Evan Sarah Epstein

It’s been a long time since I posted anything bookish, so here goes: a list of some of the more interesting books I’ve read this past year. The Other Boleyn Girl, by Philippa Gregory I’d heard this was a lot smuttier than it turned out to be. I was expecting ridiculous camp and drama. But, [...]

If the characters from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood had cousins in Tennessee, the Hamiltons would be it.  This book has a similar tone: a multi-generational tale of southern women from 1932 to 1972 – none of whom fit the mold of the perfect southern belle. The story centers on Miss Gussie, her two [...]

Sometimes the need for a lazy Sunday just creeps up on you. Sean and I had big plans for Sunday.  We were going to go for a nice long ride, finish cleaning and organizing the garage… but then we woke up to a gray morning.  And the gray morning turned into a gray day.  Something [...]

I had a seriously wonderful day on Saturday – a Lou Reed Perfect Day, kind of day.  If you spent any time in Seattle in April, you know how miserable the weather was – no really, any one-day would be a good sample of the rest of the month.  Rainy, cold and dreary, with the [...]

From 1919 to 1969, Cornell University sponsored a home economics practice house where female students could enroll to learn how to be good homemakers.  The most interesting part of this class was that in addition to learning how to cook, clean, sew and fix household appliances, the women in this program also learned how to [...]

I really enjoy stories about women and their relationships – both friendship and familial, so it is kid of surprising that I took so long to pick up a copy of The Joy Luck Club.

I had a love/hate relationship with this book.  I’ve been slowly reading it between other books, 20 pages here, 50 pages there.  In the end I enjoyed it, but it was a rocky road getting there. It seemed like Barbara Kingsolver got a free pass from her editor in the first couple chapters.  As if [...]

While reading this book, I kept thinking, Steel Magnolias set in a yarn shop.  I felt all proud of this realization… until I looked on the front cover and someone had already gone there.  Oh well. I’ve always enjoyed books about women’s relationships, so this book was right up my alley.  It was an enjoyable [...]

Jhumpa Lahiri is an amazing writer.  She could be describing the most mundane detail of daily life, and somehow she makes it intriguing.  I read The Namesake a few months ago and fell in love with her writing style and set out to find more from this author. If this collection of short stories has [...]

You know when you read a book that so unexpectedly sucks you in, that you look up and your weekend is over? That’s how Valley of the Dolls, by Jacqueline Susann was for me. I know. I finally got around to reading it. I truly didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I [...]