Book Club: America's First Daughter

Here's a fact about me that you may not know: I'm a huge U.S. history nerd. Why did that feel like a huge confession? Haha! More specifically I find the American presidency to be an incredibly fascinating subject of study; especially the earlier presidents—I'm talking Founding Fathers here. During one of my admittedly frequent trips on the Internet reading up about the first ladies, I stumbled upon a bit of reading that is actually super recent!

America's First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie came out just this past March—I think this is the earliest I have ever read a book after its release (not counting Harry Potter!) The novel pieces together the story of Martha Jefferson Randolph, the oldest daughter of Thomas Jefferson and the woman who acted as his First Lady since he did not have a wife at the time of his presidency.

Much of the research for the book was done by reading the many letters that Thomas Jefferson is so famous for writing to friends, family, and some of the greatest thinkers of the day. Those letters also play an important role in telling the story.

The story is told from Martha's perspective as it opens in Monticello immediately following the death of the third president. She moves to his desk to go through all of his correspondences (each chapter opens with her reading a different letter) and to burn those that would have too great of a negative effect on her father's legacy. The timeline moves from her youth when the family was forced to flee Monticello as British forces closed in on the house, to Paris where Jefferson was assigned and where his daughters got a convent education, back to Virginia and the beginnings of Martha starting her own family while also keeping after her father, to Washington and her time as White House hostess, back to Monticello and the declining years of her father's life and her marriage.

This books was very difficult for me to put down—there was one day that I plowed through 200 pages before even realizing it. And the way the story is written drew so much emotion from this reader; I can't express the number of tears that I shed while reading America's First Daughter.

I definitely recommend that you add this one to your summer reading list...it's still early. While this novel certainly fed my inner historian, it also paid attention to my admiration of romance in literature. The relationships that Martha shares with William Short and her husband, Tom Randolph were filled with such emotion and both relationships were intense in their own different ways. If you do pick this book up, I would love to hear your thoughts on the story and how it is presented!

<3 Ashley

Do you enjoy historical novels? What's on your reading list this summer?

Book Club: Dead Wake

Good morning everyone! Before I get into my little review (and I mean little...sorry...time crunch!) I wanted to just send out a "Thank you" to all of our veterans on this Veteran's Day. Thank you so much for your bravery and sacrifice. You've made getting up everyday and pursuing good things possible!

Now, in an unexpected turn I finished reading a book during the semester. *pause for gasps, passing out, and utter chaos*

That book was Dead Wake: The Last Crossing of the Lusitania by Erik Larson. As minor in history with a focus in U.S. history, this kind of book is what speaks to me. It is not necessarily historical fiction. Larson pulls from a number of sources--seriously, a good chunk of the end of the book is endnotes--to tell the story of those who were on the ship when it was attacked by a German submarine.

Not only do we get the accounts of those on the boat, but also chapters devoted to President Wilson, Churchill and Room 40, and even Walther Schwieger--the submarine commander who initiated the attack. Through researching letters, notes, video, and photograph Larson was able to pull together a convincing account of day-to-day life on the ship and the mentality of the British and American governments as the signs of an attack grew even more obvious.

After finishing the book, I was left with many questions that would be interesting to research--this is the history student talking! If this is the kind of reading that you enjoy, or find yourself particularly interested in the World War I period, I definitely recommend this book to you. I can't wait to read it again.

<3 Ashley

Have you read Dead Wake? What did you think? 

Book Club: The Light Between Oceans

If you took notice to the GoodReads widget in the sidebar of the blog, you would have noticed that one of my recent reads was M.L. Stedman's "The Light Between Oceans". This book is one that I loved dearly despite the sadness and conflict endured by each of its characters. I admired the writing and the flow, changing perspectives throughout the chapters--it would seem by some of my recent book club posts that I am in to that. :) 

The story centers around the life of Tom Sherbourne in his time following WWI. After the war, he arrives back home to Australia where he begins his life as a lighthouse attendant. In his time between posts, while he is back on the mainland, Tom meets his wife Isabel who joins him in the life of isolation. The two try to make a happy life on the island, but fail repeatedly in their attempts to have a child. One day after a storm, a boat appears on the shore carrying and deceased man and a live baby. They take the child in, not taking into consideration the fact that there is still a family for it somewhere back on the mainland. They become aware of this upon a brief return to visit family, which ignites a bit of a moral battle between the two of them. 

