Barbara's bookshelf: all en-US Mon, 25 Dec 2023 06:54:35 -0800 60 Barbara's bookshelf: all 144 41 https://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg Paris 15786792 From the grand master of the historical novel comes a dazzling, epic portrait of the City of Light

Internationally bestselling author Edward Rutherfurd has enchanted millions of readers with his sweeping, multigenerational dramas that illuminate the great achievements and travails throughout history. In this breathtaking saga of love, war, art, and intrigue, Rutherfurd has set his sights on the most magnificent city in the Paris.

Moving back and forth in time across centuries, the story unfolds through intimate and vivid tales of self-discovery, divided loyalties , passion, and long-kept secrets of characters both fictional and real, all set against the backdrop of the glorious city—from the building of Notre Dame to the dangerous machinations of Cardinal Richlieu; from the glittering court of Versailles to the violence of the French Revolution and the Paris Commune; from the hedonism of the Belle Époque, the heyday of the impressionists, to the tragedy of the First World War; from the 1920s when the writers of the Lost Generation could be found drinking at Les Deux Magots to the Nazi occupation, the heroic efforts of the French Resistance, and the 1968 student revolt.

With his unrivaled blend of impeccable research and narrative verve, Rutherfurd weaves an extraordinary narrative tapestry that captures all the glory of Paris. More richly detailed, more thrilling, and more romantic then anything Rutherfurd has written before, The Novel wonderfully illuminates hundreds of years in the City of Light and Love and brings the sights, scents, and tastes of Paris to sumptuous life.]]> 809 Edward Rutherfurd 0385535309 Barbara 3 4.00 2013 Paris
author: Edward Rutherfurd
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2023/12/25
shelves:
review:

]]> Christine Falls (Quirke, #1) 199600
It’s not the dead that seem strange to Quirke. It’s the living. One night, after a few drinks at an office party, Quirke shuffles down into the morgue where he works and finds his brother-in-law, Malachy, altering a file he has no business even reading. Odd enough in itself to find Malachy there, but the next morning, when the haze has lifted, it looks an awful lot like his brother-in-law, the esteemed doctor, was in fact tampering with a corpse—and concealing the cause of death.

It turns out the body belonged to a young woman named Christine Falls. And as Quirke reluctantly presses on toward the true facts behind her death, he comes up against some insidious—and very well-guarded—secrets of Dublin’s high Catholic society, among them members of his own family.

Set in Dublin and Boston in the 1950s, the first novel in the Quirke series brings all the vividness and psychological insight of Booker Prize winner John Banville’s fiction to a thrilling, atmospheric crime story. Quirke is a fascinating and subtly drawn hero, Christine Falls is a classic tale of suspense, and Benjamin Black’s debut marks him as a true master of the form.]]> 352 Benjamin Black 0805081526 Barbara 4 3.53 2006 Christine Falls (Quirke, #1)
author: Benjamin Black
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.53
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Elegy for April (Quirke, #3) 7431670 Quirke — the hard-drinking, insatiably curious Dublin pathologist — is back, and he's determined to find his daughter's best friend, a well-connected young doctor

April Latimer has vanished. A junior doctor at a local hospital, she is something of a scandal in the conservative and highly patriarchal society of 1950s Dublin. Though her family is one of the most respected in the city, she is known for being independent-minded; her taste in men, for instance, is decidedly unconventional.

Now April has disappeared, and her friend Phoebe Griffin suspects the worst. Frantic, Phoebe seeks out Quirke, her brilliant but erratic father, and asks him for help. Sober again after intensive treatment for alcoholism, Quirke enlists his old sparring partner, Detective Inspector Hackett, in the search for the missing young woman. In their separate ways the two men follow April's trail through some of the darker byways of the city to uncover crucial information on her whereabouts. And as Quirke becomes deeply involved in April's murky story, he encounters complicated and ugly truths about family savagery, Catholic ruthlessness, and race hatred.

