Lose Yourself in the World of Books
A Ghost Ship, a Killer, and the Birth of a Gangster Nation It's another Nonfiction Book Club selection! This was one that I put forth to the group for voting and it was definitely a compelling read. Synopsis From the publisher marketing:Handsome and charismatic, Albert Hicks had long been known in the dive bars and… Continue reading The Last Pirate of New York by Rich Cohen
A German Reckons with History and HomeFirst published in German as Heimat: Ein Deutsches Familienalbum I've had the advance reader copy of this book for longer than I'd like to admit, and just recently got around to reading it. As a second generation German-American whose grandmother lived in Germany during WWII, I related to the… Continue reading Belonging by Nora Krug
The Rediscovered Memoir of One Woman's Harrowing Escape from the NazisPublished originally as No Place to Lay One's Head This is another Nonfiction Book Club selection! As a club that reads exclusively nonfiction, eventually we were going to make our way to WWII, either by reading a memoir or history book. We decided to go… Continue reading A Bookshop in Berlin by Francoise Frenkel
Lost Queen #1 I'm reading fiction again! Oh my gosh, it's a shocker! First time in 2 years!!! Well, other than Dear Mrs. Bird, but that doesn't entirely count... Synopsis From Advanced Reader Copy:Already being compared to Outlander, Camelot, and The Mists of Avalon, this spellbinding debut introduces Languoreth - a forgotten queen of sixth-century… Continue reading The Lost Queen by Signe Pike
A Sortabiography Given that we recently traveled to Doune Castle, the filming location for Monty Python and the Holy Grail, I wanted a bit more background on one of my favorite comedy troupes, the infamous Pythons. Also, please ignore the badly photoshopped photo, I have a bone to pick with Michael Palin's bookstore, Aberfeldy's Watermill Bookshop… Continue reading Always Look on the Bright Side of Life by Eric Idle
The Life and Death of War Correspondent Marie Colvin I first came across In Extremis when going through front list (new release) publisher orders and, thanked my lucky stars I have such a good relationship with the rep because when I begged her to send me an advance copy, she happily obliged. And I think it is… Continue reading In Extremis by Lindsey Hilsum
I've started reading again! In an effort to ingratiate myself with our publisher reps at the bookstore, I've decided to read an advanced reader copy a month BEFORE the book comes out AND write an "Indie Next" pick for it - this is the first! Downside, I read it back in July so my memory… Continue reading The Kennedy Debutante by Kerri Maher
A Discovery of Witches, Shadow of Night, The Book of Life Back in January 2013 I was trying to find a new favorite book (which never works, you can’t force it) and I had been eyeing A Discovery of Witches for a while and decided to take a chance on it. I read the first… Continue reading All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness
For Darkness Shows the Stars & Across a Star-Swept Sea Diana Peterfreund is one of my most favorite authors. I first discovered her works when I was getting ready to head off to college in 2007 and I stumbled upon the Secret Society Girl series. It is one of the few series that actually covers college age… Continue reading Reduction Duology by Diana Peterfreund
One of my grandmothers grew up in Germany in the 1930s and 1940s, specifically in Nürnberg and the surrounding countryside. She doesn't talk about it. As such, I have spent my entire life fascinated by the stories of German children between 1933 and 1945. I don't remember the first book I read that fit the… Continue reading Four Perfect Pebbles by Lila Perl & Marion Blumenthal Lazan
Celebration of Books 