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Dec 18, 2010

Jane rated it:

I only read 7 of the 12 essays but loved all that I read...I plan to read the five books that Blakemore wrote about that I haven't read yet in 2011. My own personal reading challenge.

Here's the full lineup:
Self - Austen, P&P, Elizabeth Bennet
Faith - Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Janie Crawford
Happiness - L.M. Montgomery, Anne of GG, Anne Shirley
Dignity - Alice Walker, The Color Purple, Celie
Family Ties - Betty Smith, A Tree Grows More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Dec 09, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Yeah, ok. I liked this.

Each chapter takes on a characteristic of a modern day heroine, and then shows how a famous author and the beloved classic heroine she wrote embody those characteristics. So the chapter about compassion talks about Harper Lee and Scout; the chapter about dignity talks about a fighting spirit concerns Margaret Mitchell and Scarlet O'Hara, etc. I found the biographical information about the authors to be the most interesting parts- I was astounded to discover th More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Kat rated it:

In times of struggle, there are as many reasons not to read as there are to breathe. Don't you have better things to do? Reading, let alone rereading, is the terrain of milquetoasts and mopey spinsters. At life's ugliest junctures, the very act of opening a book can smack of cowardly escapism. Who chooses to read when there's work to be done?

Call me a coward if you will, but when the line between duty and sanity blurs, you can usually find me curled up with a battered book, reading as More...

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Nov 18, 2011

Lydia rated it:

Original review posted here

I am ashamed to admit that half the stories in this book have yet to be read by me. That IS something I intend to fix (and one reason why this book should be sitting on your shelf – it has a fantastic list of titles inside that should make up an important part of your TBR list).

So, I did not read every essay – mostly because I don’t want to spoil the stories. I did, however, read every essay of the books I’ve read and I found them enchanting.
More...

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Oct 11, 2011

Amy rated it:

Attention all bibliophiles! If you have ever tried to channel your inner Scarlett O’Hara, Jane Eyre, or Scout Finch, this is the book for you! The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder by Erin Blakemore is an ingenious little book. Blakemore deftly combines author biography and character study to create a highly readable look at the females, both real and fictional, that have influenced generations of women. Broken into twelve chapters, each centering on a More...

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Jun 05, 2011

Sandra rated it:

The Heroine's Bookshelf celebrates womanhood through timeless characters and the creative genius of the authors who brought them to life. Each chapter focuses on one heroine and one of her particular attributes. Red-headed orphan Anne Shirley reminds us to be happy and optimistic despite what life throws our way. Scarlett O'Hara exhibits a fighting spirit to survive while headstrong Jo March chases her dreams with spirit and ambition.

Part biography, part history lesson, Blakemore re More...

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Mar 24, 2011

Megan rated it:

I love the idea of this book. The author posits that we find strength through reading and that our favorite heroines teach us, inspire us, and help us to go back out and live life. In the introduction she writes, "My literary companions would never live in the ranch house with the atrocious rust-red carpet my parents couldn't afford to replace, but no matter. They accompanied me to my first kiss and my first breakup, through college and into the weird uncharted territory of quarter-life cr More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 17, 2011

Beth rated it:

It suits me that The Heroine's Bookshelf takes Pride and Prejudice as its first subject, since that is my second-favorite book after The Lord of the Rings. And I enjoyed many of the other books it mentions in high school and college. But Blakemore's book is more than a mere summary of these childhood favorites. Not only does the author choose a theme for each chapter ("Self" in the case of Lizzie Bennet in P&P), but she also discusses the authors' lives at length, which for me was the More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 09, 2010

Cindy rated it:

Imagine pairing some of your favorite heroines in literary history with their female authors and analyzing both the similarities and differences in their lives. That’s what Erin Blakemore has done in The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, From Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder.

In her introduction, Blakemore talks abut the need to read and find inspiration, especially when times are difficult. She also mentions how she has turned to literary heroines throughout her own life in times o More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 28, 2010

Kelly rated it:

The idea behind this book is that, in times of trouble, novels can save you. In particular, the heroines from a handful of novels can give you qualities you need to keep going. (For example, Scout Finch can teach you compassion and Jo March can teach you ambition.)

