Rating: 
Summary: Librarians are Hot!
Review: "Life is twisted" is a favored exclamation from Liddy, a twenty-something dyke from Berkeley, California. Newly graduated from Cal with her Masters degree, Liddy has taken a contract to conduct research for a nationally known writer and finds herself trapped in the Iowa corn-belt for the summer. Her goal was to get away from the West Coast and an affair that ended very badly. She has no intention of getting romantically involved with anyone this summer. The women of Iowa City which boasts, arguably, the highest concentration of dykes living in any town in the Midwest, have other plans for "fresh meat." Even Liddy finds herself reconsidering her goals when she meets "Marian the Librarian."If you are a librarian living in the "River City," Iowa and your name is Marian, you might as well surrender and embrace the humor of the musical. Marian Pardoo, on the Reference staff at the Iowa City Public Library, has done just that. Her dog answers to "Professor Hill" while her cat is dubbed "Trombone." Marian enjoys her work and is pleased with life in semi-rural Iowa. However, she is nursing some major heartache. That pain sometimes makes her life very difficult. Neither Liddy nor Marian is prepared for the chemistry that strikes when they meet. Their conflagration is wonderful, frightening, and more than a little confusing. Or as Liddy wonders, "Was she in a foreign movie with no subtitles? Or was this just the way the dykes dated in Iowa City? Yes, no, yes, no, talk, talk, and more talk?" p112 The two women struggle to overcome their fears of getting hurt by love again and find that sometimes communication is difficult. When Marian looks for a greeting card to express her feelings for Liddy, she finds, "There weren't any cards that said, 'Can we do it like rabbits and still be friends?' Not one read, 'Ignore what I'm saying and jump me, now!'" p122 Having a crush on a gym teacher is a fairly common element in the school years of most future dykes. In One Degree, Kallmaker pays tribute to what has to be a close second for many of the "nerdier" lesbians, that of the crush on a librarian. Or as she has Marian reflect of her decision, years ago to become a librarian, "It always seemed like whatever I could dream I could find at the library. And ever since I was a girl I thought librarians were the guardians of all the mysteries of time. It never occurred to me .... That I could be one of the guardians." p43 Kallmaker's romp through the lesbian community in a Midwestern College town is entertaining, sexy and touching. While One Degree is one of her most lighthearted novels, Kallmaker taps readers on the shoulder with a few well-placed political observations. She illustrates the realities of public library employment and points out a frightening aspect of our post-9/11 world, i.e., the Patriot Act and its assault on privacy and the free access to information. One Degree is a delightful romantic comedy, filled with humor, lust, and lots of intelligent, interesting dykes. Kallmaker's characters have a familiar feel and it's easy to identify with them. They are individuals, yet likely to remind readers of women they know. As the novel opens, Marian is having a bad PMS day and she writes in her journal, "Someone will die if my period doesn't start tomorrow." p1 When Marian self medicates with chocolate, it's a sentiment with which most women can empathize. The "square dance" of lesbians working together and loving each other in a small community will be a familiar theme in the lives of many readers. Kallmaker calls these dances with compassionate understanding, a taste for irony, and a deliciously wicked wit. Interestingly, she continues a dialog that has threaded its way through some of her other romances, as Liddy and Marian discuss definitions and nuances of the butch and femme "do-si-do." One Degree of Separation is just plain fun to read. So get out your dance cards and enjoy the music!
Rating:
Summary: Get out your dance cards and enjoy!
