Category: Non-fiction

My New Year, New Reads Recommendations

Published on by Anbolyn4 Comments

As I mentioned in my previous post, last Saturday was my bi-annual book buzz program at the library where I work. After reading about 15 books for the program I narrowed down my picks to the following titles. I do try to choose a variety of books, but I also want them to be a reflection of my style and taste – after all they are my personal picks. My co-presenter, Melissa, reads much different books then I do and between us I think we do a good job of providing something for everyone!

Here are the books I recommended for the first quarter of 2020. All publication dates are for the US:

you're not listening

You’re Not Listening: What You’re Missing and Why it Matters by Kate Murphy – If you like Quiet by Susan Cain, You Just Don’t Understand by Deborah Tannen or just want to improve your listening skills this is a perfect book for you. Published January 7th.

long bright river

Long Bright River by Liz Moore – This novel held me in thrall and I absolutely enjoyed reading every page. If you like the crime novels of Tana French and Laura McHugh or the character driven family dramas of Celeste Ng and Jean Kwok you should try Long Bright River. Published January 7th.

girl with louding

The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare – If you like stories about triumph over adversity with strong female protagonists you will love The Girl with the Louding Voice. Published February 4th.

independence square

Independence Square by A.D. Miller – This is a novel about power, corruption and money and how all of those combined can not only impact governments but change the lives of ordinary people caught in the machine. If you like novels about political intrigue and novels by Robert Harris and John Le Carre you should try Independence Square. Published February 4th.

house of trelawney

House of Trelawney by Hannah Rothschild – If you want to know what Downton Abbey might turn out like 80 years on if Lady Mary’s son George happens to be a womanizing, ineffective buffoon incapable of hanging on to his money than you should read House of Trelawney. It’s also a good read if you love satire and plots that are proudly over the top. Published February 11th.

firewatching

Firewatching by Russ Thomas – This new police procedural series features a fascinating main detective, colorful supporting characters and a clever plot. It’s set in Sheffield, Yorkshire and reminded me of the Inspector Banks series by Peter Robinson (also set in Yorkshire) so if you like the Banks series you will like this one. It will also appeal to readers who like Susie Steiner and Dervla McTiernan or any of the British police shows like Shetland or Broadchurch. Published February 25th.

lady in waiting

Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner – If you like to read aristo-lit, books about royalty and fabulously rich people and if you are a fan of The Crown you will love Lady in Waiting. Published March 24th.

house of glass

House of Glass by Hadley Freeman – I enjoyed this unraveling of the mystery of Freeman’s paternal family combined with her concise and insightful description of twentieth century Jewish history. If you like Catherine Bailey and the WWII histories of Caroline Moorehead you will enjoy House of Glass. Published March 24th.

miss austen

Miss Austen by Gill Hornby – With humor and compassion Gill Hornby has brought Cassandra Austen to life and created a compelling portrait of a single woman in the early 19th century. If you liked Longbourn by Jo Baker, The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn or are a Janeite you will enjoy Miss Austen. Published April 7th.

Are there any books on my list that you’ve already read or look forward to reading?

Is anyone participating in the Mini Persephone Readathon this weekend? I am going to try to read two Persephones over the next few days. We’ll see how it goes!

Sunday Bulletin – December 23

Published on by Anbolyn10 Comments

Village

I’ve been struggling to find a way to post here regularly because I want to post, I intend to post, but by the time I get home from work in the evenings I have no motivation to post. I rarely turn my computer on at home and am usually too tired and busy to think about blogging.

Then I remembered that about 4 or so years ago I used to post a Sunday Bulletin where I would talk about my week and give short reviews of any books I’d finished. Great idea! This is something I can do every Sunday that is low pressure and still keeps me blogging and talking about books like I used to here. I do so miss being a part of this community and I want to return. A weekly bulletin is just the way I’ve been looking for to be able to do that.

