To Read, or Not To Read

Finding Lord Farlisle by Cassandra Dean Publication Date: November 27, 2018 eBook; 86 Pages ASIN: B07JLWSFJG Genre: Historical Romance/Regency

READ AN EXCERPT.
It was eleven years ago. The pain had faded, but had never truly left. Alexandra had thought

she’d learned to live with it. But now…now Maxim was here?

A thunderous scowl on his face, he made a noise of impatience. “I do not have the inclination for this, girl. Tell me why you have come.”

His voice crashed over her. That, too, had deepened with age, but it was him. It was him.

“It is you.” Joy filled her, so big it felt her skin couldn’t contain it. Throwing herself at him, she enveloped him in a hug.

He stiffened.

Embarrassment coursed through her. What was she thinking? Immediately, she untangled herself from him. “I beg your pardon,” she stammered. Always before they’d been exuberant in their affections. They’d always found ways to touch one another, even though that last summer, the one before he’d gone away, she’d begun to…

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Narrated by: James Warwick Audiobook Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins Published 2019 by Alison Larkin Presents 9781982738037

Summary This powerful new recording of Wilde’s famous novel tells the unforgettable story of a hedonistic young man who makes a sinister deal to preserve his youth. When his wish is granted, Dorian Gray slips into a life of sensuality, debauchery, and murder.
In this uncensored version, TV star James Warwick’s inspired, nuanced narration is followed by a fascinating conversation. The actor talks candidly with Alison Larkin about Oscar Wilde and Warwick's own challenges as a gay man living in London at a time when homosexuality was illegal. 
Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was an Irish poet and playwright who is celebrated still for his sharp wit, flamboyant style, and sparkling conversation. 
James Warwick is most famous for his starring role playing Tommy in Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence series on PBS for Masterpiece Theat…

Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom: A Story by Sylvia Plath Narrated by: Orlagh Cassidy  Audiobook Length: 43 mins Published January 15th 2019 by HarperAudio 9780062940865
Summary This newly discovered story by literary legend Sylvia Plath stands on its own and is remarkable for its symbolic, allegorical approach to a young woman's rebellion against convention and forceful taking control of her own life.
Written while Sylvia Plath was a student at Smith College in 1952, Mary Ventura and The Ninth Kingdom tells the story of a young woman's fateful train journey.
Lips the color of blood, the sun an unprecedented orange, train wheels that sound like "guilt, and guilt, and guilt" these are just some of the things Mary Ventura begins to notice on her journey to the ninth kingdom.
"But what is the ninth kingdom?" she asks a kind-seeming lady in her carriage. "It is the kingdom of the frozen will," comes the reply. "There is no going back."
Sy…

Hollywood's Eve: Eve Babitz and the Secret History of L.A. by Lili Anolik Narrated by Jayme Mattler Audiobook Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins Published January 8th 2019 by Simon & Schuster Audio 9781508268963
Summary Los Angeles in the 1960s and 70s was the pop culture capital of the world—a movie factory, a music factory, a dream factory. Eve Babitz was the ultimate factory girl, a pure product of LA.
The goddaughter of Igor Stravinsky and a graduate of Hollywood High, Babitz posed in 1963, at age twenty, playing chess with the French artist Marcel Duchamp. She was naked; he was not. The photograph, cheesecake with a Dadaist twist, made her an instant icon of art and sex. Babitz spent the rest of the decade rocking and rolling on the Sunset Strip, honing her notoriety. There were the album covers she designed: for Buffalo Springfield and the Byrds, to name but a few. There were the men she seduced: Jim Morrison, Ed Ruscha, Harrison Ford, to name but a very few.
Then, at nearly thi…

Audies Award FinalistsThe Audies have announced their 2019 host: Tan France. This year, the award show is getting a makeover of sorts: a new high-profile host in Queer Eye star and to-be Audiobook narrator of his own upcoming memoir, Tan France and a panel of industry personalities to serve as judges for the Audiobook of the Year category. And with major names associated with this year’s event (nominees include Sally Field, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Leslie Odom, Jr., Emma Thompson and former Vice President Joe Biden,) it's no surprise that the show will be one to remember.  The Audie Awards recognize distinction in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment and are sponsored by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). 2019 is the 24th year of annual Audie Awards. Finalists are announced in 24 categories.  Congratulations to all the nominees! Tan France will be an amazing host.  See the Press Release (pdf) of the 2019 Finalists—released February 4, here. Winners will be announced a…

Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style from the Copy Chief of Random House by Benjamin Dreyer Kindle Edition, 256 pages Published January 22nd 2019 by Random House 9780812995701
Summary As authoritative as it is amusing, this book distills everything Benjamin Dreyer has learned from the hundreds of books he has copyedited, including works by Elizabeth Strout, E. L. Doctorow, and Frank Rich, into a useful guide not just for writers but for everyone who wants to put their best foot forward in writing prose. Dreyer offers lessons on the ins and outs of punctuation and grammar, including how to navigate the words he calls "the confusables," like tricky homophones; the myriad ways to use (and misuse) a comma; and how to recognize--though not necessarily do away with--the passive voice. (Hint: If you can plausibly add "by zombies" to the end of a sentence, it's passive.) People are sharing their writing more than ever--on blogs, on Twitter--…

Some Amazing Things I Uncovered on Ancestry.ComBy Thelma Adams
When I began to research Bittersweet Brooklyn, originally entitled Kosher Nostra, my genealogical research into my late grandmother, Thelma Schwartz nee Lorber, led me to Ancestry.com. I got a subscription and, in the years that followed, I've never let it lapse. It became a key tool for my historical research as I plotted births, deaths and marriages. Not only that, but I discovered that it held my attention like the Sunday crosswords. I could sit down to check out one fact, or add in a family detail my mother had revealed to me, and look up three hours later.
Sometimes I feel that I could do an ad for Ancestry!
The family tree that grew on the site provided the roots of the novel, which is about a liberated woman before her time – and the fraught immigrant world that she grew up in. Her older brother Abie became a criminal who occasionally made it into the papers – in small print and at the bottom of the page. Her ot…