Thursday, December 14, 2017

Where Is Your Bookmark? (A Peek Into These Violent Delights)

This weekend will be crazy busy for us. Mouse has two dance performances, one Saturday and one Sunday; we have dozens upon dozens of cookies to bake; last minute shopping to do; and a house to get ready for the upcoming Christmas holiday. My mom will be arriving in town Friday afternoon. We are looking forward to seeing her. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Hopefully we can all get in a little reading as well.

This month's MyLitBox selection was These Violent Delights by Victoria Namkung. It seems a timely novel given current events. I dove in pretty quickly. I had hoped to be further along than I am now (#COYER Winter Switch starts tomorrow after all!), but I am only about half way through. 

At Windemere School for Girls, one of America’s elite private schools, Dr. Gregory Copeland is the beloved chair of the English Department. A married father with a penchant for romantic poetry—and impressionable teenage girls—he operates in plain sight for years, until one of his former students goes public with allegations of inappropriate conduct. With the help of an investigative journalist, and two additional Windemere alumnae who had relationships with Copeland as students, the unlikely quartet unites to take him down.

Set in modern-day Los Angeles, These Violent Delights is a literary exploration of the unyielding pressures and vulnerabilities that so many women and girls experience, and analyzes the ways in which our institutions and families fail to protect or defend us. A suspenseful and nuanced story told from multiple points of view, the novel examines themes of sexuality, trauma, revenge, and the American myth of liberty and justice for all. [Goodreads Summary]

A weekly meme where readers share the first sentence of the book they are reading and say what they think. Hosted by the wonderful Gillion Dumas of Rose City Reader.
"What is the point of a high school reunion when you can already see who got fat and bald on Facebook?" asks Caryn, the intern working with me this semester, and I can't help but laugh because she's right. 
I went into this book with high expectations having never heard of it before. The opening does not exactly grab me though, I admit. And while it gives nothing away about the plot or what is to come, it does put one in the mind of memories of high school, which is likely what the author was going for--intentionally or not.


A weekly meme in which readers share a random sentence or two from page 56 or 56% of the book they are reading. Hosted by the wonderful Freda of Freda's Voice.

"I'm so glad you reached out." I pass her a napkin. "Of course I wish it never happened, and that we were meeting under different circumstances, but it's nice to know I'm not alone."
This particular passage from page 56 of the novel is likely a common refrain among survivors of abuse or assault. There is something about being able to connect with someone who went through a similar experience that cannot be equaled talking to someone who has never been through it.

What do you think? Is this a book you would like to read?

 I hope you all have a great weekend! Be sure and tell me what you are reading and are up to!


Some photos from my recent visit to the Mission Inn, a historic hotel. It's gorgeous at night this time of year, with all the lights and holiday decorations. I haven't yet been this year after night fall, but hopefully will get a chance before the year is out.








© 2017, W.endy Runyon of Musings of a Bookish Kitty. All Rights Reserved. If you're reading this on a site other than Musings of a Bookish Kitty or Wendy's feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

37 comments:

  1. Mission Inn looks absolutely beautiful. The pictures you took are gorgeous.

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    1. Breana - Thank you! It's a beautiful landmark and hotel.

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  2. Now that sounds like an interesting read. Will look into it! Your pictures are beautiful! Hope you enjoy your hectic weekend ahead. I also need to bake dozens of cookies next week!

    http://marelithalkink.blogspot.co.za/2017/12/FridayMeets15Dec.html

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    1. Mareli - It was interesting, and definitely timely. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season! I am sure your cookies turned out perfect. :-)

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  3. These Violent Delights has a lovely cover and a dark and too common message.

    Beautiful pics of the mission!

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    1. Jenclair - I really like the cover too. Thank you! I couldn't resist snapping some photos while we were there for breakfast. It's a beautiful place.

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  4. The goodreads summary sounds great!

    Where is Mission Inn? Looks gorgeous.

    Here's mine: http://bit.ly/2Axzyok

    Have a great weekend!
    Luv Sass x

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    1. Sassy Brit - The Mission Inn is in Riverside, California. It's a historical landmark/hotel that used to be quite popular among the rich and famous (it was never an actual mission, despite what the name might imply). It still is quite expensive, but not quite the "in" spot it once was.

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  5. It's such a fun, busy time of the year! The Mission Inn is gorgeous!

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    1. Kathy - Yes, definitely busy! I'll go half way with you on the fun part. LOL

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  6. The book does sound timely. This week I'm reading Crimson Death by Laurell K. Hamilton from my TBR mountain. Happy reading!

