Page 17 of 29

‘HOW TO WALK AWAY’ – a good start for summer reading

June 11, 2018 /

I started through my summer reading list this week and am happy to recommend one book already: How to Walk Away: A Novel by Katherine Center.

Margaret is so close to having everything she ever wanted – a great job, a loving fiancé, and her whole life in front of her. One tragic event may take all of this away.

This book is notable because it deals with emotional and physical healing and how they intersect. It has elements of romance – somewhat predictable – and family drama – not so predictable. It is an inspiring read and a good reminder of what many of us take for granted every day. It has just the right amount of humor along with these deeper topics.

CIRCE – an enchanting book

June 5, 2018 /

I was intrigued by the book I’m recommending today after seeing a GIF on Twitter of the book cover sparkling in the sunlight (yes this is a beautiful foil cover). And I am thankful for this cover attracting my attention because I really, really enjoyed CIRCE by Madeline Miller, and now I can recommend it to you.

This is a tale of a misfit heroine set among the gods and goddesses of Greek mythology. As the daughter of Helios, Titan god of the sun, Circe doesn’t quite fit in with the other gods and goddesses. She is not powerful like her father or alluring like her mother. When she turns to mortals for companionship she discovers she does have the power to use plants to create spells, pharmakis. Threatened and irritated by Circe, Helio banishes her to live out her (eternal) life on a deserted island.

But it is a beautiful island, and this is where Circe’s life really begins!
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New books to read this summer!

May 29, 2018 /

Ahhhh summer reading…I am going to need lots of books to take to the pool, to the beach, to read while traveling, and in my favorite reading chairs.

So, I spent the last couple of days surveying what’s coming out this summer and reading first chapters and previews.

As expected, I found several books I’m excited to read. My list of 12 new books includes historical fiction about a literary figures, a couple of psychological thrillers, a love story, a fairy tale about war, and memoirs from a refugee and a veteran/politician. I’ll be returning to Russia (via book) and France. All and all, I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited about one of my seasonal reading lists!!

I hope you’ll join me in reading some of these books. You can click on the titles or pictures to find out more and purchase on Amazon. (Publishers notes are in quote boxes.) I’ll post links to my reviews (no spoilers) as I read through my list.

‘Less’ – the gay Ulysses

May 25, 2018 /

I finished the new Pulitzer prize winner for fiction, Less: A Novel last night. The Pulitzer committee obviously went in a different direction this year to showcase humor – although last year’s winner, The Sympathizer, was also funny in parts.

The protagonist Arthur ‘Less’ is a gay man traveling the world to avoid his ex-lovers wedding. Less is a somewhat acclaimed writer; some of the international invitations he has accepted are prize ceremonies and other author focused events. He is anxious about turning 50 and being “the first homosexual ever to grow old” but he is (at the very beginning of the novel) also excited about his new book:

“But this new book! This is the one! It is called Swift (to whom the race does not go): a peripatetic novel. A man on a walking tour of San Francisco, and of his past, returning home after a series of blows and disappointments (“All you do is write gay Ulysses,” said Freddy); a wistful, poignant novel of a man’s hard life. Of broke, gay middle age.”

As a former Ulysses scholar I loved this reference to a “gay Ulysses” walking around San Francisco.

‘The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test’ & the meaning of life

May 15, 2018 /

I hate that it took Tom Wolfe’s death today for me to break out my tattered copy of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test but so it goes.

Though this book hasn’t been out of my shelf in a few years…(In it I found a menu for ordering fresh fruit on my honeymoon – 2007 – and 2 ticket stubs to the Indianapolis Children’s Museum – from 2013 – which is a funny place to have this book LOL!!??), this book contains a passage I think of often and fondly…

This memorable and favorite passage is on finding the meaning of life, on finding this meaning when in a certain “state of mind.” I hadn’t read this passage in several years but today I did…

‘Little Fires Everywhere’ and motherhood

May 13, 2018 /

Sometimes there’s a book that “everyone” is reading that doesn’t initially appeal to me. Such was the case last fall with Little Fires Everywhere.

I remember spotting this book when playing book detective at jury duty. But I just kept hearing more and more about this book, and I finally decided to read it. And it turned out to be a good book to post about on Mother’s Day!

“Little Fires Everywhere explores the weight of secrets, the nature of art and identity, and the ferocious pull of motherhood–and the danger of believing following rules can avert disaster.”