Review: "Life is twisted" is a favored exclamation from Liddy, a twenty-something dyke from Berkeley, California. Newly graduated from Cal with her Masters degree, Liddy has taken a contract to conduct research for a nationally known writer and finds herself trapped in the Iowa corn-belt for the summer. Her goal was to get away from the West Coast and an affair that ended very badly. She has no intention of getting romantically involved with anyone this summer. The women of Iowa City which boasts, arguably, the highest concentration of dykes living in any town in the Midwest, have other plans for "fresh meat." Even Liddy finds herself reconsidering her goals when she meets "Marian the Librarian." If you are a librarian living in the "River City," Iowa and your name is Marian, you might as well surrender and embrace the humor of the musical. Marian Pardoo, on the Reference staff at the Iowa City Public Library, has done just that. Her dog answers to "Professor Hill" while her cat is dubbed "Trombone." Marian enjoys her work and is pleased with life in semi-rural Iowa. However, she is nursing some major heartache. That pain sometimes makes her life very difficult. Neither Liddy nor Marian is prepared for the chemistry that strikes when they meet. Their conflagration is wonderful, frightening, and more than a little confusing. Or as Liddy wonders, "Was she in a foreign movie with no subtitles? Or was this just the way the dykes dated in Iowa City? Yes, no, yes, no, talk, talk, and more talk?" p112 The two women struggle to overcome their fears of getting hurt by love again and find that sometimes communication is difficult. When Marian looks for a greeting card to express her feelings for Liddy, she finds, "There weren't any cards that said, 'Can we do it like rabbits and still be friends?' Not one read, 'Ignore what I'm saying and jump me, now!'" p122 Having a crush on a gym teacher is a fairly common element in the school years of most future dykes. In One Degree, Kallmaker pays tribute to what has to be a close second for many of the "nerdier" lesbians, that of the crush on a librarian. Or as she has Marian reflect of her decision, years ago to become a librarian, "It always seemed like whatever I could dream I could find at the library. And ever since I was a girl I thought librarians were the guardians of all the mysteries of time. It never occurred to me .... That I could be one of the guardians." p43 Kallmaker's romp through the lesbian community in a Midwestern College town is entertaining, sexy and touching. While One Degree is one of her most lighthearted novels, Kallmaker taps readers on the shoulder with a few well-placed political observations. She illustrates the realities of public library employment and points out a frightening aspect of our post-9/11 world, i.e., the Patriot Act and its assault on privacy and the free access to information. One Degree is a delightful romantic comedy, filled with humor, lust, and lots of intelligent, interesting dykes. Kallmaker's characters have a familiar feel and it's easy to identify with them. They are individuals, yet likely to remind readers of women they know. As the novel opens, Marian is having a bad PMS day and she writes in her journal, "Someone will die if my period doesn't start tomorrow." p1 When Marian self medicates with chocolate, it's a sentiment with which most women can empathize. The "square dance" of lesbians working together and loving each other in a small community will be a familiar theme in the lives of many readers. Kallmaker calls these dances with compassionate understanding, a taste for irony, and a deliciously wicked wit. Interestingly, she continues a dialog that has threaded its way through some of her other romances, as Liddy and Marian discuss definitions and nuances of the butch and femme "do-si-do." One Degree of Separation is just plain fun to read. So get out your dance cards and enjoy the music!
Rating:
Summary: Swear to freakin' god it's GREAT!
