Tag: genre: history

• Upcoming Books! [9]

  Posted at 3:35 pm by Laura, on March 18, 2012

  

  Title: Stay Close
  Author: Harlan Coben
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: Dutton
  Publishing Date: March 20
  Summary: Megan is a suburban soccer mom who once upon a time walked on the wild side. Now she’s got two kids, a perfect husband, a picket fence, and a growing sense of dissatisfaction. Ray used to be a talented documentary photographer, but at age forty he finds himself in a dead- end job posing as a paparazzo pandering to celebrity-obsessed rich kids. Jack is a detective who can’t let go of a cold case-a local husband and father disappeared seventeen years ago, and Jack spends the anniversary every year visiting a house frozen in time, the missing man’s family still waiting, his slippers left by the recliner as if he might show up any moment to step into them.
  Three people living lives they never wanted, hiding secrets that even those closest to them would never suspect, will find that the past doesn’t recede. Even as the terrible consequences of long-ago events crash together in the present and threaten to ruin lives, they will come to the startling realization that they may not want to forget the past at all. And as each confronts the dark side of the American Dream- the boredom of a nice suburban life, the excitement of temptation, the desperation and hunger that can lurk behind even the prettiest facades- they will discover the hard truth that the line between one kind of life and another can be as whisper-thin as a heartbeat.

  ~

  Title: The Good Father
  Author: Noah Hawley
  Genre: fiction
  Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  Publishing Date: March 20
  Summary: An intense, psychological novel about one doctor’s suspense-filled quest to unlock the mind of a suspected political assassin: his twenty-year old son.
  As the Chief of Rheumatology at Columbia Presbyterian, Dr. Paul Allen’s specialty is diagnosing patients with conflicting symptoms, patients other doctors have given up on. He lives a contented life in Westport with his second wife and their twin sons—hard won after a failed marriage earlier in his career that produced a son named Daniel. In the harrowing opening scene of this provocative and affecting novel, Dr. Allen is home with his family when a televised news report announces that the Democratic candidate for president has been shot at a rally, and Daniel is caught on video as the assassin.
  Daniel Allen has always been a good kid—a decent student, popular—but, as a child of divorce, used to shuttling back and forth between parents, he is also something of a drifter. Which may be why, at the age of nineteen, he quietly drops out of Vassar and begins an aimless journey across the United States, during which he sheds his former skin and eventually even changes his name to Carter Allen Cash.

  ~

  Title: Titanic Tragedy: A New Look at the Lost Liner
  Author: John Maxtone-Graham
  Genre: nonfiction
  Publisher: WW Norton & Company
  Publishing Date: March 19
  Summary: This is a book unlike any other. Rather than offering simply a detailed retelling of the Titanic sinking on her maiden voyage, John Maxtone-Graham devotes his considerable knowledge and impeccable prose to a discussion of salient, provocative, and rarely investigated components of the story, including dramatic survivors accounts of the events of the fateful night, the role of newly in-vented wireless telecommunication in the disaster, the construction and its ramifications at the famous Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, and the dawn rendezvous with the rescue ship Carpathia. Richly written and vividly detailed, this is the book Titanic buffs have been waiting for.

  ~

  And now for some really big news of the week about upcoming 2012/2013 books!

  • Cassandra Clare (of The Mortal Instruments and Infernal Devices fantasy series) has announced a new Shadowhunter series set in 2015 LA, The Dark Artifices. This week she was answering fans’ questions on her twitter @cassieclare about the possible TMI movie, the next ID book, and the future TDA.
  • Lisa Jewell’s BEFORE I MET HER, connecting 1920s Jazz Age London and 1990s Soho
  • Rachel Urquhart’s debut novel, THE VISIONIST, the story of a 15 year-old girl who sets fire to her family farm and finds refuge in an 1840s Shaker settlement
  • A Game of Thrones graphic novel (available March 27)

  Happy reading!

