The Personal Librarian
The Personal Librarian tells the story of Belle de Costa Greene, a black woman who became the personal librarian to the famed banker J. P. Morgan by passing as white. While the book is historical fiction, Belle de Costa Greene was a real person who managed to achieve a status in society that was noteworthy, …
The Song of Achilles
It seems like everyone has been reading The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller lately, and I’ve been trying to make time for it ever since I read and absolutely loved Circe. The Song of Achilles is an engaging story about the Trojan War, a retelling of sorts of The Iliad. I didn’t love it …
The Rose Code
The Rose Code by Kate Quinn was a must-read for me. I’m picky when it comes to WWII novels (there’s so many of them!), but I felt sure Quinn could find a way to tell a story about it that was worth reading. The code-cracking intrigues at Bletchley Park are one aspect of that time …
25 Best Novels Set During the Great Depression
After reading Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds and Jojo Moyes’s The Giver of Stars, it got me thinking about other novels set during the Great Depression. Despite their often dire and difficult settings, these books are often portraits in survival or courage, though often tinged with man’s failings and disappointments as well. General Adult Novels …
The Lost Apothecary
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner drew me in with its gorgeous cover and tantalizing premise. I normally do quite a bit of research on books — reading reviews, trying to get a sense of the plot, etc. — before mentally committing to reading something. But with The Lost Apothecary, I decided to take a …