There was so much to this story that the decision to write from multiple characters' perspectives is very much a benefit. I appreciated being shown why some supporting characters made the decisions that they did and under what specific circumstances. I personally would not classify this and easy, breezy beach read but rather a must-read. Wherever you are, read it. 

<3 Ashley

Have you read "The Light Between Oceans"? Thoughts? 

Book Club: The Vacationers

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Finally! I have finally gotten around to reading the book that was on everyone's summer reading lists last year (and still a few this year!) The Vacationers by Emma Straub is quite honestly the perfect beach/poolside read as everyone claims. Granted...I did not read it on a beach or pool chair--I read it at work on my lunch breaks. Hey, you take what you can get!

The story follows a family, the Posts, on their last trip together before their youngest daughter, Sylvia, starts college. A lot has gone down in this family in the months leading up to the trip to the picturesque island of Mallorca. Tension has collected between Franny and Jim since Jim's affair with a college student became knowledge. Things are not exactly coming up daisies for the other couples on the trip either. Sylvia is stuck in this house on an island with these couples and their problems all while she is determined to shed the skin of her high school self and embrace college as a totally new person with the help of the hot Spanish tutor Franny hired for her. ;)

I read this on very quickly--I have a feeling that there's a lot of personal drama in a story I will be invested. Every few pages would earn a jaw-drop from me and the words "No he didn't!" I enjoyed reading as each couples story became even clearer with each and every chapter of the trip. The story moved well; each chapter is one day in the trip (14 chapters for two weeks) which made it so much easier to understand how things developed (or fell apart!) as their time in Mallorca passed. I would definitely recommend this for someone looking for a lazy summer read. 

Happy I can finally check this off the list!

<3 Ashley

Have you read The Vacationers? What did you think?

Book Club: Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.

It is no secret that I am a big fan of the oldies--but goodies! One particular classic that I am in love with is "Breakfast at Tiffany's"; both the Truman Capote story and the Hollywood film adaptation. I received "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M." by Sam Wasson for Christmas this past year and finally got around to reading it (once classes were over, of course!)

This was a fairly quick read for me. The book was very biographical and shared a lot of background information about the individuals who had a crucial role in bringing "Breakfast at Tiffany's" to the film-going public in the 1960s. While have seen the movie and read the book, I never realized how and why the differences between the two came into play.

If you are familiar with the story or have any interest at all I highly recommend this book. The author pulls quotes from interviews with those who had a connection to the film in some way. The book is written in a way that is easy to follow--section titles are witty and set up the topic of the following paragraphs. "Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M." gets two very big thumbs up from me!

<3 Ashley

Are you a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" fan? Maybe you will enjoy this one!

Book Suggestions?

Every year I like to compose a tentative reading list for myself. Being a college student means that reading for fun is something that is forgotten and replace instead with 35 pages about curiosity cabinets--which actually was pretty interesting and may or may not be inspiring an upcoming post! I make this list as kind of a list of goals. These are the books that I have to read before December 31, 2015.

The trouble is--and I will once again blame school and a hectic schedule--I have no idea what is out there anymore! I have a library card that is just dying to see the inside of Carnegie and several buses waiting to take me to Barnes and Noble. So what should I read? I have just a few in mind: Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. by Sam Wasson, which I got for Christmas, makes the list. I also would like to get around to ordering and reading The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald as well as some of his short stories (if you have followed me for awhile, you know I'm a fan!) However, beyond those I am pretty much drawing a blank. That's where you lovely and worldly people come in...

What are some of your favorite books that I should crack open? What novels call for a weekend curled up in bed? Leave your suggestions below--I will also be reviewing what I do read in my Book Club posts as I finish them!

<3 Ashley

What should I read?!