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: nonfiction, history, upcoming books

• Book Review: “The Dressmaker” by Kate Alcott

  Posted at 8:07 am by Laura, on March 17, 2012

  

  The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

  Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she’s had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic’s doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.

  Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others—including the gallant Midwestern tycoon—are not so lucky.

  On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic. Set against a historical tragedy but told from a completely fresh angle, The Dressmaker is an atmospheric delight filled with all the period’s glitz and glamour, all the raw feelings of a national tragedy and all the contradictory emotions of young love.

  What a thrill! This historical novel had everything I could ever hope for: a few days’ events on the Titanic, the sinking and its utter chaos, the rescue on the Carpathia, the hearings that followed the arrival in New York City, the fashion industry and its fluctuations in 1912, suffragists and women’s rights movements, journalism tactics, the law of the time, British class divisions and America’s lack-thereof, and finally a love triangle.

  Phew.

  What sets The Dressmaker apart from other Titanic literature is Alcott’s focus on the aftermath of the sinking, rather than setting sail and the events on the ship. Roughly twenty pages were spent on the ship, and the following 280 included everything about the rescue, the hearings, and historical context of the changing dynamics in New York City. So many newspaper headlines, so many specific characters, several recognizable events – I was completely fascinated and had to put the book down several times to research the accuracy (rest assured, Alcott’s extremely accurate on the hearings) and information on the characters presented. In fact, in Alcott’s author’s note, she states:

  Much of the testimony in this book is taken directly from the transcripts of the U.S. Senate hearings in the aftermath of the sinking of the Titanic.

  It was from these hearings that ocean-liners are now required to have equipped and experienced crew, a sufficient number of lifeboats, and lifeboat drills before departure.

  The sinking of the Titanic has always been an interest of mine, but I was wholly ignorant of the hearings or even what happened to all the survivors. I know more about the ship itself than the people. This book sheds light to the era, dropping familiar names, places, and events, providing a complete cultural and historical experience.

  For any who may avoid the novel because of the hint of a love triangle, do not worry. That aspect of the story is most certainly not the main point or dominant thread of the novel. Tess is a strong character, a bold woman set to escape the class system and become independent. Imagine all the things she’s exposed to in New York City, a place without classes and full of opportunity. She seizes these moments.

  Rating: ★★★★★

  Goodreads: 3.44 of 5

  EDIT: “The Smithsonian” magazine has a whole article dedicated to the Titanic and its survivors. In this article is a spotlight on twins Michel and Edmond, both of whom are mentioned in this novel as well. I really do mean it when I say Alcott worked hard for historical accuracy!

  Posted in Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: romance, genre: young adult, goodreads, review

• Upcoming Books! [8]

  Posted at 4:03 pm by Laura, on March 11, 2012

  

  Title: The Gods of Gotham
  Author: Lyndsay Faye
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: Penguin
  Publishing Date: March 15
  Summary: 1845. New York City forms its first police force. The great potato famine hits Ireland. These two seemingly disparate events will change New York City. Forever.
  Timothy Wilde tends bar near the Exchange, fantasizing about the day he has enough money to win the girl of his dreams. But when his dreams literally incinerate in a fire devastating downtown Manhattan, he finds himself disfigured, unemployed, and homeless. His older brother obtains Timothy a job in the newly minted NYPD, but he is highly skeptical of this new “police force.” And he is less than thrilled that his new beat is the notoriously down-and-out Sixth Ward-at the border of Five Points, the world’s most notorious slum.
  One night while making his rounds, Wilde literally runs into a little slip of a girl-a girl not more than ten years old-dashing through the dark in her nightshift . . . covered head to toe in blood.
  Timothy knows he should take the girl to the House of Refuge, yet he can’t bring himself to abandon her. Instead, he takes her home, where she spins wild stories, claiming that dozens of bodies are buried in the forest north of 23rd Street. Timothy isn’t sure whether to believe her or not, but, as the truth unfolds, the reluctant copper star finds himself engaged in a battle for justice that nearly costs him his brother, his romantic obsession, and his own life.

