false 0 554 310 true 5629602 read 3 true 5042466 currently-reading 242 true 5042447 to-read 66 false 6081506 favorites 65 false 6735997 books-made-into-movies 36 false 6080641 memorable-memoirs-bios-autobios 28 false 6083783 beautiful-prose 27 false 6086480 social-commentary 26 false 6103708 unique-premise 20 false 6080676 spiritual 18 false 6706648 new-york 18 false 6229501 yearning 18 false 6085557 lasting-impressions 17 false 6080966 loved-the-concept-disliked-the-book 16 false 6127951 i-have-an-addiction-sir 16 false 6127543 mental-obstacles 16 false 6081513 intense-ending 15 false 6165042 teaching-kids-the-big-idea 13 false 6196688 best-storytelling--non-fiction- 12 false 6085394 crazy-love 11 false 6081380 interesting-villain 10 false 6085080 edge-of-your-seat 10 false 6861421 coming-of-age 10 false 6081605 controversial-and-fascinating 10 false 6086446 unexpected-gems 10 false 6087586 sex-drugs-rocknroll 10 false 6204266 crime-story-unconventionable 10 false 6080698 scary 9 false 6167524 retro-reads 9 false 6706681 california 9 false 6082772 work-memoirs 9 false 6229232 tough-but-worth-it-reads 8 false 6171298 historical-fiction 8 false 6127513 physical-obstacles 8 false 6165193 funny 8 false 6083381 stranger-than-fiction 8 false 6083358 rebels-visionaries-liberators 8 false 8379606 mistresses-masters-of-language 8 false 7054264 sleeping-with-the-enemy 7 false 6080662 biographical-fiction 7 false 5954812 circus-carnival 7 false 6081542 animals 6 false 6706691 new-england 6 false 6861271 emergency--fiction-nonfiction 6 false 6082966 witches 6 false 6127976 paranormal 6 false 6090047 great-books-with-unloveable-charact 6 false 6128114 gender-bending 6 false 8919003 quirky-relationships 5 false 8878104 5-star-seasonal-reads 5 false 7134832 guilty-pleasures 5 false 6706698 midwest 5 false 6171335 europe 5 false 6763123 the-south 5 false 6175345 metaphysics 5 false 6082783 the-oldest-profession 5 false 6081291 travel-adventure 5 false 8095127 scandalous 4 false 6957378 guidebooks 4 false 6861298 mysterious-atmospheric 4 false 6781207 war 4 false 6085493 adult-fairy-tales 4 false 6127606 characters-i-relate-to 4 false 6196672 rural 3 false 6861321 immigrant-experience 3 false 8329833 buy 3 false 8519212 mad-medicine 3 false 6166735 lived-to-tell----- 2 false 6196679 urban 2 false 6171352 asia 2 false 7280778 dystopia 2 false 6994091 psychic-abilities 2 false 6090081 microhistories 2 false 6167806 time-travel 1 false 6171365 south-america 1 false 7311499 history 1 false 7155559 altered-states 1 false 6171345 africa 1 false 8628875 access-to-secret-worlds 1 false 6167517 nature 1 false 6762924 religous-themes 1 false 6861384 desert 0 false 8117742 wishlist 0 false 6780757 pacific-northwest 0 false 6171358 australia <![CDATA[Janice added 'The Devil's Storybook']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/77722630 The Devil's Storybook (Sunburst Book) by Natalie Babbitt
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[Janice added 'Matilda']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/68711726 Matilda (Paperback) by Roald Dahl
bookshelves: currently-reading
]]> <![CDATA[new comment from Janice]]> http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/178369-fall-challenge-2009-completed-tasks Janice made a comment in the The Seasonal Reading Challenge group:

I completed task 20.2 (A,B,C)

About a Boy by Nick Hornby (2 stars)
Brothel: Mustang Ranch and its Women by Alexa
Albert (5 stars)
The Cracker Factory by Joyce Rebeta-Burditt (5 stars)

This task led me to two 5 star reads.

Alexa Albert, author of Brothel, was a Harvard Medical student studying AIDS, when she was allowed access to the famous bordello. She lived on and off with the women and workers for three years, studying how legal brothels kept their prostitutes HIV negative. (Not one woman ever tested positive at the Mustang Ranch). I loved this book for many reasons. Sure, it was a guilty pleasure, but it was also disturbing, educational, compassionate, and full of insightful social commentary. I loved that a highly educated woman could step out of the rule of analyzer and into a rough and tumble life for a valuable purpose.

When I purchased The Cracker Factory by Joyce Rebeta-Burditt for 25 cents, and it sat on my shelf for three years, I had no idea this book would be such a treasure. Not only is the book out of print, but it has, now, become a favorite. This retro story is about Cassie, an alcoholic wife and mother of three. She enters an asylum, in Cleveland, when she can no longer live with her controlling husband nor control her own drinking. Believe it or not, this book was hysterical. The author's observations remind me of both Erma Bombeck and Charles Bukowski if you can believe that. If you find a copy, pick it up. You won't regret it.

+20
total 150
14 books ]]> <![CDATA[Janice added 'The Cracker Factory']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/78402289 to: The Cracker Factory (Mass Market Paperback) by Joyce Rebeta-Burditt
bookshelves: 5-star-seasonal-reads, favorites, funny, i-have-an-addiction-sir, mental-obstacles, retro-reads, unexpected-gems, yearning
]]> <![CDATA[Janice added 'The Pearl Diver']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79028111 The Pearl Diver (Paperback) by Jeff Talarigo
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Janice added 'The Plague And I']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79028087 The Plague And I (Paperback) by Betty MacDonald
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Janice added 'The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79021333 The Monsters: Mary Shelley and the Curse of Frankenstein (Hardcover) by Dorothy Hoobler
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Janice S voted on the book list Mid-Winter Holiday Reads]]> http://www.goodreads.com/list/user_vote/235219 Janice added A Christmas Carol to the book list Mid-Winter Holiday Reads

Janice added 0 books to this list. Add your votes » add a comment
]]> <![CDATA[Janice added 'The Forgotten Garden']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79020731 The Forgotten Garden (Paperback) by Kate Morton
bookshelves: to-read
]]> <![CDATA[Janice added 'Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean']]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79020469 Blackbeard: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean (Paperback) by Dan Perry
bookshelves: to-read
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