Review: Georgette Heyer's Regency World

Reading Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester makes me want to go back and read every Georgette Heyer book that I've already read and pay closer attention, maybe make an effort to pick out the real people. And though I have figured out much of the slang and many of the societal references after reading a number of Heyer's novels, I plan to order a copy of this to have on hand. This is an enjoyable light history and a fun reference work for history buffs and Heyer fans alike.

Now to go download an as-yet-unread Heyer onto my Kindle to read tonight.

(And if you've never read Georgette Heyer, you are missing out!)

Review: Jeneration X

I have been waiting months for Jen Lancaster's latest memoir, Jeneration X,  to come out. From the moment I discovered Bitter is the New Black, I was hooked. Jen's books have made me laugh out loud. They've made tears run down my cheeks.

Until this one. It was funny, but I never laughed out loud once. I still love Jen, but I think that maybe I'm having a harder time identifying with--and being amused by--her exploits now that we're both in our mid-40s, than I did when I was a 40 year old reading about her adventures in her twenties. Maybe it's harder to be really funny about a cushy life in an up-scale Chicago suburb than about the stuff she was dealing with before. Some of her stories seem to be retreads. Or maybe it's just me.

I'll still buy her next one, hoping to find the laughs again, but this one was a disappointment.

As of May 1

I am finished with the Eclectic Reader Challenge. I had a good month of reading this month. I finished the Mystery & Suspense Challenge as of the 27th. I am at 10 of 11-20 in the TBR Challenge, plus I'm reading some books that I've long intended to read! I have technically completed the Memoir Challenge with five of five to nine, but I'm going for nine. I've got one to three left for the Foodies and have also finished the Dystopia Challenge as of 4/4. I need one more for the European and two more for What's in a Name. I have also made progress on my Gaps list and have finished 28 of the 100 books that I  need to finish by December 2015.

Last month's reading, with the first book of may tacked on.

32. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren (4/3/2012) (Gaps) (Library)
33. Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (4/4/2012) (Library) (Dystopia)
34. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (4/8/202) ( Fantasy)
35. Kill Shot by Vince Flynn  (4/10/2012) (Eclectic) (Library)
36. Murphy's Law by Rhys Bowen (4/12/2012) (Mystery) (Library)
37. The Beginner's Goodbye by Anne Tyler (4/13/2012) (Library)
38. The American Heiress by Daisy Goodwin (4/20/2012) (Library)
   ***Abandoned uncompleted: The Company of the Dead by David Kowalski (4/22/2012)
39. The Death of Riley by Rhys Bowen (4/23/2012) (Mystery)( Library)
40. Old Possums Book of Practical Cats (4/23/2012) (Library) (Gaps)
41. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster (4/24/2012) (Gaps) (TBR)
42. Fall from Grace by Richard North Patterson (4/27/2012) (Library) (Mystery)
43. Needful Things by Stephen King (5/1/2012) (Library) (Eclectic)