  ~

  Title: Some Assembly Required
  Author: Anne Lamott
  Genre: nonfiction
  Publisher: Riverhead Books
  Publishing Date: March 20
  Summary: In Some Assembly Required, Anne Lamott enters a new and unexpected chapter of her own life: grandmotherhood.
  Stunned to learn that her son, Sam, is about to become a father at nineteen, Lamott begins a journal about the first year of her grandson Jax’s life.
  In careful and often hilarious detail, Lamott and Sam-about whom she first wrote so movingly in Operating Instructions-struggle to balance their changing roles with the demands of college and work, as they both forge new relationships with Jax’s mother, who has her own ideas about how to raise a child. Lamott writes about the complex feelings that Jax fosters in her, recalling her own experiences with Sam when she was a single mother. Over the course of the year, the rhythms of life, death, family, and friends unfold in surprising and joyful ways.
  By turns poignant and funny, honest and touching, Some Assembly Required is the true story of how the birth of a baby changes a family-as this book will change everyone who reads it.

  ~

  Title: The Book of Jonas
  Author: Stephen Dau
  Genre: fiction
  Publisher: Blue Rider Press
  Publishing Date: March 15
  Summary: Jonas is fifteen when his family is killed during an errant U.S. military operation in an unnamed Muslim country. With the help of an international relief organization, he is sent to America, where he struggles to assimilate-foster family, school, a first love. Eventually, he tells a court-mandated counselor and therapist about a U.S. soldier, Christopher Henderson, responsible for saving his life on the tragic night in question. Christopher’s mother, Rose, has dedicated her life to finding out what really happened to her son, who disappeared after the raid in which Jonas’ village was destroyed. When Jonas meets Rose, a shocking and painful secret gradually surfaces from the past, and builds to a shattering conclusion that haunts long after the final page. Told in spare, evocative prose, The Book of Jonas is about memory, about the terrible choices made during war, and about what happens when foreign disaster appears at our own doorstep. It is a rare and virtuosic novel from an exciting new writer to watch.

  ~

  Title: The Girl Next Door
  Author: Brad Parks
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
  Publishing Date: March 13
  Summary: Reading his own newspaper’s obituaries, veteran reporter Carter Ross comes across that of a woman named Nancy Marino, who was the victim of a hit-and-run while she was on the job delivering copies of that very paper, the Eagle-Examiner. Struck by the opportunity to write a heroic piece about an everyday woman killed too young, he heads to her wake to gather tributes and anecdotes. It’s the last place Ross expects to find controversy—which is exactly what happens when one of Nancy’s sisters convinces him that the accident might not have been accidental at all.
  It turns out that the kind and generous Nancy may have made a few enemies, starting with her boss at the diner where she was a part-time waitress, and even including the publisher of the Eagle-Examiner. Carter’s investigation of this seemingly simple story soon has him in big trouble with his full-time editor and sometime girlfriend, Tina Thompson, not to mention the rest of his bosses at the paper, but he can’t let it go—the story is just too good, and it keeps getting better. But will his nose for trouble finally take him too far?

  ~

  Feel free to browse various publishers’ websites and the Publisher’s Weekly website for more publications! There are several upcoming books out for the pickings this week!

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: nonfiction, upcoming books

• PW Tip Sheet: This Week in History

  Posted at 11:31 am by Laura, on March 10, 2012

  Publisher’s Weekly – Marc Schultz

  The historical novel is a perennial fixture in the book business, a nimble genre that works its way into all corners of  the storytelling ecosystem: bestseller lists, hot new subgenres, movie adaptations and, of course, the literary canon. Historicals make up more than half of the just-released longlist for the UK’s Orange Prize for woman-penned fiction, and scripted historicals are in full force on TV (Downton Abbey, Mad Men) and at the movies (2011 Best Picture winner The Artist was one of four historicals nominated for the honor—five, if you count Midnight in Paris). This week, they’re also all over the On-Sale Calendar.

