The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict

I was really looking forward to reading this book.  I love classic Hollywood movies and I had seen movies with Hedy Lamarr when none of my friends even knew who she was.  I was further thrilled several years ago, when I found out she was also an inventor. It was so cool! So, I thoughtContinue reading “The Only Woman in the Room by Marie Benedict”

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

Basically, this is a love letter to librarians, so I was definitely in. Moyes tells the story of the pack horse librarians of the Depression through a set of brave and likable female protagonists. Alice married Bennett Van Cleve after whirlwind courtship in her native England while he was on holiday, only to come downContinue reading “The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes”

A Secret Sisterhood by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney

Full disclosure:  I bought this book because of the subtitle:  The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf.  I should have known that I wouldn’t like it from the lack of an Oxford comma in the subtitle, but I pressed on.  The authors are academics, and there are endnotes andContinue reading “A Secret Sisterhood by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney”

The Regency Years by Robert Morrison

The full title is The Regency Years: during which Jane Austen writes, Napoleon fights, Byron makes love, and Britain becomes modern. Morrison’s book is highly readable and engaging, while maintaining a level of scholarly rigor not often seen in works marketed to a lay audience.  For those interested, there is a wealth of endnotes andContinue reading “The Regency Years by Robert Morrison”

The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott

First, a Shout-out to a local Austin writer–yay!  This novel combines a few of my favorite things: spies, intrigue, and literature, oh my! I am sure other reviewers have pointed this out, but I would also like to make sure everyone notes the irony of the author’s first name being the name of the mainContinue reading “The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott”