Waiting on Wednesday: Finding Margaret Fuller

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released novel I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: Finding Margaret Fuller by Allison Pataki

Due out: March 19, 2024

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

An epic imagining of the life of Margaret Fuller—America’s forgotten leading lady and the central figure of a movement that defined a nation—from the New York Times bestselling author of The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post

Young, brazen, beautiful, and unapologetically brilliant, Margaret Fuller accepts an invitation from Ralph Waldo Emerson, the celebrated Sage of Concord, to meet his coterie of enlightened friends. There she becomes “the radiant genius and fiery heart” of the Transcendentalists, a role model to a young Louisa May Alcott, an inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Hester Prynne and the scandalous Scarlet Letter, a friend to Henry David Thoreau as he ventures out to Walden Pond . . . and a muse to Emerson. But Margaret craves more than poetry and interpersonal drama, and her restless soul needs new challenges and adventures.

And so she charts a singular course against a backdrop of dizzying historical drama: From Boston, where she hosts a salon for students like Elizabeth Cady Stanton; to the editorial meetings of The Dial magazine, where she hones her pen as its co-founder; to Harvard’s library, where she is the first woman permitted entry; to the gritty New York streets where she spars with Edgar Allan Poe and reports on Frederick Douglass. Margaret defies conventions time and again as an activist for women and an advocate for humanity, earning admirers and critics alike.

When the legendary editor Horace Greeley offers her an assignment in Europe, Margaret again makes history as the first female foreign news correspondent, mingling with luminaries like Frédéric Chopin, William Wordsworth, George Sand and more. But it is in Rome that she finds a world of passion, romance, and revolution, taking a Roman count as a lover—and sparking an international scandal. Evolving yet again into the roles of mother and countess, Margaret enters the fight for Italy’s unification.

With a star-studded cast and sweeping, epic historical events, this is a story of an inspiring trailblazer, a woman who loved big and lived even bigger—a fierce adventurer who transcended the rigid roles ascribed to women and changed history, all on her own terms.

Monday Mini-Reviews: Five Star Read: Weyward

 

I have been in various book clubs over the years, and even lead several book clubs at school, and yet I am not always a very good book club member.  The one thing that I do appreciate about book club, though, is that it makes me get out of my comfort zone from time to time.

I've been seeing Weyward all over instagram, but the cover doesn't really do much for me and when I was told it was about witches I had no real interest in reading it.

But, it was our latest book club selection and whoever told me it was about witches, is really stretching things.  This is a fantastic story about three different women in one family.  They do have some sort of "power" but this reads more like realistic fiction with a touch of magical realism thrown in.  

In 2019 Kate flees London to get away from an abusive husband.  She takes refuge in her great aunt Violet's house that was left to her when Violet died.  Kate begins to explore the cottage and tries to understand the secret her great aunt was keeping.

In 1619 Altha is waiting to stand trial for the death of a local farmer who died after being stampeded by his cows.  Altha and her mother used herbs and plants for helping people and she is suspected of witchcraft.

And in 1942 Violet is living with her father and brother in the family estate.  Trapped by her controlling father, Violet wonders what happened to her mother who died when she was young. Her only clue is the word "weyward" scratched into the baseboard of her bedroom.

These three stories intersect seamlessly.  Sometimes in books with multiple narrators there is one story that I don't like quite as much, but in this book, I enjoyed all three stories and was anxious to pick up where each chapter left off. 

I am looking forward to book club this next month so I can talk about it with some other people.

Friday Five: January is Never Ending

 It's warmed up a little bit and I've found a pair of sandals to include this week so things are looking up here. I doubt that winter is over, but it certainly does make it seem like spring is right around the corner.  

Here are the things that caught my eye this week:

1.  Floral Puff Sleeve Sweater T

2.  2000s Utility Pants

3.  Ultra Plush Sherpa Fleece Shawl Zip Pullover Plaid

4.  Go-To City Hiker Boot

5.  Merino Heartfelt Hoodie

6.  Archive Summit Sweatshirt

7.  Cable Half-Zip Sweater Dress

8.  La'i T Bar Sandals

9.  V-Neck Cardigan Argyle

10.  The Expats

That's it for me this week.  What's caught your eye?

Children's Literature: Picture Book Favorites - January 2024

 

I still love getting a new batch of picture books to delight in.  I spent some time looking at the "best of 2023" lists on various sites and placed an order for a few of them.  There are always a few that I look at and wonder why they were chosen.  And then there are books like these four that are so amazing that I want to take them to each classroom and read them to students immediately.

