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Ellen's Bookshelf
What I've been reading lately ...
The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
This charming debut novel imagines a love affair for a young Louisa May Alcott. With endearing protagonists and a well-drawn setting (1855 New Hampshire), this story of competing passions, societal expectations, and the universal experience of first love will appeal. (If you don't trust me, trust Oprah, who just selected this for her summer reading list.)
The Burying Place
Brian Freeman writes fantastic suspense novels set in my home territory of Duluth, Minnesota. In this one, the fifth in a series featuring detective Jonathan Stride, a psychotic killer roams the farmlands north of Duluth, lone women his prey; the same night as one is murdered, a baby goes missing from a posh lakeshore mansion. Like Freeman's previous books, this one is fabulous, and a page-turner right to the end.
Homer and Langley
E.L. Doctorow
This fascinating novel, based on the lives of Manhattan's Collyer brothers -- notorious hermits and collectors -- is beautifully written and haunting.
Amy and Isabelle
Elizabeth Strout
This novel was published in 1998, but I just read it now after loving Strout's Olive Kittredge so much. This one, the story of one eventful summer in the lives of a mother and daughter, is amazing -- I'm officially making Elizabeth Strout one of my favorite authors ever.
A Reliable Wife
A suspenseful and beautifully written novel of a man in 1907 Wisconsin who advertises for "a reliable wife," only to get far more than he bargained for...
All Hell Broke Loose
A 1985 compilation of first-person reminiscences of the harrowing Armistice Day blizzard of 1940. Fascinating.
Days of Rondo
A lovely and compelling memoir of St. Paul, Minnesota's Rondo neighborhood during the 1930s-50s.
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage
Loved it!
Olive Kitteridge
Elizabeth Strout
Oh, I loved this book. Feisty schoolteacher Olive Kitteridge rules a small Maine town in a series of linked stories which revolve around the themes of fear and hunger, of the wish to be understood and the near impossibility of it. This book won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize.
Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict
In this companion to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, which I also loved, Jane Mansfield, a woman of Jane Austen's time and place, wakes up in the body of Courtney Stone, a 21st century woman who lives in Los Angeles. Jane's attempts to navigate this unfamiliar world are hilarious, page-turning fun.
Donut Days
This YA novel is written by my best writing buddy. But that isn't why I think you'll like it. I think you'll want to experience Lara's wit, as well as her character Emma's journey as she explores what it means to have faith, to be a true friend -- and to love others even when you don't always agree with them.
Eat, Pray, Love
I know this memoir of a woman's search for self and happiness after a messy divorce has been out for quite some time, and since it sold about a zillion copies, maybe you've already read it -- or at least heard from seven people that you should. Just in case you hadn't yet succumbed, allow me to nudge you toward it once again. It's simply wonderful.
The Indifferent Stars Above: The Harrowing Saga of a Donner Party Bride
Beautifully written, suspenseful, and insightful account of the Donner Party, focusing on the experiences of a young bride.