Obviously, this is something that I completely believe. While I haven’t read every novel referenced in this book, I’ve read most of them and it was delightful to get to see my friends again. (And yes, I DO think of Mary More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 26, 2011

Brittany rated it:

I think the idea is actually intriguing--the thought how these fictional women or real authors shape different things about you and that you can be a "heroine." The idea got lost in how it was written. The author tried to do too much. I thought it would be a book solely about the heroines, but she chose to tack on the authors too. There is nothing wrong with that, but it did get confusing. The book itself is trying to do too much with not enough room to do so. Each chapter is told from More...

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Nov 06, 2010

Sharon rated it:

Erin Blakemore's "The Heroine's Bookshelf" is a slender volume jam-packed with ideas, inspiration and information. Featuring twelve female authors and their well-known heroines, the book delivers on its promise: there are life lessons here.

With heroines as varied as Scout Finch and Jane Eyre, created by women who have little in common with one another beyond gender, there is much to see here. Blakemore provides some biographical information on each of the authors, talkin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 04, 2011

Margarita rated it:

This is a Book About Books-one of my favorite genres, after historical and YA fiction. The author picks twelve books with strong female main characters, giving a concise chapter title to each:

Self: Lizzy Bennet in Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
Faith: Janie Crawford in Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
Happiness: Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Dignity: Celie in The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Family Tie More...

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Jan 31, 2012

Denise rated it:

I love reading a back story, it always adds more the book you are reading, I think. And Erin does a great job with this book, highlighting the heroine's of childhood books.

Really, Erin had me at the first page.....

"In times of struggle, there are as many reason not to read as there are to breath. Don't you have better things to do? reading, let alone rereading, is the terrain of milquetoasts and mopey spinsters. At life's uglies junctures, they ver act of openin More...

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Apr 03, 2011

Kimberli rated it:

I loved, loved, loved this book!

Each chapter is devoted to a life lesson learned from a particular favorite book. We learn about each writer's life & specific book, then Blakemore gently intersperses bits about her own life into the narrative to demonstrate how this book enriched her life. My favorite elements were learning about each writer. I had no idea that L.M. Montgomery suffered so from depression or actually didn't die of heart failure, but took her own life. How Collette's he More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 29, 2011

Jaclyn rated it:

I've always loved books with strong female protagonists. Reading about girls and women overcoming obstacles, spreading positivity and optimism, and standing up for themselves is empowering and inspiring. So I'm surprised that no one thought to collect some of the most-loved literary heroines before Erin Blakemore! Ah, well, we have this book now, and I can't believe it took me so long to get around to reading it!

The Heroine's Bookshelf was a great read. Blakemore weaves the unk More...

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Feb 08, 2011

Phair rated it:

While I generally liked this look at books featuring women who can inspire other women and the authors who created them I came away feeling rather shame-faced that I had actually read very few of the works cited. Never read: Little Women, Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Anne of Green Gables, Secret Garden, Little House books, Beloved,To Kill a Mockingbird Jane Eyre (tried but didn't finish), Gone With the Wind. Of course I am familiar with most of those stories from media versions and still have th More...

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Nov 28, 2010

Michelle added it

For such a small book, The Heroine's Bookshelf packs quite a punch. It is one of those books that makes a reader proud to be female, while also making one appreciate the lessons learned from childhood heroines. It is the perfect novel to read when feeling blue or at a crossroads in one's life because it simultaneously reminds one of all those who have experienced similar thoughts/sensations/emotions while confirming the idea that we are not alone in our struggles. In a book filled with lessons, More...

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Jan 23, 2012

Michelle rated it:

What a wonderful idea for a book! I wish I had thought of it. Erin Blakemore matches 12 heroines to qualities that made them great. Lizzie Bennet as "self," Anne Shirley as "happiness," Scout Finch as "compassion," etc. Blakemore provides background about the author and the book for each chapter. I learned a lot of interesting facts about authors that I've wondered about all my life but never put forth the effort to learn the background that prompted their writi More...

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Jul 08, 2011

Maddi rated it:

From the discussion at Book Club, it seems this was not the right book for me. It's a series of essays on classic heroines of literature, and I had only read two of the books covered here, although I was familiar with two more plot lines due to either a movie or play.

Yes, that means I have never read Anne of Green Gables or Pride and Prejudice or most of the other works covered. But I've read many a book review that left me eager and willing to read the book discussed. The author didn More...

