Rebecca Review (& New Book!)

Let's start with Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier.

To be completely honest, I had a hard time getting into this book.

The first solid half of the book was dull, in my opinion. I got really annoyed with Maxim and his lack of communication with his new wife. The new Mrs. de Winter’s insecurity didn’t do much for me either.

I probably wouldn’t have been bothered by either one, but I felt this part of the story was really drawn out. That said, du Maurier had a way of writing that kept me curious enough to keep reading.

If you felt the same way I did, keep reading! It gets better!

The storyline really picks up in the second half of the book. I was in suspense the all the way to the end. Maxim has a secret that fuels the book until the end. Our lovely narrator (who doesn't seem to have a first name?) ends up getting all the answers she wanted, too.

Even after I finished, I went back to the beginning of the book and re-read the parts that seemed mysterious from the start. Everything really fell into place after reading the ending.

I take slight issue with how quickly/easily the narrator accepted and supported Maxim after his grand confession, but it made the storyline progress quicker at that point, so I can't complain too much.

If you really want to know what happens, you'll have to pick it up :-)

Now, onto next month. My pick for February is

Girls in White Dresses 
by Jennifer Close

I found this book on two websites with suggested reading for women my age: A Quarter Life Crisis Girl's Reading List and 10 Fun Books Every Woman Should Read in Her Twenties. I thought it would be worth a shot. 

From Goodreads: "Wickedly hilarious and utterly recognizable, Girls in White Dresses tells the story of three women grappling with heartbreak and career change, family pressure and new love—all while suffering through an endless round of weddings and bridal showers."

I can see why a book like this would be on lists for women in their 20s. This is definitely the life-stage I am experiencing. My adult years have been filled with friends' bridal showers, bachelorette parties, and ultimately, weddings. Except for my own, that is.

Ludlow & Company described Girls in White Dresses this way: "Friendship! Early adulthood! That feeling that everyone is getting married but us! A winning combination for this single lady." Sounds like something I can relate to.

lovetwenty.com calls it a "novel that captures every detail of life in a girl’s twenties and teaches you that you can get through anything with the right amount of heart and sarcasm." Heart and sarcasm have certainly gotten me through so far.

Since the books for January and February could both be considered girly, I'll try to pick something with wider appeal for March. Join me!

baby hair bows

My sister is having a baby in March. We're throwing her a baby shower this weekend, and I am giving her some homemade hair bows!

I followed the instructions on the Make it and Love it website for hair bows with no slip grip (for fine baby hair).

I think they turned out really cute:

The tutorial was easy to follow. The no-slip grip is probably the best part. These clips are supposed to stay put in baby-fine hair, but they also work to clip back flyaway strands for older girls.

Cute, cute, cute!

The "Anything Goes" Book Club

I like to read, and I've decided that one of my goals for the new year is to read at least one book a month. Here's the great part: You get to join me!

I'm going to post my pick for a book at the beginning of the month, and my review of it at the end of the month. You are welcome to join in the fun by reading with me, or you can read my reviews and decide which books interest you. If you like, you can even suggest a book for my next reading adventure.

For January, my book of the month is

Rebecca 

by Daphne du Maurier

From Goodreads: Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again. 

Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Her future looks bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Max de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamourous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding housekeeper, Mrs Danvers... 

Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the Other Woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity. 

From Barnes & Noble: "Last Night I Dreamt I Went To Manderley Again." So the second Mrs. Maxim de Winter remembered the chilling events that led her down the turning drive past ther beeches, white and naked, to the isolated gray stone manse on the windswept Cornish coast. With a husband she barely knew, the young bride arrived at this immense estate, only to be inexorably drawn into the life of the first Mrs. de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, dead but never forgotten...her suite of rooms never touched, her clothes ready to be worn, her servant -- the sinister Mrs. Danvers -- still loyal. And as an eerie presentiment of evil tightened around her heart, the second Mrs. de Winter began her search for the real fate of Rebecca...for the secrets of Manderley.

This is one I've never read. A few of my friends gave it really high ratings on Goodreads:

Since I tend to lean on friends' recommendations for books, this seemed like a good pick to kick off the new year.

Rebecca earns an average rating of 4.16 stars on Goodreads, 4.3 stars on Amazon, and 4.5 stars on Barnes & Noble.

If you would like to read it with me, welcome to my book club. If you don't want to read with me, welcome to my book club! Anything goes around here. This is the no-pressure book club you have been searching for. If you do happen to read with me, feel free to let me know what you think of the book.

Happy Reading! (or not)