tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post8471788264418254491..comments2023-12-07T09:29:21.331-05:00Comments on Just Janga: The Good Mother: Not Exactly a Review of Susan Mallery's Already HomeJangahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15128188159653860806noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-17852255152784551832011-02-07T12:34:39.343-05:002011-02-07T12:34:39.343-05:00Oh, PJ, I didn't think about mysteries. Kate C...Oh, PJ, I didn't think about mysteries. Kate Carlisle's character is a great example. I'll have to give this more thought. In my favorite mystery series,Deborah Knott's mother is dead, but her MIL is a terrific character. And the mother-daughter relationship gets considerable attention in Margaret Maron's other series, the Sigrid Harald books.<br /><br />I think you will really enjoy <i>Already Home</i>, and Kristin Hannah's books are definitely worth catching up with.Jangahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128188159653860806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-20714902541808548552011-02-05T18:01:18.414-05:002011-02-05T18:01:18.414-05:00Wonderful blog, Janga! Mallery is an auto-buy for...Wonderful blog, Janga! Mallery is an auto-buy for me and I've been looking forward to her new book.<br /><br />I read both romance and women's fiction and have noticed the same as you as pertains to mothers. You've named some of my favorites - Violet Bridgerton, Nadia Stanislaski, Anna MacGregor - who always come to mind when the discussion turns to good mothers. <br /><br />A new mother on the scene that I've been enjoying is Brooklyn's mother in Kate Carlisle's bibliophile mysteries. She's also an aging hippie who often comes across as a flake but, beneath all the New Age idiosyncrasies, is a smart, savvy, loving woman who is fiercely devoted to her children. <br /><br />Kristin Hannah is a wonderful author! I've fallen behind a bit with her books. Must remedy that!pjpuppymomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18234101901405553621noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-68526818549890624432011-02-05T14:39:20.568-05:002011-02-05T14:39:20.568-05:00Q, Delicious is the first book in Maller's Buc...Q, <i>Delicious</i> is the first book in Maller's Buchanans series. There are three more--<i>Irresistible, Sizzling, Tempting</i>. They're good, but I think her new Fools Gold series is even better. <br /><br />I'm so glad you liked Hannah's <i>Winter Garden</i>. I found it one of those haunting books that just won't go away. She has a new one, <i>Night Road</i> that will be released March 22. She's another of my autobuys.Jangahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128188159653860806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-33605098916411559312011-02-05T14:33:19.541-05:002011-02-05T14:33:19.541-05:00No jinxes, Dena. Some weeks are just quiet ones. ...No jinxes, Dena. Some weeks are just quiet ones. The stats let me know that the blog is being read. It's just that few people are commenting. <br /><br />If you haven't tried Lois McMaster Bujold, you should. The Vorkosigan series goes back more than 20 years now. I haven't read the most recent one myself, but I'll get to it eventually.Jangahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128188159653860806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-37404467039826957162011-02-04T15:33:17.922-05:002011-02-04T15:33:17.922-05:00I haven't read Susan Mallery yet but have one ...I haven't read Susan Mallery yet but have one of hers on my TBR pile called 'Delicious'. Its about cooking I think.<br /><br />Mallery is another author that I really must get round to trying.<br /><br />I have just finished an audio version of Kristin Hannah's 'Winter Garden' (recommended by you Janga .... thanks once again!).<br /><br />I found this a compelling read and was almost moved to tears by Vera's description of Stalinist Russia and the siege of Leningrad. When in Iceland she finds Anya whom she had thought killed by a German bomb, and just misses meeting her former husband, also thought killed in Russia, my eyes definitely misted over. Its a helluva read!<br /><br />I think that in Russia, Vera is an example of a good mother, protecting her children in Leningrad. She becomes a bad mother in America with the children of her second marriage, for very good reasons unbeknown to the children. After relating her story to the children though, she becomes a good mother again!<br /><br />Killed two birds with one stone. *grin*<br /> <br />In women's fiction I think I will try more of Hannah's work and will also read more of Luanne Rice. I find both to be superbly compelling writers.<br /><br />On the romance side I still have many (new to me) authors to try out! *smile*Quantumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08686409685564115213noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-40051284415182290442011-02-04T13:03:51.827-05:002011-02-04T13:03:51.827-05:00I shall have to look that one up! :) You've st...I shall have to look that one up! :) You've stumped me on that one. <br /><br />I hope I didn't jinx your post :( it's eerily quiet (and there's one for last week: quiet, quit, quite as pet peeves for misspellings)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-55639221694192300132011-02-03T16:47:52.273-05:002011-02-03T16:47:52.273-05:00Thanks, Dena. You make an interesting point, and t...Thanks, Dena. You make an interesting point, and there are a lot of dead mothers and evil stepmothers in fairy tales. The only "good mother" that comes to mind is in that Andersen tale of the totally self-sacrifial, ultimately submissive mother--not what we want to see in our books. <br /><br />I haven't read enough SF/F to make generalizations, but I can think of one extraordinary mother from those genres--Bujold's Cordelia Naismith Vorkosigan. Can you imagine the challenges of rearing Miles?Jangahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15128188159653860806noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8192776379752748640.post-66825426390884303192011-02-03T12:58:10.235-05:002011-02-03T12:58:10.235-05:00Wonderful post, Janga. I will have to pick up thi...Wonderful post, Janga. I will have to pick up this book, as it hits a bit home for me, being adopted myself. As for mothers in books, I, too, had worried over the rather strong appearance, or rather, disappearance, of good mothers in reading. But then, I thought about it, and people generally think that in writing a story, the first tragedy is to lose your mother or to lose that innocence and love you should have with your mother, so the drama or adventure begins there. How many Grimm, Anderson or Aesop's Tales began with a troubled childhood? I'll have to think on that. For me, most notably, I would have to say Violet Bridgerton for Best Mom and Araminta for most Evil Mom in Romances I've read recently. As for Romance vs Women's Fiction... well, I'm more of a Science Fiction/Fantasy kinda gal, so I haven't read much of either lately...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com