Dear Fellow Reader,
I am trying to whittle down my TBR (to be read) pile. I had set a goal that I would finish the books that have accumulated by the end of the year. I am getting concerned that I will not quite make that goal. I keep reading other books. I do belong to three book groups (2 monthly and 1 meets every other month) so there is that reading plus I occasionally asked to review books.
And then there is the other problem. I read about books. And then I want to read them. When I do that, it means that there is a book from the TBR pile that is not being read. Oh well. I don’t think I am going to stop reading about books very soon so I will just have to find some balance.
I read about The Last Book Party by Karen Dukess on the website of my local bookseller. I read the description and was interested to read the book. Eve Rosen is 25, lives and works in New York City for a publishing company. She took that job thinking that it would help to fire up her writing, but it hasn’t. Through her work, she corresponds regularly with Henry Grey, a famed writer for the New Yorker magazine. While visiting her parent’s summer home, she is invited to Henry Grey’s home. Here she meets the people she feels she belongs with – the creative elite of Truro. She not only meets Henry Grey and his wife, the poetess, Tillie Sanderson but his son, the beautiful Franny. Franny pays attention to her and she feels she has a connection into the family.
When she returns to New York and work, her boss, Malcolm, introduces her to the author he feels will be The Next Big Thing. Malcolm has been raving about the book. She is surprised when she meets Jeremy Grand that he is close to her age and he tells her that he knows that she knows Franny. She is not particularly impressed with Jeremy and then he tells her that Franny is in Maine with his girlfriend. She decides after hearing about how terrific his book is that she needs to read it. Much to her surprise, she loves the book. Then her boss tells her that he is promoting one of her co-workers but not promoting her. She decides that it is time to move on. But where to go?
When she met Henry Grey, he had offered her the position of his assistant. She decides to accept the position and moves to her parent’s home so she can work at Henry Grey’s home.
The book begins in June of 1987 and covers the months of June through September of 1987 and then September of 1988. Eva finds in those four months of 1987 that she has a lot to learn about life and finding her vocation.
I liked the book. I read it quickly and was absorbed into Eva’s life and thoughts.
And just a note – If you want to read about books, I suggest that you join the email list for Boswell Books. They have several emails each week. On Sunday, they list their best sellers for the week. On other days, there may be an email about upcoming author visits (with a description of the author’s work) or book reviews. www.boswellbooks.com
Thanks for reading!
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For that reason, I picked up the book Next Year Havana by Chanel Cleeton. The story is told from two perspectives. Elisa grew up in Havana as the daughter of “the sugar king”. Her family is in the upper reaches of society in Cuba. She and her sisters attend balls and have clothes from all the best stores. In the other part of the story, we follow Marisol who goes to visit Cuba in 2017 to scatter her grandmother’s ashes. Marisol has grown up in Miami but feels she is as Cuban as she is American. While she is told to be careful in Cuba she had no idea of the type of life she will find there. While being drawn to the natural beauty, she underestimated the political climate.
The McAvoy Sisters Book of Secrets by Molly Fader examines the relationship between two sisters. These sisters chose very different paths and have not been close. Lindy comes home after 17 years to find that in some ways time has stood still and not necessary in a good way. She finds that her mother is not doing well and that her sister, Delia, needs help that she doesn’t want from Lindy.
The Unhoneymooners is a good beach read. It has all the elements that make it a good beach read. The main character is a bit unsure of herself, she must face conflicts and has a man in her life that drives her crazy and makes her feel terrible about herself.
Carol Early Cooney 