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1860: Elizabeth Packard is facing a battle. Her husband of twenty-one years feels increasingly threatened—by Elizabeth’s intellect, independence, and unwillingness to stifle her own thoughts. So, one summer morning, he has her committed to an insane asylum. The conditions inside the hospital are horrific, but most disturbing is that Elizabeth is not the only sane woman confined to the institution. There are many rational women who tell the same story: they’ve been committed to keep them in line. But Elizabeth is about to discover that the merit of losing everything is that you then have nothing to lose…
Hello, book friends! It’s time to get excited about new books again! One new book that I am really excited about, even though it doesn’t come out for several more months, is Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr. I have never read him before—can you believe it?!? Not even his Pulitzer Prize-winning novel All the Light We Cannot See. I have always meant to read it, but somehow it escaped me. Anyway, I was watching a live discussion with him last week about his new book, Cloud Cuckoo Land, and his enthusiasm and positivity was infectious! He had such wonderful things to say about books and reading. I immediately bumped it to the top of my list, and plan to start it as soon as I finish writing this newsletter. YAY, BOOKS!
Moving on to today’s books: I’m looking forward to a lot of today’s new releases, such as Antiman: A Hybrid Memoir by Rajiv Mohabir, God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney, and What a Happy Family by Saumya Dave. And speaking of today’s great books, for this week’s episode of All the Books! Patricia and I discussed some of the wonderful books that we’ve read, such as Filthy Animals, Yoke, Star Eater, and more.
And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite gameshow: AHHHHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants:
The Witness for the Dead (The Goblin Emperor) by Katherine Addison
Okay, I have to say that I have not read this one yet, but its release is such a huge deal, that I had to mention it. The Goblin Emperor came out seven years ago, and has such a loyal fanbase. To finally get a new book set in that world is big, like Winds of Winter big! From what I’ve read about this book, it’s a stand-alone that involves a minor character from The Goblin Emperor, and is a murder mystery. I’ve seen several reviews calling it a Sherlock Holmes-worthy mystery, which is very exciting. And supposedly you can read this one without having read the first book, but I highly recommend you check that one out, too! It’s about the half-goblin son of the emperor, who lives outside the palace walls. But then he must take over his father’s throne, after his father and half-brothers all die mysteriously.
Backlist bump: The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison
The Tragedy of Dane Riley by Kat Spears
This is an excellent YA novel dealing with grief and loss. Dane Riley is a teenager whose father has recently died from cancer. As if that isn’t bad enough, Dane is distraught when his mother soon begins dating his father’s best friend, whose son is a classmate as well as Dane’s biggest antagonist. Dane struggles with depression and grief, and his feelings of betrayal on his mother’s part, while also pining away for Ophelia, the girl next door. Why do people tell him he needs to move on, is it possible to get over such a loss, and can Dane come to terms with his grief and the changes in his life?
Backlist bump: The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord
Geniuses at War: Bletchley Park, Colossus, and the Dawn of the Digital Age by David A. Price
History nerds, rejoice! This is a riveting look at codebreaking with Alan Turing and the other geniuses of Bletchley Park, and how the race to crack the most difficult code of World War II led to the invention of what would be the first digital electronic computer. Price tells the fascinating story behind Colossus, the aforementioned computer, using recently declassified information about the project.
Backlist bump: The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer by Sydney Padua
Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! I am wishing the best for all of you in whatever situation you find yourself in now. – XO, Liberty