The Literary Salon, a page devoted to special books and literary reviews.

Starting in January 2019 I will be featuring the monthly Literary Salon.  (See the links below, which will redirect you to my regular blog posts).   Please drop in and don’t forget to wear something chic like in Paris. Introduction to The Literary Salon – January 9 2019  

Bundle up with a Bestseller – March 16 2023 – a review of six recent bestsellers.  

Review of Books – Summer 2022 – Part One – Oct. 13 2022 – a review of the books I read this summer. 

Review of Books – Summer 2022 – Part Two  – Oct. 27 2022  – a review of the books I read this summer.

Bloomsbury Girls – Natalie Jenner – Oct 4 2022 – historical fiction set in the 1950’s about three strong women working in a London bookstore.  

Miss Austen – The Other Sister – Gill Hornby – July 28 2022 – a fictional novel about Jane Austen’s sister.

Agatha Christie – Some Thoughts on Writing – Jun 16 2022 – some of her thoughts on writing. 

Agatha Christie – An Autobiography – June 9 2022 – a look at the fascinating life of this famous and prolific author

A Tale of Two Mysteries – April 21 2022 – a comparison of The Christie Affair and The Paris Apartment

The Maid – Nita Prose – April 7 2022 – a charming murder mystery starring Molly the Maid turned sleuth. 

The Betrayal of Anne Frank – A Cold Case Investigation – Rosemary Sullivan – Feb 24 2022 – a captivating look at identifying their betrayer seventy-five years later.  

Wintering – Katherine May – Jan 6 2022 – a collection of reflective essays on a season we all must go through.

Mr. Dickens and His Carol – Samantha Silva – Dec 22 2021 – a fictionalized account of how this classic came to be. 

Taste – My Life Through Food – Stanley Tucci – November 24 2021 – a food memoir and a delicious read. 

The Selected Journals of L.M.Montgomery – Edited by Mary Rubio and Elizabeth Waterston – May 27 2021 – a behind the scenes look at a creative but often troubled life. 

Anne of Green Gables – The Original Manuscript – Carolyn Strom Collins – May 20 2021 –complete with the additions and notes L.M. Montgomery made, this edition is a fascinating look into the creative process of this famous book. 

The Listening Path – An Artist’s Way Book – Julia Cameron – April 15 2021

Lean Out – A Meditation on the Madness of Modern Life – Tara Henley – a non-fiction blueprint on repairing your work-life balance.    Feb 18 2021 

Extra Time – Ten Lessons for an Ageing World – Camilla Cavendish – a non-fiction book about ageing, especially for those who dread it.    Jan 21 2021

A Christmas Carol with Recipes – a special hard-cover edition of the Dickens classic with mouth-watering traditional recipes.   Dec 10 2020 

The Jane Austen Society – Natalie Jenner – Nov 19 2020 – a fictionalized account of the rescue of Jane Austen’s Chawton House by a group of English villagers determined to preserve her legacy.

The Library Book – Susan Orleans – Oct 1 2020 – non-fiction – the perfect book for library lovers.  

Baked Alaska and a Book – Recipe for a Perfect Wife – Karma Brown – July 9 2020 – how to be a 1950’s housewife or not….

The Literary Salon – Secondhand: Adventures in the New Global Garage Sale – by Adam Minter.    July 2 2020 – a fascinating look at what really happens to the stuff you donate.

The Literary Salon – On Edge – by Andrea Petersen – Apr 23 2020 – a memoir about living with Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

The Literary Salon – The Great Influenza –  by John M. Barry – March 18 2020 – a timely topic about the 1918-19 flu pandemic.     Stay in and read! 

The Literary Salon – Mary Higgins Clark – RIP – Feb 27 2020 – a tribute to the Queen of Suspense.

The Literary Salon – Books and Brownies – February 6 2020  a roundup of this winter’s best reads.

The Literary Salon – The Man Who Invented Christmas – Dec 12 2019 – by Les Standiford.    For Charles Dickens fans, the story behind the writing of A Christmas Carol. 

The Literary Salon – A Modern Gothic Mystery –  Nov 14 2019- The Turn of the Key – Ruth Ware – a haunted house with Smart technology on the the windswept Scottish moors updates the classic Gothic mystery.  

The Literary Salon – Eating Local     – Oct 2 2019 – books to inspire healthier eating.

The Literary Salon – Quiet – The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking – Susan Cain   –   Aug 28 2019 –  a book for introverts

The Literary Salon – Beach Books – Summer 2019 – a little something for everyone under the sun. 

The Literary Salon – Help Me – June 2019 – one woman’s humorous but disastrous journey road-testing self-help books. 

The Literary Salon – Enchanted April 2019 – for those who want to time travel to an enchanted medieval castle in Italy.

The Literary Salon – Travel Books – March 2019 –  for when you get the urge to be on the road again.  

The Literary Salon – An Unwanted Guest –  January 9 2019 –  by Shari Lapena  (a murder mystery set in a country inn during a snowstorm – the perfect January read for a cold winter’s night).    

The Literary Salon – The Perfect Couple – Feb 2019 – by Elin Hilderbrand  (the perfect couple is getting married on Nantucket – but are they?  The perfect read for Valentine’s Day).

Regular Book Reviews will be posted on my Goodreads Account link on the home page. 

My Life with Bob: Flawed Heroine Keeps Book of Books, Plot Ensues by Pamela Paul

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This memoir by Pamela Paul about how reading shapes and defines our lives, is a delightful read. Flawed Heroine keeps Book of Books – Plot Ensues – a cover like that could not fail to catch the eye of readers everywhere. Like most bookworms being forever in pursuit of the next good read, I am always curious about what other people are reading. I must have something on reserve or I get edgy. Her story about being trapped in a yurt on the Chinese silk road in a snowstorm with no reading material reminded me of being stuck on the island of Tucks and Caicos (long before it was developed), for a whole week with five bad books and no shopping anywhere, except a strip mall of offshore storefronts and one tacky souvenir shop. I must confess I am not familiar with the author, as being Canadian I tend to haunt the Chapters bestseller lists, Heather’s Pick’s and/or the Globe and Mail. No one gets to be the editor of the New York Times Book Review unless they are a very good writer, so her prose is lovely, and the way she describes how the books influenced her life and vice versa is captivating. I could relate to the various stages of her reading life, but have only kept my own Bob for the past ten years….how I wish I had started earlier. Not being an English lit major, I was not familiar with some of her choices, nor her recommendations, but I enjoyed the book so much it didn’t matter. (Favourite quote: I had swiftly fallen from the Austenian security of destined couple to the Whartonian disgrace of divorcee).