A Discovery of Witches

This is a really neat (and deeply researched) novel about witches and vampires (and demons) living among us, and also about history, evolution, and love. Diana Bishop is a direct descendant of a Salem witch, but ever since her parents' death when she was a child she's tried to turn her back on her magical powers. She's made her life with her intellect, and is a now a well-respected historian. But her discovery of an ancient manuscript - long considered lost - awakens the magic all around her, and what's inside her as well.

Enter Matthew Claremont, a 1,500-year-old vampire. Diana and Matthew find themselves drawn to each other, despite the fact that witches and vampires are historically enemies. The action that develops is fantastic, intriguing, and exciting and makes for a book that's hard to put down. The characters are well-developed and interesting too, and likeable in their humanity (well, except most of them aren't humans, they're witches and vampires and demons). Anyway.

The author, Deborah Harkness, is a historian, so she brings a lot of detail to the story. I found it interesting that she tossed out some or our usual assumptions about vampires: they won't burn in the sunlight, and they don't have fangs. I found it a little bit of a stretch that Matthew interacted with so many noted historical figures, but it didn't make me enjoy the novel less. I can't wait for the sequel!

A Discovery of Witches: A Novel

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran

If you are an 80's music lover - or just someone who came of age in the 1980's - then you'll really enjoy this book. The author, Rob Sheffield, is a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and a guy who was born around the same time I was, so much of what he wrote about really resonated with me, and was downright funny too.

Each chapter is named for an 80's tune, but that's really just a jumping-off point to talk about a topic that's semi-related. For instance, his chapter named after Haysi Fantayzee is mostly about the concept of the one-hit wonder (and has this great line: "The gods of pop music are fickle bastards.").

Sheffield has a lot of great stories and I found myself, again, reading whole sections to Mike, and also almost laughing out loud on the Metro. He's way more into music than I ever was - obviously, it's his life work - but because of the era he's talking about that's never an issue. This is just a really enjoyable book about growing up.

Talking to Girls About Duran Duran: One Young Man's Quest for True Love and a Cooler Haircut

Broken Promises: A Novel of the Civil War

I really enjoyed this novel about the Civil War, which was told from a much different perspective than what I'm used to. And it was the perfect hurricane reading.

The novel is fiction but it revolves around some actual historical figures: Charles Francis Adams (son of John Quincy), who was the US Minister to Great Britain during the war, his son Henry, and various other British and American government types. The main fictional characters are Miss Julia Birch, a wealthy young lady who's father is helping the Confederates, and Baxter Sams, a Harvard classmate of Henry's and a Virginian.

Yes there is a love story, but it's really secondary. The main focus of the novel is the relations between America and Britain during the war.

Broken Promises: A Novel of the Civil War

Unbroken

Wow, wow, wow, wow. This is an AMAZING book. First I have to thank Rita for recommending it, because I never would have picked it on my own. Unbroken is the true story of Louie Zamperini, an Olympic athlete who survived horrible experiences as a Japanese POW in World War II. I am not generally into books about war and suffering, but Louie is such a wonderful character, and Hillenbrand tells his story with such charm and humor and respect, that I just couldn't put this book down.

Change that: I put the book down several times to marvel at the cruelties perpetrated in the name of war, and to read Mike some of the more alarming statistics and some of the amazing examples of humor and heroism in the face of devastating degradation. This was by no means an easy read, and I found myself tearing up throughout.

I'm guessing they will make a movie of this book, as they did with Hillenbrand's Seabiscuit. But I'm not sure if I'll be able to bring myself to see it. But the book is truly a must read, and will ultimately make you feel good about human nature, though it often doesn't seem that way. Just trust me, it will.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

The Paris Wife

Hello all you Hemingway fans - this is a must read! The Paris Wife is a fictionalized memoir of Ernest Hemingway's first wife, Hadley, and their years together in Paris. Paula McLain really did her research, and she writes a compelling and believable account of the author and his wife's turbulent marriage.

If you have read A Moveable Feast, which is Hemingway's actual memoir of his time in Paris, then you will recognize the characters and events that populate this novel. You'll also recognize the actual people Hemingway based some of his characters on, particularly those in The Sun Also Rises. I even found a few of F. Scott Fitzgerald's characters on these pages... Anyway, if you HAVEN'T read A Moveable Feast I recommend it highly, and I'll even lend it to you - it's a good follow-up to this novel.

McLain is a gifted writer, and she really made me feel like this was Hadley's story. I highly recommend this book, even if you aren't a Hemingway fan, just for the way it captures a time and place in our literary history.

The Paris Wife: A Novel

Scarlet Nights

I know, I know... that title just SOUNDS like a bodice-ripper, doesn't it? Well it's not. In fact I'm not sure how Ms. Deveraux came to give that title to her novel since Scarlet Nights plays very little role in the actual plot.

Anyway, this was a very nice love story/mystery focused on Sara and Mike. Sara is a resident of the small town of Edilean, which Deveraux created and uses in other novels. She's being targeted by some very bad criminals but we don't know why. Mike is the undercover cop who comes in to save her and capture the bad guys.

Sara and Mike develop a nice relationship and they are very likeable characters. In fact all of Deveraux's townspeople are interesting characters. I didn't catch on to the mystery until the end, and there was a nice change-of-pace with the ending too. I really enjoyed the book.

Scarlet Nights: An Edilean Novel

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being

I liked this book, but I was also disappointed by this book. I liked it because it reminded me of my ODKM program - the terminology, the ideas, the academic feeling of it. And I'd come across Marty Seligman's name in that program and have enjoyed his writing. I also liked it because it's an interesting concept - that positive emotions can affect our health and well-being, and even our success.

What disappointed me about the book is that it didn't tell me the specific steps I can take to ensure that I live a flourishing life. Seligman talks about setting up his program at Penn, and creating a training program for the Army, but he doesn't tell me what I need to do. Yes there's a web site and quizzes, and they're very interesting, but all they tell me is how I actually AM, not how to BECOME someone who is flourishing. For instance there is a quiz that tells you your top strengths, but it doesn't tell you how to leverage those strengths in order to flourish.

I was looking for a self-help book, and came away with a theoretical history and sort of diagnostic tool. Almost half the book is end notes and appendix! But on the positive side, the web site is very interesting: www.authentichappiness.org. Check it out.

Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being