At the heart of the book (after a reader is introduced to the newcomers to town, Mia and her daughter Pearl who rent a house owned by the Richardsons) is a custody battle when a well-meaning family tries to adopt a Chinese baby.

Me with a mojito in Havana, nearly 2 decades ago & the book that recently took me back there.

‘Next Year in Havana’ takes me back to Cuba

May 3, 2018 /

I’ve been to Cuba once, in 2001. It’s not something I talk about a lot (or have ever written about publically) because 1) Americans were not supposed to go there, and 2), it was a lifetime ago in many ways. What has stayed with me all these years is the beauty of the country. In fact, I remember thinking that if the place – Havana is the only place I really saw -was as beautiful as it could be (meaning the buildings were dilapidated etc.) I wouldn’t be able to stand it.

For nearly 17 years I have wanted to return to this beautiful and complicated place, and last week, I did, sort of, thanks to a new book by Chanel Cleeton Next Year in Havana.

“Ninety miles separate Cuba from Key West, the southernmost tip of the United States. Ninety miles that might as well be infinite.”

This book addresses all of Cuba’s complications, including its history and politics using a good story that includes mystery and romance! Moving back and forth between two time periods, (almost present day) and pre-Fidel, the story is told by two narrators:

‘A Higher Loyalty’ – an objective (as possible) summary

April 23, 2018 /

A saying that has stayed with me is “You can’t hate someone if you know their story.” Well James Comey’s story A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership starts with this:

At age 16 he was held at gunpoint in his home by the “Ramsey Rapist” right after his parents left for a night out. [He was not raped; likely the rapist was after his sister who was not home.]

These and other details about his early life were not what I was expecting from this book, which I expected to be “all about Trump” based on media coverage.

First, this is actually a good book, and he is a good writer and storyteller. And James Comey comes across as a person of integrity, almost annoyingly so. I read this book quickly, and I would have posted this review/summary two days ago, but our internet went out. I was joking it was Russian hackers taking me down, but we realized it was actually my husband who hit the buried wire with a lawn aerator. Oops.

I recommend you read this book if you want to know how the FBI functions and its various investigations of the past several years. But I also understand why many people don’t want to buy or read this book for various reasons. For those people, I am going to give an extensive summary below. Consider this a spoiler alert.

I can break Comey’s book down into five major sections: 1) His early life 2) His early career including work under W. 3) His work with and thoughts on Obama 4) Hillary Clinton’s emails, and finally 5) His work with Trump. Seriously a third of this book is about Hillary Clinton’s emails!!

Also I want to reiterate this is not a political blog and though it is not hard to figure out where my ideologies lie, I tried to read this book objectively and summarize it as objectively as possible. I previously did the same with Fire and Fury.

‘The Room on Rue Amelie’ – new WWII fiction

April 12, 2018 /

It’s been awhile since I have been able to recommend new WWII fiction, but I just finished and enjoyed this new book by Kristin Harmel: The Room on Rue Amélie.

I have read A LOT of WWII historical fiction and keep a running list of the books in that genre that I recommend.

For better or worse depending on what type of books you prefer, Harmel’s new book is lighter reading than many of those in my list referenced above; it reads more like a romance, but its plot and themes are deeper being set in a turbulent and horrific time.

‘The World of Tomorrow’ is good for patient readers

April 6, 2018 /

As I finish up my Fall & Winter reading list, I can add The World of Tomorrow by Brendan Mathews to the books I would recommend. But this book I recommend only to patient readers.

This is an ambitious book. It starts in Ireland where two brothers ‘accidently’ steal a ton of money from the IRA. In disguise, they sail to New York where their other brother lives and set up camp in the ritzy Plaza hotel, living the high life off the bags of money. But soon we find out someone from their past is on their tail. The setting – on a micro level -includes the jazz joints of Harlem and the World’s Fair and all levels of New York society.

Though I got off to a slow start with this book and getting the background on all the characters was a bit exhausting, by the end I was fully invested in the characters and enjoyed all the places I had been taken.

Leslie's Bookcase

Page 17 of 29

‘HOW TO WALK AWAY’ – a good start for summer reading

CIRCE – an enchanting book

New books to read this summer!

‘Less’ – the gay Ulysses

‘The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test’ & the meaning of life

‘Little Fires Everywhere’ and motherhood

‘Next Year in Havana’ takes me back to Cuba

‘A Higher Loyalty’ – an objective (as possible) summary

‘The Room on Rue Amelie’ – new WWII fiction

‘The World of Tomorrow’ is good for patient readers

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