  I’m a huge fan of historical novels! There’s something fun and thrilling about taking historical fact, throwing in fictional characters or turn-of-events, and creating a new piece. Sometimes the novels can be silly, and other times there are gems that convince you of plausibility.

  This list contains historical paranormal, historical romance, historical fiction, historical mystery, and even “straight-up” history in the nonfiction list. Michael Morpurgo (author of War Horse) is also mentioned in his latest young reader book about a cat on the Titanic.

  Posted in books, Link | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: children, genre: fiction, genre: history, history, magazine, news

• Book Review: “The Flight of Gemma Hardy” by Margot Livesey

  Posted at 10:06 pm by Laura, on March 6, 2012

  

  The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey

  Fate has not been kind to Gemma Hardy. Orphaned by the age of ten, neglected by a bitter and cruel aunt, sent to a boarding school where she is both servant and student, young Gemma seems destined for a life of hardship and loneliness. Yet her bright spirit burns strong. Fiercely intelligent, singularly determined, Gemma overcomes each challenge and setback, growing stronger and more certain of her path. Now an independent young woman with dreams of the future, she accepts a position as an au pair on the remote and beautiful Orkney Islands.

  But Gemma’s biggest trial is about to begin . . . a journey of passion and betrayal, secrets and lies, redemption and discovery that will lead her to a life she’s never dreamed.

  There will be two parts to this review: 1) a review of this book as a stand-alone novel, and 2) a review as a partner/homage to Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I am extra critical for this, as I had to pay close attention to the book for academic purposes.

  Part One
  I quite enjoyed this historical fiction, coming-of-age, romance novel! Livesey paints a beautiful picture of the Scottish landscape. Scottish and Icelandic histories are scattered throughout, connecting each bit of the story together. I also found Gemma’s fascination with birds to be more than symbolic – they were very educational and meaningful as well. Her rough childhood in the late 1950’s boarding schools, through her years as a nanny in the 60s truly developed into a maturing experience. Gemma is an intelligent, strong-willed, lonely character. She knew many people, and people were friendly to her, but she always felt like an outsider. Some of my favorite parts included Scottish and Icelandic folklore, the blurred boundaries between reality and fantasy.

  My only complaint would be Gemma’s reasons for leaving first Hugh and then Archie. Livesey could have fleshed out the excuses more clearly. I did not get the sense that Gemma felt love for Hugh in the first place – fascination, maybe, but not love – and her reason for leaving him seemed hypocritical, naïve, and silly. She was unwilling to forgive him for a tiny slip-up in his past, which did not make sense to me whatsoever. Archie, however, appeared to actually love her, despite what Gemma thought. She seemed to love him too, or at least more so than Hugh – and her excuse to leave him (he lacked “passion”) also seemed miniscule. In fact, what she did to test him almost seemed risqué, childish, and far too forward. Passion is not the same as lust, and with Livesey’s lack of detail in describing Gemma’s innermost thoughts did not help in distinguishing the two.

  I can overlook this because only at the end does Gemma state plainly and directing that her reasons for fleeing both men were immature. I only wished that Livesey gave more reasonable excuses earlier in the book so that, as a reader, I wouldn’t be left wondering and bothered (in an annoyed way) throughout. This history, the detail, and Gemma’s character growth kept me going – I wanted to see what happened next on her journeys!

  Part Two (***contains spoilers***)
  As far as a homage to Jane Eyre, I could definitely see the similarities. The opening lines, in fact, are nearly the same: referring to not taking a walk that day. The first third of both stories involve a poor childhood in a boarding school, but succeeding in studies despite the hardships. The second portion of both books deal with governess-like positions for a rich, older man in a massive, lonely house; the man has a secret; there’s a family crisis. The third portion of both books show a state of independence, each woman given a new home with two women and a man, and a love ordeal with that man; then later, of course, fleeing back to the older man at the manor. The End.

  So, in short, Gemma Hardy and Jane Eyre contain the same skeleton of a story. Jane Eyre is my favorite novel, so of course I’m going to judge Gemma Hardy a bit harshly simply because so many rave reviews say it’s just like the classic. To which I have to say: no, it’s not.

