Category: New! (Page 6 of 12)

These are the newest books I’ve recommended.

THE BOOK I JUST READ IN ONE DAY

February 28, 2019 /

Not often can I finish a book in only one day due to work, kids, etc. but I just did…

I started reading Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro yesterday before dinner, and I finished it early this evening.

This is a memoir from an already established writer who (just for fun) sent in a DNA test to Ancestry.com, as many of us have. But instead of finding out an interesting variation from what she expected, she found out her beloved and deceased father was not actually her biological father.

This is how I relaxed after holiday craziness.

‘THE RAGGED EDGE OF NIGHT’ – more WWII fiction

December 29, 2018 /

WWII is a favorite genre of mine. Although a couple of years ago I read SO MUCH of it that I needed to take a break from it, but not before I started this WWII fiction reading list that I add to occasionally.

Today I am happy to add this book to my running list of WWII historical fiction that I recommend:

The Ragged Edge of Night by Olivia Hawker

MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2018

December 26, 2018 /

This is my third year of blogging on “Leslie’s Bookcase” and my year-end tradition is to announce my favorite five books of the year. To keep this process consistent from year to year, I only consider books published within the past year. And I can’t read ALL the books so this honor is obviously limited to the books I have read and posted about.

And here are my favorite books of 2018:

THE BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE LIBRARY

December 20, 2018 /

Decades ago I sat at a bar next to a older man who – with great pride – pulled a stack of library cards out of his wallet.

“I’ve moved a lot in my life, and the first thing I did in any new town was get a library card,” he said.

Writing this post triggered this memory I hadn’t thought of in years but it speaks towards the variety of people who use libraries. This man was a character although an intelligent one. And at that point in my life (early 20s) I wasn’t necessarily using my library although I had grown up visiting the library. These days, however, I am there at least once a week if not more. So when I heard great things about a book that is about libraries I had to check it out! And add it to my winter reading list.

‘A LADDER TO THE SKY’

December 10, 2018 /

I can’t believe I forgot to put A Ladder to the Sky: A Novel on my winter reading list, but I read it as soon as I remembered!

A book by the same author, John Boyne, made my favorite books of 2017 list and this new book is a contender for this year’s list. Check back; my list is coming soon!!

Maurice Swift, a truly unforgettable and unique protagonist, is a charming psychopath who steals others’ ideas because although he can write well, he can’t come up with his own plots.

“There’s something in all our pasts that wouldn’t want revealed. And that’s where you’ll find your story,” his first mentor tells him. The book’s title is a reference to a proverb about ambition: “It’s like a ladder to the sky. A pointless waste of energy.” Maurice’s ambition leads him to do things you wouldn’t believe until you start anticipating just what he’ll do next and how far he’ll go!!

The book is entertaining, disturbing, funny, thought provoking, and irresistible.

For me personally it had two traits that I loved:

Intertextuality, something I write about a lot.
Pub references. The chapters of the last section are titled by the pubs he is sitting in. hysterical!

Through the last page, this book is brilliant. Bravo bravo – I hate that I don’t still have this book to read tonight.

This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using these links you will not pay any extra but I may make a small commission. Thank you for supporting Leslie’s Bookcase.

‘THE WINTERS’

November 21, 2018 /

An engaging “domestic thriller,” The Winters: A Novel certainly kept my attention for a few days.

I thoroughly enjoyed the suspense as I anxiously read up to the point when this love story went wrong.

And a reader knows it’s all going to “go wrong” as soon as a young woman who works in the Cayman Islands at a boat charter (honestly I can’t even remember her name; the book is from her point of view) meets Max, a wealthy politician who recently lost his wife in a dramatic accident.

This younger woman moves back with him to the East Coast and his mansion on a private island, and at this point the novel becomes extremely reminiscent the classic novel Rebecca and its Manderley both in scenery and plot details. This is not a retelling of Rebecca but there are many similarities and references.

‘A WELL BEHAVED WOMAN’ – A NOVEL OF THE VANDERBILTS

November 18, 2018 /

I’m happy to recommend the second book I finished reading off my winter reading list:

A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts by Therese Anne Fowler

After the civil war, Alva Smith and her family are left with nothing but their good reputation. During this same time, the Vanderbilts have made a fortune from shipping and railroads but are shut out of New York “society” despite their millions. So…a match is made between Alva and William Vanderbilt.

After their marriage, Alva successfully maneuvers society and finds her own passion for architecture. But as she learns, a place in society and all the money anyone could want (even more millions by this point) don’t equal happiness, and she must take more drastic measures…

‘THE KENNEDY DUBUTANTE’

October 26, 2018 /

I enjoyed The Kennedy Debutante as much as any book this year!!

This novel focuses on the life of “Kick,” the daughter of Joe Kennedy Sr, American Ambassador to the Great Britain, and sister to Joe Jr., Jack, Bobby, etc. She was charismatic and beautiful, and she captivated London society in the late 1930s when the family was stationed abroad. The book begins as she and her sister Rosemary are “presented” to the King and Queen as debutantes. Another fun work of historical fiction I read this year covers this annual spectacle.

‘CLOCK DANCE’ & ‘THIS IS US’ ON COMMUNITY

October 3, 2018 /

As I was finishing up Clock Dance: A Novel by Anne Tyler this week, I found complementary ideas about “community” while watching my favorite show, NBC’s This is Us.

This book starts by narrating the most defining moments in Willa’s life: As a young girl, her mother disappears; in college, she ponders a marriage proposal; and later she is a young widow. Fast forward some years, and she feels a bit lost while living in Phoenix with her new husband.

“Willa loved saguaros. She loved their dignity, their endurance. They were the only things in Arizona she felt a deep attachment to. The first time she saw one – a whole assemblage of them, actually, looming outside the airport last summer when she and Peter came to house hunt – it was like meeting some mythical race.”

I, too, loved the saguaros I saw in Phoenix area. I had never seen anything like them and couldn’t stop looking at them. Where the arm meets the base – this part looks so fragile and strong at the same time.

But as amazing as saguaros are, they don’t make up for personal connections. When she’s called across the country to a stranger’s aid, Willa begins to find a purpose as she becomes part of a slightly eccentric community.

OHIO – A NOVEL

September 25, 2018 /

I was oddly fascinated with Ohio by Stephen Markley, but I wouldn’t recommend it to all. It is heavy, disturbing, and obsessed with phantoms of “high school.” But I stayed up really late last night because I just had to finish it!

So I will tell you a bit about it, and you can decide for yourself whether it may be for you…

I did appreciate the narrative format, which I will also discuss in this post.

Category: New! (Page 6 of 12)

THE BOOK I JUST READ IN ONE DAY

‘THE RAGGED EDGE OF NIGHT’ – more WWII fiction

MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2018

THE BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE LIBRARY

‘A LADDER TO THE SKY’

‘THE WINTERS’

‘A WELL BEHAVED WOMAN’ – A NOVEL OF THE VANDERBILTS

‘THE KENNEDY DUBUTANTE’

‘CLOCK DANCE’ & ‘THIS IS US’ ON COMMUNITY

OHIO – A NOVEL

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