Some of you may be wondering about my trip to England in October. Well, I didn’t get to go. I had to have my gallbladder out instead. Not a very fun alternative. And then I had complications, was hospitalized for four days and had to have two additional surgeries. I was out of work for a month and spent lots of time at home (sadly, not reading) recuperating. But I am mostly all cured now and am going to reschedule my trip to late April/early May.

Books finished this week:

Village Christmas by Laurie Lee – I bought this book after I saw it was the December choice for Emily’s Walking Book Club. I always like to buy a few Christmas themed books every year and this looked like a great choice – and it was. However, only the first two essays are actually about Christmas. The rest of the essays discuss various themes, but the overriding theme is change – mostly change to the landscape. Lee is an easy companion and his writing is friendly and funny so I didn’t mind reading the entire collection. It was a joy to spend time in his company and I now look forward to reading Cider with Rosie sometime in the new year.

A Tudor Christmas by Alison Weir and Siobhan Clarke – This pretty little book uses the twelve days of Christmas as chapters and starting points to educate the modern reader on how the Tudors celebrated Christmas. The authors detail many traditions that I had heard of but didn’t really know the meaning of (like yule logs, the Lord of Misrule, mummers) using poetry and song lyrics to illustrate the short chapters. I enjoyed learning about the origins of some traditions we still follow today and was grateful that we have done away with others (like making a boar’s head the center of our Christmas dinners). I recommend this if you like microhistories.

 

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Fabulous Fall Reads

Published on by Anbolyn12 Comments

fabulous-fall-readsLast Saturday, my friend and colleague Melissa and I gave our “Fabulous Fall Reads” presentation at my library. We talked about the books we think people would love to read over the next three months. We had another great turnout, similar to our Sizzlin’ Summer Reads attendance, and plan to do it again for spring 2017. Without further ado here are my fall favorites with their US release dates:

The Ballroom by Anna Hope (Sept. 6) – The Ballroom is a bittersweet story of  forbidden romance and a fascinating look at how mentally ill people were treated in Edwardian England. If you like well-written, romantic, historical fiction like that written by Sarah Waters, Graham Swift and Sebastian Faulks you will enjoy The Ballroom.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles (Sept. 6) – Amor Towles writes like no one I can think of today. His sophisticated and elegant writing reminds me of F. Scott Fitzgerald but his stories are straight out of movies of the 1940’s. If you like old-fashioned and heart-warming yet complex stories, you’ll love A Gentleman in Moscow.

The Perfect Girl by Gilly Macmillan (Sept. 6) – This clever and twisty thriller will satisfy fans of domestic suspense novels like The Widow by Fiona Barton, I Let You Go by Claire Mackintosh and The Girl in the Red Coat by Kate Hamer

The Secrets of Wishtide by Kate Saunders (Sept. 13) – Mrs. Rodd is a delightful character reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple. This is definitely a cozy series but has a darker edge so would appeal to fans of the Maisie Dobbs series or the Amelia Peabody series. I can’t wait for the next book featuring Mrs. Rodd!

Daisy in Chains by Sharon Bolton (Sept. 20) – This was absolutely riveting and clever — it’s a dark page-turner and a superb thriller that will appeal to fans of Tana French.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles (Oct. 4) – This novel has wonderful fully-developed characters, beautiful spare writing, is adventurous and suspenseful, and has a morally complex plot. I really loved this book and read it in one day. It is definitely a western, but a western that will appeal to anyone who likes good storytelling similar to The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin or Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.

The Red Car by Marcy Dermansky (Oct. 11) – In hazy and dreamy prose Dermansky takes not only the main character Leah, but the reader, on a journey that is humorous, thought-provoking and inspiring. If you like stories about women who take control of their lives, like Anne Tyler’s Ladder of Years, you’ll love The Red Car.