  Jane is quiet, observant, respectful of herself and others, a moral compass not through religion but by her own actions, a woman desiring independence and seeking equality among friends. She sought family ties, wanted to repay debts, and did not scour for money only to be rich but to live as simply as possible without starvation. She loved Rochester and Rochester loved her – she only fled him because he was asking far too much of her: to become his mistress while his wife was still alive. For Jane, that is a huge moral and personal disrespect. She also had a platonic relationship with St John, and wanted to travel to India as a sister or friend, not as a wife, because in her eyes a wife is someone to love, not someone to only work alongside the husband.

  Gemma is loud, but still observant. She defends herself against attackers but seems to not have any self-respect or hesitation when it comes to new men. She desires independence and friendship as well, but it all seems to be about networking and money. She wanted to know more about her family history, yet somehow it came back to inheritances. Gemma claims to have loved Hugh, but in truth she seemed more infatuated and lustful than in love – there are descriptions of her looking at him, wanting to be kissed by him, doing everything she can to get his attention. She flees Hugh because he switched his WWII draft with a distant cousin, and she can’t marry a “liar.” But then, when she flees, all she does is lie and steal and harm others. Archie loves her, or at least I felt so, but she tested him by unbuttoning her shirt, claiming that if he doesn’t do the same then he has no passion. I would disagree. Archie and Gemma were more equals than Hugh and Gemma.

  I also found difficulties seeing this as a modern gothic novel. Yes, there were muddled family histories, but nothing as shocking as a wife locked in the attic. Yes, there were ghosts, but all of them were friendly. There was a manor, but it was not haunted, nor did it have a spooky past.

  (***no more spoilers***)

  Despite my criticism in Part Two, I stand by what I said in Part One. Gemma Hardy was an enjoyable read, a good adventure, and I liked it very much.

  Rating:

  Goodreads: 3.7 of 5

  Posted in Reviews 2012 | 0 Comments | Tagged book review, books, genre: adult fiction, genre: fiction, genre: gothic, genre: history, genre: romance, goodreads, review

• New books on my shelves!

  Posted at 8:35 pm by Laura, on March 6, 2012

  Apologies for the lack of posts – my birthday was a few days ago and I’ve been busy with family and friends.

  However, it’s certainly been a book-filled birthday! I received these books (and gift cards to purchase some of these books), and I’m really looking forward to reading them!

  

  

  The Flight of Gemma Hardy by Margot Livesey, Passion by Jude Morgan, Faithful Place by Tana French, The Dressmaker by Kate Alcott

  Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl, The Meaning of the Night by Michael Cox, Divergent by Veronica Roth, War Horseby Michael Morpurgo

  Posted in books, Update Post | 2 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: children, genre: classics, genre: dystopian, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: mystery, genre: young adult, goodreads

• Upcoming Books! [7]

  Posted at 8:26 pm by Laura, on March 4, 2012

  

  Title: The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook: Cakes, Pies, Cookies, Bars, and Breads from the Best Little Bakery in the South
  Author: Cheryl and Griffith Day
  Genre: nonfiction, cooking
  Publisher: Artisan
  Publishing Date: March 6
  Summary: Food Network star Paula Deen introduces the couple behind Savannah’s Back in the Day Bakery and their cookbook. Broken down by baked good, including “Cupcakes and Cakes,” “Pies,” “Cobblers, Crisps, and Tarts,” and “Cookies,” chapters feature Southern favorites such as baked eggs with grits and ham, and buttermilk chess pie, along with old-time favorites like lemon meringue pie, and strawberry-rhubarb crisp. The author’s “homespun style” permeates the collection—from font and borders to recipes—including the “Savories” chapter, featuring dishes such as roasted chicken and vegetable cobbler (touted as “A potluck favorite”) and vegetable potpie. Sidebars on topics from clever packaging for baked goods to ingredient information for items such as sorghum, as well as a resource pages, add value to this retro-style book that’s all about comfort food.

