Ok, I just started Writers & Lovers by Lily King and it’s such a good read. It’s about a young woman in the late 90s on the cusp of youth and real adulthood, just trying to figure it out.
She’s waiting tables in Boston but feeling pressure to ‘get a real job,’ smart, interesting romantic prospects. A nice escape but it’s not Sophie Kinsella type stuff - much more depth and strong writing.
Great end of summer read so far!
I really liked writers and lovers - really enjoyed the setting in Cambridge/Boston.
Just finished The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea. I read a lot – a LOT – and this is one of the best books I have ever read. Not just the perfect plot, the vivid people, the way humor and sadness and surprise wander through the book just like real life ; the words, the writing are so fabulous. Can’t recommend it enough.
(Story? large extended family in San Diego gathers for the birthday of the central figure, who is terminally ill. Forgiveness, surprises, hilarity ensue)
I will have to look for that! I have read his nonfiction and he is a phenomenal writer. thanks for the recommendation!
I second The House of Broken Angels. Audio - read by the author - is great also.
Caste by Isabel Wilkerson.
@HouseChatte – interesting. I just downloaded the sample of Warmth of Other Suns last night. Have you read it?
Yes, I have. It was very moving. Caste is a great companion to it – gives a broader and deeper context.
The Warmth of Other Suns was excellent and educational. I think it should be required high school reading.
Look for the Fresh Air interview with Isabell Wilkerson, where she talks about Caste.
Ezra Klein also interviewed Wilkerson on his podcast about her new book.
I enjoyed “My Dear Hamilton” by Stephanie Dray. Historical fiction about Eliza Schuyler Hamilton. Her historical novel about Thomas Jefferson’s daughter is good too. “First Daughter”. It’s easy spoon fed history, well written and based (mostly) on actual events in their lives with only their interior lives interpreted by the novelist.
I’m waiting on her novel of women of the French Revolution now: Ribbons of Scarlet.
Just to set the record straight -these books are co-authored by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. I have read both the Hamilton and Jefferson books. I had the pleasure of spending some time with them at a book festival, including lunch. It is interesting to hear how they co-write. Both write and both edit each other’s work, ending up with a cohesive result.
Ribbons of Scarlet lists 6 authors (4 additional women). It includes Kate Quin, who wrote the Alice Network and The Huntress, which are both good books.
Kate Quinn was also at that lunch I attended with them, the three have been pals for years.
@VaBluebird Warmth of Other Suns is on my kid’s Summer reading list.
Thanks for the recommendation on Becoming Duchess Goldblatt. I really enjoyed it (although it was sadder than I expected), and I never would have found it on my own!
Thank you @greenbutton for recommending The House of Broken Angels. It’s a very different type of book than I normally read and I am enthralled. The warmth, the sadness, the culture, the family dynamics… beautiful.
I also appreciate the referral for Becoming Duchess Goldblatt. I had never heard of her, and would not have been a Twitter follower, but her story was intriguing, especially how she found a way to lift herself out of the apparent morass of her life. It’s surprising that her identity hasn’t leaked, although I probably would have no idea who she was anyway.
I tried The House of Broken Angels and just couldn’t get into it. Kind of sad and sarcastic. I switched to Becoming Duchess Goldblatt and am enjoying it a lot more.
I also loved Becoming Duchess Goldblatt. It was lovely.
I loved “When We Believed in Mermaids”. Its especially good if you have a sister.