Reading List #1

I devour books, or at least I used to. Back when I was in high school, I was the sort of person who’d go through 2-3 books a week on top of whatever I was reading for my English lit class. Things started to change once I went to college though. My reading load—even for a speed reader like me—didn’t give me much time to read for fun. I was an English and history double major, so I was going through hundreds of pages of reading a week for each of my major classes. When I started working in publishing, my leisure reading lagged again because of the manuscripts I needed to read for work. After spending all day talking about books (and reading them), it can take a lot of energy to pick up a book just because.

I’m hoping to change that by creating a reading list for myself in hopes that I'll get back into the swing of reading for fun again. Not only do I enjoy books in general, being well-read is a necessity in publishing. Plus, I read so many sub-par manuscripts for work that it’s good to remind myself that there are good books out there!

On Immunity by Eula Biss – I picked this advanced reader copy up as a freebie last year when I went to BookExpo America (BEA). With BEA 2015 going on next month, I thought it was high time I finally got to this book. It’s received a lot of hype since being released and was a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist and a New York Times Best Seller. When I picked it up at BEA last year, I never knew it’d blow up the way it did—I just liked the cover. I’ll be interested to read Biss’s take on what immunity means to society.

The 40s by The New Yorker – I got this book from my parents this past Christmas after some serious hinting on my end. It’s a collection of New Yorker essays written in the, you guessed it, 1940s by people like E.B. White, Langston Hughes, and Vladimir Nabokov. I’m a hugely interested in the 1940s (any classic movie lovers out there?), so I’m looking forward to seeing the 1940s through the eyes of the writers who lived through it.

Hard Choices by Hillary Rodham Clinton – Hillary for President! Hillary Clinton is sort of the woman of the hour (if not the year) after formally announcing her 2016 presidential bid on April 12th. We’d all been speculating for years about whether she’d run, and I was happy to see that the rumor mill had gotten something right. I’m looking forward to reading more about who I’m hoping will become the next president. Since this is an autographed copy though (and the book is huge), this is something I will not be stuffing in my bag to read on the train.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt – I already wrote about The Secret History in a book haul post, so I won’t bore you by repeating myself. However, I’m definitely looking forward to finally sinking my teeth into this novel.

What are you planning on reading next?

Book Haul #2: "History" Books

Okay, so I may have purchased more books even though I haven’t finished a single one from my book haul at the beginning of January. I’m a book junkie and have a difficult time saying no to a book fix if I’m near to a bookstore, and I happen to live 5-10 minutes from Barnes and Noble (which is also conveniently located next to a DSW shoe warehouse, but I digress…). Thanks to multiple gift cards to Barnes and Noble for my birthday and Christmas, I was more than a bit jazzed about adding new books to my collection.

There ended up being a theme to my mini book haul—history. I can’t say that I’m all that surprised since the majority of my books fall into the history or historical fiction categories anyway. I did try to branch out a little bit as far as sub-genres go though!  Do I get points for that?

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

“History” is in the title, so does that count?

Donna Tartt won the Pulitzer in 2014 for The Goldfinch, but I’ve heard great things about The Secret History, her debut novel. Actually, a lot of people who’ve read both Tartt books preferred this one. The Secret History has been on my radar since a former classmate said that it could easily be about my undergraduate career at Cornell. A small group of history majors and I developed a close relationship with one of our history professors, and she continues to influence us almost three years after graduation. I can’t wait to start reading this one to see if the comparison is a reasonable assessment!

Accidents of Providence by Stacia M. Brown

It is 1649. King Charles has been beheaded for treason. Amid civil war, Cromwell's army is running the country. The Levellers, a small faction of political agitators, are calling for rights to the people. And a new law targeting unwed mothers and “lewd women” presumes anyone who conceals the death of her illegitimate child is guilty of murder.

Rachel Lockyer, unmarried glove maker, and William Walwyn, Leveller hero, are locked in a secret affair. But while William is imprisoned in the Tower, a child is found buried in the woods and Rachel is arrested.

So comes an investigation, public trial, and a cast of extraordinary characters made up of ordinary Londoners: gouty investigator Thomas Bartwain, fiery Elizabeth Lilburne and her revolution-chasing husband, Huguenot glover Mary Du Gard, a lawyer for the prosecution hell-bent on making an example of Rachel, and others. Spinning within are Rachel and William, their remarkable love story, and the miracles that come to even the commonest lives.

This is my attempt at branching out in the historical fiction category. I tend to lean heavily towards three time periods—Tudor England, the Italian Renaissance, and the 19th century. The 17th century in England with the civil war going on is new territory for me. Although I won’t be relying on this for a history lesson, it could pique my interest in this time period, at least for a little while.

Sex with Kings by Eleanor Herman

Throughout the centuries, royal mistresses have been worshiped, feared, envied, and reviled. They set the fashions, encouraged the arts, and, in some cases, ruled nations. Eleanor Herman's Sex with Kings takes us into the throne rooms and bedrooms of Europe's most powerful monarchs. Alive with flamboyant characters, outrageous humor, and stirring poignancy, this glittering tale of passion and politics chronicles five hundred years of scintillating women and the kings who loved them.

I’ve already gotten through about half of this book, and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I started it just a few days before Valentine’s (perfect timing) and only stopped reading it after I got slammed by reading at work. I’m eager to pick it back up again, and you’ll definitely be seeing a review sometime in March. It’s straight history but Herman writes cleverly, and her subjects—kings and their mistresses throughout history—are a colorful cast of characters. It’s almost hard to believe that they were real people!

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Have you purchased any new books lately?  What's your favorite genre?

*Synopses are taken from BN.com