Both an absorbing crime novel and a brilliant portrait of the difficult and relentless love between a father and his daughter, this is Benjamin Black at his sparkling best.


]]> 293 Benjamin Black 0805090916 Barbara 4 3.61 2010 Elegy for April (Quirke, #3)
author: Benjamin Black
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2010
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Death in Summer (Quirke, #4)]]> 10177167 308 Benjamin Black 0805090924 Barbara 4 3.61 2011 A Death in Summer (Quirke, #4)
author: Benjamin Black
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2011
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Vengeance (Quirke, #5) 13167793 A bizarre suicide leads to a scandal and then still more blood, as one of our most brilliant crime novelists reveals a world where money and sex trump everything

It's a fine day for a sail, and Victor Delahaye, one of Ireland's most successful businessmen, takes his boat far out to sea. With him is his partner's son—who becomes the sole witness when Delahaye produces a pistol, points it at his own chest, and fires.

This mysterious death immediately engages the attention of Detective Inspector Hackett, who in turn calls upon the services of his sometime partner Quirke, consultant pathologist at the Hospital of the Holy Family. The stakes are high: Delahaye's prominence in business circles means that Hackett and Quirke must proceed very carefully. Among others, they interview Mona Delahaye, the dead man's young and very beautiful wife; James and Jonas Delahaye, his identical twin sons; and Jack Clancy, his ambitious, womanizing partner. But then a second death occurs, this one even more shocking than the first, and quickly it becomes apparent that a terrible secret threatens to destroy the lives and reputations of several members of Dublin's elite.

Why did Victor Delahaye kill himself, and who is intent upon wreaking vengeance on so many of those who knew him?]]> 304 Benjamin Black 0805094393 Barbara 4 3.61 2012 Vengeance (Quirke, #5)
author: Benjamin Black
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.61
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Lemur 2798062
John Glass's life in New York should be plenty comfortable. He's given up his career as a journalist to write an authorized biography of his father-in-law, communications magnate and former CIA agent Big Bill Mulholland. He works in a big office in Mulholland Tower, rent-free, and goes home (most nights) to his wealthy and well-preserved wife, Wild Bill's daughter. He misses his old life sometimes, but all in all things have turned out well.

But when his shifty young researcher--a man he calls "The Lemur"--turns up some unflattering information about the family, Glass's whole easy existence is threatened. Then the young man is murdered, and it's up to Glass to find out what The Lemur knew, and who killed him, before any secrets come out--and before any other bodies appear.Shifting from 1950s Dublin to contemporary New York, the masterful crime writer Benjamin Black returns in this standalone thriller--a story of family secrets so deep, and so dangerous, that anyone might kill to keep them hidden.

**]]> 132 Benjamin Black 0312428081 Barbara 4 2.98 2008 The Lemur
author: Benjamin Black
name: Barbara
average rating: 2.98
book published: 2008
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Holy Orders (Quirke, #6) 16044991 You've lived too long among the dead, Quirke, she said.

He nodded. Yes, I suppose I have. She was not the first one to have told him that, and she would not be the last.

1950s Dublin. When a body is found in the canal, pathologist Quirke and his detective friend Inspector Hackett must find the truth behind this brutal murder. But in a world where the police are not trusted and secrets often remain buried there is perhaps little hope of bringing the perpetrator to justice.

As spring storms descend on Dublin, Quirke and Hackett's investigation will lead them into the dark heart of the organisation that really runs this troubled city: the church. Meanwhile Quirke's daughter Phoebe realises she is being followed; and when Quirke's terrible childhood in a priest-run orphanage returns to haunt him, he will face his greatest trial yet...]]> 304 Benjamin Black 0805094407 Barbara 4 3.63 2013 Holy Orders (Quirke, #6)
author: Benjamin Black
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.63
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Tell the Wolves I'm Home 12875258
1987. There's only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that's her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn's company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June's world is turned upside down. But Finn's death brings a surprise acquaintance into June's life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn's funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn's apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she's not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I'm Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.]]> 360 Carol Rifka Brunt 0679644199 Barbara 4 4.01 2012 Tell the Wolves I'm Home
author: Carol Rifka Brunt
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.01
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/12/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Perfume Collector 16248311
Newlywed Grace Monroe doesn’t fit anyone’s expectations of a successful 1950s London socialite, least of all her own. When she receives an unexpected inheritance from a complete stranger, Madame Eva d’Orsey, Grace is drawn to uncover the identity of her mysterious benefactor.

