty without a good explanation There's a lot of cruelty going on and sometimes it was horrifying! Also, for those who are sensitive to animal cruelty/dying, like I am, be warned (a dog dying broke my heart). The things that were done by the ruthless revolutionary's army were insane and astonishing in their mindnumbing viciousness and I would have liked to see a bit more explanation as to how it all started and why people were behaving like that! And about the Seventeen Days!
Also: **SPOILER, LIGHT UP TO READ**
With all the killing going on, I thought some of the miraculous survivals were a bit convenient. I mean, I could have handled either Polly or Mary surviving that last fight, but both seemed a bit too much seeing as they both seemed pretty mortally wounded. They had to look EVERYWHERE to find antibiotics, how did they manage to fix these girls up? And Caligula, how actually does a horse survive a lance in the side?

I did like the premise of the book, which is what made me read it in the first place, but I would have just liked a bit MORE of everything. A little more backstory, a little more time for me to get to know Eliza and actually care about what happened to her. A little more description of what was going on instead of just saying two weeks had passed and it had been horrible. Because that doesn't work for me.

I also really appreciated the relationship between the siblings and little Jamie stole my heart with his sweet boyness. The ending leaves me thinking that this will be a series and I'm curious if we will find out all the gaping holes of knowledge that The Last Princess has left me staring at. So while this book didn't really work for me, I might just pick up the next one (if there is one, does anyone know??) to see if it's better and if it will live up to the potential of this premise.

My rating: 2 stars