Reader's Rights

So you thought you did not have any "rights" as a reader?  Think again. You do.  There is a Library Bill of Rights: Libraries should provide material with all points of view and so on. There is the Reader's Bill of Rights: The Reader has a right not to finish reading a book.  Now you also have rights as an Ebook reader : The Reader has a right to annotate, quote passages, print, and share econtent.

Little Women @ Waycross Area Community Theatre (WACT)

I enjoyed reading the book Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott as a child and I have also enjoyed the movie version starring Wynona Ryder and Susan Sarandon.   Last night I decided that I could not miss the final performance of the play, Little Women,  presented by the community theatre group (WACT) at the Ritz downtown, Waycross. Excellent performances by Ashley Barnett, graduate of Waycross College, as Jo; Michelle Lagoueyte as Amy; and Tom Strait as the German Professor Bhaer.  There were some issues with the sound but it got better in the second half.

Next activity for WACT will be a dinner theatre, in August, in association with the Pond View Restaurant next door to the Ritz.  The title is Murder at the TonyLou Awards.  The WACT is promising entertainment, intrigue and murder.

James Frey on Oprah May 16

When is a memoir not really a memoir?  Greg Mortenson, author of Three Cups of Tea, joins James Frey, author of A Million Little Pieces, and others who wrote memoirs that weren't really memoirs.  

What's  James Frey  been up to these days? Well he'll be on Oprah for the third time. Look out for him on May 16.

Historical Fiction

I am waiting for my book to arrive: Darling Strumpet, the story of Nell Gwyn; the mistress of King Charles 11.  While I am waiting I will start reading New York, bestselling book, by Edward Rutherford. 

Princess Diana is supposed to be a descendant of King Charles 11 and Nell Gwyn, "the strumpet".  When Prince William becomes King, I read that  he will be the first descendant of King Charles 11 to occupy the throne.

Usama Bin Laden

Suddenly Osama is now being spelt Usama on TV. No matter what the spelling; he is dead and gone to his maker. I remember the step son of my retired coworker, Mike Douglas; the brother-in-law of my former classmate, Ingrid Reid; the son of a former church brother; Jim Parkes. All were among the dead in the Towers. Nothing will bring them back to their families but hopefully this death brings them closure.

I got this link from Salem Press and thought my readers may want to read these historical speeches.

Historical Fiction

I took a break from British historical fiction to take on The Wives of Henry Oades by Johanna Moran set in the nineteenth century about a man who ended up married to two women. It's a good storyline but I think it lacks excitement. I think I'd like to go back to British historical fiction and my online book club is promoting, The Darling Strumpet:A Novel of Nell Gwynn, Who Captured the Heart of England and King Charles 11, the highly rated debut novel by Gillian Bagwell, set in 17th century London.

Doubts about "Three Cups of Tea"

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, non-fiction or fiction? Who knows? But what a shame if this is mostly fiction.

Reece Witherspoon and Robert Pattinson

Reece and Robert star in the movie version of the best selling novel by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants, one of our book club selections. Click here to see the movie trailer. Release date is April 22.


This was a really interesting book; Check out the reading guide. The movie looks like it is going to be a big hit at the box office.

Happening in Waycross, Georgia

I had to share this picture taken last night at the Exchange Club fairgrounds in Waycross at the Relay for Life event in support of the American Cancer Society. There are awesome floating sky lanterns brightening the night in memory of those who lost the battle to cancer. There are luminaries on the ground to honor survivors of cancer and in memory of loved ones.

The Kiwanis Club will be selling South Pit chicken dinners and ribs as a fundraiser so that it can fund organizations devoted to the children in Waycross such as Saddle Up Therapeutic Riding Program, Meagan's House, Head Start and more. Club members will be by the stadium from 11:00am to 6:00pm on Thursday.

Our book club meets this Friday to discuss the historical fiction, Vivaldi's Virgins. Michelle, one of our newest members, has suggested an historical romance for May, A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh.

Historical Fiction, Multicultural Books, Memoirs

I completed the reading of Wench two days ago. It had a very good storyline; the writer's choice of words will move the reader emotionally. This was the writer's debut novel. I look forward to reading more of her writing.

I am giving books a break today to watch The Tudors on DVD. All the books on Queen Anne Boleyn and her sister, and Queen Jane Seymour that I read recently, compelled me to rent movies on Henry V111 to learn more about this period of history.

On a very different note, the Book Industry Association of Jamaica reportedly had a book festival last Saturday. Children's writer, Kellie Magnus was apparently one of the organizers These are some of the Jamaican writers who turned out to support the festival: Diana McCaulay, author of Dog Heart; Edward Seaga, author of the biography, My Life and Leadership: Volume 1 Clash of Ideologies (1930-1980); and Robert Lalah, author of the best-selling and humorous collection, Roving with Lalah - Slices of Everyday Jamaican Life.

This Is What I Am Reading

I am reading Wench by Dolen Parkins-Valdez because I read somewhere, can't remember where exactly, that this book was like The Help . Well so far this book has little similarity to the Help. It is similar in that it is about a group of black friends who are all in a similar position. That is all to the similarity.

The four women in this story are slaves from the South. They holiday with their slave masters at Tawawa House in Ohio which is a free state. The slave masters are also the fathers of their children. There is a similar holiday resort for free blacks in Ohio. I am on page 56 and so far Mawu, the newcomer to Tawawa and the defiant one, wants to escape. She's been inside the resort for the free blacks. All her children, except one who is mentally challenged, have been sold so she does not feel like she has a strong tie to the plantation where she is enslaved. The other women have children in the south and are reluctant to leave. One of the slave women, Lizzie imagines that she is in love with her master and he loves her in return.

The Tawawa House, by the way, really existed. See what the writer says about the story behind the story.