Weaving through the decades, from 1920s New York to Monte Carlo, Paris, and London, the story Grace uncovers is that of an extraordinary women who inspired one of Paris’s greatest perfumers. Immortalized in three evocative perfumes, Eva d’Orsey’s history will transform Grace’s life forever, forcing her to choose between the woman she is expected to be and the person she really is.

The Perfume Collector explores the complex and obsessive love between muse and artist, and the tremendous power of memory and scent.]]> 456 Kathleen Tessaro 0062257838 Barbara 0 to-read 3.96 2013 The Perfume Collector
author: Kathleen Tessaro
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Invention of Wings 18079776
Sarah Grimké is the middle daughter. The one her mother calls difficult and her father calls remarkable. On Sarah's eleventh birthday, Hetty 'Handful' Grimké is taken from the slave quarters she shares with her mother, wrapped in lavender ribbons, and presented to Sarah as a gift. Sarah knows what she does next will unleash a world of trouble. She also knows that she cannot accept. And so, indeed, the trouble begins ...

A powerful, sweeping novel, inspired by real events, and set in the American Deep South in the nineteenth century, The Invention of Wings evokes a world of shocking contrasts, of beauty and ugliness, of righteous people living daily with cruelty they fail to recognize; and celebrates the power of friendship and sisterhood against all the odds.]]> 384 Sue Monk Kidd 0670024783 Barbara 0 to-read 4.24 2014 The Invention of Wings
author: Sue Monk Kidd
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.24
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Son 16240761
Part epic of Texas, part classic coming-of-age story, part unflinching portrait of the bloody price of power, The Son is an utterly transporting novel that maps the legacy of violence in the American West through the lives of the McCulloughs, an ambitious family as resilient and dangerous as the land they claim.

Spring, 1849. The first male child born in the newly established Republic of Texas, Eli McCullough is thirteen years old when a marauding band of Comanche storm his homestead and brutally murder his mother and sister, taking him captive. Brave and clever, Eli quickly adapts to Comanche life, learning their ways and language, answering to a new name, carving a place as the chief's adopted son, and waging war against their enemies, including white men-complicating his sense of loyalty and understanding of who he is. But when disease, starvation, and overwhelming numbers of armed Americans decimate the tribe, Eli finds himself alone. Neither white nor Indian, civilized or fully wild, he must carve a place for himself in a world in which he does not fully belong-a journey of adventure, tragedy, hardship, grit, and luck that reverberates in the lives of his progeny.

Intertwined with Eli's story are those of his son, Peter, a man who bears the emotional cost of his father's drive for power, and JA, Eli's great-granddaughter, a woman who must fight hardened rivals to succeed in a man's world.

Phillipp Meyer deftly explores how Eli's ruthlessness and steely pragmatism transform subsequent generations of McCulloughs. Love, honor, children are sacrificed in the name of ambition, as the family becomes one of the richest powers in Texas, a ranching-and-oil dynasty of unsurpassed wealth and privilege. Yet, like all empires, the McCoulloughs must eventually face the consequences of their choices.

Harrowing, panoramic, and vividly drawn, The Son is a masterful achievement from a sublime young talent.]]> 561 Philipp Meyer 0062120395 Barbara 0 to-read 4.02 2013 The Son
author: Philipp Meyer
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.02
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Birdsong 6259 483 Sebastian Faulks 0679776818 Barbara 0 to-read 4.11 1993 Birdsong
author: Sebastian Faulks
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.11
book published: 1993
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Crow Lake 8646 Crow Lake is that rare find, a first novel so quietly assured, so emotionally pitch perfect, you know from the opening page that this is the real thing—a literary experience in which to lose yourself, by an author of immense talent.

