Friday, March 27, 2009

Friday Finds (March 27)


What great books have you added to your wish list this week? Share your Friday Finds at Should Be Reading.


A friend lent me the November 2008 issue of The Writer magazine, which is all about writing memoir, and I was especially interested in an article by Catherine McCall, the author of Lifeguarding: A Memoir of Secrets, Swimming and the South. Her book is described thus: “There are two parents, three children and five ghosts in the McCall family.” Now doesn’t that sound intriguing? I couldn’t find any blog reviews of this book, but Beth Kephart has this to say about it: “There is, in every well-examined life, a turning point—a time when propriety yields to honesty and fear gives way to courage. This is Catherine McCall’s story, beautifully told, tenderly recollected.”

I was (again) in Indigo this week and came across two similarly titled but very different novels: The Sister by Paola Kaufmann and Blood Sisters by Barbara and Stephanie Keating. The Sister (originally published in Spanish as La hermana) is a novel about Emily Dickinson as seen through the eyes of her sister Lavinia and is based on authentic letters, journals and other documents from the Dickinson family. I love fictionalized accounts of authors’ lives, so this one is definitely on my wish list now!

I don’t normally read books written by two authors, but Blood Sisters, written by actual sisters Barbara and Stephanie, sounds very good. The story of three girls growing up in Kenya, this book is based on the authors’ experiences. It’s also the first in a trilogy (followed up by A Durable Fire; the third book is yet to come).


14 comments:

  1. The Sister sounds fasinating.

    Have a great weekend,
    Jess

    http://barneysbookblog.blogspot.com/2009/03/friday-finds_27.html

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  2. I love memoirs and books set in the South, so Lifeguarding sounds really good to me.

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  3. Blood Sisters sounds great :-) Have a great weekend! I'll think of you the next time I'm at NEMBF :-)

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  4. Blood Sisters sounds very good!

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  5. I thought for a second that I recognized The Sister but it's not the same book I thought it was. The one I have on my wishlist is also called The Sister but it's by Poppy Adams. And - it has a butterfly on the cover (although it isn't a blue one).

    Your 'sister' books look good too!

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  6. I've heard very good things about The Sister by Paola Kaufmann. My most recent book that I added to my list (found on another bloggers site) is called Heave by Christy Ann Conlin--set in Nova Scotia.

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  7. Glad you discovered The Sister because I've never heard of it and I love fictionalized author stories, too. :)

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  8. I'm just dropping by to let you know that I've given you an award:
    http://athomewithbooks.blogspot.com/2009/03/awards-roundup_28.html

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  9. Lifeguarding does sound intriguing! I'll have to keep my eye out for that one. The other two books you mention also sound good. You're making my wish list grow today!

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  10. A book written by two sisters ... how interesting!

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  11. The McCall house must be crowded! :) Hope you enjoy your new reads!

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  12. Nice finds! I haven't seen any of these before, and I love discovering new books.

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  13. Thanks, everyone, for your comments!

    Marie, I'm determined to get there myself one day. It's not that far from Montreal!

    Myckyee, I have the Sister book you are thinking of; I'll be happy to pass it on to you once I'm done reading it!

    Yikes, Danielle, I just looked up Heave and it sounds intense!

    Thanks again, Alyce!

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