Wonderfully reviewed for us by Christine 🙏
‘The Tenth Muse is a beautiful novel about identity, ambition, discovery, and belonging.
The story is told by Katherine, a gifted mathematician, as she recounts events from her life and career. Growing up in post-WWII America, she has had to fight for everything she has accomplished and has struggled with feelings of never truly belonging; as a child, her Chinese mother set her apart in the local Caucasian society, in school she was punished for her intelligence, and as a female mathematician trying to succeed in the male-dominated world of academia, she has had to work twice as hard to prove her worth. As she sets out to forge her professional path, family secrets come to light which send her on a journey to discover her own origins and understand her family history and legacy in post-war Europe.
Katherine is a fascinating leading character who refuses to compromise on her ambitions even though they come at a high price, and whose determination to carve out a space for herself in a male-dominated environment is unrelenting.
The Tenth Muse is a beautiful, warm, and moving story and the book is an easy, comfortable read which I highly recommend.’
Happy Monday and Happy reading!
Reviewed by Books & Co regular reviewer Lotte 🙏
‘Sunday Brennan, now 29, left her New York City life and family for a writing career in LA leaving behind her Dad, brothers and high school sweetheart and fiancé, Kale.
After a car crash, her brother Denny, always her protector, takes her back to New York, but going home is never easy. People want answers to why she left, her brother has made disastrous business decisions for the family business and Kale is now married with a son.
This is a true family drama at it’s very best - complex, dysfunctional and very loving - with a super flow in the writing (this is a debut, btw !) The story is broken up into chapters that are each narrated by a different family member. A great idea that works really well. The Brennans is a great read and could make it into my top 10!’
Happy Monday and happy reading!
RESERVE YOUR COPY OF We Are the Brennans
Reviewed by Celina Mina, thank you! 🥰
‘ I joined a monthly bookckub last year through Books & Company. My intentions for joining were to read books I wouldn’t normally choose to read and to become a part of a new community of people from whom I can learn, thus broadening many aspects of my intellect and life in general.
This was the book we read in September and discussed at the beginning of October. I found it truly fascinating.
As one book club member jokingly said: ‘ It’s like a parenting book for pet owners’. I currently don’t own a pet but I have two children. and I know it’s one thing to make sure they are fed each day and another thing to create a home environment in which they flourish mentally and emotionally.
This is what this book explains regarding animals and their mental health.’
Happy reading and may we add that if you don’t know the author Temple Grandin, we suggest you look her up. She is a truly remarkable person.
RESERVE YOUR COPY OF Animals Make Us Human
‘I picked up this book over the summer thinking it would be a light holiday read about four college friends. Well, I was wrong…kind of.
It is the story of four young women from different backgrounds who meet on the first day of college and immediately become not only roommates but also each other’s best friends and confidants.
However, as we follow them through university, into careers, marriages, and (in some cases) children, we come to understand that they each carry within them a secret that makes them vulnerable and begs the question: ‘Is there a limit to what we will tolerate in even our closest friends or is there a point at which we must draw a friendship ending line in the sand?
Well written, moving and heart-wrenching in its honest description of long-term, generous female friendships this wasn’t the light read I had expected but it was a page-turner that continues to linger months later.’
Happy Monday and happy reading!