  ~

  Title: The White Pearl
  Author: Kate Furnivall
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Berkley Trade
  Publishing Date: March 6
  Summary: “Malaya, 1941.” Connie Thornton plays her role as a dutiful wife and mother without complaint. She is among the fortunate after all-the British rubber plantation owners reaping the benefits of the colonial life. But Connie feels as though she is oppressed, crippled by boredom, sweltering heat, a loveless marriage. . . Then, in December, the Japanese invade. Connie and her family flee, sailing south on their yacht toward Singapore, where the British are certain to stand firm against the Japanese. En route, in the company of friends, they learn that Singapore is already under siege. Tensions mount, tempers flare, and the yacht’s inhabitants are driven by fear. Increasingly desperate and short of food, they are taken over by a pirate craft and its Malayan crew making their perilous way from island to island. When a fighter plane crashes into the sea, they rescue its Japanese pilot. For Connie, that’s when everything changes. In the suffocating confines of the boat with her life upended, Connie discovers a new kind of freedom and a new, dangerous, exhilarating love.

  ~

  Title: The Rescue of Belle and Sundance: One Town’s Incredible Race to Save Two Abandoned Horses
  Author: Birgit Stutz, Lawrence Scanlan
  Genre: nonfiction
  Publisher: Da Capo Press
  Publishing Date: March 6
  Summary: In December 2008, snowmobilers spot two abandoned horses high in the Canadian Rockies. Starving and frostbitten, the horses have trampled the ten-foot-deep snow into a narrow white prison. Those who reach them bring hay but also a gun, in case the horses are too far gone. A glint of life in the horses’ eyes earns them the hay. The harrowing yet inspiring story of their near impossible rescue–involving the volunteer efforts of an entire village, first the excavation of a trench six feet deep and over 3280 feet long, and then a nearly 20 mile descent at negative 40 degrees–is sure to be read in one breathless sitting.

  ~

  Some books to look forward to in the future include:

  • Time magazine writer Lisa Cullen’s debut novel THE PASTORS’ WIVES, following the lives of three women whose lives converge and intertwine at an Atlanta evangelical mega-church, a dramatic portrayal of the private lives of pastors’ wives, caught between the demands of faith, marriage, duty and love, inspired by her magazine reporting
  • Nicholas Mennuti’s debut EXILE, written with SAFE HOUSE screenwriter David Guggenheim (originally announced by publisher as Guggenheim’s book written with Mennuti), a fast-paced, Hitchcock-esque thriller about an American businessman living in exile in Cambodia, who gets mistaken for a mysterious government operative
  • Two-time National Book Award finalist Melissa Fay Greene’s WONDER DOG, based on the NYT Magazine story, about a pioneering service-dog-training school in rural Ohio, the challenged children and families whose lives are transformed by the dogs trained there, and the modern science of human/canine interactions underpinning the joyful and life-saving breakthroughs

  Happy reading!

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: nonfiction, publishing, upcoming books

• Upcoming Books! [6]

  Posted at 3:54 pm by Laura, on February 26, 2012

  Title: Unwanted
  Author: Kristina Ohlsson
  Genre: mystery
  Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  Publishing Date: February 28 (originally 2009, recently translated)
  Summary: In the middle of a rainy Swedish summer, a little girl is abducted from a crowded train. Despite hundreds of potential witnesses, no one noticed when the girl was taken, and, in what seems to be merely a coincidence, her mother has been left behind at the previous station. Inspector Frederika Bergman and her team of federal investigators are called in and assigned to what at first seems to be a classic custody dispute.  But when the child is found dead in the far north of Sweden with the word “unwanted” scribbled on her forehead, the case soon turns into the investigation team’s worst nightmare—the pursuit of a brilliant and ruthless killer.

