Vinegar Girl | 
I am posting one book per day from my extensive to-be-read collection. No description and providing no reason for wanting to read it, I just do. Some will be old, some will be new. Don‘t judge me - I have a lot of books. Join in if you want!
#ABookADay2023
pickBook 173
I listened to Vinegar Girl by Anne Tyler, part of a project to modernize Shakespeare stories. Kate, a young, college dropout who takes care of her dad and sister after the death of her mom, gets her life disrupted when Pyotor, her dad's resesrch assistant, faces deportation. The characters, while not lovable, are strong and unique. Well-written and short, it was a good read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
panI picked this up because I really enjoyed A Spool of Blue Thread and a modern day retelling in Taming of the Shrew sounded really interesting. Unfortunately for me this book didn‘t deliver. Everything seemed basic and simple. The characters were 2-dimensional and stereotypical and yet behaved completely against their characters with no justification. Also none of them were likeable. The story line was boring. At least it was short and quick.
Back when school went back and I cured my blues with op shopping! Sheets are from France. Keen to give cross stitch a try as an adult.
so-soA cute retelling of “The Taming of the Shrew” but too short to ever really get going. I enjoyed the characters but it felt like I barely got to know any of them. Still, worth a read if you are a fan of the author or Shakespeare.
Love a good bath time book, and I‘ve been especially loving retellings lately.
so-soI usually love anything by Anne Tyler. I enjoyed this, but not sure I got it. I found the wedding supper scene unexpected and unresolved. Puzzling.
panGood snowy morning, friends! I read this last night and ended day one of #24in48 with 10 hours on the clock.
Having never read The Taming of the Shrew, I can‘t speak to how well Tyler retells the story, but I can say that as a stand-alone story, this didn‘t do much for me. 2⭐️
panBooooooo!!!!!! This was just awful! The snippet of epilogue was the only bit that seemed at all human. I tried to read it (it‘s our FOTL December read), but switched to audio on Libby hoping it would be better. The performance was good, but it didn‘t help. I only finished it because of book club.
Just watch 10 Things I Hate About You. As a Taming of the Shrew modernization, it‘s SO much better!
Just finished Vinegar Girl last night. I loved it, as I do all of Tyler's books. They are always such a great place to be.
This one's based on Shakespeare's story The Taming of the Shrew so, not knowing the story I've gone hunting for more info. I listened to the play read on audio & looked it up in my book William Shakespeare Without the Boring Bits.
The story was about family, expectations, responsibilities and discovering what you really need.
Feeling sluggish lately, I'm back on my celery juice. Just plain this time, nothing else added. A little challenging to get down quickly.
I'm in the middle of so many books atm. Becoming is great to listen to when I'm in the kitchen, her voice is very soothing but I am also reading The Starless Sea on ebook and have been alternately them along with Sense and Sensibility.
I will also be beginning Pride and Prejudice today with the #pemberlittens
panThis is the 3rd book I‘ve read in the Hogarth Shakespeare series, and my 1st Anne Tyler book. Wow, was it bad. Taming of the Shrew was not Shakespeare‘s best work, nor has it aged well, particularly in today‘s cultural climate. But the 10 Things I Hate About You adaptation updated it quite well and made the story very fun. Vinegar Girl was the opposite. It felt outdated, very anti-feminist, and poorly written to boot.
panI was so excited about this one, but it just didn‘t work for me. A contemporary retelling of Taming of the Shrew is difficult, but the scenario seemed workable: father pushes daughter to marry his lab assistant so said assistant can get a green card. But Kate was too passive, there wasn‘t enough snap between her & Pyotr, & the plot made NO sense as to what these characters would actually do. It wrapped up sweetly enough, but I just didn‘t buy it.
pickIt‘s not as good as Hag Seed, but then Shrew is not Tempest. I think Tyler did an excellent job of making this “it couldn‘t happen today” story work as a modern retelling. Brava to her for that.
Sunday evening read. 😀
The wounded feeling had spread from her chest to her left shoulder, and she wondered if she were having a heart attack. She would have welcomed it.
pickDelightful quick, well written read. Very clever modern version Of Taming Of The Shrew. Loved it. Now have to look out the other ones. Wonder if anyone has read any of them. @MrsMalaprop
Poolside reading is great. But what is this book? I don‘t understand the tone. Is this satire? Do I need to brush up on my Shakespeare or avoid Tyler in the future?
so-soThis is my neighborhood book club's June pick. I don't think it's an improvement on the original.
[In case you're keeping track, my online book club's June pick is Anne Tyler's Clock Dance. Funny!]
