Audio book review - The Heroine's Bookshelf

Feisty Females – A Review of The Heroine’s Bookshelf

Did you grow up loving Elizabeth Bennet’s spirit, Anne Shirley’s optimism, or Scarlett O’Hara’s fight? Then Erin Blakemore’s, The Heroine’s Bookshelf: Life Lessons, from Jane Austen to Laura Ingalls Wilder should be the next audio book that you listen to. Erin Blakemore is a self-proclaimed bookworm and loves a good heroine; many times throughout her life she found comfort in these familiar stories.

This audio book looks at twelve classic heroines and the lives of their legendary authors. This added information about the authors really adds to the stories that we know and love. Being a huge Lucy Maud Montgomery fan I particularly liked that chapter and found it very interesting to see the similarities between her life and the life of Anne. I also grew up with the Laura Ingalls Wilder books and found that to be a very eye opening chapter!

Each chapter also includes a list of “literary sisters” where Blakemore recommends other similar characters and the audio books that you should listen to if you enjoyed that particular heroine or her strength. She also tells you what stories are best suited for the mood you are in.

Tavia Gilbert does a great job narrating and she adds even more passion to this audio book. I really enjoyed listening to it and believe that any fan of strong female characters should pick up this audio book.

Even if you haven’t listened to this audio book yet, who is your favorite literary heroine?

8 thoughts on “Feisty Females – A Review of The Heroine’s Bookshelf”

I’m so glad that you enjoyed the book, and I wanted to thank you for featuring it. It came to me a year ago when I was at the start of a very painful divorce process, and it was a great gift. In the midst of my grief, fear, and pain, I was given the stories of these remarkable heroines, their struggles, triumphs, and lessons, each of which was a tremendous comfort and inspiration. It’s not necessary that you be in terrible distress to enjoy the book and gain insight from it, but when you are in need, it will offer you strength and support, too. It was an honor to narrate the book, and I have gained a wonderful new friendship with the author, the extraordinary Erin Blakemore, which is another great blessing. It’s a magical little work, and I am so lucky to have been a part of the story!

Deidre on October 25, 2011 at 12:48 pm said:

That’s a wonderful story and with some of the chapters, it sounds like the book did exactly what Erin was hoping that it would. I really enjoyed listening to it and will definitely be revisiting some of my favorite heroines.

This sounds like a great book for me……….I can’t wait to hear about my favorite heroine, Scarlet O’Hara from Gone with the Wind. She wasn’t always nice but she sure looked out for her family.

I suspect my choice will not be found in any compilation or list, however … my literary heroine remains Judith Gare a key character in Ostenso’s Wild Geese. Judith is an example of a young prairie feminist knowing of and yearning for a life and times beyond the farm. Her hands are rough and aged though she is in the bloom of youth. Judith must be more man than woman to hold her own in the fields as children of the farm life soon learn. Her natural and primal connection with the earth feeds her escape from a violent, overbearing father and a submissive and fearful mother. The second need that propels her forward is the love/eroticism that develops between Judith and Sven which doubles the desire to leave the confines of a controlled existence. Judith is not the most beautiful woman in the book … nor is she refined and educated like the local schoolteacher Lind. But, Jude is strong, courageous and determined to break the shackles of family/farm loyalty and crushed dreams…. to forge a path she can call her own.

Deidre on October 20, 2011 at 7:44 pm said:

She sounds like a great heroine! Thanks for sharing your pick.

My favourite herione is Hermione Granger. She saved Harry and Ron soo many times. They would have been completely lost without her.

Deidre on October 19, 2011 at 5:22 pm said:

Great choice. Hermione is named in the audio book as one of Elizabeth Bennet’s literary sisters!
Christiana on May 3, 2016 at 12:55 am said:

That really cateurps the spirit of it. Thanks for posting.

Tavia Gilbert on October 24, 2011 at 9:05 pm said:

I’m so glad that you enjoyed the book, and I wanted to thank you for featuring it. It came to me a year ago when I was at the start of a very painful divorce process, and it was a great gift. In the midst of my grief, fear, and pain, I was given the stories of these remarkable heroines, their struggles, triumphs, and lessons, each of which was a tremendous comfort and inspiration. It’s not necessary that you be in terrible distress to enjoy the book and gain insight from it, but when you are in need, it will offer you strength and support, too. It was an honor to narrate the book, and I have gained a wonderful new friendship with the author, the extraordinary Erin Blakemore, which is another great blessing. It’s a magical little work, and I am so lucky to have been a part of the story!
- Deidre on October 25, 2011 at 12:48 pm said:
  
  That’s a wonderful story and with some of the chapters, it sounds like the book did exactly what Erin was hoping that it would. I really enjoyed listening to it and will definitely be revisiting some of my favorite heroines.
Deborah on October 21, 2011 at 12:34 am said:

This sounds like a great book for me……….I can’t wait to hear about my favorite heroine, Scarlet O’Hara from Gone with the Wind. She wasn’t always nice but she sure looked out for her family.
Deborah on October 20, 2011 at 7:28 pm said:

I suspect my choice will not be found in any compilation or list, however … my literary heroine remains Judith Gare a key character in Ostenso’s Wild Geese. Judith is an example of a young prairie feminist knowing of and yearning for a life and times beyond the farm. Her hands are rough and aged though she is in the bloom of youth. Judith must be more man than woman to hold her own in the fields as children of the farm life soon learn. Her natural and primal connection with the earth feeds her escape from a violent, overbearing father and a submissive and fearful mother. The second need that propels her forward is the love/eroticism that develops between Judith and Sven which doubles the desire to leave the confines of a controlled existence. Judith is not the most beautiful woman in the book … nor is she refined and educated like the local schoolteacher Lind. But, Jude is strong, courageous and determined to break the shackles of family/farm loyalty and crushed dreams…. to forge a path she can call her own.
- Deidre on October 20, 2011 at 7:44 pm said:
  
  She sounds like a great heroine! Thanks for sharing your pick.
Monica on October 19, 2011 at 5:04 pm said:

My favourite herione is Hermione Granger. She saved Harry and Ron soo many times. They would have been completely lost without her.
- Deidre on October 19, 2011 at 5:22 pm said:
  
  Great choice. Hermione is named in the audio book as one of Elizabeth Bennet’s literary sisters!
- Christiana on May 3, 2016 at 12:55 am said:
  
  That really cateurps the spirit of it. Thanks for posting.