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Dig two graves
by Kim Powers
Now a classic professor at the small liberal arts college where he studied as an undergraduate, Ethan Holt snares students’ attention with a focus on revenge. That motive, he assures them, is what drives the classics.
It also motivates a figure from Ethan’s past, whom Ethan doesn’t even remember. And that’s the problem. Ethan, nicknamed “Herc” for Hercules (back when he was a celebrated Olymlpic gold medal winner), has experienced both acclaim and love—and now he’ll be reminded of the difference in the two men’s fortunes when his daughter is kidnapped.
The kidnapper has a list of demands: 12, the same number as the labors of Hercules.
Fans of suspense-driven fiction and thrillers should definitely try this one.
LS
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The Wangs vs. the world
by Jade Chang
Chang’s witty debut is a riches-to-rags tale—but only in terms of material wealth. Before Charles Wang’s cosmetics empire imploded, NYC artist daughter Saina, college student Andrew, teenaged Grace, and designer-clad second wife Barbra could afford to pursue separately unsatisfying lives apart. Now, everyone squeezes into the family’s aging Mercedes en route from California to their only housing option—Saina’s farmhouse in rural New York.
Chang employs alternating points of view (including that of the car) sharp dialogue, engagingly flawed characters, and themes of ethnic identity, cultural assimilation and globalism, and familial loyalty for a thoroughly enjoyable contemporary read.
Book groups, take note! LS
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Girl waits with gun
by Amy Stewart
Stewart’s fact-based novel, a treat for historical fiction fans, will also appeal to readers seeking a protagonist to cheer for!
Hardly the dainty flowerlike ideal of the 1914 woman, tall Constance Kopp is generally described as a “woman who looks like she can take care of herself.” That’s fortunate: she, her sisters and their New Jersey farm have been targeted for retaliation by the notorious Black Hand group.
Amusing and refreshing, this backstory of one of American’s first female deputy sheriffs is definitely recommended.
LS
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Georgia : a novel of Georgia O'Keeffe
by Dawn Clifton Tripp
In 1916, a friend of Georgia O’Keeffe showed a few of the young teacher’s charcoal drawings to world-famous photographer Alfred Stieglitz, thus launching O’Keeffe’s career.
Stieglitz’s lover and eventual wife, O’Keeffe undeniably benefited from the older man’s influence and expertise. But to what extent was her career compromised, as well?
Tripp’s candid portrayal of the groundbreaking O’Keeffe reveals much about society and the art world of her time but also leaves readers to judge her choices and actions for themselves. A rewarding read.
LS
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Notorious RBG : the life and times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
by Irin Carmon
The book grew out of a popular Tumblr, and it works as both biography and fan-response to a remarkable woman. In polite terms, this scrunchy-wearing grandma is a total warrior—I spent many a page shaking my head in disbelief. Ginsburg’s talents and hard work as a lawyer and professor were initially written off in ways that seem shocking in 2016—because people like Ginsburg spent decades of work strategically opening paths for disenfranchised groups. AW
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The Swans of Fifth Avenue : a novel
by Melanie Benjamin
I generally don’t go for Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous but chose this for its intriguing centerpiece: Truman Capote’s friendship with socialite Babe Paley.
The “Swans”—Pamela Churchill, Slim Keith, C.Z. Guest, Gloria Guinness—may have been ultra-privileged, but Benjamin highlights some surprisingly relatable challenges, including aging and society’s expectations of female perfection and the near-impossibility of securing true friendship and loyalty. And that’s where Truman Capote (and his betrayal) figures in. He is a fascinating character study, and Benjamin showcases his famous 1966 Black and White Ball as a watershed in American popular culture. Engaging, with immersive period details.
LS
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Challenger deep
by Neal Shusterman
This brilliant work, the latest by one of my favorite authors, is an inside-the-mind look at life with schizophrenia, coupled with an adventure to explore the deepest point in the ocean.