Here is a gorgeous, slow-burning story set in the rural “badlands” of northern Ontario, where heartbreak and hardship are mirrored in the landscape. For the farming Pye family, life is a Greek tragedy where the sins of the fathers are visited on the sons, and terrible events occur—offstage.

Centerstage are the Morrisons, whose tragedy looks more immediate if less brutal, but is, in reality, insidious and divisive. Orphaned young, Kate Morrison was her older brother Matt’s protegee, her fascination for pond life fed by his passionate interest in the natural world. Now a zoologist, she can identify organisms under a microscope but seems blind to the state of her own emotional life. And she thinks she’s outgrown her siblings—Luke, Matt, and Bo—who were once her entire world.

In this universal drama of family love and misunderstandings, of resentments harbored and driven underground, Lawson ratchets up the tension with heartbreaking humor and consummate control, continually overturning one’s expectations right to the very end. Tragic, funny, unforgettable, this deceptively simple masterpiece about the perils of hero worship leapt to the top of the bestseller lists only days after being released in Canada and earned glowing reviews in The New York Times and The Globe and Mail, to name a few.]]> 320 Mary Lawson 0385337639 Barbara 0 to-read 3.97 2002 Crow Lake
author: Mary Lawson
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.97
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> Claire of the Sea Light 16280051
From the best-selling author of Brother, I'm Dying and The Dew Breaker: a stunning new work of fiction that brings us deep into the intertwined lives of a small seaside town where a little girl, the daughter of a fisherman, has gone missing.

Claire Limyè Lanmè - Claire of the Sea Light - is an enchanting child born into love and tragedy in Ville Rose, Haiti. Claire's mother died in childbirth, and on each of her birthdays Claire is taken by her father, Nozias, to visit her mother's grave. Nozias wonders if he should give away his young daughter to a local shopkeeper, who lost a child of her own, so that Claire can have a better life.

But on the night of Claire's seventh birthday, when at last he makes the wrenching decision to do so, she disappears. As Nozias and others look for her, painful secrets, haunting memories, and startling truths are unearthed among the community of men and women whose individual stories connect to Claire, to her parents, and to the town itself. Told with piercing lyricism and the economy of a fable, Claire of the Sea Light is a tightly woven, breathtaking tapestry that explores what it means to be a parent, child, neighbor, lover, and friend, while revealing the mysterious bonds we share with the natural world and with one another. Embracing the magic and heartbreak of ordinary life, it is Edwidge Danticat's most spellbinding, astonishing book yet.]]> 238 Edwidge Danticat 030727179X Barbara 0 to-read 3.66 2013 Claire of the Sea Light
author: Edwidge Danticat
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.66
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Seduction of Water 227920 400 Carol Goodman 0345450914 Barbara 0 to-read 3.77 2003 The Seduction of Water
author: Carol Goodman
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.77
book published: 2003
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Interestings 15815333
The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers at a summer camp for the arts become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed. In The Interestings, Wolitzer follows these characters from the height of youth through middle age, as their talents, fortunes, and degrees of satisfaction diverge.

The kind of creativity that is rewarded at age fifteen is not always enough to propel someone through life at age thirty; not everyone can sustain, in adulthood, what seemed so special in adolescence. Jules Jacobson, an aspiring comic actress, eventually resigns herself to a more practical occupation and lifestyle. Her friend Jonah, a gifted musician, stops playing the guitar and becomes an engineer. But Ethan and Ash, Jules's now-married best friends, become shockingly successful—true to their initial artistic dreams, with the wealth and access that allow those dreams to keep expanding. The friendships endure and even prosper, but also underscore the differences in their fates, in what their talents have become and the shapes their lives have taken.

