Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading as soon as they're published.. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .  

 

Publication Date:  May 7, 2019

Publisher:  Ecco Press

From Goodreads:  In this stunning debut novel, a young woman tells the story behind two elderly sisters’ estrangement, unraveling family secrets stretching back a century and across the Atlantic to early 20th century Italy.

For Stella Fortuna, death has always been a part of life. Stella’s childhood is full of strange, life-threatening incidents—moments where ordinary situations like cooking eggplant or feeding the pigs inexplicably take lethal turns. Even Stella’s own mother is convinced that her daughter is cursed or haunted.

In her rugged Italian village, Stella is considered an oddity—beautiful and smart, insolent and cold. Stella uses her peculiar toughness to protect her slower, plainer baby sister Tina from life’s harshest realities. But she also provokes the ire of her father Antonio: a man who demands subservience from women and whose greatest gift to his family is his absence.

When the Fortunas emigrate to America on the cusp of World War II, Stella and Tina must come of age side-by-side in a hostile new world with strict expectations for each of them. Soon Stella learns that her survival is worthless without the one thing her family will deny her at any cost: her independence.

In present-day Connecticut, one family member tells this heartrending story, determined to understand the persisting rift between the now-elderly Stella and Tina. A richly told debut, The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna is a tale of family transgressions as ancient and twisted as the olive branch that could heal them.

My thoughts:  Family sagas are one of my favorite types of reads, and this one sounds like a captivating story of family secrets, drama, passion, cultural detail, and multi-generational characters.

This Can't Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated   

Can't Wait Wednesday

  

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Tessa at Wishful Endings which spotlights and discusses forthcoming books that bloggers are looking forward to reading. Generally it's about books that haven't been released yet. This meme is based on Waiting on Wednesday, formerly hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

There are so many exciting new books on the horizon, so without further ado, this week's Can't Wait For book is . . .  

 

Release Date:  January 22, 2019

Publisher:  Hanover Square Press

From Goodreads:  A debut novel about a young artist, a missing woman, and the tendrils of wealth and power that link the art scene in Brooklyn to Manhattan's elite, for fans of Jonathan Lethem and Richard Price

Reddick, a young, white artist, lives in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a historically black Brooklyn neighborhood besieged by gentrification. He makes rent as an art handler, hanging expensive works for Manhattan's one percent, and spends his free time playing basketball at the local Y rather than putting energy into his stagnating career. He is also the last person to see Hannah before she disappears.

When Hannah's fiance, scion to an old-money Upper East Side family, refuses to call the police, Reddick sets out to learn for himself what happened to her. The search gives him a sense of purpose, pulling him through a dramatic cross section of the city he never knew existed. The truth of Hannah's fate is buried at the heart of a many-layered mystery that, in its unraveling, shakes Reddick's convictions and lays bare the complicated machinations of money and power that connect the magisterial town houses of the Upper East Side to the unassuming brownstones of Bed-Stuy.  

Restoration Heights is both a page-turning mystery and an in-depth study of the psychological fallout and deep racial tensions that result from economic inequality and unrestricted urban development. In lyrical, addictive prose, Wil Medearis asks the question: In a city that prides itself on its diversity and inclusivity, who has the final say over the future? Is it long-standing residents, recent transplants or whoever happens to have the most money? Timely, thought-provoking and sweeping in vision, Restoration Heights is an exhilarating new entry in the canon of great Brooklyn novels.

My thoughts:  I'm intrigued by the plot themes--class, race, gentrification, and mystery set against the backdrop of New York City.

This Can't Wait Wednesday post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring an upcoming read,  The Lido by Libby Page.  The excerpts shared are from the hardcover version I borrowed from the library.

 

Beginning:  Chapter 1

Step out of Brixton underground station and it is a carnival of steel drums, the white noise of traffic, and that man on the corner shouting, "God loves you," even to the unlovable.

********************

Page 56:  "Kate knows this is her opportunity to confide in her sister—the hand reaching out to her.  But there is so much to say that somehow there is nothing to say."

********************

My thoughts:  I am really looking forward to beginning this debut novel that is getting quite a bit of buzz.  I love the descriptive opening sentence, which perfectly captures the street scene at a busy train station anywhere in the world.

********************

From Goodreads:  We're never too old to make new friends—or to make a difference.

Rosemary Peterson has lived in Brixton, London, all her life but everything is changing.