  ~

  Title: May the Road Rise Up to Meet You
  Author: Peter Troy
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  Publishing Date: February 28
  Summary: Ethan McOwen is an Irish immigrant whose endurance is tested in Brooklyn and the Five Points at the height of its urban destitution; he is among the first to join the famed Irish Brigade and becomes a celebrated war photographer. Marcella, a society girl from Spain, defies her father to become a passionate abolitionist. Mary and Micah are slaves of varying circumstances, who form an instant connection and embark on a tumultuous path to freedom. All four lives unfold in two beautiful love stories, which eventually collide. Written in gorgeous language that subtly captures the diverse backgrounds of the characters, and interspersed with letters, journals, and dreams, this unforgettable story, rendered in cinematic detail, is about having faith in life’s great meaning amidst its various tangles.

  ~

  Finally, a list of books to look forward to in the future:

  • Former Politico writer Karin Tanabe’s THE CAPITOLIST, in which a 20-something journalist leaves a cushy NYC magazine job for DC’s hottest (and most cut-throat) political rag, where she uncovers a juicy scandal involving a senator that could make or break her career
  • CEO of the Special Olympics Tim Shriver’s book about the athletes who “have taught me more about how to live this life than anyone,” presenting “really important lessons for a time and an age when people are really looking and seeking ways to find more fulfillment, more purpose, more peace … in their lives”
  • KILLING LINCOLN authors Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard’s KILLING KENNEDY: The End of Camelot, the second book in O’Reilly’s presidential history series, promising “a dramatic work of history and a dynamic way to relive the presidency of John F. Kennedy’s White House, the horrific assassination and the crucial hours that followed”
  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: history, genre: mystery, upcoming books

• Upcoming Books! [5]

  Posted at 3:00 pm by Laura, on February 19, 2012

  I’m going to play around with a new format this week.

  Title: Pandemonium
  Author: Lauren Oliver
  Genre: young adult – fantasy – dystopia
  Publisher: HarperCollins
  Publishing Date: February 28
  Summary: The old Lena is dead. The old Lena remains with Alex in Portland, Maine, behind a wall of smoke and flame, but the new Lena was born in the Wilds, transformed by hardship, deprivation, and loss.
  Now an active member of the resistance, Lena fights for a world in which love will no longer be considered a dangerous disease. Her inner life is as turbulent as the world around her. . . . Although consumed with grief for Alex, might she be falling in love with someone else?
  The second in Oliver’s “Delirium” trilogy.

  ~

  Title: And Then It’s Spring
  Author: Julie Fogliano
  Genre: children’s
  Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
  Publishing Date: February 14
  Summary: Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they’ve had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way. Julie Fogliano’s tender story of anticipation is brought to life by the distinctive illustrations Erin E. Stead, recipient of the 2011 Caldecott Medal.

  ~

  Title: The Dressmaker
  Author: Kate Alcott
  Genre: historical fiction
  Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
  Publishing Date: February 21
  Summary: Tess, an aspiring seamstress, thinks she’s had an incredibly lucky break when she is hired by famous designer Lady Lucile Duff Gordon to be a personal maid on the Titanic’s doomed voyage. Once on board, Tess catches the eye of two men, one a roughly-hewn but kind sailor and the other an enigmatic Chicago millionaire. But on the fourth night, disaster strikes.
  Amidst the chaos and desperate urging of two very different suitors, Tess is one of the last people allowed on a lifeboat. Tess’s sailor also manages to survive unharmed, witness to Lady Duff Gordon’s questionable actions during the tragedy. Others—including the gallant Midwestern tycoon—are not so lucky.
  On dry land, rumors about the survivors begin to circulate, and Lady Duff Gordon quickly becomes the subject of media scorn and later, the hearings on the Titanic.

  ~

  Title: Londoners: The Days and Nights of London Now – As Told by Those Who Love It, Hate It, Live It, Left It, and Long for It
  Author: Craig Taylor
  Genre: nonfiction
  Publisher: HarperCollins
  Publishing Date: February 21
  Summary: Five years in the making, and published on the eve of the 2012 Olympics, “Londoners” is a fresh and compulsively readable view of one of the world’s most fascinating cities–a vibrant, narrative portrait of contemporary London, featuring unforgettable stories told by the real people who make the city hum.