Wide in scope, ambitious, and populated by complex characters who come together and apart in a changing New York City, The Interestings explores the meaning of talent; the nature of envy; the roles of class, art, money, and power; and how all of it can shift and tilt precipitously over the course of a friendship and a life.]]> 468 Meg Wolitzer 1594488398 Barbara 0 to-read 3.58 2013 The Interestings
author: Meg Wolitzer
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.58
book published: 2013
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Winter People 18007535
Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara's farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she's not the only person looking for someone that they've lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.]]> 317 Jennifer McMahon 0385538499 Barbara 0 to-read 3.79 2014 The Winter People
author: Jennifer McMahon
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.79
book published: 2014
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[A Year in Provence (Provence, #1)]]> 40189 A Year in Provence transports us into all the earthy pleasures of Provençal life and lets us live vicariously at a tempo governed by seasons, not by days.]]> 224 Peter Mayle 0679731148 Barbara 4 4.00 1989 A Year in Provence (Provence, #1)
author: Peter Mayle
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.00
book published: 1989
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Signature of All Things 17465453 A glorious, sweeping novel of desire, ambition, and the thirst for knowledge, from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author of Eat, Pray, Love and Committed.

In The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert returns to fiction, inserting her inimitable voice into an enthralling story of love, adventure and discovery. Spanning much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the novel follows the fortunes of the extraordinary Whittaker family as led by the enterprising Henry Whittaker—a poor-born Englishman who makes a great fortune in the South American quinine trade, eventually becoming the richest man in Philadelphia. Born in 1800, Henry's brilliant daughter, Alma (who inherits both her father's money and his mind), ultimately becomes a botanist of considerable gifts herself. As Alma's research takes her deeper into the mysteries of evolution, she falls in love with a man named Ambrose Pike who makes incomparable paintings of orchids and who draws her in the exact opposite direction — into the realm of the spiritual, the divine, and the magical. Alma is a clear-minded scientist; Ambrose a utopian artist — but what unites this unlikely couple is a desperate need to understand the workings of this world and the mechanisms behind all life.

Exquisitely researched and told at a galloping pace, The Signature of All Things soars across the globe—from London to Peru to Philadelphia to Tahiti to Amsterdam, and beyond. Along the way, the story is peopled with unforgettable characters: missionaries, abolitionists, adventurers, astronomers, sea captains, geniuses, and the quite mad. But most memorable of all, it is the story of Alma Whittaker, who — born in the Age of Enlightenment, but living well into the Industrial Revolution — bears witness to that extraordinary moment in human history when all the old assumptions about science, religion, commerce, and class were exploding into dangerous new ideas. Written in the bold, questing spirit of that singular time, Gilbert's wise, deep, and spellbinding tale is certain to capture the hearts and minds of readers.]]> 512 Elizabeth Gilbert 0670024856 Barbara 4 3.84 2013 The Signature of All Things
author: Elizabeth Gilbert
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.84
book published: 2013
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Luminaries 17333230 The Luminaries is a brilliantly constructed, fiendishly clever ghost story and a gripping page-turner.]]> 848 Eleanor Catton 0316074314 Barbara 1 3.74 2013 The Luminaries
author: Eleanor Catton
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.74
book published: 2013
rating: 1
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Burgess Boys 15823461
With a rare combination of brilliant storytelling, exquisite prose, and remarkable insight into character, Elizabeth Strout has brought to life two deeply human protagonists whose struggles and triumphs will resonate with readers long after they turn the final page. Tender, tough-minded, loving, and deeply illuminating about the ties that bind us to family and home, The Burgess Boys is Elizabeth Strout's newest and perhaps most astonishing work of literary art.]]> 320 Elizabeth Strout 1400067685 Barbara 3 3.59 2013 The Burgess Boys
author: Elizabeth Strout
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.59
book published: 2013
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> And the Mountains Echoed 16115612 404 Khaled Hosseini 159463176X Barbara 2 4.07 2012 And the Mountains Echoed
author: Khaled Hosseini
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.07
book published: 2012
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Goldfinch 17333223
Aged thirteen, Theo Decker, son of a devoted mother and a reckless, largely absent father, survives an accident that otherwise tears his life apart. Alone and rudderless in New York, he is taken in by the family of a wealthy friend. He is tormented by an unbearable longing for his mother, and down the years clings to the thing that most reminds him of her: a small, strangely captivating painting that ultimately draws him into the criminal underworld. As he grows up, Theo learns to glide between the drawing rooms of the rich and the dusty antiques store where he works. He is alienated and in love - and his talisman, the painting, places him at the centre of a narrowing, ever more dangerous circle.