The library where she used to work has closed. The family grocery store has become a trendy bar. And now the Lido, an outdoor pool where she's swam daily since its opening, is threatened with closure by a local housing developer. It was at the Lido that Rosemary escaped the devastation of World War II; where she fell in love with her husband, George; where she found community during her marriage and since George’s death.

Twenty-something Kate Matthews has moved to Brixton and feels desperately alone. A once promising writer, she now covers forgettable stories for her local paper. That is, until she’s assigned to write about the Lido’s closing. Soon Kate’s portrait of the pool focuses on a singular woman: Rosemary. And as Rosemary slowly opens up to Kate, both women are nourished and transformed in ways they never thought possible.

In the tradition of Fredrik Backman, The Lido is a charming, feel-good novel that captures the heart and spirit of a community across generations—an irresistible tale of love, loss, aging, and friendship.

********************

This Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings on Fridays post was originally composed and/or compiled and published by Catherine for the blog, bookclublibrarian.com.  It cannot be republished without attribution. Sharing this original post on Twitter, Google+ and/or other blogs with appropriate recognition is appreciated.  

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid, an upcoming read borrowed from the library.

 

 

 

I'm thinking of ending things.

 

Once this thought arrives, it stays.  It sticks.  It lingers.  It dominates.  There's not much I can do about it.  Trust me.  It doesn't go away.  It's there whether I like it or not.  It's there when I eat.  When I go to bed.  It's there when I sleep.  It's there when I wake up.  It's always there.  Always.

 

***************

Page 56:  "I can't say this to Jake and I don't, but maybe it's better to be alone."
 

***************

My thoughts:  I've heard that this debut novel is a compelling and suspenseful read.  The short opening sentences create a level of urgency that have me wanting to drop everything and start reading this book immediately.  In fact, that's my weekend plan.

 

****************

From Goodreads:  You will be scared. But you won’t know why…

 

In this deeply suspenseful and irresistibly unnerving debut novel, a man and his girlfriend are on their way to a secluded farm. When the two take an unexpected detour, she is left stranded in a deserted high school, wondering if there is any escape at all. What follows is a twisted unraveling that will haunt you long after the last page is turned.

In this smart, suspenseful, and intense literary thriller, debut novelist Iain Reid explores the depths of the human psyche, questioning consciousness, free will, the value of relationships, fear, and the limitations of solitude. Reminiscent of Jose Saramago’s early work, Michel Faber’s cult classic Under the Skin, and Lionel Shriver’s We Need to Talk about Kevin, I’m Thinking of Ending Things is an edgy, haunting debut. Tense, gripping, and atmospheric, this novel pulls you in from the very first page…and never lets you go. 

 

 

Which book are you reading now or about to start?

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are appreciated.

 

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #90

It's Friday . . . time to share book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring Bright Lines by Tanwi Nandini Islam.  My copy is an advance uncorrected proof, which was provided by the publisher, Penguin.  

 

 

 

Beginning:  Part I

GIRLS ON THE MOVE

Brooklyn

1

 

Girls, everywhere.  Anwar Saleem stared brazenly at the flock that strode down Atlantic Avenue.  He wondered if they noticed him sucking in his paunch, as he stroked the last ribbon of lavender paint across the awning of his apothecary.

 

 

*********************
Page 56:  "'She had a similar relationship with the book.  She'd kept it until it was several months overdue.  The library fine had gone up to ninety dollars, the maximum amount before they made students buy the book.  She ended up paying twenty-five to keep it."

*********************   

 

My thoughts: Although I'm only a few chapters in, this debut novel is an interesting look into the lives of Bangladeshi families living in Brooklyn, New York.

**********************

 

From Goodreads:  For as long as she can remember, Ella has longed to feel at home. Orphaned as a child after her parents’ murder, and afflicted with hallucinations at dusk, she’s always felt more at ease in nature than with people. She traveled from Bangladesh to Brooklyn to live with the Saleems: her uncle Anwar, aunt Hashi, and their beautiful daughter, Charu, her complete opposite. One summer, when Ella returns home from college, she discovers Charu’s friend Maya—an Islamic cleric’s runaway daughter—asleep in her bedroom. 

As the girls have a summer of clandestine adventure and sexual awakenings, Anwar—owner of a popular botanical apothecary—has his own secrets, threatening his thirty-year marriage. But when tragedy strikes, the Saleems find themselves blamed. To keep his family from unraveling, Anwar takes them on a fated trip to Bangladesh, to reckon with the past, their extended family, and each other.