  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged genre: adult fiction, genre: children, genre: dystopian, genre: fantasy, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: nonfiction, genre: young adult, upcoming books

• Upcoming Books! [2]

  Posted at 2:09 pm by Laura, on January 29, 2012

  Here’s a glimpse from the news this week about upcoming and newly published books!

  The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy was published January 24th, a good historical and contemporary novel interweaving two stories.

  

  Summary: In 1945, Elsie Schmidt is a naive teenager, as eager for her first sip of champagne as she is for her first kiss. She and her family have been protected from the worst of the terror and desperation overtaking her country by a high-ranking Nazi who wishes to marry her. So when an escaped Jewish boy arrives on Elsie’s doorstep in the dead of night on Christmas Eve, Elsie understands that opening the door would put all she loves in danger.
  Sixty years later, in El Paso, Texas, Reba Adams is trying to file a feel-good Christmas piece for the local magazine. Reba is perpetually on the run from memories of a turbulent childhood, but she’s been in El Paso long enough to get a full-time job and a fiancé, Riki Chavez. Riki, an agent with the U.S. Border Patrol, finds comfort in strict rules and regulations, whereas Reba feels that lines are often blurred.
  Reba’s latest assignment has brought her to the shop of an elderly baker across town. The interview should take a few hours at most, but the owner of Elsie’s German Bakery is no easy subject. Reba finds herself returning to the bakery again and again, anxious to find the heart of the story. For Elsie, Reba’s questions are a stinging reminder of darker times: her life in Germany during that last bleak year of WWII. And as Elsie, Reba, and Riki’s lives become more intertwined, all are forced to confront the uncomfortable truths of the past and seek out the courage to forgive.

  ~

  Mr g by Alan Lightman, newly published, a playful story about the Creation – as told by God.

  

  Summary: Barraged by the constant advisements and bickerings of Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, who live with their nephew in the shimmering Void, Mr g proceeds to create time, space, and matter. Then come stars, planets, animate matter, consciousness, and, finally, intelligent beings with moral dilemmas. Mr g is all powerful but not all knowing and does much of his invention by trial and error.
  Even the best-laid plans can go awry, and Mr g discovers that with his creation of space and time come some unforeseen consequences—especially in the form of the mysterious Belhor, a clever and devious rival. An intellectual equal to Mr g, Belhor delights in provoking him: Belhor demands an explanation for the inexplicable, requests that the newly created intelligent creatures not be subject to rational laws, and maintains the necessity of evil. As Mr g watches his favorite universe grow into maturity, he begins to understand how the act of creation can change himself, the Creator.

  ~

  Some debut novels and upcoming plans for future publications include:

  • Tracy Guzeman’s The Gravity of Birds, a novel that begins when a famous artist reveals the existence of a previously unseen painting to an art history professor and an art authenticator, sending them on a search for two reclusive sisters that will reveal a thwarted love affair, breathtaking betrayals, and unexpected connections between them all.
  • Jeniffer Estep’s Elemental Assassin urban fantasy series books 8-10, featuring a killer with elemental magic powers who navigates between justice and murder-for-hire in the underworld.
  • Burt Bacharach’s memoir Anyone Who Had a Heart, covering his professional success and personal difficulties, written with Robert Greenfield.
  Posted in Upcoming Books | 0 Comments | Tagged books, genre: adult fiction, genre: contemporary, genre: fiction, genre: history, genre: nonfiction, upcoming books

• 

• Hello, I’m Laura!

  I'm a bookish bookworm and book hoarder. By day I'm a literary agent, and by night I'm forever rearranging my bookshelves. I could talk your ear off about Gothic literature, and in my past life people thought I'd become a professional musician. I have a fluffy black cat named Rossetti, I love to travel, tea is my drink of choice, British TV is the best, and I'm always down for chips-and-queso nights. Welcome to Scribbles & Wanderlust! Grab your favorite hot beverage and let's chat books!

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