Posts

In The Unhoneymooners, perpetually unlucky Olive Torres somehow manages to be one of the only two people at her twin sister Ami’s wedding who does not come down with violent food poisoning, the other being Ethan Thomas, brother of the groom and Olive’s personal nemesis. The honeymoon—an all-expenses-paid trip to Hawaii that Ami won in a contest—can’t be rescheduled, so the newlyweds urge Olive and Ethan to go in their place.

How does one achieve great success? Is it genius, talent or luck? Author Angela Duckworth contends that the magic, many times, is in grit.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is written in letter form, which, admittedly, was a little confusing at first, but once I had a firm grasp of the main characters, I was hooked. The story takes place right after World War II. The letters span from January to September 1946. The characters reside in the UK (mostly London) and St. Peter Port. St. Peter Port is part of Guernsey, a Channel Island, located in the English Channel between the UK and France.

What I’m reading: The Secret Lives of Color, by Kassia St. Clair. This is the perfect book for me right now, especially as I’m cutting it with a chaser of a wonderful historical novel, A God In Ruins, by Kate Atkinson.

Rookie Move is the first in a series of romance novels centering on the Brooklyn Bruisers, a fictional NHL team. The central couple of the book, Leo Trevi and Georgia Worthington, were high school sweethearts. Six years after their painful breakup, Leo has just signed a contract to play for the Bruisers when he discovers that not only is Georgia the team’s publicist, but Georgia’s father—who can’t stand him—is the new head coach.

The Poison Squad tells the story of Dr. Harvey Washington Wiley, head chemist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture for 30 years beginning in the late 1880s, who was instrumental in the passing of the 1906 Pure Food and Drug Act. Not only an account of Wiley’s career, this book also describes in detail the horrifying food industry practices that led to the need for national regulations.

Ayesha At Last is a Pride-and-Prejudice-inspired romantic comedy set in Toronto’s Muslim community. Ayesha, a high school teacher and aspiring poet, believes in marrying for love—in stark contrast to her younger, prettier cousin, who enjoys the attention she gets from the suitors her family arranges for her. When Ayesha meets Khalid, they clash instantly: she thinks he’s too rigid and conservative, and he thinks she is not traditional enough.

In Erik Larson’s latest book, The Splendid and the Vile, we join Winston Churchill on the day he is sworn in as Prime Minister of England, momentous as it is the same day that Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium.

Reading The Henna Artist, first novel by Alka Joshi , transported me to 1956, post independence India. Main character, Lakshmi, after fleeing from her arranged marriage to an abusive husband, makes her way to rural India, learning to be a henna artist on the way , serving the wealthy who believe henna artistry has magical powers.

Blinded by the Light, based on the memoir of Sarfraz Manzoor, tells the story of Javed, a young man growing up with his traditional Pakistani Muslim family in 1980s-era Luton, England.

Dave Barry turns seventy, not happily, he realizes that his elderly dog, Lucy, is dealing with old age far better that he is. She has more friends, fewer worries, and way more fun. So Dave decides to figure out how Lucy manages to stay so happy, to see if he can make his own life happier by doing the things she does.

Micah Mortimer is a self-contained man who repairs computers for a living and is maintenance man for his apartment building. Amused and annoyed simultaneously by his family of sisters, he is unnerved by any changes to his schedule. Suddenly confronted with his past, he is forced to look at his present and future.