Jencey's Writer's Corner

  Who doesn’t love reading a book about book clubs?  The summer read selections can be the best. I don’t know if you will agree with Laurel, Paris, and Cassie with their selections.  Book clubs can also have great group dynamics that foster growth in the group.  What happens when the males enter the picture? Synopsis:  “The rules of summer book club are simple: No sad books No pressure Yessssss, wine! Besties Laurel and Paris are excited to welcome Cassie to the group. This year, the book club is all about fill-your-heart reads, an escape from the chaos of the everyday—running a business, raising a family, juggling a hundred to-dos. Even the dog is demanding (but the bestest boy). Since Laurel’s divorce, she feels like the Worst Mom Ever. Her skepticism of men may have scarred her vulnerable daughters. Cassie has an unfortunate habit of falling for ridiculous man-boys who dump her once she fixes them. Paris knows good men exist. She’s still reeling after chasin...

  Kristin Harmel’s book The Sweetness of Forgetting was her first World War II novel.  Recently, her publisher rereleased the book in 2022 with special features and updates.  I am a fan of Kristin Harmel’s books.  I found the recipes interesting and learned about some of the updates that Kristin made in this latest edition. Synopsis: “At thirty-six , Hope McKenna-Smith is no stranger to bad news. She lost her mother to cancer, her husband left her, and her bank account is nearly depleted. Her own dreams of becoming a lawyer long gone, she’s running a failing family bakery on Cape Cod and raising a troubled preteen. Now, Hope’s beloved French-born grandmother Mamie is drifting away in a haze of Alzheimer’s. But in a rare moment of clarity, Mamie realizes that unless she tells Hope about the past, the secrets she has held on to for so many years will soon be lost forever. Tantalizingly, she reveals mysterious snippets of a tragic history in WWII Paris. Armed with a sc...

  Today we move to World War I  and the adventures of the American Committee for  Devastated France (CARD).  This book appealed to me because it is about a librarian.  I also love history!  Author Janet Skeslien Charles is a new author to me.  I hope you are ready to go to war-torn France.  Synopsis:  “1918: As the Great War rages, Jessie Carson takes a leave of absence from the New York Public Library to work for the American Committee for Devastated France. Founded by millionaire Anne Morgan, this group of international women help rebuild destroyed French communities just miles from the front. Upon arrival, Jessie strives to establish something that the French have never seen—children’s libraries. She turns ambulances into bookmobiles and trains the first French female librarians. Then she disappears. 1987: When NYPL librarian and aspiring writer Wendy Peterson stumbles across a passing reference to Jessie Carson in the archives, she become...

  Colleen Oakley likes to pick interesting topics to write about in her book The Invisible Husband of Frick Island.  The main character is having a hard time moving forward with her life after the death of her husband.  What could go wrong?  Synopsis:  “Piper Parrish's life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom's crab boat capsized and his body wasn't recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper? Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national aw...

  Susan Nelson, in her adult debut, delves into the world of a librarian during World War II, which is inspired by real people.  What did a librarian do for the government?  Learn from Bea and Selene about their roles.  These roles were important and helped get critical intelligence to the allies.  Synopsis:  “Lisbon 1943. As two American librarians are drawn into a city of dangerous subterfuge and unexpected love affairs, they are forced to choose between their missions and the men they love. Brimming with evocative writing and meticulous research, award-winning author Suzanne Nelson spins a web of secret aliases, sweeping romance, and great sacrifice. With World War Two raging across Europe, best friends Selene Delmont and Beatrice Sullivan are enlisted by the U.S. Intelligence Office and sent to Lisbon—a sparkling city and hotbed of trouble, harboring exiled royalty, hunted refugees, and spies trading double-edged secrets in seductively dark corners. In ...

  While I love reading historical fiction, I am not a huge fan of the great depression.  Stephanie Dray is an author who focuses on women we may not know about in history.  Frances  Perkins was the first woman cabinet secretary.  She was the Secretary of Labor in FDR’s administration.  She was responsible for the New Deal and Social Security.  How did it all begin? Synopsis:  “Raised on tales of her revolutionary ancestors, Frances Perkins arrives in New York City at the turn of the century, armed with her trusty parasol and an unyielding determination to make a difference. When she’s not working with children in the crowded tenements in Hell’s Kitchen, Frances throws herself into the social scene in Greenwich Village, befriending an eclectic group of politicians, artists, and activists, including the millionaire socialite Mary Harriman Rumsey, the flirtatious budding author Sinclair Lewis, and the brilliant but troubled reformer Paul Wilson, with...