The library was *hoppin'* during the Summer Reading kick-off! We entered a raffle for park district experiences, picked up pins & genre rubber ducks (DH let me pick both of ours—I picked mystery & sci-fi), made post-it dispensers, and picked up registration scratch-off cards/coupons (neither won prizes). We got to chat with several staff members—always a treat. Finally, I snagged my neighborhood book club's June pick (tagged) in the book nook!
pickI loved this 💗
A very witty and charming retelling of The Taming of the Shrew.
Really enjoying this Hogarth Shakespeare series 😁
#Seriesread @TheSpineView
panI can‘t actually remember the last time I read anything that I hated. This is a modern adaptation of Taming of the Shrew, which I suppose in retrospect I might have known would upset me, but I tend to be interested in retellings, and there‘s no reason one couldn‘t do a feminist take on this story, so every time I wanted to bail some nagging curiosity to see if this might turn in that direction kept me reading.
panI still hate it. There were some promising parts towards the end, but they were all interrupted by the same eye-rolling, awful character development & plot that the rest of the book suffered from. Final verdict: 1.5/5 stars, simply for readability, length, & the fact that those few promising parts were actually good despite how awful the rest was.
“You‘re just exactly like him: two peas in a pod.”
“I‘m what? Take that back!” Kate said.
Riveting story, let me tell you guys. I need a drink just to get through it.🙄 #awful #donttakeonshakepeareifyouregonnasuckatit #ihatethisbook #themaincharacterislessmaturethanmyfiveyearoldstepdaughter
....I hate this book so far. I had really high hopes for it (despite all of the reviews I read saying it‘s as bad as I now know it to be), but I absolutely hate it. I hate it more than I hated Frankenstein and all of its whiny “woe is me, I‘ve ruined my life and the lives of everyone around me but I refuse to do anything that might fix it.” Which is saying a lot. Hopefully it gets better.😩
Retelling of Taming of the Shrew. I‘ve heard mixed reviews but I still want to read it - perhaps when I‘m in the mood for a light read.
Bargain bin purchases. Has anyone read any of these? #bargains
pickI am really into the Hogarth Shakespeare retellings. This was Taming of the Shrew. Not my favorite version, that is still 10 Things I Hate About You. But this one was fun and quick. The characters were witty and I liked the way they interacted.
August has been a barren month for reading so I'm hoping to get this book read over the next two days.
so-soBeen a while since I‘ve read a book I‘m this “meh” about. Certainly wasn‘t bad and was well-written and adapted well from the play. Just wasn‘t a huge fan of Taming so this one just missed the mark for me personally. Onward and upward! #reversereadathon
Took a very long break to sleep and take care of the pup but now I‘ve got about an hour and a half of uninterrupted reading time while she‘s at the groomer. It‘s highly likely I planned this grooming trip especially for today for a reason 😉 #reversereadathon
Book 2 of #reversereadathon! A bit over a hundred pages in and not totally loving it (although Shrew isn‘t a favorite play of mine so that could be why). We‘ll see!
Honestly shocked it has taken me this long to pick this one up. Can‘t say no to a Shakespeare adaptation!
pickModern retelling of Taming of the Shrew. Probably not better than 10 Things I Hate About You, but that‘s a high bar. I liked the framing of visa issues as Kate‘s motivating factor.
I love my library‘s book sale! They have two a year and I always find plenty of awesome stuff. I‘m already looking forward to December!
I read this last year and thought it was okay...a #retelling of The Taming of the Shrew by Shakespeare. #maylovesclassics
pickThis was a really good adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew (admittedly not my favourite of Shakespeare‘s works!), with some interesting commentary on identity and marriage. I found the narration of the audiobook particularly effective at giving the characters depth.
Yes, a few of them were just barely beginning to fly
pickLoved this retelling of the classic Shakespeare! Modern and not as infuriating of a story line, Kate is a like-able hero and you find yourself rooting for her throughout. Highly recommend.
pickThis is the third of the Hogarth Shakespeare novels that I've read. Each one is a retelling of a Shakespeare classic written by a different author. I've been really enjoying them though I wonder whether I would enjoy them more if I had read the original. This one is based on the Taming of the Shrew. I think this might be my first Anne Tyler and I'll be going back for more.
This one looks interesting. Would love to know what others think about it.
Made this Chocolate and Zucchini Brownie while audiobaking. Thanks so much for the giant zucchini @Joanne1. Pity my carnavore of a son wasn't too keen on it.
pickA fun, charming retelling of the Taming of the Shrew. It did squeal to a halt at the end. As if the author had suddenly run out of time. #tamingoftheshrew