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    1. Kathy - Yes, it definitely would fit in with the headlines recently.

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  7. I love the Mission Inn photos! I am reminded of other cities in Southern California, along the coast.

    As soon as I saw These Violent Delights, I took a little segue over to Amazon...and downloaded it! It is perfect for the times...and I needed to know more.

    Thanks for sharing. Here's mine: “SNAP JUDGMENT”

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    1. Laurel-Rain - Thank you! It's definitely your old typical Southern California architecture in many respects.

      I hope you enjoy These Violent Delights!

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  8. This definitely does sound timely! I hadn't heard of the book but I love the teasers. Sounds like an interesting though disturbing read. I love the pictures from the Mission Inn. It's gorgeous!

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    1. Katherine - It was new to me as well until it showed up in my mailbox. It made for interesting reading.

      I love the Mission Inn. We never did make it to see it after life with all the Christmas lights up, unfortunately. Everyone ended up getting sick. :-(

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  9. Cookies to bake, fun! I'm thinking about going to the grocerystore tommorrow and buy some, but it would be more fun to bake them myself. I might! I just might! :)

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    1. Nina - All the cookies managed to get baked before we all got sick. I guess that's a good thing. LOL

      Did you end up baking cookies or buying them?

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  10. That hotel looks amazing!!! (The book looks decent too!)
    Happy weekend!!

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  11. Wow! That hotel is gorgeous. The premise of These Violent Delights sounds good (even through we're all saturated with real-life stories along these lines. :-() And I love the title. It's a shame it didn't start off with a bang.

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    1. Steph - It's a beautiful hotel. No room is exactly the same inside. And it's quite a maze, wandering around. My husband and I stayed there last year for our anniversary. I wish we could do that again sometime.

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  12. I love books with strong messages and this one definitely sounds like one I'd enjoy.

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  13. These Violent Delights sounds very good (new to me title). I hope you have a nice visit with your mom and a great Christmas Wendy.

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    1. Diane - I hadn't heard of it before either, but am glad I got the chance to read it. I hope you are having a wonderful holiday as well, Diane!

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  14. Your photos of Mission Inn are so gorgeous. I'd go there based on those alone. What a beautiful place.

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    1. Suzanne - Thank you! It's worth visiting if you ever are in the area. :-)

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  15. Love the photos! Mission Inn is beautiful and I'm sure you'd a great visit there!

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    1. Melody - Thank you! It's a lovely place. They serve a great brunch.

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  16. Beautiful photos! This book sounds really interesting and hope it is a good one! Hope you guys had a wonderful weekend with your mom and watching Mouse's performances. How fun!

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  17. So sorry for the late comment back, Wendy.....:( I'm WAY behind on my replies and comments back on other blogs. Guess I scheduled too many blog tours, plus I wanted to read as many Christmas romances as possible. I picked short books, too, so that I could do just that. But then I had to write more reviews, lol. Anyway....I'm now trying to catch up!! :)

    How NICE that your mom came over for the holidays! I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Christmas!! I'm sure that Mouse in particular enjoyed her presents! Hope you all got plenty of books from Santa!! :) :) :)

    I'm adding "These Violent Delights" to my Goodreads shelves right away! It is indeed sickening how women are STILL being treated in our society. We love to point fingers at the Muslim countries that oppress women, while totally ignoring how women continue to be oppressed in our own. VERY hypocritical!!

    Women are STILL being doubted when they accuse men of rape. And with the current political climate, things seem to have gotten worse, instead of better.

    I'm looking forward to your review of this book! :)

    Oh, those pictures of the Mission Inn Hotel are simply breathtaking, Wendy!! You're SO lucky to have been able to visit such a beautiful place!! I'm going to Google this hotel, just so I can find out more about it. I don't think I'll ever be able to go there, lol.

    Thanks for sharing!! HUGS TO YOU & MOUSE!!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

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    1. Maria - I am very behind on blog commenting too. I don't think I'll ever get caught up. :-S

      I hope you had a nice Christmas. We had a full house. My mom is staying another couple weeks, and my brother and his wife are leaving tomorrow. The in-laws left yesterday. I don't imagine though things will return to normal until after Mouse goes back to school and my mom returns home. Then I will get some quality computer time again. :-)

      I hope you like These Violent Delights if you read it. It is a very timely book.

      The Mission Inn is a beautiful hotel. If you ever find your way out this way, it's worth checking out, I think.

      Thanks for visiting!

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  18. OMG, how could I forget?! Thanks as well for commenting on my Book Blogger Hop for December 15th!!!! <3 <3 <3 :) :) :)

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