The Mistletoe Murder by P.D. James (Oct. 25) – I would recommend this to James fans and to those who appreciate literary British mysteries written by authors such as Elizabeth George, Deborah Crombie ,Ruth Rendell or Minette Walters. Also, if you like to read mysteries set at Christmas (I certainly do) The Mistletoe Murder is a creepily good one to look for this holiday season.

My Lost Poets by Philip Levine (Nov. 8) – If you enjoyed Just Kids by Patti Smith, My Lost Poets will appeal to you. It is a lovely and uplifting artistic memoir.

Swing Time by Zadie Smith (Nov. 15) – Swing Time explores the nature of identity, cultural appropriation, happiness, fame and power and ambition and friendship- all in a witty, sharp, layered and compelling story that you’ll think about long after you read the last page. This would be a perfect choice for book clubs and if you like writers like Louise Erdrich or Amy Tan you’ll relish Swing Time.

Have you read or do you plan to read any of these titles?

Charlotte Brontë: A Fiery Heart by Claire Harman

Published on by Anbolyn15 Comments

charlotte

I’ve tried several times to read biographies of the Brontë family, but they’ve always seemed so dull, morose and really didn’t hold my attention. When I got a pre-pub copy of Claire Harman’s new biography of Charlotte Brontë I didn’t have very high expectations of it and had plans to merely flip through and skim. But as soon as I started reading I was hooked.

Harman’s style is novelistic, smooth and compelling. She starts the book off by exploring the summer of Charlotte’s unhappiness in Brussels after Emily left the school where they had both been studying French. Charlotte was desperately infatuated with Monsieur Heger, the husband of the school’s mistress. I think Monsieur Heger would be what we now term ‘a player’; a manipulative flirt who courted women’s affection with no care for the emotional consequences. Harman shows how this relationship and Charlotte’s feelings about Heger colored her whole existence, including her writing, for the rest of her life.

Though the novel is centered on Charlotte, we learn much about her parents and siblings as they were all so close and creatively connected. I was fascinated by the story of how the Brontë sisters came to be published and intrigued by public reaction to their novels. Harman really focuses on Charlotte as a writer and an artist and on her development as a novelist. I think this approach illuminated Charlotte’s life and her character in a way which previous biographies I’ve tried to read didn’t and it worked for me.

If you have an interest in the Brontës this is a must read. But you don’t have to be a Brontë fan to enjoy this biography – it’s also fascinating if you’re interested in how someone develops as a writer.

What other books about the Brontës would you recommend? Since it’s the 200th anniversary of Charlotte’s birth next month I’m in the mood to read more about the family. I’m currently reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne for my book club next week and am kicking myself that I didn’t read it before now – what a captivating book!

My History by Antonia Fraser

Published on by Anbolyn12 Comments

antonia

I’m not a particular fan of Antonia Fraser (I’ve only ever read The Wives of Henry VIII by her) but I couldn’t resist this memoir about her pre-war/wartime childhood and post-war teen years and the experiences that turned her into a historian. Both of Fraser’s parents were politicians and very well-connected so she had a colorful childhood of campaigning for her parents and growing up with seven siblings in a household that encouraged curiosity and learning. When Antonia was a girl she became enchanted with Mary Queen of Scots and her passion for this tragic figure runs all through the novel leading to her writing her first major historical biography of Mary in the late sixties, which kickstarted her career.

Fraser’s memories about her childhood and education are fascinating and reading about the famous figures she knew as a child is impressive and jaw-dropping. This is a woman who had both Christine Longford and Anthony Powell in her family and received letters from her parents’ friend Evelyn Waugh, among others. I really enjoyed the book up through her school years. However, once she goes off to Oxford I think it dragged a bit, became overly name-droppy and wasn’t as interesting. But, overall, this is a wonderful account of the making of a historian and of what it was like to be a privileged child in England in the 30’s and 40’s.

It has inspired me to seek out some of her books – I’d especially like to read her book on Marie Antoinette.

Have you read Antonia Fraser’s historical biographies or other works?