Do You Know Them? Families Lost and Found After the Civil War by Shana Keller, illustrated by Laura Freeman- Lettie was sold before slavery was abolished and wants to find her family. This picture book shows how many black people tried to find their families by placing ads in newspapers- something they had to scrimp and save for.

Small Shoes, Great Strides: How Three Brave Girls Opened Doors to School Equality by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson, illustrated by Alex Bostic - students know about Ruby Bridges, but most don't seem to know about the other children who helped desegregate schools.  This picture book is an excellent addition to learning about black history - and realizing that there were many people who helped fight for equality.

What Rosa Brought by Jacob Sager Weinstein, illustrated by Eliza Wheeler - this is a beautiful and heartbreaking picture book.  Rosa and her family are Jewish and their lives change when the Nazis come.  Through resourcefulness they work to leave their country behind, saying goodbye to people and places they love.

The Bees of Notre Dame by Meghan Browne and E.B. Goodale - a few years ago there was a fire in Notre Dame, but until now I have not seen anything written about it for kids.  The story is focused on the bees that lived in this cathedral, but I think the end notes make this story.  Lots of great information about Notre Dame is shared along with a few photos.  

Waiting on Wednesday: The Underground Library

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released title I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: The Underground Library by Jennifer Ryan

Due out: March 12, 2024

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

When the Blitz imperils the heart of a London neighborhood, three young women must use their fighting spirit to save the community’s beloved library in this heartwarming novel based on true events from the author of The Chilbury Ladies' Choir

When new deputy librarian, Juliet Lansdown, finds that Bethnal Green Library isn't the bustling hub she's expecting, she becomes determined to breathe life back into it. But can she show the men in charge that a woman is up to the task of running it, especially when a confrontation with her past threatens to derail her?

Katie Upwood is thrilled to be working at the library, although she's only there until she heads off to university in the fall. But after the death of her beau on the front line and amid tumultuous family strife, she finds herself harboring a life-changing secret with no one to turn to for help.

Sofie Baumann, a young Jewish refugee, came to London on a domestic service visa only to find herself working as a maid for a man who treats her abominably. She escapes to the library every chance she can, finding friendship in the literary community and aid in finding her sister, who is still trying to flee occupied Europe.

When a slew of bombs destroy the library, Juliet relocates the stacks to the local Underground station where the city's residents shelter nightly, determined to lend out stories that will keep spirits up. But tragedy after tragedy threatens to unmoor the women and sever the ties of their community. Will Juliet, Kate, and Sofie be able to overcome their own troubles to save the library? Or will the beating heart of their neighborhood be lost forever?

Non-Fiction Tuesday: Looking Ahead: Rulebreaker

Last year I tried to read more nonfiction.  I have so many titles on my TBR and so many topics that I would love to learn about.  And every year I continue to find more things I want to read about.  

 

This month I'm looking forward to Rulebreaker: The Life and Times of Barbara Walter by Susan Page

Publishing on April 23, 2024

Synopsis taken from Goodreads:

The definitive biography of the most successful female broadcaster of all time—Barbara Walters—a woman whose personal demons fueled an ambition that broke all the rules and finally gave women a permanent place on the air, written by bestselling author Susan Page.

Barbara Walters was a force from the time TV was exploding on the American scene in the 1960s to its waning dominance in a new world of competition from streaming services and social media half a century later. She was not just a groundbreaker for women (Oprah announced when she was seventeen that she wanted to be Barbara Walters), but also expanded the big TV interview and then dominated the genre. By the end of her career, she had interviewed more of the famous and infamous, from presidents to movie stars to criminals to despots, than any other journalist in history. Then at sixty-seven, past the age many female broadcasters found themselves involuntarily retired, she pioneered a new form of talk TV called The View. She is on the short list of those who have left the biggest imprints on television news and on our culture, male or female. So, who was the woman behind the legacy?

In The Rulebreaker , Susan Page conducts 150 interviews and extensive archival research to discover that Walters was driven to keep herself and her family afloat after her mercurial and famous impresario father attempted suicide. But she never lost the fear of an impending catastrophe, which is what led her to ask for things no woman had ever asked for before, to ignore the rules of misogynistic culture, to outcompete her most ferocious competitors, and to protect her complicated marriages and love life from scrutiny.

Page breaks news on every front—from the daring things Walters did to become the woman who reinvented the TV interview to the secrets she kept until her death. This is the eye-opening account of the woman who knew she had to break all the rules so she could break all the rules about what viewers deserved to know.

Five Star Read: Mercury

In 2023 I heard from several bookish podcasters that they felt the number of amazing books being published was underwhelming.  I personally never felt like the selection was lacking.  I couldn't keep up with my TBR piles - and they continued to grow throughout the year.

