Yay 😃 it‘s the first official day of summer and we‘re kicking it off with the #StepfordSummerParty 🌞🍹🍷 This sweet-tart wine punch was invented by members of the Junior League of Houston book club in the 1970s according to Saveur magazine. I was familiar with the term “Stepford Wife” but I had never read the book or seen the film. I was surprised to learn the book was classified as horror. It‘s sublime, sinister and the premise terrifying 👇🏼
Bookzombie, DebinHawaii, mabell, ValerieAndBooks, readinginthedark, erzascarletbookgasm, asiriusreader, CarolynM, BluestockingDuchess, Reviewsbylola, Mdargusch, Pamwurtzler, CoffeeAndABook, Bklover, Librarybelle, batsy, MaleficentBookDragon, RohitSawant, ElishaLovesBooks, Cathythoughts, GripLitGrl, SledgeReaderLeahBergen Mmm... sangria. 6y
Cinfhen Could men have really felt THAT threatened by the Women‘s Rights Movement?? Written in the early 1970s, author Ira Levin was definitely touching upon something in the male psyche. Share your first thoughts, initial impressions and let me know if you consider this book horror?!?! 6y
Texreader I loved the book. Given he wrote Rosemary‘s Baby, I think he was writing in the horror genre. But it feels more like a dystopia. 6y
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batsy Yummy sangria! 🍷 I'm about 1/3 in and not feeling the horror vibe (yet?) and I agree with @Texreader that there is a dystopic feel. I'm so curious about how the book would have been received upon publication... 6y
BiblioLitten I'd love a glass of sangria in this scorching heat 6y
Cathythoughts I think men were very controlling ( as seen in the Mad Men Series) & felt very much that they were the one in control of the relationship... which this book brings to a whole new level. I did consider the book horror. The creepiness & horror builds right through the book , I think. 6y
Cathythoughts I loved the book 👍🏻 6y
erzascarletbookgasm 😃🍹😋! I‘ve finished the book, loved it! I‘ve never watched the 1975 adaptation, which I heard stays more true to the book, but I‘ve watched the 2004 adaptation some years back. Great casts but of course, that was different from the book, and they made it more comical, but enjoyable to watch. I think the book is a social commentary. 6y
Cinfhen 💯 @erzascarletbookgasm I think that‘s the phrase I was looking for “social commentary” I‘ve watched both films this week (thank you YouTube) and you‘re right! Kidman film was a satire of the book but with very modern additions and the 1975 film tried to come across as serious but it felt very dated while watching in 2018. It does stay truer to the book and it felt more ominous. The book was subtle and a slow buildup 6y
Cinfhen I agree @Cathythoughts if you define horror as something unimaginable or beyond belief than yes, the undertones are there and it‘s creepy as hell! 6y
Cinfhen I was thinking about the classification of dystopia for this book @Texreader @batsy and it‘s an interesting choice because it was set in the present day (1971) and now here we are in 2018, almost 50 years later!!! Could #sci-fi work!?! 6y
Cinfhen I‘m totally serving this sangria recipe at my next bbq @LeahBergen @BiblioLitten 🍹🍹🍹 6y
CoffeeAndABook Wow!! What a strong book! So short and simple and powerful. I just finished reading it and am still a bit shook. It is so creepy and inspires very shocking images without explicitly going there. It also saddens me how far away and often ridiculed the women‘s lib movement now seems, how real the conflict still is. I see it all around me in young couples and families, there‘s so much pressure on women to have and be it all! Confusion in men as well. 6y
CoffeeAndABook And - cool Sangria recipe and picture to go with it!!! 🍸👗💄 6y
Cinfhen I was also impressed by the amount of suspense Levin was able to conjure without offering anything gory, violent or gratuitous @CoffeeAndABook 6y
Cinfhen And I too have more respect for the trailblazers who burned those bras and paved the way for women today @CoffeeAndABook 6y
