December book pick

 When I was a high schooler, I did enjoy the required reading of The Scarlett Letter.  I have probably read it 10 or 15 times over the last 35 years.  This book attracted me because of the cover, and then I found out it was about the inspiration behind the telling of The Scarlett Letter.   

 Isobel married for what she thought was love, to a man she thought she would love forever.  He was going to provide everything she needed and he dabbled in medicine.  Isobel was a brilliant seamstress, almost witch-like with the needle she was which was fitting as she was descended from witches.  

I won't tell you how she and her husband arrived in Salem, but they did.  They lived in a little cottage in a town that once murdered "witches". Here is where Isobel meets Nathaniel Hawthorne and the sparks fly, the townspeople mention witchcraft and a book is born.  

That's it, I will tell you no more.....just read this, it is a scandalous tale in so many ways, and beautifully written.  The cover is equally attractive....look at this gorgeous thing!! 

March book pick

 I have been waiting to share this book with you for a little while now.  I can finally say that you will be able to read this on March 8!! Woo hoo!!  I admit I have never read "Little Women", but supposedly this book is a retelling of that book by Louisa May Alcott in a more modern sense.  All the events take place during World War II and each one of the sisters does something to assist in the war effort.  Some girls will be on the front line, while others are holding down the fort. There is romance, grief, and a little plot twist.  

I am excited to hear your take on this and see how it compares to the real "Little Women", please drop me a line and let me know.  

Don't you just love the cover?  Enjoy!!!!

Review: A Farewell to Arms

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

Review: The Hemingway Stories: As featured in the film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on PBS

The Hemingway Stories: As featured in the film by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick on PBS by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

Review: The Great Gatsby: The Graphic Novel

The Great Gatsby: The Graphic Novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



View all my reviews

Review: Gatsby's Girl

Gatsby's Girl by Caroline Preston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to read this Caroline Preston because I have really enjoyed two of her other books lately. This one didn't have the ephemera that the first did, it was all story. Ginerva is a wealthy debutante kind of girl, whose parents are borderline snobbish. She is a little rebellion and gets in trouble with a boy, to make her more responsible her parents will ship her off to boarding school. Ginerva falls into her old ways of being a rebel rather quickly as this all-girl school. She will attend a party in St. Paul that will introduce her to a man that she will care about for the rest of her days, a budding would-be writer by the name of Scott Fitzgerald. Scott would display his affection for the drink from the first scene we have with him. He will also show us his wit and charm and we can just envision those good looks and flowery prose that he is known for. Scott is NOT the kind of man Ginerva's parents want her to wed or even hang around for that matter. We all know that Scott gets dumped in some way because we know he will be wed to Zelda until the end of his days, you just have to read the book to see why he and Ginerva were not together. Don't forget to remember that this is a fictionalized book based on real-life people.

I have read many books on the life of F Scott Fitzgerald and this is the first time I thought, I wonder if his life could have been different if he traveled a different path? Then I question, would he have been such a brilliant writer without the struggles and trials he faced?

View all my reviews