The Goldfinch is a haunted odyssey through present-day America and a drama of enthralling power. Combining unforgettably vivid characters and thrilling suspense, it is a beautiful, addictive triumph - a sweeping story of loss and obsession, of survival and self-invention, of the deepest mysteries of love, identity and fate.]]> 771 Donna Tartt 0316055433 Barbara 5 3.95 2013 The Goldfinch
author: Donna Tartt
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Husband's Secret 17802724 At the heart of The Husband’s Secret is a letter that’s not meant to be read

My darling Cecilia, if you’re reading this, then I’ve died...

Imagine that your husband wrote you a letter, to be opened after his death. Imagine, too, that the letter contains his deepest, darkest secret—something with the potential to destroy not just the life you built together, but the lives of others as well. Imagine, then, that you stumble across that letter while your husband is still very much alive. . . .

Cecilia Fitzpatrick has achieved it all—she’s an incredibly successful businesswoman, a pillar of her small community, and a devoted wife and mother. Her life is as orderly and spotless as her home. But that letter is about to change everything, and not just for her: Rachel and Tess barely know Cecilia—or each other—but they too are about to feel the earth-shattering repercussions of her husband’s secret.

Acclaimed author Liane Moriarty has written a gripping, thought-provoking novel about how well it is really possible to know our spouses—and, ultimately, ourselves.]]> 396 Liane Moriarty 0399159347 Barbara 2 3.93 2013 The Husband's Secret
author: Liane Moriarty
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2013
rating: 2
read at:
date added: 2014/04/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Rebecca 12873 Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again...

Working as a lady's companion, the heroine of Rebecca learns her place. Her future looks bleak until, on a trip to the South of France, she meets Max de Winter, a handsome widower whose sudden proposal of marriage takes her by surprise. She accepts, but whisked from glamorous Monte Carlo to the ominous and brooding Manderley, the new Mrs de Winter finds Max a changed man. And the memory of his dead wife Rebecca is forever kept alive by the forbidding housekeeper, Mrs Danvers...

Not since Jane Eyre has a heroine faced such difficulty with the Other Woman. An international bestseller that has never gone out of print, Rebecca is the haunting story of a young girl consumed by love and the struggle to find her identity.]]> 441 Daphne du Maurier 1844080382 Barbara 5 4.19 1938 Rebecca
author: Daphne du Maurier
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.19
book published: 1938
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Girl with a Pearl Earring 2865 The New York Times bestselling novel by the author of A Single Thread and At the Edge of the Orchard

Translated into thirty-nine languages and made into an Oscar-nominated film, starring Scarlett Johanson and Colin Firth

Tracy Chevalier transports readers to a bygone time and place in this richly-imagined portrait of the young woman who inspired one of Vermeer's most celebrated paintings.

History and fiction merge seamlessly in this luminous novel about artistic vision and sensual awakening. Girl with a Pearl Earring tells the story of sixteen-year-old Griet, whose life is transformed by her brief encounter with genius . . . even as she herself is immortalized in canvas and oil.]]> 233 Tracy Chevalier 0452287022 Barbara 4 3.94 1999 Girl with a Pearl Earring
author: Tracy Chevalier
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.94
book published: 1999
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The House at Riverton 1278752 The House at Riverton is a gorgeous debut novel set in England between the wars. Perfect for fans of "Downton Abbey," it's the story of an aristocratic family, a house, a mysterious death, and a way of life that vanished forever, told in flashback by a woman who witnessed it all.

