What I'm reading now

I'm one of those people who reads 2 or 3 or sometimes more books at a time. So I thought I'd share what I'm reading now.

The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by Anne Brashares. I loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants when it first came out. I haven't seen the movie yet but I have it reserved at my local library, and if it's even 1/10 as good as the book I'll be happy. At least it has two of my favorite young actresses, Amber Tamblyn and Alexis Bledel.

Ghosts of Albion by Amber Benson and Christopher Golden. I love Christopher Golden's Jenna Blake series, and I think he wrote some of the better Buffy novelizations that have been published over the past few years, so I was excited to hear that the BBC animated series that he did with Amber Benson a few years back would also be done as a series of novels. Here's a partial description of the book:

'In 1838, William and Tamara Swift inherit a startling legacy from their dying grandfather, transforming them into the Protectors of Albion, mystical defenders of the soul of England. But the shocked, neophyte sorcerers also inherit unique allies in their battle against the dark forces. Fighting alongside them are the famous-even infamous-Ghosts of Albion: Lord Byron, Queen Bodicea, and Lord Admiral Nelson. '

Sounds cool doesn't it?

How to cook your daughter by Jessica Hendra. This book I just finished this afternoon. I must confess, I read this book primarily because I had met Jessica 18 years ago when we were on the same drama course in London. Back then, I thought she was beautiful, but somewhat unapproachable. Not quite aloof, but it was if she wasn't quite there. I got to know her better when I was stage managing a show in Philadelphia. Unfortunately, my impression of Jessica then was that of a self-absorbed drama queen. I had no idea of the demons that she was fighting. I should have looked beneath the surface, instead of just dealing with the surface impressions. I'm ashamed now of my lack of compassion towards her. I put down our lack of friendship down to simple fact that she was a Taurus, and I was a Scorpio, opposite signs that either liked or loathed each other. While we didn't exactly loathe each other, we didn't hit it off either.

Reading this book, I was struck by how courageous it was for Jessica to speak out about the abuse that she suffered at the hands of her father, Tony Hendra. The title of the book, How to Cook Your Daughter comes an article he wrote for the National Lampoon in the early seventies, which gives you a tiny hint to the type of man that he was.

When Jessica was asked why she was speaking out now, she said she was doing it for her daughters, so they could one day grow up knowing that there mother wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. I totally understand her reasons for allowing her father into her life, despite what he did. Tony Hendra was clearly a man that loomed large in their lives, who could be kind and funny at times, who seemed to have all the answers. Perhaps Jessica was trying to get back that moment in time, before he took her innocence away, when he was still just her daddy, or perhaps it was her own underserved guilt.

I've since come to know other victims of abuse, whether by a trusted family member or simply a family friend or an older teenager who took advantage of a young child who didn't know what they were doing was wrong. Jessica has given a voice to all those who have suffered abuse, to let them know that it's okay to come out of the darkness.