Someone by Alice McDermott Farrar, Strauss & Giroux, 2013 240 pages The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant Scribner, 2014 336 pages The company where I work serves the real estate industry, which has two primary trade show seasons each year: one that runs January-May and one that runs August-November. Being the marketing director, I do … Continue reading Someone and The Boston Girl
Arcadia
Arcadia by Iain Pears Knopf, 2016 528 pages Not long ago, I tried to describe to my husband what it's like to read Iain Pears and Kazuo Ishiguro, two of my favorite authors. Though their styles are distinct, there is a key commonality: both like to play with perception and how it affects narrative. Ishiguro comes at … Continue reading Arcadia
Radioactive
Radioactive: Marie & Pierre Curie: A Tale of Love and Fallout by Lauren Redniss It Books, 2010 208 pages I've always been fascinated by Marie Curie. At a time when women's education was confined primarily to the social graces and preparation for housekeeping, she made world-changing scientific discoveries. But until I read Lauren Redniss's Radioactive, I … Continue reading Radioactive
Rise of the Rocket Girls
Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, From Missiles to the Moon to Mars by Nathalia Holt Little, Brown & Company, 2016 352 pages The space industry was a dominating presence in my early childhood. My father was a technical writer for NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab (JPL), and my grandfather was retired … Continue reading Rise of the Rocket Girls
A Life in Secrets
A Life in Secrets: Vera Atkins and the Missing Agents of WWII by Sarah Helm Doubleday, 2006 493 pages More than 15 years ago, at the beginning of our marriage, my husband and I read William Stevenson's A Man Called Intrepid together. It was a fascinating story - the true tale of a secret WWII intelligence … Continue reading A Life in Secrets
The Night Circus
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern Anchor Books, 2012 516 pages When my daughter was born, two very dear friends came to see us in the hospital. It was Christmastime, so they brought my present with them: a copy of Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. I had not heard of it, but our … Continue reading The Night Circus
A Wrinkle in Time
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 1963 256 pages A Wrinkle in Time is one of those books I think I have very clear memories of - and then I read it again and discover that I missed something entirely. I first read A Wrinkle in Time - or, rather, … Continue reading A Wrinkle in Time