The novel is full of secrets - some revealed, others hidden forever, reminiscent of the romantic suspense of Daphne du Maurier. It's also a meditation on memory and the devastation of war and a beautifully rendered window into a fascinating time in history.]]> 599 Kate Morton 0330448447 Barbara 0 to-read 3.95 2006 The House at Riverton
author: Kate Morton
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.95
book published: 2006
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> The Thirteenth Tale 40440
The enigmatic Winter has spent six decades creating various outlandish life histories for herself -- all of them inventions that have brought her fame and fortune but have kept her violent and tragic past a secret. Now old and ailing, she at last wants to tell the truth about her extraordinary life. She summons biographer Margaret Lea, a young woman for whom the secret of her own birth, hidden by those who loved her most, remains an ever-present pain. Struck by a curious parallel between Miss Winter's story and her own, Margaret takes on the commission.

As Vida disinters the life she meant to bury for good, Margaret is mesmerized. It is a tale of gothic strangeness featuring the Angelfield family, including the beautiful and willful Isabelle, the feral twins Adeline and Emmeline, a ghost, a governess, a topiary garden and a devastating fire.

Margaret succumbs to the power of Vida's storytelling but remains suspicious of the author's sincerity. She demands the truth from Vida, and together they confront the ghosts that have haunted them while becoming, finally, transformed by the truth themselves.

The Thirteenth Tale is a love letter to reading, a book for the feral reader in all of us, a return to that rich vein of storytelling that our parents loved and that we loved as children. Diane Setterfield will keep you guessing, make you wonder, move you to tears and laughter and, in the end, deposit you breathless yet satisfied back upon the shore of your everyday life.]]> 406 Diane Setterfield 0743298020 Barbara 4 3.96 2006 The Thirteenth Tale
author: Diane Setterfield
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2006
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy]]> 480479
Frances Mayes entered a wondrous new world when she began restoring an abandoned villa in the spectacular Tuscan countryside. There were unexpected treasures at every turn: faded frescos beneath the whitewash in her dining room, a vineyard under wildly overgrown brambles in the garden, and, in the nearby hill towns, vibrant markets and delightful people. In Under the Tuscan Sun, she brings the lyrical voice of a poet, the eye of a seasoned traveler, and the discerning palate of a cook and food writer to invite readers to explore the pleasures of Italian life and to feast at her table.]]> 304 Frances Mayes 0767900383 Barbara 3 3.77 1996 Under the Tuscan Sun: At Home in Italy
author: Frances Mayes
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.77
book published: 1996
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Memory Keeper's Daughter 10441 401 Kim Edwards 0143037145 Barbara 3 3.70 2005 The Memory Keeper's Daughter
author: Kim Edwards
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.70
book published: 2005
rating: 3
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Weird Sisters 8573020
The Andreas family is one of readers. Their father, a renowned Shakespeare professor who speaks almost entirely in verse, has named his three daughters after famous Shakespearean women. When the sisters return to their childhood home, ostensibly to care for their ailing mother, but really to lick their wounds and bury their secrets, they are horrified to find the others there. See, we love each other. We just don't happen to like each other very much. But the sisters soon discover that everything they've been running from-one another, their small hometown, and themselves-might offer more than they ever expected.]]> 320 Eleanor Brown 0399157220 Barbara 0 to-read 3.36 2011 The Weird Sisters
author: Eleanor Brown
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.36
book published: 2011
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves: to-read
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Fifth Woman (Kurt Wallander, #6)]]> 52415
The only clues Wallander has to go on are a skull, a diary, and a photo of three men. What ensues is a case that will test Wallander's strength and patience, because in order to discover the reason behind these murders, he will also need to uncover the elusive connection between these deaths and the earlier unsolved murder in Africa of the fifth woman.]]> 438 Henning Mankell 1400031540 Barbara 5 4.04 1996 The Fifth Woman (Kurt Wallander, #6)
author: Henning Mankell
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.04
book published: 1996
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Defending Jacob 11367726
Andy Barber has been an assistant district attorney in his suburban Massachusetts county for more than twenty years. He is respected in his community, tenacious in the courtroom, and happy at home with his wife, Laurie, and son, Jacob. But when a shocking crime shatters their New England town, Andy is blindsided by what happens next: His fourteen-year-old son is charged with the murder of a fellow student.]]> 421 William Landay 0385344228 Barbara 4 3.99 2012 Defending Jacob
author: William Landay
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.99
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Gone Girl 8442457 What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on his mobile phone.