Review: Having just finished yet another formula romance where some traumatic past event keeps two women from accepting that they're in love for 249 pages (but they figure it out on page 250, end of story) I was feeling pretty jaded as I started One Degree of Separation. I don't know how Karin Kallmaker does it! Fifteen romances and she nevers writes the same story twice. On the first page -- the first paragraph! -- she made me laugh. Then I laughed some more. Then, when Liddy Peel walks into the story in Chapter 2 I was on the floor. Not that either character has to quip a joke every sentence. Nor is their humor based on belitting others as less cool than they are. (I hate that about some romances whose entire humor rests on making fun of other people.) It's their wry outlook on their *own* life that got the first giggle and from there I was completely hooked. It has to be good writing for me to enthusiastically believe a rather improbable turn of events in a small town. And not only do I buy every bit of the plot, Kallmaker's erotic touch is so compelling that when Marian and Liddy look at each other the first time I positively *felt* the rush. Marian and Liddy's courtship is set against the backdrop of a cast of well-defined secondary characters who swill coffee and drop amusing wisdom about such topics as what constitutes hot talk in bed, and if it's okay to date the ex of an ex. Marian, meanwhile, is trying to stay in control of her life, but Inner Slut and Inner Prude refuse to get along. Sophisticated, big-city girl Liddy knows she herself is still suffering angry depression from her last relationship, but swear to freakin' god, how can a librarian in Iowa freakin' City be so sexy? And such a great kisser? It's not fair! When it became clear that both women had something in their past that still hurt and made it hard for them to trust that happiness could be real this time, I believed that too and it's the way Kalmmaker tells the story that makes it possible. And when Marian arrives on Liddy's doorstep in the middle of a rainstorm the night that follows is one of Kallmaker's hottest ever. Taking place over just four days of sizzling Iowa summer, One Degree of Separation is the best lighthearted romance I've read in a long time. I am in awe of Kallmaker's range. Her latest before this, Maybe Next Time, spanned 40 years of the heroine's life, and was one of the most intense, wrenching romances I've ever read. Then Kallmaker turns around and delivers this amusing but never vicious, heartfelt but never sappy, steamy, engaging story of two ordinary, every day women who make you believe in the extraordinary power of love. Once again, I ended a Karin Kallmaker romance absolutely certain that some day that kind of magic can happen to me.
Rating:
Summary: One of her best books this far
Review: I have previously read some of Kallmakers books and I think that this one might be her best book this far. She has always been good at doing research but I have sometimes in previous books felt that she had included too much of it in the storyline. This book has, however, a perfect balance between the research she's done and the fiction. One Degree of Separation doesn't have the complex plot that Substitute for Love had but it has a lot of charm and and other qualities that make up for it.
Rating: 
Summary: Goes through the motions but lacks heart
Review: I once dated a librarian, so the idea for this story appealed to me. Also, you can expect a decently written novel when you buy a book by this author. This one is no exception so it is easy to overlook what is lacking in the novel - real heart. Marian, a librarian, has unrequited passion for a friend and neighbor, Hemma. This keeps her up at night and makes her a voyeur, as she can't resist watching Hemma making love with her partner. Marian continues her masochism when she meets lovely Liddy and can't get over herself enough to relate to the woman like a human being. The two go through an irritating flirtation and I found it hard to care whether they ended up together or not - but maybe that's just me. A lot of other reviewers seem to love this book. In one of her thinly veiled attempts at reader education, the author would have us believe butch is little more than a haircut and a pair of boxers. She could have spent her time better by showing us love is more than acrobatic sex and cute truisms. I wouldn't expect a wonderful romance like Maybe Next Time from Ms. Kallmaker every time. But in One Degree of Separation, she is just going through the motions. Because she's had plenty of practice, the motions are smooth. So if that's enough for you, you'll enjoy this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Book
Review: I only rated this as a 4 because it wasn't long enough. I loved it. I only wished it hadn't ended so fast. The connection of the two women had great build up and then BAM, we get the full connection only to have the book end 3 pages later. I wanted it to go on more. I enjoyed it a lot. Great read. Took me one day to finish it.
Rating:
Summary: Sizzling
Review: I only wish it were summer so that the heat of day could match the heat within the pages of One Degree of Separation. Should you read this review and it happens to be summer, snatch this one up for a beach read. Just remember to turn over. One Degree of Separation is a delightful romance. It takes place in the swelter of an Iowa summer, but the characters generate enough heat that you'll be sweaty no matter what the weather. Liddy makes a cool escape from California to do a research project for a well-known writer while trying to heal wounds from a romance gone bad. Her destination is Iowa City, a small college town, where there are more lesbians per capita than New York City. Marian (yes, the librarian) is equally burnt by a love affair, and by her unrequited love for the next-door neighbor. Neither Marian nor Liddy are in the market for a relationship. Add to this mixture a group of friends who have switched partners enough times to call a square dance. This coffee drinking crowd will have you lusting for pancake breakfasts and homeopathic couches. Who says that the heartland is devoid of ... drama? Neither Marian nor Liddy are prepared for the spontaneous combustion that occurs between them. Sparks fly and ignite enough passion to leave you panting for more. Fueled by witty dialogue, realistic and likeable characters, Kallmaker proves once again why she's considered the Mistress of Romance. With One Degree of Separation, she takes home the title. I guarantee this one will leave you begging for water, or a latte, or an iced mocha decaf with chocolate sprinkles.