 

 

Which book are you reading now or about to start?

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #90 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are encouraged and appreciated.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: A Good Family

  

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring A Good Family by Erik Fassnacht, a debut novel that will be released in August.

  

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Publication Date:  August 25, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  Meet the Brunsons of Downers Grove, Illinois. Henry is the once-magical father, whose fear of aging and endangered career lead him to the nightclubs of Chicago's Viagra Triangle. His wife Julie struggles to reclaim her life with a bottle of Zoloft and dreams of her youthful independence. Charlie, the golden-boy son, leaves the lucrative job his father arranged to serve in Afghanistan--and returns angry, damaged and uncertain of his place in the world. And Barkley, the bumbling youngest, is an aspiring writer of geeky science fiction stories now interviewing for his first job at a forbidding Catholic high school.

When Henry's health abruptly declines, he tries to return to the home and the life he had dominated. But his family, once totally dependent on his love, physical strength, and income, no longer needs him. As Julie, Charlie, and Barkley begin to find their ways forward, Henry tries desperately to bring them back together. In the end, each one will arrive at a new understanding of what family can--and cannot--be. Unusually assured and perceptive, combining narrative drive with humor, insight, and powerful family dynamics, A Good Family is a memorable debut by former high school teacher Erik Fassnacht.

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday: A Good Family was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.  (Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are encouraged.)

Waiting on Wednesday: The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley

   

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley, a debut novel by Jeremy Massey.

  

Publisher:  Penguin Publishing Group

Publication Date:  May 12, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  A dark and unexpected novel about a Dublin undertaker who finds himself on the wrong side of the Irish mob.

Paddy Buckley is a grieving widower who has worked for years for Gallagher’s, a long-established—some say the best—funeral home in Dublin. One night driving home after an unexpected encounter with a client, Paddy hits a pedestrian crossing the street. He pulls over and gets out of his car, intending to do the right thing. As he bends over to help the man, he recognizes him. It’s Donal Cullen, brother of one of the most notorious mobsters in Dublin. And he’s dead.

Shocked and scared, Paddy jumps back in his car and drives away before anyone notices what’s happened.

The next morning, the Cullen family calls Gallagher’s to oversee the funeral arrangements. Paddy, to his dismay, is given the task of meeting with the grieving Vincent Cullen, Dublin’s crime boss, and Cullen’s entourage. When events go awry, Paddy is plunged into an unexpected eddy of intrigue, deceit, and treachery.

By turns a thriller, a love story, and a black comedy of ill manners, The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley is a surprising, compulsively readable debut novel.

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Last Four Days of Paddy Buckley was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.  (Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are encouraged.)

Waiting on Wednesday: Letters to the Lost

   

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring Letters to the Lost, a debut novel by Iona Grey.

 

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Publication Date:  May 26, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  An accomplished novel from a talented writer, Letters to the Lost is a stunning, emotional love story. Iona Grey's prose is warm, evocative, and immediately engaging; her characters become so real you can't bear to let them go.

"I promised to love you forever, in a time when I didn't know if I'd live to see the start of another week. Now it looks like forever is finally running out. I never stopped loving you. I tried, for the sake of my own sanity, but I never even got close, and I never stopped hoping either."

 
Late on a frozen February evening, a young woman is running through the streets of London. Having fled from her abusive boyfriend and with nowhere to go, Jess stumbles onto a forgotten lane where a small, clearly unlived-in old house offers her best chance of shelter for the night. The next morning, a mysterious letter arrives and when she can't help but open it, she finds herself drawn inexorably into the story of two lovers from another time.

In London 1942, Stella meets Dan, a US airman, quite by accident, but there is no denying the impossible, unstoppable attraction that draws them together. Dan is a B-17 pilot flying his bomber into Europe from a British airbase; his odds of survival are one in five. In the midst of such uncertainty, the one thing they hold onto is the letters they write to each other. Fate is unkind and they are separated by decades and continents. In the present, Jess becomes determined to find out what happened to them. Her hope -- inspired by a love so powerful it spans a lifetime -- will lead her to find a startling redemption in her own life in this powerfully moving novel.

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday: Letters to the Lost was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.  (Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are encouraged.)

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #75

It's Friday . . . time to share excerpts book excerpts with:

• Book Beginnings on Fridays hosted by Rose City Reader, where bloggers share the first sentence or more of a current read, as well as initial thoughts about the sentence(s), impressions of the book, or anything else that the opening inspires.  
• The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice, where you grab a book and turn to page 56 (or 56% of an ebook), find one or more interesting sentences (no spoilers), and post them.

