A Good Read

Today's Kelly's Korner Link Up is:

**Book List**

(reviews from Amazon)

Jane Eyre
-Charlotte Bronte-
{I've been in love with this book since high school}

"On the surface a fairly conventional Gothic romance (poor orphan governess is hired by rich, brooding Byronic hero-type), Jane Eyre hardly seems the stuff from which revolutions are made. But the story is very much about the nature of human freedom and equality, and if Jane was seen as something of a renegade in nineteenth-century England, it is because her story is that of a woman who struggles for self-definition and determination in a society that too often denies her that right. But self-determination does not mean untrammeled freedom for men or women. Rochester, that thorny masculine beast whom Jane eventually falls for, is a man who sets his own laws and manipulates the lives of those around him; before he can enter into a marriage of equals with Jane he must undergo a spiritual transformation. Should the lesson sound dry, it's not. Jane Eyre is full of drama: fires, storms, attempted murder, and a mad wife conveniently stashed away in the attic. This is very sexy stuff - another reason Victorian critics weren't quite sure what to make of it. --500 Great Books by Women"

The Awakening

-Kate Chopin-

{I'll admit it.  I love classic female writers.}

"The Awakening was written by Kate Chopin and first published in 1899. From her vacation to the Gulf of Mexico to her return to New Orleans, Edna Pontellier, the wife of Léonce and mother of two boys, embarks on an emotionally fraught journey to discover love and self-fulfillment. Her relationships with her husband, with LeBrun and with Mademoiselle Reisz lead to a battle with isolation, conflicting emotions and her discovery of life as a sexual being. Set in nineteenth-century New Orlean's, Kate Chopin's novel was one of the earliest books to deal with gender issues and female sexuality, often cited as an early benchmark work of feminism."

The Bell Jar

-Sylvia Plath-

{Do you sense a trend with these first 3 books?}

"Plath was an excellent poet but is known to many for this largely autobiographical novel. The Bell Jar tells the story of a gifted young woman's mental breakdown beginning during a summer internship as a junior editor at a magazine in New York City in the early 1950s. The real Plath committed suicide in 1963 and left behind this scathingly sad, honest and perfectly-written book, which remains one of the best-told tales of a woman's descent into insanity."

Women of the Bible

-Ann Sprangler and  Jean Syswerda-

I have read this book 3 times and each time I've learned something different.  My mom gave me my first copy and then I loaned it to a friend.  I then bought another copy for myself and it's now being loaned to my mom.  I can never recommend this book enough.