The chapters are short, and it took a few before I found my rhythm in the story, but once I did I was absolutely immersed.
AW.
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The storied life of A.J. Fikry : a novel
by Gabrielle Zevin
I loved this small, sweet, smart, funny story of the life of a socially awkward independent bookstore owner in a tourist town who raises a toddler abandoned in his shop.
It’s a quick read full of interesting characters, growing relationships and self-awareness and acceptance, with lots of literary references that you’ll enjoy if you get them, and that will make you curious if you don’t. I’m on my second reading, a rare thing, indeed.
AW
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Logicomix : An Epic Search for Truth
by Apostolos K. Doxiadēs
The graphic novel format really makes accessible a complex topic—the story and historical context of mathematician/philosopher Bertrand Russell’s quest to shore up the logical foundations of mathematics. It was a great read that helped me make a lots of new connections and sparked new questions for me to explore. AW
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The summer before the war : a novel
by Helen Simonson
Simonson’s (Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand) story exudes charm amid a wealth of period detail relating to a small English village in the early months of the Great War.
When the controversial (why couldn’t they just hire a man?) new Latin teacher arrives in town, she isn’t expected to last long—she’s judged too attractive to possess much intellect or presence of mind. She’ll contend with a resident world-famous American author, an admiring doctor-to-be, the rigors of teaching, and prominent townsfolk disinclined to challenge well-worn prejudices.
Delightful, satisfying, and probably more substantial than you’re expecting.
LS .
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The assistants
by Camille Perri
I greatly enjoyed the ARC of The Assistants by Camille Perri. I think fans of The Nest (like me!) might also enjoy this book. It explores similar themes…money, those who have it, those who want it, entitlement, disillusionment, but it’s a bit more lighthearted in tone. It’s one of those books that has a little bit for everyone…there is suspense, romance, mystery and humor.
I highly recommend.
HM.
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Everybody's fool
by Richard Russo
Russo returns (after Nobody’s Fool, 1993) to hapless, disadvantaged North Bath, New York, where inhabitants need only look down the road to compare Schuyler Springs’ brisk tourism and snazzy eateries with their own seedy lot. This story is set ten years later; the plot unspools in just a couple of days, and Police Chief Doug Raymer, an ill-starred bit player in the previous book is now the ill-starred protagonist of this one. Sully and many others are back, as well.
Pulitzer Prize winner (Empire Falls) Russo again masterfully explores the human condition via the small town, alternately prompting tears of hilarity and acknowledging our darkest instincts. A marvelous read! LS
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Dream cities : seven urban ideas that shape the world
by Wade Graham
A California-based garden designer, historian and writer presents a highly accessible and entertaining cultural history of modern cities as told through the eyes of the pivotal dreamers and brilliant, obsessed and sometimes megalomaniacal designers behind the concepts.
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Behave
by Andromeda Romano-Lax
A tale inspired by the life of controversial psychologist Rosalie Rayner Watson traces the partnership between a young psychologist and behaviorist pioneer John B. Watson at Johns Hopkins, where they conducted scandalous experiments on hundreds of infants to prove their theories about nurture over nature.
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Titans
by Leila Meacham
To me, the title suggests an epic, generation-spanning saga unfolding over several decades. But this absorbing tale, nicely contained within just a few months beginning in 1900, delivers family secrets and intrigue a-plenty. Meacham nests a boy- and girl-next-door romance within the strivings of two neighboring ranches seeking greatness—all within the context of a state poised to discover and profit from its greatest natural asset. Members of the Holloway, Gordon, and Singleton clans harbor private recollections as sensational as Spindletop (and just as likely to emerge in a dramatic fashion). Add to that a wealth of historical tidbits garnered from Meacham’s research, and readers are set for an engrossing, satisfying read.
A delight for for Meacham’s fans but also a fine introduction to this author.
