The Bright List

The Perfect Wife. —Could She Also Be a Serial Killer?

Bedelia by Vera Caspary

The story: Man falls in love with and marries Bedelia: pretty, ultra-feminine— the perfect wife—who’s pregnant with their baby. But then his growing suspicion and mounting evidence points to her being a criminal... perhaps a serial killer. She's linked to too many men who've died under mysterious circumstances! 

This is the 1940s femme fatale classic that made it big in Hollywood. Bedelia (1946) starred the kittenish Margaret Lockwood, who could melt any man with her eyes.

 

 

I was rooting for Bedelia the whole time. 

Narrated by Nicole Vilencia.

-Aretha Bright 

Having "Two Whole Cakes" — & Eating Them, Too!

Two Whole Cakes: How to Stop Dieting and Learn to Love Your Body, by Lesley Kinzel

Two Whole Cakes is a book about weight and NOT dieting. Lesley Kinzel, who co-founded the blog Fatshionista, is an online celebrity in the communities of size acceptance, fashion, and women’s issues.

Kinzel makes no apologies for her size or attitude. She goes by a code of living life to the fullest, and having "two whole cakes" if she feels like it: Feminist, loud and proud-- and unsparingly witty as well.

Kinzel tells stories and gives advice on fashion, weight-loss drugs, self-love, eating disorders, how dieting affected her health, and her resulting gallstones. 

I could relate to her story of shopping at the mall and feeling judged by other consumers— her experience with a group of humilating high school girls was all too excruciating! Anybody who's ever had a crappy day in the dressing room can relate to Kinzel's manifesto. 

Narrated by the fabulously militant Heather Henderson.

-Aretha Bright

Helen Gurley Brown's Sex and the Single Girl Is Here! -- Audio

Sex and the Single Girl: The Unmarried Women's Guide to Men, by Helen Gurley Brown

Sex and the Single Girl originally came out in the 1962 and  had a significant cultural impact selling two million copies in three weeks.

It's considered the antecedent to second wave feminism, and third wave feminism. Helen Gurley Brown became the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan in 1965,  inserted her ethos into it and put the magazine on the map. Fifty years later, most of Brown's advice and messages still apply. 

I'd want to be the kind of single girl Brown describes: 

Theoretically a "nice" single woman has no sex life. What nonsense! She has a better sex life than most of her married friends. She need never be bored with one man per lifetime. Her choice of partners is endless and they seek her. 

Her married friends refer to her pursuers as wolves, but actually many of them turn out to be lambs— to be shorn and worn by her. 

 Shorn and worn?— AY yi yi! 

Narrated by the pitch perfect Dawn Harvey.

-Aretha Bright 

—If Jane Tennison Had Been a Lesbian! Great New Dyke Detective Novel

Retirement Plan: A Crime Novel by Martha Miller

Martha Miller's detective novel heroine is like Prime Suspect, if Jane Tennison had been a lesbian. 

—Take one  desperate-for-money, aging lesbian sniper who needs to support her partner, and a lady detective on her trail.

Throw in a mother w/Alzheimer’s, a crotchety old PI partner who's about to retire, and stick them all in Florida. What could go wrong?  

Miller's writing is convincing and effortless, the characters realistic and relatable:

“Her marriage had been a good one. Foolishly, she’d walked away from it because of her neighbor's wife, which sounded like a goddamned cliché.”

Martha, one of my favorite authors from the Best American Erotica series, has always been adept at questions of morality, and the world of women "of a certain age." With her sense of humor, mixed into an entertaining detective yarn, you can't lose.

Narrated by the yummy Bernadette Dunne.

A True David vs. Goliath Feat of Eco-Salvation -- The Story of the NRDC

A Force for Nature: The Story of The National Resources Defense Council and Its Fight to Save Our Planet

by John H. Adams & Patricia Adams

I would like to preface this review by saying: Force for Nature blew my mind.

This is coming from a girl who's as "green" as the next hybrid-driving, recycling-and-composting, loves-state-parks person—but  who never became a full-fledged environmental activist, never wanted to be too "loud" about it, didn't have the right role models.

Until now.

This militant biography of the legendary  NRDC  is NOT about bringing your own tote bags to Trader Joe’s or buying organic shampoo.

This is not some namby-pamby consumerist scold.