2024 is starting off strong for me as well.

 

Mercury by Amy Jo Burns is my first five star read of 2024, but I have already read a couple of others.  Burns' sophomore novel is even better (in my opinion) than her fantastic first novel, Shiner.

Marley West and her mother arrive in Mercury, Pennsylvania in 1990. Marley's a teenager and Mercury is a blue-collar town that doesn't have new people move in all that often.  Soon, Marley meets the Joseph family - three brothers whose parents own a roofing business.  Marley is taken in by the family and begins eating meals with them.  She watches as their mother disappears and the roofing business nearly fails because of their father's poor management and oversized ego.  And Marley makes herself indispensable, while still trying to retain her own identity.

The story begins with the discovery of a dead body, but although there is some suspense as things unfold, this book is character driven and I loved how Burns developed all of the people that make up this story. 

I am already fairly confident this book will still be one of my favorites of 2024 even though we have eleven more months until it's time to narrow things down.  

Friday Five: Deep Freeze

 Right about now I am tired of driving on snowy roads and shoveling snow.  I am ready for spring.  Unfortunately we are still months away from that. One of the first signs of spring is seeing new clothing for warm weather as I shop online.  It doesn't appear that there is much out there right now, but I am guessing that will change quickly. 

Here are things that caught my eye this week:

1.  Ultra Plush Sherpa Fleece Shawl Zip Pullover

2.  Loose Khaki Cargo Pants

3.  We The Free Flower Patch Top

4.  Half Zip Sweater Dress - Pine Fair Isle

5.  Snow Day Plaid Button Down

6.  Portland High Neck Midlayer

7.  Reebok Club C Revenge Vintage Sneakers

8.  Grey Plain Long Sleeve Lounge Set

9.  We The Free Pretty Little Thermal

10.  Myla Zip Through Jacket

That's it for me this week. What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Guncle Abroad

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released novel that I can't wait to read.

 

This week's pick: The Guncle Abroad by Steven Rowley

Due out: May 21, 2024

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Celebrants comes the much-anticipated sequel to the Thurber Prize-Winning novel The Guncle, in which Patrick O’Hara is called back to his guncle duties… this time for a big family wedding in Italy.

Patrick O'Hara is back.

It's been five years since his summer as his niece Maisie and nephew Grant’s caretaker after their mother’s passing. The kids are back in Connecticut with their dad, and Patrick has relocated to New York to remain close by, and relaunch his dormant acting career. After the run of his second successful sit-com comes to a close, Patrick feels on top of the world... professionally. Some things have had to take a back seat. Looking down both barrels at fifty, Patrick is single again after breaking things off with Emory. But at least he has a family to lean on. Until that family needs to again lean on him.

When his brother Greg announces he's getting remarried in Italy, Maisie and Grant are not thrilled. Patrick feels drawn to take Maisie and Grant back under his wing. As they travel through Europe on their way to the wedding, Patrick tries his best to help them understand love, much as he once helped them comprehend grief. But when they arrive in Italy, Patrick is overextended managing a groom with cold feet, his sister Clara who seems to be flirting with guests left and right, a growing rivalry with the kids' alluring soon to be launt (lesbian aunt), and two anxious kids trying desperately to adjust to a new normal all culminating in a disastrous rehearsal dinner.

Can Patrick save the day? Will teaching the kids about love help him repair his own love life? Can this change of scenery help Patrick come to terms with finally growing up?

Gracing the page with his signature blend of humor and heart, Steven Rowley delivers the long-awaited sequel to a beloved story, all about the complicated bonds of family, love, and what it takes to rediscover yourself, even at the ripe age of fifty.

Friday Five: Snowed In

The weather outside is frightful.  I'm not finding the snow so delightful at this point.  Right now I'm in the middle of a four day weekend: snow day and weekend combined with the MLK, Jr. holiday.  Since we have been snowed in I have been able to do a lot of reading.  However, I have not done much else.  I'm trying (as I usually do) to spend very little money since we just celebrated Christmas. I'm still enjoying looking and am hopeful that soon we will be seeing spring clothing, even though the weather is finally acting like winter here.  Here's what has caught my eye this week:

 

1.  Letluv Sonny and Cher Graphic T

2.  Goldenstar Clog

3.  Love Lasts Sweater

4.  Rhinestone Trim Denim Trucker Jacket

5.  Plaid Layered Mixed Media Cable Sweater

6.  Petite Palmer Wide Leg Pants in Twill

7.  Sadie Chunky Chelsea Boots

8.  Women's Signature Classic Fisherman's Sweater, Colorblock

9.  NPR's Book of the Day podcast - as if I need another book podcast to listen to.  I don't always listen to every episode, but I do listen to a lot of them.

