#7 "Anna, Ann, Annie" by Thomas Trebitsch Parker

I didn't like a single character in this book. If it wasn't for my tight timeline and my neurotic compulsion to finish every book I start I never would have made it to the final chapters. Parker's portrayal of Anna, or Ann, or Annie, which ever you want to call her, is a terrifying look at a woman with no self will and no definition of self. Let alone self confidence. She is a horrible character to be at the center of a novel, who ruins her life and the lives of everyone around her by never once making a sound decision.

I do not suggest this novel.

#6 "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett

This is the second time I've read The Help, and though I knew the story this time, it was just as good. Reading it this time I was trying to decide who this book is best for: young readers, older readers, biography readers, fantasy lovers, Americans, internationals, men, women. I think the one unfortunate part of the book is that it does hit a certain demographic: mature, female, Americans. That doesn't mean it's not worth while for the other sects. Heck the copy I read belongs to my German host. But without a lot of male voice, playing on emotion of being a mother and a caregiver, relying on an understanding of female dynamics, and set in a time when understanding the history is vital, as a book it is aimed a specific readership.