Category: New! (Page 7 of 12)

These are the newest books I’ve recommended.

THE RED SPARROW TRILOGY!!!

September 19, 2018 /

I previously posted on how much I loved reading Red Sparrow.

And after reading the next two books in this trilogy by Jason Matthews, I have to tell you more about this series; it has been one of my favorite reading experiences ever!! The final installment, The Kremlin’s Candidate: A Novel (The Red Sparrow Trilogy)was published earlier this year.

These Sparrow books are not my usual genre, and I hadn’t even planned to read them this summer, but they honestly have been my favorite books so far this year considering pure entertainment value.
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MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE SUMMER

September 8, 2018 /

As the summer winds down – and I consider it summer all the way through September!! – I am contemplating my favorite books from my summer reading list.

I am still finishing up a couple of these, but I am confident in which books I can whole heartedly recommend. I wrote a blog post on all of these (no spoilers!!), so if you want to know more about any of the books, click on the link that says “Read my post here.”

‘THE GREAT BELIEVERS’

August 27, 2018 /

Occasionally I’ll be going about my day when I get the feeling I’m missing out on something. Then I realize the feeling is coming from being in the middle of a book/story that is “on pause” until I open it up again.

I distinctly had this feeling while reading The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai.

‘THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY’

August 14, 2018 /

The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware is an entertaining and suspenseful family mystery. Ware is of course known for her thriller The Woman in Cabin 10.

Harriet Westaway is 21 and is trying to make ends meet after losing her mom in a car accident. She is hard up for money and hiding from a loan shark. In her mail one day (in addition to a bunch of overdue bills) is a formal letter saying she has been named in the will of a “Mrs. Westaway” who had a significant estate. Harriet feels there must be some mistake as her grandma (who she didn’t even know) has been dead 20 years, but due to her desperate situation Harriet decides to go for it anyway!

What follows are twists and turns of a family drama as Harriet uses what she has learned as a tarot reader (how to read people and show them what they want) to attempt to collect this money. As emotions and history come into play, this task becomes both more difficult and easier than she expected.

‘OUR HOUSE’ – a bizarre & addictive read

July 29, 2018 /

I just finished an addictive book from my summer reading list:

Our House by Louise Candlish

Fiona Lawson and her husband Bram have recently separated and have agreed to a “bird’s nest custody agreement” where their kids stay in the house full time and the parents take turns living there (in their $2+ million property in a fashionable area of London.)

Everything seems to be working out fine with this arrangement until one day when Fiona finds strangers moving into her home, and this nice couple fully believes they just legally purchased the home. It must be a mistake…

What follows (and leads up to) this confusing scene is a web of mistakes and lies that spins WAY out of control.
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‘THE LOST VINTAGE’ – WINE & WWII

July 16, 2018 /

This summer I have been pleasantly surprised by the books on my summer reading list, and I have been reading more than ever because these books are keeping my attention, one after another.

Today I’m recommending The Lost Vintage: A Novel.

I admit this book initially caught my attention because it’s about wine!!

Kate is trying to earn her Masters of Wine (M.W) which is awarded after an extremely strenuous and comprehensive exam; only around 300 people in the world hold a M.W. She will have to identify wine blindly naming the exact region it is from and its vintage. Ironically, she is doing well in identifying all varieties except for wine from the region of her family’s vineyard (Burgundy). It’s almost like she has something against Burgundy…

Alas, Kate will need to visit her family’s property in Burgundy to study this wine. And conveniently her first love runs the neighboring winery. This part of the story did not disappoint. But there was a whole other aspect of this story I was not even expecting:

The book that had me crying at the pool.

‘THE SUN DOES SHINE’ – A recommendation & giveaway

July 11, 2018 /

I interrupted my summer reading list to cry my way through (very quickly) The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row (Oprah’s Book Club Summer 2018 Selection).

I read and recommend all types of books and sometimes I very strongly recommend books…a recent example is CIRCE...however there are some rare times when I so strongly want to recommend a book that I decide to GIVE ONE AWAY.

So today I have decided to set up a contest to give away a copy of this book by Anthony Ray Hinton, who spent 30 years on Death Row as an innocent man. You may have seen it advertised as Oprah’s Summer selection. I glad it is her book club selection because I hope as many people as possible read this book.

(I will ship a book to the winner anywhere in the continental U.S. – see contest at the bottom of this post.)

‘THE SUBWAY GIRLS’ – A PERFECT SUMMER READ

July 5, 2018 /

Continuing through my summer reading list, I truly enjoyed The Subway Girls: A Novel.

This charming book is partly historical fiction about two ambitious women in New York City. It is a perfect summer (or anytime) read.

The 1949 character is Charlotte who longs to work in advertising but is constrained by society’s and her family’s expectations for a women’s place in society. When the glamourous opportunity of the Miss Subways beauty contest (a real historical advertising campaign) presents itself, she has tough decisions to make.

The present day character is Olivia who has achieved success in advertising but still faces some misogyny and discrimination in the workforce. While pitching a new strategy to the NYC subway account, she uncovers the Miss Subways campaign and finds that she has a personal connection to a former Miss Subways.
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‘Another Side of Paradise’ is a great vacation read

June 30, 2018 /

I am thrilled to recommend yet another book from my summer reading list:

Another Side of Paradise: A Novel by Sally Koslow.

This book is a fictionalized version of a romance between F. Scott Fitzgerald and Hollywood gossip columnist, Sheliah Graham. I read this book because I was intrigued by F. Scott, but I ended up liking the book so much because of the interesting female character.

JOHN MCCAIN’S NEW BOOK

June 13, 2018 /

I just finished John McCain’s newest memoir The Restless Wave: Good Times, Just Causes, Great Fights, and Other Appreciations as part of my summer reading list.

During the past year Senator McCain has intrigued me. He is one of the very few republicans to call out the President. As a dying man with terminal brain cancer, McCain wants to “talk to his fellow Americans a little more” in this book. I wanted to pay respect to him by reading it.

I believe that regardless of political affiliations, someone who has served his country, as a soldier, a POW, and in Congress for decades, and even running for President of this country has valuable insight. And I was not disappointed. Although the book is HEAVY on military details I found much to like. Here are my most memorable moments:

Category: New! (Page 7 of 12)

THE RED SPARROW TRILOGY!!!

MY FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE SUMMER

‘THE GREAT BELIEVERS’

‘THE DEATH OF MRS. WESTAWAY’

‘OUR HOUSE’ – a bizarre & addictive read

Our House by Louise Candlish

‘THE LOST VINTAGE’ – WINE & WWII

‘THE SUN DOES SHINE’ – A recommendation & giveaway

‘THE SUBWAY GIRLS’ – A PERFECT SUMMER READ

‘Another Side of Paradise’ is a great vacation read

JOHN MCCAIN’S NEW BOOK

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