Today I'm featuring:

 

 

Where the Light Falls 

 

Beginning:  Chapter One   Vassar College, February 1878

"Surely, there is nothing dishonorable about marriage!"  protested Jeanette Palmer.

 

********************* 
Page 56:  "In the soft semidarkness of the cluttered room, lit only by the fire and a small lamp, strong feeling ebbed away."

*********************   

Which book are you reading now or about to start?

Friday Focus: The Friday 56 & Book Beginnings #75 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com. This post cannot be republished without attribution.  Retweeting and sharing on Google+ encouraged and appreciated.   

Waiting on Wednesday: The Book of Speculation

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring a debut novel, The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler.

Publisher:  St. Martin's Press

Publication Date:  June 23, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  "I came across this book at auction as part of a larger lot I purchased on speculation. The damage renders it useless to me, but a name inside it led me to believe it might be of interest to or your family...."

Simon Watson, a young librarian, lives alone in a house that is slowly crumbling toward the Long Island Sound. His parents are long dead.

His mother, a circus mermaid who made her living by holding her breath, drowned in the very water his house overlooks. His younger sister, Enola, ran off to join the circus six years ago.

One June day, an old book arrives on Simon's doorstep. Fragile and water damaged, the book is a log from the owner of a traveling carnival in the 1700s, who reports strange and magical things-including the drowning death of a circus mermaid. Since then, generations of "mermaids" in Simon's family have drowned-always on July 24, which is only weeks away.

As his friend Alice looks on with alarm, Simon becomes increasingly worried about his sister. Could there be a curse on Simon's family? What does it have to do with the book, and can he stop it in time to save Enola?

The Book of Speculation is Erika Swyler's gorgeous and moving debut, a wondrous novel about the power of books, family, and magic.

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Book of Speculation was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.  (Retweeting and sharing on Google+ are encouraged.)

Waiting on Wednesday: The Bookseller

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring The Bookseller, a debut novel from Cynthia Swanson.

  

Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date:  March 3, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  A mesmerizingly powerful debut novel about the ways in which past choices can irrevocably define the present—and the bittersweet confrontation of what might have been

1962: It may be the Swinging Sixties in New York, but in Denver it's different: being a single gal over thirty in this city is almost bohemian. Still, thirty-eight-year-old Kitty Miller has come to terms with her unconventional single life. She was involved, once—with a doctor named Kevin—but when things didn't work out the way she had hoped, she decided to chart her own path. Now she dedicates herself to the bookstore she runs with her best friend, Frieda, returning home each evening to her cozy apartment. Without a husband expecting dinner, she can enjoy last-minute drinks after work with her friends; without children who need to get ready for school, she can stay up all night reading with her beloved cat, Aslan, by her side.

Then the dreams begin.

1963: Katharyn Andersson is married to Lars, the love of her life. They live in a picture-perfect home in a suburban area of Denver, close to their circle of friends. It's the ideal place in which to raise their children. Katharyn's world is exactly what Kitty once believed she wanted . . . but it exists only when she sleeps.

At first, Kitty enjoys her nighttime forays into this alternate world. Even though there is no Frieda, no bookstore, no other familiar face, Kitty becomes increasingly reluctant to open her eyes and abandon Katharyn's alluring life.

But with each visit to her dreamworld, it grows more real. As the lines between the two worlds begin to blur, Kitty faces an uncertain future. What price must she pay to stay? What is the cost of letting go?

 

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday: The Bookseller was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.

Thursday Thoughts: Recent Reads

 

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Today I'm sharing my thoughts on two books I recently read, both suspense novels from very talented authors who seamlessly blend past and present story lines to deliver first-rate reads.  In my opinion, they offer a perfect antidote for the winter blues, and I highly recommend them.
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First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #94

It's Tuesday . . . time for . . .

                                                      

First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros hosted by Diane at Bibliophile by the Sea, where bloggers post the first paragraph(s) of a book they are currently reading or planning to read sometime soon.

Today I'm featuring the opening from a book I borrowed from the library . . .

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh

Reader's Advisory: The opening paragraph of the novel is graphic and gory.

