Who's Who

READERS IN THE HOOD

Who's Who

Anastasia Romanov:
Anastasia, the enigmatic grand duchess of Imperial Russia, and the novel, The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar, by Robert Alexander, were the inspirations for this Hoodie’s moniker. Anastasia loves Starbucks, scrap booking, and cheering at her son’s sports events. She gets a bit perturbed when traveling in Asia as locals are constantly asking if she is "Soviet" (and, of course we all know she's “Russian”…) Although Anastasia loves reading, it’s hard to pin her down as to her favorites, since she tends to give all our reads a “Solid B”…

The Barefoot Contessa:
The Contessa takes her moniker from Ina Garten’s series of mouth-watering cookbooks, as well as the gorgeous character played by Ava Gardner in the 1954 film by the same name. She enjoys playing tennis, creating culinary delights, and walking with her dog, Kodi, in the country. Besides loving to read animal stories (both fiction and nonfiction,) she also enjoys reading historical novels and books on current issues (everything from Islamic culture to cooking healthy.) Her most enjoyable recent reads have been Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World’s Worst Dog, by John Grogan and A Thousand Splendid Suns, by Khaled Hosseini.

Elizabeth Bennet:
Miss Eliza hails from between the covers of one of Jane Austen’s favorite character critiques, Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth loves Mr. Darcy, entertaining (but not cooking) and curling up with her black cat—and a good book. One of her favorites is The Secret Life of Bees, by Sue Monk Kidd.

Fleur Forsyte:
Fleur found the roaring 20's beauty from John Galsworthy's multi-generational family epic, The Forsyte Saga, daring, manipulative—and utterly fascinating. Fleur loves traveling, shopping, and her fabulous female friends. Family sagas and any book about Jackie O instantly grab her attention.

Gidget: This spunky import from SoCal, was inspired by the beach-loving heroine who surfed across the pages of Frederick Khoner's novels in the Gidget series. Like her namesake, Gidget enjoys the ocean, camping, and sports. She also loves family gatherings, entertaining, cooking and decorating. A thoroughly modern girl, Gidget prefers to read contemporary classics; Steinbeck is one of her favorite authors.

Hermione Granger:
Everyone’s favorite muggle, Hermione, plucked her literary name straight from the pages of JK Rowling’s wonderfully enjoyable Harry Potter series. Like her namesake, our Hermione has always loved school--and, therefore has done quite well. She also loves animals, and being a full-time Mom. She’s a bit of a news junkie, and often reads non-fiction books on current events as well as history—but for sheer fun, Hermione loves a good Robert Ludlum or Dan Brown thriller.

Marjorie Morningstar:
Marjorie plucked her name from the novel of the same title by Herman Wouk. Like Marjorie, this Reader enjoys challenges, is a hopeless romantic and a daring dreamer. Her favorite pastimes include reading, shopping—lots of shopping—and a little golf on the side. Marjorie treasures family and friends and loves to read sagas—especially historical fiction with too many characters to keep track of!

May Dodd: May takes her name from the strong protagonist of One Thousand White Women, by Jim Fergus. She loves to cook, and—now that she’s an empty nester—travel. She also spends many a weekend lounging in a deck chair, with a great book in one hand and a glass of wine in the other, at The Sand Castle, her beloved beach house. Some of her most enjoyable reads include Fortunes Rock, by Anita Shreve; Passion, by Lisa Valdez; and Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons, by Lorna Landvik.

Melanie Hamilton: The name ‘Melanie Hamilton’ from Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind has become synonymous with selflessness, charm and grace. For this reason, ‘Miss Melly’ is an excellent pseudonym for this Hoodie. She is a ’wind beneath the wings’ friend, preferring to let others take the stage. Like many Southern ladies, charming Melanie loves to bake, play tennis, and plan trips. But don’t think this Melly is all mush—like many ‘Good ol’ Boys,’ she is an avid sports fan—especially a true blue Dodger and USC Trojan fan—and loves to fly fish, gamble in Vegas, and drink tequila. A couple of Miss Melly’s favorite recent reads have been The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls; and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See.

Rosie:
Rosie’s name was prompted by that most lovable of circus characters from Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Rosie is an awesome swimmer, an avid gardener, and a volunteer extraordinaire. One of Rosie’s favorite books is The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini.

Scarlett O’Hara:
Scarlett takes her name from the flirtatious heroine of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, of course! Scarlett loves to tell cow jokes, hates to try to park at Borders, and denies that she is distantly related to Susie Coehlo—but we’re certain she must be. One of Scarlett’s favorite books is Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, by Alexandra Fuller.

Scout Finch:
Scout is inspired—as was Demi Moore and Bruce Willis when naming their second born—by the wonderfully precocious narrator of Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird. Our Scout is a fabulous rag merchant, mother of two teens, and loves to cook. Scout confesses to be a Pat Conroy-junkie.

Winnie the Pooh:
With an entire Kenny Loggins album dedicated to her, Winnie the Pooh is derived from the original books, Winnie-the-Pooh, and Return to Pooh Corner, by A.A. Milne. Pooh bear loves scrap booking, cooking, and vacationing in Hawaii. One of her favorite books is Ordinary Heroes, by Scott Turow.