Force for Nature has all the humor, back-room deals, politics, and action of ANY Hollywood government conspiracy movie. It's about one of the most influential environmental movements that's ever existed, an organization that rocked the terrestrial boat—a true David vs. Goliath feat of ecological salvation.

If you ever wondered how small communities and neighborhoods conquered what seemed to be inevitable water/air/natural resource destruction, this is the true story of the characters that did it. Absolutely heroic and fearless!

Narrated by Kevin Pariseau.

--Aretha Bright

Naked Came the Stranger, Only Makes You Stronger!

Naked Came The Stranger, by Penelope Ashe --  a.k.a. Mike McGrady 

 One of the greatest literary hoaxes of all time, Naked  is required reading for Mad Men fans, and Valley of the Dolls acolytes.

“The novel was inspired by Jacqueline Susann and Harold Robbins, and attributed it to a “demure Long Island housewife” named Penelope Ashe, but actually written by Mr. McGrady and his colleagues, who divided up the chapters. Trash it truly was." -- NY Times

Today, I believe the Times would call this a fine work of prose. It looks like Faulkner compared to Fifty Shades of Grey.

Naked Came the Stranger is hilariously funny, arch, and vicious tale of New York City life. It was made into perhaps the best X-rated film of its day by legendary indie director Radley Metzger, and a mainstream version in '64, starring Natalie Wood at her most beautiful. It’s the ultimate get-in-bed-and-read-all-day novel.

Why can’t anyone write this level of “trash” today?  

Narrated by the indomitable Lauren Fortgang.

--Susie and Aretha Bright

 

Photo Credit: Natalie Wood in the 1964 film version of Sex and the Single Girl. Yes, she's adorable to look at, but we bet your vocal talents can knock her out of the park! 

The Post-Feminist's Answer to Nancy Friday’s "My Secret Garden" -- Dirty Girls

Dirty Girls: Erotica for Women by Rachel Kramer Bussel

This is one of Rachel Kramer Bussel’s landmark erotic anthologies that gave her the reputation she so richly desersves today: a collection of short hot stories from the likes of Carol Queen, Alison Tyler, Sofia Quintero, Shanna Germain, Lillian Ann Slugocki, Tsaurah Litzky, and many others.

From the humorous imagined sexual exploits with personified cities from Marie Lyn Bernard, to the Peep Show first-timer from Carol Queen, you’ll find that “dirty” can take on a whole slew of meanings.

“Dirty Girls is the post-feminist generation’s answer to Nancy Friday’s My Secret Garden, a collection of erotically charged short stories that reveal that, in the 21st century, good girls are dead and dirty girls are the new black.” 

- Susannah Breslin

Narrated by Shana Savage, Samantha Prescott, Madison Cole, Charles Carr, Carmen Rose, Rebecca Fredrick, Mimi Perez

--WP

 

A Rainbow Coalition of Erotica, Fit for a Queen -- Curvy Girls, on Audio

Curvy Girls: Erotica for Women by Rachel Kramer Bussel

Welcome to the Rainbow Coalition of curvy erotica. Bussel explains that curvy is just not a euphemism for fat, and doesn’t just describe an hourglass figure. Her Curvy View describes a woman who doesn’t fit the beauty mold in other ways as well: athletes, butches, pregnant women, and more!

Here are women who've dealt with their body image issues and are ready to strip for their lovers, take charge of their desires, and surrender to pleasure. 

“We don’t just need more plus-size models, we need more plus-sized role models” Bussel says in her introduction. Anyone will be able to take steamy cues from her stories.

Narrated by Paula Parker-Martin, Manxie Hardy, Carmen Rose, Suzanne Cyprus, Mimi Perez,Rebecca Fredrick.

Lauren Slater: Who Comes First? Your Dog or Your Daughter?

 

The  $60,000 Dog: My Life With Animals, by Lauren Slater

 Don’t be fooled by the adorable puppy cover— author Slater does indeed love animals, but her memoir is anything but soft and fuzzy.

Her memoir with the story of a bleak childhood, dominated first by her mother’s mental illness and then by a foster family that gave her a house, "but not a home." Her love for animals starts here, where she finds refuge in  the countryside and observing the lives of deer, foxes, and insects.

The $60,000 dog of the title is Lila, the family pet who came down with an extremely painful case of glaucoma. The dilemma that Slater faced is one that will resonate with every person who has ever valued an animal as more than just a pet.