10.  The Holdovers - this isn't exactly a Christmas movie, but to me it is the movie equivalent of the book Flight by Jill Steger Strong is not really a Christmas book.

That's it for me this week.  What's caught your eye?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Nature of Disappearing

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature where I highlight a soon to be released book I can't wait to read.

This week's pick: The Nature of Disappearing by Kimi Cunningham Grant

By: June 18, 2024

Synopsis taken from Amazon:

In this captivating novel of suspense, a wilderness guide must team up with the man who ruined her life years ago when the friend who introduced them goes missing.

Emlyn doesn’t let herself think about the past.

How she and her best friend, Janessa, barely speak anymore. How Tyler, the man she thought was the love of her life, left her freezing and half-dead on the side of the road three years ago.

Her new life is simple and safe. She works as a fishing and hunting guide, spending her days in Idaho’s endless woods and scenic rivers. She lives alone in her Airstream trailer, her closest friends a handsome and kind Forest Service ranger and the community’s makeshift reverend, who took her in at her lowest.

But when Tyler shows up with the news that Janessa is missing, Emlyn is propelled back into the world she worked so hard to forget. Janessa, it turns out, has become a social media star, documenting her #vanlife adventures with her rugged survivalist boyfriend. But she hasn’t posted lately, and when she does, it’s from a completely different location than where her caption claims to be. In spite of their fractured history, Emlyn knows she might be the only one with the knowledge and tracking skills to save her friend, so she reluctantly teams up with Tyler. As the two trace Janessa’s path through miles of wild country, Emlyn can’t deny there’s still chemistry crackling between them. But the deeper they press into the wilderness, the more she begins to suspect that a darker truth lies in the woods―and that Janessa isn’t the only one in danger.

Poignant, suspenseful, and unforgettable, THE NATURE OF DISAPPEARING explores what it takes to start over―and the cost of letting the past pull you back in.

Monday Mini-Review: A Pair of Mysteries

 2024 reading is starting out with some great reads.  I've already enjoyed two excellent mysteries and a few other titles I'll share later. 

First Lie Wins is Ashley Elston's first adult novel (she has six young adult novel to her name), and she has knocked it out of the ball park.  I've seen this one everywhere on Instagram and sometimes shy away from all the buzzy books, but I'm so glad I decided to pick it up.

This is a fast read, and you may want to make sure you have a few hours free because once you pick it up, it will be impossible to put down.

Evie Porter receives her identity and assignment from a mysterious boss, Mr. Smith.  Her last job was a failure and Mr Smith gives her another assignment - one she cannot fail.  But there are so many twists and turns and lies that it is impossible to guess how this one may end.

I often feel like the thrillers I read are entertaining in the moment, but the details are lost quickly.  This may very well be the case with this one, but in a market saturated with this type of novel, I feel like the story is unique enough that in a few months I will still be able to recall the storyline.

The second mystery novel I've enjoyed this year is no less notable than First Lie Wins, although the two are very different.  The Mystery Guest reads like a oozy mystery and is Nita Prose's sequel to her first novel The Maid.

In this installment we are treated to another story involving Molly the maid.  Molly is still as quirky and interesting as she was in the first book, which is just as I was hoping.  And once again there has been a death in the hotel - a famous author has died.  

Molly notices things that most other people discount or don't even recognize may be important.  And it is her attention to detail that help the police find the killer.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable book and I hope that we keep getting to know Molly better and this is part of what will be a series.

How is your 2024 reading shaping up?

Friday Five: The First One of 2024

2024 is off to a great start.  I've read some fantastic books. I've had a good week back at school and my left eye (which decided to have a hemorrhage in it last week resulting in a vitreous detachment) is getting better slowly.   I'm not spending any money for a while...Christmas is an expensive time of year and at this point I don't need a single thing.

Here are some things I found to share this week, even though I'm not planning on buying them.

1.  High Rise Pull-on Cargo Jeans with Washwell

2.  Cozy Pullover Sweater

3.  Denim Dolan Sneaker

4.  Vintage Barbie Pajama Set

5.  Women's Recycled Fleece Wide Legged Sweatpants

6.  Chunky Funnel Neck Pullover

7.  Chunky Sweater

8.  Basilica Plaid Coat

9.  Vintage Yuletide Cardigan

10.  Is it too late to still post a photo of the Wales' from this past Christmas? I love when pictures are posted of this family.

That's it for me this week.  What's caught your eye?