Rating:
Summary: Every day women finding extraordinary love
Review: I so wish that *I* could somehow be a heroine in a Karin Kallmaker romance. Ask anybody, I'm as ordinary -- prosaic even -- as Marian the Librarian in this novel. I would love to be at the mega-mart one day, buying tampons, and find my car had been blocked in by that of a beautiful, spirited, intelligent woman and myself on the receiving end of a serious case of lust at first sight. Even if, like Marian, I thought I wasn't ready right then and there for more, I would dearly want to pursue the flirtation to the romantic, inevitable conclusion that brings Marian and Liddy into harmony at last.
Maybe that's why I'm hooked on Kallmaker's books. Whether it's the woman next door or someone I could never be -- star of a TV cooking show, or a concert violinist, or even an environmental biologist -- I want to *feel* what these women feel for the loves of their lives. I want my heart to pound at the sight of my love, my eyes to tear up at a sweet gesture, all that sappy, wonderful romantic stuff. Ms. K. somehow keeps me believing it could happen for me.
One Degree of Sep is probably her funniest novel with her lightest touch. I think she could be standup comic because of the way she observes the every day humor in life. Like Marian forgetting she needed tampons. I thought I was the only woman on the planet who let herself run out in the hopes that would keep her cycle from arriving again. Liddy's sarcastic, caustic and downright angry opening diatribes - she's had a really bad couple of weeks - makes dead on observations about things that irritates most of us. As Liddy mellows and realizes some of those irritations are really signs of affection and support, the author brought home to me a whole new understanding of community. If anything, One Degree is her loveliest book ever about friendship. Believe me, I've read every one of them more than once.
The background characters are real women, too, the kind of wacky friends with their own problems and secrets that let a person feel they're not so crazy after all. I particularly loved in this book how Marian quietly asserts that while she may not look all that butch on the outside, on the inside that's how she feels, and she resents anyone else's definitions saying otherwise. Brava! When Liddy crowd watches on a sweltering Iowa evening, she sees the range of butch, femme, neither and the always confusing both at the same time, and makes peace with her own struggles at being thought stereotypically femme, ergo weak and fainting at the sign of motor oil. Liddy is femme *and* strong and just my type. Unfortunately, she's with Marian now and once again, I'll have to pick up another Kallmaker novel to find a new love of my life. Fortunately, I never have to wait very long!
Lesbians living in small communities, like me, will find the incestuous nature of the relationships all-too familiar. This woman should be writing for the L Word, I swear. They could do a whole season on the fallout of dating the ex of an ex.
Keep them coming, Ms. K -- and the pun's intended!
Rating: 
Summary: stunted growth
Review: I used to look forward to Kallmaker's novels but this one has cooled my anticipation. It was trite, stereotyped and silly. Even as a Physician, I was turned off by so much focus on mentstrual cramps and flow. The characters were not well developed and mostly not evolved.... the degrees of separation between the characters appeared incestuous. It depicted the lesbians as under-developed emotionally and all I wanted was for the book to end (predictably) already. The sex scenes were commonplace, same Kallmaker: against walls, on floors, in the shower and on countertops and of course, the old joke persists: What do lesbians make on the second date? U-haul arrangements.
But on the positive side: I now know how books are catalogued in the Dewey system.
Rating:
Summary: Great romance
Review: I will say that this book was truly one of the most enjoyable romances that I have read in a long time. Karin Kallmaker had me from the first chapter in this book! I read it in one sitting. Other lovers of romances will not be disappointed with this book!
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