April: Enough time to read one big ass book

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

A new book by serial biographer Stacy Schiff, Cleopatra is a very solid read. I imagine it’s difficult to find reliable source material on the last Egyptian pharaoh– even though she was the most influential women of the age. Regardless, Schiff brings Cleo to life and it’s entirely believable, entertaining and informative. The life of Cleopatra VII (69-30 B.C.) intrigues us. Intrigues us like Marilyn Monroe -- just can’t enough of these two clever bad girls. Settle in, cause this book goes on and on -- Cleopatra's marriages to her brothers and her subsequent disposal of said brothers, her ten years with Antony as faithful lover and mother to three children by him in addition to her son, Caesarion, by Julius Caesar, the wars and the brilliant parties, the final showdown with Octavian; Cleopatra's building of her own Mausoleum, Antony's botched suicide and subsequent death in Cleopatra's arms – yes, yes, it’s all there!♥♥

March Books

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake

Here’s an easy read -- part love story, part history

lesson. Alternating between London (and other European countries and cities impacted by the Nazis) and quiet little Franklin Massachusetts, this story follows Iris James the town postmistress and several unsuspecting townspeople who trust and rely on her to deliver the goods. Enter Frankie Bard, daring newswoman who broadcasts from overseas with Edward R. Murrow. Frankie maintains that Americans are not paying attention to the horrors of the war and sets out to enlighten them through taped broadcasts with Jewish refugees en route to camps or if they are lucky to Spain. Her interviews with the families are profound and my favorite part of the book. ♥

Vera: Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov by Stacy Schiff

Stacy Schiff brings to life one of the greatest literary love stories of our time. Vladimir Nabokov—the author of Lolita; Pale Fire; and Speak, Memory once said, "Without my wife, I wouldn't have written a single novel." Set in prewar Europe and postwar America, the book spans much of the century, and fifty-two-year marriage of the Nabokov’s. ♥