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Thursday, February 23, 2006

Secret Smile

All Nicci French titles sound the same to me: "Secret Smile", "Beneath the Skin", "Killing Me Softly" (now if I start humming to this one, I will reveal my age, right?) and they all sound like romance books, not thrillers. Even the author's name, or rather pseudonym, seems to speak of exotic places and things French.

Still, I read one of them (and I'm almost 100% sure it was "Secret Smile", LOL, though the blurb "Killing Me Softly" sounds fantastic with its promise of obliterating sex). And it was good. Apart from the helpless heroine, of course, who got herself into more and more mess by her inaction and her reluctance to argue a point.

We need strong, clever, effectual heroines in our fiction. Our daughters need role models. Onto the pyre with Bridget Jones.

Thursday, February 16, 2006

Feminists worldwide, redefine!

The dictionary defines feminism as "The view, articulated in the 19th century, that women are inherently equal to men and deserve equal rights and opportunities. "

I fully support that notion. I believe that there is no difference in potential when it comes to men, women and the technical world of computers. Which is why I have full confidence in my husband's ability to tinker with pesky software on my blog site and make the "subscribe" button work as it should. Thanks, honey!

For those of you who've tried to subscribe in the past and gave up, it's all running smoothly now.

Tuesday, February 07, 2006

When I grow up I want to be Elizabeth Berg

Yes, I admit it: I'm envious. Elizabeth Berg is the author of New York Times bestsellers and award-winning novels. But more importantly, she writes the way I hope to write one day.

In Talk Before Sleep, she portrays the sorrow of losing a friend to cancer. But the book, instead of being depressing or annoying (anybody who's seen Leaving Las Vegas will know what I mean), manages to be uplifting, humorous and warm.

Say When is another potentially difficult book, this time about the journey of a marriage, the inevitable irritations, the heartbreak of the break-up, the bitter sweetness of the reunion. And yet, instead of being banal, Say When brims with hope, interesting twists and real people.

Some authors you love at first sight. Until I grow up, though, I'll have to hate this one.

Thursday, February 02, 2006

Invisible

This post is about Margaret Murphy's "Now You See Me", or, more specifically, about a single sentiment expressed in the book: "Her greatest dream was to be invisible".

Now, I just don't get it. I spend my life dressing in red, I have a web presence, I want to play first fiddle at every gathering. The idea that somebody would want to be so diametrally opposite is just....

Well, it's an idea anyway. Perhaps I should have as my next protagonist somebody akin to Megan in Ms Murphy's book: secretive, antisocial, apparently dull. Perhaps that way people will stop saying: "Your heroine, why, she's just like you"! And then I'll stop saying: "Well, you see, not really. It was a joke: to create a heroine who appeared similar, but in fact... oh, forget it."

A good book, by the way, that "Now You See Me". Clever dialogue, good technical detail, no excessive violence and only one car chase. I suppose, in this day and age, we can't ask for much more. :-)