Chapter 1

Lucy

That Cheri Stoddard was found at all was the thing that set people on edge, even more so than the condition of her body.  One Saturday in March, fog crept through the river valley and froze overnight.  The morning sun crackled over a ghostly landscape across the road from my uncle's general store, the burr oaks that leaned out over the banks of the North Fork River crystallized with a thick crust of hoarfrost.  The tree nearest the road was dead, half-hollow, and it leaned farther than the rest, balanced at a precarious angle above the water.  A trio of vultures roosted in the branches, according to Buddy Snell, a photographer for the Ozark County Record.  Buddy snapped pictures of the tree, the stark contrast of black birds on white branches, for lack of anything better to print on the front page of the paper.  It was eerie, he said.  Haunting, almost.  He moved closer, kneeling at the water's edge to get a more interesting angle, and that was when he spied the long brown braid drifting in the shallows, barely visible among the stones.  Then he saw Cheri's head, snagged on a piece of driftwood; her freckled face, abbreviated nose, eyes spaced too wide to be pretty.  Stuffed into the hollow of the tree were the rest of Cheri's pieces, her skin etched with burns and amateur tattoos.  Her flesh was unmarked when she disappeared, and I wondered if those new scars could explain what had happened to her, if they formed a cryptic map of the time she'd spent missing.

What do you think?  Would you continue reading?  

 

What are you reading now or planning to read soon?

 

 

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph #94 was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: One Step Too Far

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring One Step Too Far by Tina Seskis.

 

Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers

Publication Date:  January 27, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  The #1 international bestseller reminiscent of After I’m Gone, Sister, Before I Go to Sleep, and The Silent Wife—an intricately plotted, thoroughly addictive thriller that introduces a major new voice in suspense fiction—a mesmerizing and powerful novel that will keep you guessing to the very end.

No one has ever guessed Emily’s secret.

Will you?

A happy marriage. A beautiful family. A lovely home. So what makes Emily Coleman get up one morning and walk right out of her life—to start again as someone new?

Now, Emily has become Cat, working at a hip advertising agency in London and living on the edge with her inseparable new friend, Angel. Cat’s buried any trace of her old self so well, no one knows how to find her. But she can't bury the past—or her own memories.

And soon, she’ll have to face the truth of what she's done—a shocking revelation that may push her one step too far. . . 

 

 

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday: One Step Too Far was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Lillian on Life

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring Lillian on Life by Alison Jean Lester.

  

Publisher:  Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam

Publication Date:  January 13, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  Smart, poignant, funny, and totally original, Lillian on Life is as fresh and surprising as fiction gets.

This is the story of Lillian, a single woman reflecting on her choices and imagining her future.  Born in the Midwest in the 1930s; Lillian lives, loves, and works in Europe in the fifties and early sixties; she settles in New York and pursues the great love of her life in the sixties and seventies. Now it’s the early nineties, and she’s taking stock. Throughout her life, walking the unpaved road between traditional and modern choices for women, Lillian grapples with parental disappointment and societal expectations, wins and loses in love, and develops her own brand of wisdom. 
 

Lillian on Life lifts the skin off the beautiful, stylish product of an era to reveal the confused, hot-blooded woman underneath.

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday: Lillian on Life was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.

 

Waiting on Wednesday: The Magician's Lie

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature of the Breaking the Spine blog.  It's a great way to share information about forthcoming books with other readers.  Today I'm featuring The Magician's Lie by Greer Macallister.

  

Publisher: Sourcebooks, Incorporated

Publication Date: January 13, 2015

From barnesandnoble.com:  Water for Elephants meets The Night Circus in The Magician's Lie, a debut novel in which the country's most notorious female illusionist stands accused of her husband's murder —and she has only one night to convince a small-town policeman of her innocence.

The Amazing Arden is the most famous female illusionist of her day, renowned for her notorious trick of sawing a man in half on stage. One night in Waterloo, Iowa, with young policeman Virgil Holt watching from the audience, she swaps her trademark saw for a fire ax. Is it a new version of the illusion, or an all-too-real murder? When Arden's husband is found lifeless beneath the stage later that night, the answer seems clear.

But when Virgil happens upon the fleeing magician and takes her into custody, she has a very different story to tell. Even handcuffed and alone, Arden is far from powerless-and what she reveals is as unbelievable as it is spellbinding. Over the course of one eerie night, Virgil must decide whether to turn Arden in or set her free... and it will take all he has to see through the smoke and mirrors.

Which book are you waiting for?

...Will you add this one to your list of must-reads?

Waiting on Wednesday:The Magician's Lie was originally published by Catherine for bookclublibrarian.com.  This post cannot be republished without attribution.