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Jan 28, 2011

Shiralea rated it:

I absolutely recommend this to anyone who reads and re-reads her favorite "heroine" books, but isn't sure why. I've tried telling people why Scarlett O'Hara is so wonderful even though she's such a big "B", and why Jane Eyre, the dowdy governess, is so appealing. This author explains it better than I. I actually teared up a little reading the introduction because the author points out what I've known but never put into words: that even when there are "better" thin More...

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Nov 10, 2010

Carla rated it:

Ms. Blakemore reminds us of the unforgettable inspirational women in fiction and the strong women that created them. I was invited back to my favorite heroines, the novels I re read over the years, with new eyes knowing now the stories of the strengths and weaknesses of the women behind them. Ms. Blakemore takes us on a journey of life lessons that these amazing characters and writers give us. The life lessons inventively are taught as Lizzy Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) teaching Self, Scarlett O More...

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Sep 07, 2010

Cathe rated it:

Twelve books written by women with strong female characters make up what the author calls The Heroine's Bookshelf. Children's titles like The Secret Garden and Anne of Green Gables made the list, as well as adult titles including The Color Purple and Pride and Prejudice. The author explains how the heroine can help with different life challenges such as: Compassion, Fight, and Faith, and gives related books/heroines that also exemplify that characteristic. I found the insights into the books and More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 29, 2011

Jay rated it:

I loved this book. It delivers a great message and an interesting peek into the lives of some of my favorite authors. The 4-stars is due to the uneveness of the writing. The 'guidebook' structure felt forced in certain passages, veering into the cutesy realm once or twice. The connections and sometime disconnections the author made between famous literary herorines and their real-life creators more than made up for its flaws. I found myself folding down corners to mark passages that resonated in More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Mar 09, 2011

Ana rated it:

The Heroine's Bookshelf / 978-0-06-195876-2

In this book, the author has skillfully collected little vignette biographies (no more than 15-20 pages each) of 12 classic authors - all women, who wrote about women. In addition to the author biographies, author Blakemore also engages one of their famous heroines, and then passionately sets forth a case as to what life lesson we can still continue to derive from said heroine, and draws analogies to other similar heroines, ripe for the re-reading. The More...

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Sep 17, 2011

Megan rated it:

This book was interesting, but not exactly all that I wanted it to be. It was interesting to hear the stories and background information for the authors of some classic books (some I've read and some I haven't). Reading this book made me add some of these classics to my to-be-read list. However, the chapters got a bit lengthy at times. The author has a wonderful vocabulary and used some wonderful words and insightful thoughts. Also, I enjoyed her personal touches about each heroine/author and ho More...

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Dec 24, 2010

Katy rated it:

Reading books used to be just as transgressive as writing them. After all, good books sow the seeds of future actions. They feed us when we get divorced, walk out on jobs or unequal relationships, raise uppity daughters, and demand our due. They comfort us when we're lonely and give us the words we crave. Don't we owe the women who dared to provide them a bit of our undivided attention? (xvii)

The Heroine's Bookshelf explores twelve themes and the novel heroines that exemplify those themes. More...

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Nov 10, 2010

Danelle rated it:

I loved the idea of this entire book - presenting female heroines according to their central qualities (i/e: Scarlett OHara - Fight, Scout Finch - Compassion, etc.). Each of the characters in the book are well loved and admired for their pluck. When I saw this listed as one of the giveaways, I thought it was a fabulous idea for a book and only wished I'd thought of it!

The book is absolutely current and entirely appropriate. Each chapter not only highlights the heroine, but the a More...

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Jun 07, 2011

Jinnie rated it:

I added this to my biography and spirituality shelves, but it's really not either of those. It just kind of spoke to me that way. A more appropriate shelve might be titled peer identification, as it was written by a woman about my age who wrote short, thoughtful essays on books we both read while growing up, books that shaped us. We lived on opposites sides of the continent, yet we spent our spare time reading the same material! I immediately felt a kinship with the author.

Each chapter More...

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Mar 22, 2011

Erica added it

In this book, Erin Blakemore picks a few of literature's major heroines (Jane Eyre, Francie Nolan, etc) and explores the qualities that made them so inspiring. As with any book like this, the chapters about books you've read are always going to be more interesting than those about books you haven't, but I still enjoyed the whole thing, and it definitely solidified my desire to read Jane Eyre. The chapter on Francie Nolan and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn was by far my favorite, but in each one I enjo More...

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