After a short period spent hiding in her bed with books and boxes of chocolates, Kathy was talked into going back to her original career of beauty salon owner, only this time she was going to do it her way. Thus was born Beauty and the Book, the world’s only beauty salon/bookstore.

Shortly after the birth of her new venture, Kathy started her book club “The Pulpwood Queens of East Texas.” There are very few rules; every member must wear a tiara and read the book of the month. The book club soon exploded across America and women in 70 chapters nation-wide were wearing leopard print, tiaras and hot pink.

Now Kathy shares her down-to-earth, tiara-wearing wisdom with everyone in her book The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life. Written in a very conversational style, readers will soon feel like Kathy’s sitting in the chair next to them, drinking a glass of sweet tea, sharing book recommendations and chatting away like an old friend.

Each chapter shares anecdotes and inspiration from Kathy’s life, stories of family and friends, love, loss, and of course, her book recommendations. Part self-help, part inspirational, part memoir and above all about loving books, The Pulpwood Queens’ Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life will soon have you exploring your inner diva while you put on some leopard print, hunt for a tiara and run to the library for your next great read.

ISBN10: 0446695424
ISBN13: 9780446695428

Trade Paperback
352 Pages
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date: January 2, 2008

Author Website: beautyandthebook.com

tags: books book reviews Books and Reading Kathy Patrick Pulpwood Queens

These opening lines of Edward Mendelson’s work of literary criticism – The Things That Matter – encapsulate his intent. A study of seven classical novels by Mary Shelley, Emily and Charlotte Brontë, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf, Mendelson’s essays present his thesis that novels provide insight into specific stages of life and, these novels, when viewed collectively present a “history of the emotional and moral life of the past two centuries.”

Mendelson has aimed his work at readers of any age, the only prerequisite being knowledge of the seven novels. He writes in a conversational manner, as if lecturing directly to the reader. Theories and supporting arguments are presented within the text, footnotes included only when critical. Woven throughout is information about the prevailing theories and literary themes of the period.

In the section on Wuthering Heights Mendelson explores Brontë’s idea of romantic childhood, tracing its roots to the romanticism of Wordsworth and Freud. His Wuthering Heights is a very different one than the one commonly studied in high school. Heathcliff and Catherine are desperate to recapture the total unity experienced as children, to merge two selves into one. Whereas the commonly held perception is of a novel of thwarted passion and cruelty, Mendelson believes Brontë deliberately led readers to this conclusion and away from her true meaning. “She disguised Wuthering Heights as a story of doomed sexual passion perhaps because she regarded her potential readers with something close to contempt…they could not understand what this book tells them.”

Each of the authors is examined with the same focus, each essay meriting its own review. Mendelson states that he “could easily imagine a similar book to this one made up of entirely different examples.” I’ll keep my fingers crossed that inspiration strikes and Mendelson shares more of his thoughts on life and literature.

Read the review at Armchair Interviews.

ISBN10: 0307275221
ISBN13: 9780307275226

Trade Paperback
264 Pages
Publisher: Anchor Books
Publication Date: November 6, 2007

tags: books book reviews Edward Mendelson literary criticism Mary Shelley George Eliot Emily Brontë Charlotte Brontë Virginia Woolf

While Time was Soft There is Mercer’s story of self-discovery, on a broader scale it is also the story of George Whitman, who ran his bookstore with a focus on equality rather than capitalism and made money only because it was necessary to keep Shakespeare & Co. operational. Beds were tucked into every bit of space in the building, piles of francs were hidden behind books on the shelves, and Whitman instituted a rule that all his refugees must help out in the store. Whitman’s other stipulations were simple; refugees had to read a book a day from the 10,000 volume store library, be up each day before the store opened, and write a short autobiography to gain access to one of the beds. The result was that thousands of luminaries of the written word found refuge among the books of Shakespeare & Co., earning the bookstore a place in most tourist guides to Paris.

At its core, this book is a loving tribute to Shakespeare & Co., illustrating the depth of influence that independent bookstores can enact on our culture. In this day of major chains and big box stores, Time was Soft There stands as a powerful homage to a sadly disappearing breed.

For many a bibliophile, a visit to the homes of famous writers generates a feeling of awe. For me, the true moments of bibliophilic “a-ha” comes only when in the hallowed halls of a truly legendary bookstore: a place where writers gathered, drank, smoked, gave readings and shared ideas. A place like Shakespeare & Co. or City Lights Bookstore (Shakespeare & Co.’s San Francisco sister store), nurturer of generations of authors. A place where bibliophiles can go, take a deep breath and say thank you. Mercer has captured the Shakespeare & Co. that 99% of us are unable to experience, that the many tourists (who only step through the door so they can check it off a “must see” list) will never understand.

Mercer’s work took me on a journey of rediscovery to my 20 year-old self, who made a pilgrimage to City Lights Bookstore, to stand where many of my Beat Generation heroes had hung out and to buy copies of their works at the source. I no longer know where my copy of Howl by Allen Ginsberg has gone. However, I have regained that moment of awe and for this, I thank Mercer. No matter what the future brings for Shakespeare & Co., Jeremy Mercy has ensured that the spirit of this amazing institution lives on.

See the review as it appears at Armchair Interviews – Time was Soft There.

Since reading A Gentle Madness: Bibliophiles, Bibliomanes, and the Eternal Passion for Books, I eagerly await each installment to discover what secret corridors and closed doors he will open next. Basbanes’ works act as a secret handshake that allows entry to a world any serious bibliophile longs to enter, a world devoted to the care, handling and love of the printed word.

In Every Books Its Reader, the social history of the book is explored from the perspective of the reader. Basbanes explores the meaning readers give to texts through their personal experiences, and how that experience helps connect with others. He says, “We are not only the product of what we read, we are in association with others who have read the same things.”

Early I discovered 84 Charing Cross Road, a book that became a dear friend to be revisited often. Helene Hanff showed what a love of reading can truly bring to a life, the journey one can take through books with a helpful guide. Nicholas Basbanes easily fills this role. His pages resonate with quotes and stories and his love of books fairly bursts off the page. He carries the reader to a new path that leads to books, “a book casually encountered by an imaginative mind, lighting a spark that ignites a flame of creativity….”

At the start of Every Books Its Reader, Basbanes shares a story that ends “…if ever I go to Heaven I know where to find her. I shall go straight over to the corner by the bookcases.” When I get there, I shall expect to find Nicholas Basbanes there, holding court.

You can see the review as it is posted here ->Review at ArmchairInterviews.com