As Lila’s medical bills mounted, Slater was faced with choosing between sending her daughter to summer camp or buying the medicines that would ease Lila’s pain. The happiness of her daughter, stacked up against the happiness of her pet.

Slater first wrote of this situation in Oprah magazine, where it was a huge hit and inspired the rest of the book. Animal lovers will certainly relate to the “do anything it takes” approach to save their fuzzy family members.

Slater is great at building tension and intrigue. Her memories of animals that affected her life are beautiful. Be prepared to cry during the scenes at the vet hospital! Especially for the baby swan whose beak was broken off. 

This book will touch every person who has ever thought of animals as their dearest companions.

--Aretha Bright

Answer My Discriminating Audiobook Survey... Make My Editorial Day!

Dear Audiobook-Addict Pals,

As you know, Audible asked me to work as their first Editor-at-Large this year, acquiring and producing favorite books from my shelves.

I get some of my best ideas for new audiobook titles from my friends and fellow-audio-crazed listeners. I don’t mean to make generalizations, but you, the cadre, have great taste! I’m grateful to get your editorial feedback. Believe me, I’m going to act on your suggestions--  I already have.

Do you have time to answer my  Listener Survey below? Tell me anything you want, and I’ll make my plan for next year.  

Here how:  Paste the questions below into an email, type in your reactions, and send it to: [email protected] -- Subject: Audiobook Survey Answers

Thank you so much!

xoxo, Susie

 

Susie's Audiobook Editorial Survey, for Discriminating Listeners 

1. What’s your favorite new audiobook you listened to this year?

2. Do you have certain audiobooks you listen more than once? Tell me the title(s). 

3. Do you have a favorite book or author you wish was in audio, but isn’t yet? 

4. Is there a subject— fiction or nonfiction— that you wish was better represented in audiobooks, or where you’d find more variety? 

5. Is there a genre of book that you wish was better represented in audio, or where you’d find more variety? 

6. When you’re picking a new audiobook, how much do the following characteristics weigh on your decision?  

 ____ it’s a book you already liked, already in print or in ebook

 ____ you love this particular author

____ the narrator voice sample sounds really good

____ it’s on the bestseller lists

____ Audible customer reviews

____ Amazon, Goodreads, or other online customer reviews

____ Word of mouth

____ You saw a Twitter or Facebook review about it

____ You saw the movie that the audiobook was based on

____ it's a book you heard about on the radio/TV or news

____ you enjoyed radio or Audible interviews with this author

7. Do you follow other “Audible Listeners,” whose reviews you find simpatico?

8. Have you found any “hidden” gems on Audible, that not many other people have listened to, but you think are really great? Tell me, Narrators… or titles!

9. Do you write customer reviews?

____ Never or rarely

____ No, but I feel guilty about it and swear I’m going to do it some day

____ Sometimes when it’s really awful

____ Sometimes when it’s really good

____ I’ll usually click on the “stars,” if nothing else 

____ I write reviews most of the time, I like to

10. Do you find there’s certain kind of books or genres you like to read in print— but you don’t like them as much in audio?  Tell me about that.

11. Do you ever listen to compilations or short stories in audio? Which titles?

12. The visceral appeal of audio storytelling… do you like it, across genre? Do you like to get scared, sexually aroused, horrified, riled up, inspired, angered, therapized, soothed… or, do you prefer some of those reactions for “print” only?

13. Are the kind of person who learns and absorbs more by listening, than sight reading? Feel free to describe more, beyond yes or no.

14. What is your favorite audiobook of all time? Your favorite narrator of all time? 

15. Have you tried the new “Whisper-Sync” feature--- how was it for you, on a sensual, readerly level?

16. What “device” do you usually listen to you books on? 

17. What setting do you like to listen to your audiobooks? 

____ Commuting 

____ Going to bed

____ Working 

____ Exercising 

____ Sharing it with the whole family

____ Sharing it with companion/lover/partner

____ Cooking

____ Driving 

____ Cleaning

18. If you were going to introduce a “newbie” to Audiobooks, who wasn’t sure they’d like it, what title, author, or narrator would you recommend?

19. Feel free to tell me anything else you think audiobook editors ought to know!

 

Photo Credit: A fan sent me this awesome 50's pulp novel... the cover is so wonderful. Unfortunately the text is a total let-down... Sandy is a tease!