LS
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Sisi : Empress on her own : a novel
by Allison Pataki
Following the success of The Accidental Empress (to be read first, for maximum enjoyment of this volume), Pataki employs further historical research to imagine the second half of the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary.
Like Diana, Princess of Wales, Elisabeth is a beauty whose reputation for allure defines her and overshadows her other abilities and interests. As her reputation for loveliness escalates public expectations of perfection, Elisabeth devotes extravagant attention to wardrobe and appearance. Wearied and overwhelmed by demands to perform in this way and saddened by her husband’s and children’s emotional distance, the empress increasingly absents herself from the palace and her traditional duties.
That’s a shame; the empire is in desperate need of fresh ideas and a modern approach to alliance-building. An intriguing personality and ideal focus for finally understanding how Austria-Hungary changed world history.
LS
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A few of the girls
by Maeve Binchy
Sadly, we won’t have any more new Maeve Binchy novels to anticipate, but her fans—even if they’re not typically short story readers—should definitely look for this one. Binchy’s trademark themes—identity and belonging, family secrets, the quest for acceptance and success, loyalty vs. envy, the idealization of marriage (and its consequent disappointments)—play out in brief tales, some of which are quick sketches and others more fully developed.
LS
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My name is Lucy Barton : a novel
by Elizabeth Strout
Pulitzer winner (Olive Kitteridge) Strout’s new little gem is ideal for literary fiction fans but also for readers who think they’d enjoy literary fiction if it weren’t time-consuming. This compact volume (193 pages, lots of white space) still exhibits masterful writing and a uniquely resonant point of view.
Eschewing sentimentality but with much heart, Strout relates the experience of a young mother, hospitalized for many weeks, who is unexpectedly visited by the mother she has not seen since she left home to attend college. Situations have changed and improved in the intervening years; now, from a safe distance, long-unresolved issues come to light.
Understated narration and brilliant dialogue; highly recommended.
LS
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In the dark
by Deborah Moggach
Moggach authored the popular The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and also produced one of my all-time favorite historical novels: Tulip Fever. This time, Moggach considers the late World War I era in London, where a soldier’s wife and her teenaged son struggle to keep afloat financially with their small boarding house—an intimate scenario ideal for exploring homefront life in depth.
Certainly, food and material shortages and Zeppelin raids figure in the story, but Eithne Clay’s vantage point—serving customers with misfortunes caused or exacerbated by the conflict, discovering opportunities to benefit from war profiteering, re-considering her marital future—immerses the reader in the unrelenting daily shadows of wartime. Involving story, excellent characterization, lively historical detail.
LS
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Austin in the Jazz Age
by Richard Zelade
An intriguing find for jazz fans and social history buffs alike, Zelade’s account of the years 1918-1929 in Austin supplies delightful photos, vintage advertisements, and newspaper excerpts, along with the author’s entertaining commentary.
As Zelade’s documentation attests, Austin (and the University of Texas) did not merely experience the Jazz Age: musicians, promoters, and visionaries here significantly contributed to the social revolution that accompanied this ground-breaking musical expression. If you thought Austin’s reputation for musical innovation only dated back to the Armadillo World Headquarters, this book will prove most enlightening.
LS
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Sisi : Empress on her own : a novel
by Allison Pataki
Following the success of The Accidental Empress (to be read first, for maximum enjoyment of this volume), Pataki employs further historical research to imagine the second half of the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria-Hungary.
Like Diana, Princess of Wales, Elisabeth is a beauty whose reputation for allure defines her and overshadows her other abilities and interests. As her reputation for loveliness escalates public expectations of perfection, Elisabeth devotes extravagant attention to wardrobe and appearance. Wearied and overwhelmed by demands to perform in this way and saddened by her husband’s and children’s emotional distance, the empress increasingly absents herself from the palace and her traditional duties.
That’s a shame; the empire is in desperate need of fresh ideas and a modern approach to alliance-building. An intriguing personality and ideal focus for finally understanding how Austria-Hungary changed world history.
LS
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