What Matters in Jane Austen? by John Mullan

Published on by Anbolyn24 Comments

jane

This delightful book is written by a Jane Austen expert, but it is in no way dry or academic. It examines twenty ‘puzzles’ or themes or curiosities that run through all of Austen’s novels, things such as ‘Is there sex in Jane Austen?’ and ‘Why is it risky to go to the seaside?’ The chapters are very in depth and use lots of quotes from the novels, yet they are short and snappy to read. I breezed through this book and really enjoyed the discussions that draw from each of Austen’s works. I definitely felt a desire to reread all of her novels with this new information in mind. Reading this feels like attending a class with that funny, warm, wonderfully brilliant favorite professor from college. I could listen to him all day.

Even if you’re not a rabid fan of Austen or a Janeite you’ll find much to like in this book. It delves into the history of social customs during this time period and also discusses aspects of her own life and experiences that affected her books. I found it to be insightful, witty and very entertaining.

Book Club: Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy by Karen Abbott

Published on by Anbolyn9 Comments

005

Last week my book club gathered to discuss Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy, a nonfiction title about four women who participated in espionage activities during the Civil War. This was the fourth nonfiction book that we’ve read this year (the others are The Knife Man, When Paris Went Dark and The Plantagenets) and it wasn’t a favorite. Only three out of seven of us finished the book so the discussion was a bit lackluster.

I personally enjoyed the subject matter as I’ve always loved spy stories and reading about these bold women (two for the Confederate and two for the Union) who risked their very lives to provide vital information to the military was completely absorbing. My favorite of the spies was a woman named Elizabeth Van Lew, an unmarried woman who lived in the Confederate capital, Richmond, Virginia, yet who believed in the Union cause, especially abolition. She created an intricate spy network whose members gave the Union army information about Confederate troop movements and she also helped Union soldiers escape from prisons in and around Richmond. Out of all four of the women she was the one whose motives for spying were the purest (in my opinion) and who never profited off of her experience by writing her memoir or giving speeches. I think she is a true hero.

The trouble with the book is that it is written in a narrative nonfiction style – so it is meant to read like a novel. The author embellishes the facts with lots of little imaginative details that do feel more like reading a novel than reading a historical nonfiction book. I am not completely opposed to this style as I feel it does make history come alive when done well, but in this instance it seemed to interfere with the flow of the book. The chapters are very short and choppy, sometimes almost like vignettes and it was rather annoying to have a cliff hanger every other chapter. The three of us who finished the book all noted the style as problematic and I think it might have contributed to the other members not being able to finish the book.

Our next book up for discussion at the end of September is The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It’s a book I’ve read before and liked and I am looking forward to reading it again.

Cover Collection: Testament of Youth

Published on by Anbolyn12 Comments

Testament of Youth

1. Virago Press // 2. Virago // 3. Weidenfeld & Nicholson //

4. Penguin Classics // 5. Phoenix //6. Penguin Books Ltd.

I’m in the midst of a small reading slump – I just haven’t found anything lately that ticks all of my boxes or even makes my heart race with pleasure. Thank goodness I still have Testament of Youth in my life. I took a break from it over the last week because I thought I should try to get into a novel, but I think I just need to stick with this until I finish. It’s the only book that feels right at the moment.

I own no. 4, but I really like the combination of Vera Brittain’s photo and the poppy on no.2. Which cover would you want to own?

 

The Knife Man: The Extraordinary Life and Times of John Hunter, Father of Modern Surgery by Wendy Moore

Published on by Anbolyn10 Comments

knife man

I am one of the most squeamish people in the world when it comes to reading about medical procedures or gory scenes of surgery so I was not exactly thrilled when my book club chose this book to read for our January meeting. I started it with reluctance and a smidge of dread yet quickly found myself several chapters into the book before I knew what had happened.