So what did happen to Nick's beautiful wife?]]> 399 Gillian Flynn Barbara 4 3.93 2012 Gone Girl
author: Gillian Flynn
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.93
book published: 2012
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> Life of Pi 4214 460 Yann Martel 0770430074 Barbara 4 3.94 2001 Life of Pi
author: Yann Martel
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.94
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Silver Star 16130291
An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Money is tight, and the sisters start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town, who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Liz is whip-smart--an inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist, but when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz in the car with Maddox.

Jeannette Walls has written a deeply moving novel about triumph over adversity and about people who find a way to love each other and the world, despite its flaws and injustices.]]> 267 Jeannette Walls 1451661509 Barbara 5 3.71 2013 The Silver Star
author: Jeannette Walls
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.71
book published: 2013
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Bell Jar 6514 294 Sylvia Plath Barbara 5 4.05 1963 The Bell Jar
author: Sylvia Plath
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.05
book published: 1963
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Great Gatsby 4671 here, here and here.

The only edition of the beloved classic that is authorized by Fitzgerald’s family and from his lifelong publisher.

This edition is the enduring original text, updated with the author’s own revisions, a foreword by his granddaughter, and with a new introduction by National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward.

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. First published by Scribner in 1925, this quintessential novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the mysteriously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.]]> 180 F. Scott Fitzgerald 0743273567 Barbara 5 3.93 1925 The Great Gatsby
author: F. Scott Fitzgerald
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.93
book published: 1925
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> <![CDATA[The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)]]> 2429135
An international publishing sensation, Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo combines murder mystery, family saga, love story, and financial intrigue into one satisfyingly complex and entertainingly atmospheric novel.]]> 480 Stieg Larsson 0670069019 Barbara 4 4.18 2005 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1)
author: Stieg Larsson
name: Barbara
average rating: 4.18
book published: 2005
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]> The Catcher in the Rye 5107 It's Christmas time and Holden Caulfield has just been expelled from yet another school...

Fleeing the crooks at Pencey Prep, he pinballs around New York City seeking solace in fleeting encounters—shooting the bull with strangers in dive hotels, wandering alone round Central Park, getting beaten up by pimps and cut down by erstwhile girlfriends. The city is beautiful and terrible, in all its neon loneliness and seedy glamour, its mingled sense of possibility and emptiness. Holden passes through it like a ghost, thinking always of his kid sister Phoebe, the only person who really understands him, and his determination to escape the phonies and find a life of true meaning.

The Catcher in the Rye is an all-time classic in coming-of-age literature- an elegy to teenage alienation, capturing the deeply human need for connection and the bewildering sense of loss as we leave childhood behind.

J.D. Salinger's (1919–2010) classic novel of teenage angst and rebellion was first published in 1951. The novel was included on Time's 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923. It was named by Modern Library and its readers as one of the 100 best English-language novels of the 20th century. It has been frequently challenged in the court for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and in the 1950's and 60's it was the novel that every teenage boy wants to read.]]> 277 J.D. Salinger 0316769177 Barbara 5 3.81 1951 The Catcher in the Rye
author: J.D. Salinger
name: Barbara
average rating: 3.81
book published: 1951
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
shelves:
review:

]]>