CoffeeAndABook @Cinfhen yes, same here!! Even though I‘m rather glad to be wearing my bra & shave my armpits - I‘m extremely grateful! Many young women don‘t realize how far we‘ve come (and haven‘t!) and thanks to whom... But to answer your question - men really did & do feel threatened, I believe!! Maybe not THAT threatened..? But it‘s easy to see how the world of Mad Men would be simpler & more pleasant to navigate for men... hard to give up! But it was time!! 6y
Cinfhen I confess to not watching Mad Men but you‘re right, it was definitely a Man‘s World! (And still is 😡) @CoffeeAndABook and I‘m all in favor of shaving arm pits 😂😂 (edited) 6y
Reviewsbylola Yum!! 6y
CarolynM I'm half way through and there's definitely a sense of something being off about the place and the people so that you feel the new couple's, and Joanna's in particular, sense of unease without quite understanding why. 6y
Cinfhen Yes, there‘s a sense of foreboding @CarolynM that‘s really well done 6y
BluestockingDuchess @Cinfhen I see everyone is tagging each other in the posts. Is there an easy way to tag everyone for each post I do? Or do I have to enter each one individually? 6y
Cinfhen I haven‘t figured out a way yet either @GeorgiaPeach ITS SUPER ANNOYING 😝if anyone knows, please share!!!!!!! I do it manually each time (edited) 6y
ValerieAndBooks When I read this I was also surprised at how suspenseful it was! 6y
ValerieAndBooks And recipe actually looks good 🤤! 6y
Bklover This recipe actually doesn‘t sound bad! I‘m loving all these old recipes! 6y
Cinfhen The sangria sounds amazing @ValerieAndBooks @Reviewsbylola @Bklover The Houston Ladies Book Club was on point❣️ some of these other recipes are too funny 😄 (edited) 6y
Cinfhen For such a slim book and very simple straightforward writing the tension is impressive @ValerieAndBooks 6y
BluestockingDuchess @Cinfhen oh man! 6y
GripLitGrl This sangria sounds yummy!🍹 really enjoying the book definitely has more of a creepy feel to it more so then the movie version. I had no idea there were 2 movie version's I'm gonna have to find the original version @erzascarletbookgasm 6y
mabell Yum sangria! I'm not too far along, but I'm already feeling the confusion and potential for discord. 6y
CoffeeAndABook @GripLitGrl The original movie version can be found on YouTube, as discovered by @Cinfhen !! I‘m definitely planning on watching it soon!! 🍿🍹 6y
CoffeeAndABook @Cinfhen This has been the BEST first day of our stepfordsummerparty!!! I might have an actual hangover 😂 6y
ElishaLovesBooks I love sangria! The book sounds so suspenseful-I wish my kids were already at camp so I wouldn‘t keep getting interrupted 🙄 6y
Cinfhen Day Camp or overnight??! @ElishaLovesBooks I‘m so happy you‘re having fun and it‘s not interrupting your World Cup viewing @CoffeeAndABook I must admit, today‘s recipes and discussions were hilarious 😂 6y
Mdargusch I definitely felt like it was horror! The sense of foreboding slowly built up until my heart was pounding! 6y
CoffeeAndABook @Cinfhen I totally set aside soccer during the day, only watched the embarrassing defeat of Argentina by Croatia tonight 😄 Tomorrow Iceland is ON so I‘ll be watching a bit more. But still around to party 🎉 with you!! 6y
Cinfhen That was really something @CoffeeAndABook poor Messi 3-0 🙄oh, im excited to watch Iceland 🤩#HotGuyFactor 6y
CoffeeAndABook @Cinfhen Indeed ☺️😇 6y
asiriusreader Yummy—sangria! One of the summer drinks I‘m definitely looking forward to when I‘m done pumping for my baby in a few weeks! 👏🏻 I have only just started our book today (still in Ch. 1!), but my initial impression is that I like it! I like Joanna a lot as a character. Oddly, even though the book was written in the 70s, it doesn‘t feel that dated to me. Definitely feeling the sense of unease right from the beginning...I‘ll have to see about horror! 6y
Bookzombie I haven‘t finished the reread yet, but I think this definitely falls under horror. I also like @erzascarletbookgasm using the phrase “social commentary.” I can definitely see that Levin might have been commenting on society. 6y
DebinHawaii Love sangria! A great pick. I'm having such a crazy week I only just started the book but I'm enjoying it! 👍 6y
SledgeReader @cinfhen Sangria is a favorite! I substitute champagne for ginger ale if it‘s handy! 6y
Cinfhen Nice addition @SledgeReader 6y
