Wonder Women | Sam Maggs

*Image and book provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary:

This book is a collection of mini-biographies of women who did amazing things, against incredible odds, but were almost never acknowledged for any of it. Covering women who contributed to science, exploration, medicine, espionage, and innovation the reader gets an interesting trip through history. Complete with Q&A sessions with contemporary women in these fields.

Review:

I'm always happy to read more books about influential women of history. Generally I stick to the sciences, but I found myself completely enthralled by all of the stories I read. The Women of Espionage section was particularly interesting because of the varied types of personalities encountered (who'd have thought that a party girl would make for a brilliant double agent?) It's actually really delightful to see the varied personalities represented in this book. Some of the women are the born-tough types, others grew into their strength. Some of the women are pure tomboys, others still enjoyed their femininity. Some were brainy geeks, others were physical activity geeks. Some were extroverts, others were introverts. This all adds up to the overall message of this book: you can do whatever you set your mind to.

Yes, it seems like an overly optimistic message, and usually I end up just feeling bad about myself for not living up to the standards these women have set. This time, however, a couple hours after finishing the book, I found myself thinking more positively about myself and my abilities. I started looking at things I could do to use more of my potential so that I actually could follow in these women's footsteps. 

The tone of the book is rather casual. It reads like someone was talking to me over drinks, complete with snarky comments in parentheses. If I had known girl talk could be so informative, I may have partaken in it more growing up. 

Personally, I plan on buying this book for myself and a copy for my Mom, who could've used the message of the book when she was younger, but can still be inspired by it. If you've ever been shot down or told you can't do something because of who or what you are, I think this will be a good book for you. Like with me, it may not hit you right away, but this is an inspiring book that can help you see that everyone can do something great. 5 Hoots!

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Kerrytown Book Fest

So, part of being a bibliophile/book blogger is attending book based events. I've never done this before, but once I found out about the Kerrytown Book Fest in downtown Ann Arbor, I figured I'd give it a go. I'll admit, I'm not a social person by nature and tend to avoid events that require interacting with others, but I figured I'd give it a try. At the very least I'd be able to learn some tricks and must-haves for next year's festival. I didn't spend nearly as much time as I thought I would, but considering I've never done this before, I feel I stayed long enough. I'm still not entirely sure on how to talk to publishers/authors and would welcome any advice on the topic.

As it is, I have received a lot of information on independent book publishers and book stores around Ann Arbor and will be taking advantage of this information almost every payday. I especially wish to thank World Weaver Press, Grey Wolf Publishing and Shelby Patrick for their patience with me while I was still trying to figure out what to talk about. I also appreciated World Weaver Press' advertising technique of having a cute puppy with them to attract visitors. Also, many thanks to Book Bound, Dan Waltz, Vault of Midnight, and the Children's Literacy Network for willing to let me talk to them and look at their books without making feel guilty about not being able to buy them.

Information Freebies

Ultimately I did leave the Book Fest with 4 new books and an information pamphlet with information on all the publishers and book sellers there. Two of the free books by Shelby Patrick are samples of a couple of her short story collections. The books only provide snippets of the stories, but I am liking what I'm reading and after each long snippet she provides information on how to get the full version. The other free book I received was Cloudy With  A Chance of Meatballs. I couldn't remember if my nephew had it or not, so when proffered a free book, I chose it. The last book I got at the festival is a discounted book from World Weaver Press called Far Orbit, a collection of Sci-Fi short stories. I was torn between that one and Fae, a collection of Fantasy short stories.

Naturally there were also books that I saw that I could not purchase at this time. I asked if I could take pictures of the books I wanted but was unable to get and was almost uniformly told "yes".

From the Vault of Midnight booth.

A picture book from my childhood!

Out of my price range!

From the Book Bound booth.

Overall, I found this to be an incredibly informative outing and am already working on creating a "Better Prepared This Year" list for the next Kerrytown Book Fest. The biggest thing will be saving up money so I can buy more books! I'm also hoping to improve on my social/networking skills before the next book fest so that I feel less awkward during my visit. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have reading to do.