Moore’s writing is so smooth, so flowing and eloquent and the tale she relates so fascinating that it actually became a pleasure for me to read.

The subject of this fabulous book is John Hunter, a pioneering surgeon who lived and worked in Georgian England. He was a Scot, but ended up in London as a young man when his older doctor brother recruited him to be an assistant at the anatomy school he owned. With an existing passion and curiosity for the natural world it wasn’t long before he began dissecting bodies (mostly robbed from fresh graves or those of criminals) and developed an astounding knowledge of the human body. He also performed experiments to understand more about how certain functions worked in the body and very quickly earned a large following of medical students who appreciated his scientific evidence-based approach to medical care and surgery. During this time period, it was the norm to treat most conditions with blood-letting and Hunter was very opposed to the practice. This didn’t sit well with the establishment and his lack of social skills didn’t help either. He never gained the respect of his fellow surgeons but his patients and students revered him.

In addition to surgery, Hunter was also obsessed with specimen collecting. Over his lifetime he acquired thousands of items from skulls to strange animal skeletons to the organs of famous men he’d treated. This collection eventually found it’s way to the Royal College of Surgeons and was the foundation for the Hunterian Museum which still exists today.

Most of the book club discussion revolved around whether we thought Hunter was crazy, obsessive, a hoarder, uncaring, etc. I think maybe he was a bit of all these. Like many driven, brilliant people he neglected his family and failed to provide a stable life for his wife and two children. But he was an undeniable genius who discovered many new ways to conduct surgery (including a better way to deal with gunshot wounds) that saved many lives, reinforced the experiment-based model as the best way to teach medical students, and even wrote a paper putting forth a theory of evolution which was only published after Darwin’s theory appeared.

I really enjoyed The Knife Man and am so glad that I didn’t let the topic dissuade me from reading it. Moore is also the author of How to Create the Perfect Wife which I must now read as soon as I can.

 

An Old Friend: The Sixties in Vogue

Published on by Anbolyn4 Comments

001

When I was in my teens I was utterly fascinated and obsessed with the sixties. I loved listening to music and watching films and TV shows from the era. Every time I visited the library I rummaged through the shelves looking for books about the sixties (this was in the days before catalogs were easy to search). One day I hit the jackpot and came across this book, The Sixties: A Decade in Vogue edited by Nicholas Drake. It was published in 1988 and I must have checked it out dozens of times in my late teens. I adored the big, striking photos of irresistible actors, musicians, models, writers and other artists. The book doesn’t have much text, but there are select articles on various topics and each year has a page of what people were talking about during that year. It’s a lovely, very Vogue snapshot of a captivating era.

15 years later I got a job working for my hometown library and one day I remembered this book and checked to see if we still carried it. Alas, we didn’t and it was probably long gone as even when I was checking it out there were missing pages where patrons had ripped out photos they liked.

I haven’t really thought about it much since then, but last month I wanted to buy myself a few meaningful birthday presents and this book came to mind. I found a used copy on the Internet and now it is in my hands once again. I’ve really enjoyed perusing it lately and it still fascinates. I’ll share a few images with you:

005

Sharon Tate (who’s suddenly back in the news) on the left, Brian Jones & Anita Pallenberg on the right.

008

The gorgeous Natalie Wood on the left, Jeanne Moreau on the right.

011

Edie Sedgwick on the left, what People Were Talking About in 1965 on the right.

013

I love these bold, colorful photos of Veruschka.

016

Beautiful portraits of two legendary opera singers – Grace Bumbry on the left and Leontyne Price on the right.

 

019

Here’s a familiar face!

022

An article on the ‘Party of the Century’ by Gloria Steinem – Truman Capote’s 1966 Black & White Ball.

017

Stunning shots of Lee Bouvier Radziwill and model Suzy Parker.

I’m so glad I discovered this book again! There’s also a similar book that covers the fifties and my next mission is to track down a copy to purchase. What book from your youth would you like to re-discover?