Tradition! by Barbara Isenberg (2014)

Subtitled: The Highly Improbably, Ultimately Triumphant Broadway-to-Hollywood Story of Fiddler on the Roof, the World's Most Beloved Musical.

 

Highly readable and light story of the making of Fiddler on the Roof, from conception to film to revivals all around the world. 

Filled with lots of little gems about the theater world, from personalities like Jerome Robbins and Zero Mostel (always fascinating) to the fact that Chaim Topol was only in his 30s when he filmed the movie, Isenberg even mentions Lin-Manuel Miranda's using Fiddler as inspiration not only for In the Heights, but for his wedding dance. 

Dishy and interesting, but still poignant and beautifully conveys the universality of the show.

The Knockoff by Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza (2015)

I love few things more than a dishy novel about the world of magazine publishing. It brings me back to my chick lit days! 

Imogen Tate returns from a medical leave of absence to her job as editor-in-chief at Glossy magazine, and her former assistant (Eve) is now running the social media arm of the magazine. Imogen doesn't know Twitter from Tumblr, so conflict and drama and delicious behind the scenes ensues. 

Pretty darn fun.

Romancing the Duke by Tessa Dare (2014)

The first in the very delightful Castles Ever After series.

Utterly charming romance novel about the daughter of a famous author who inherits a castle, which just happens to have a reclusive, scarred Duke living in it. 

 Lovely romance with great characters, humor, and very slight and sly nods to contemporary life--blink and you will miss them. So very, very romantic and a little sexy. Yay!

Big Little Man: In Search of My Asian Self by Alex Tizon (2014)

Alex Tizon is a Pulitzer-Prize winning journalist, formerly for the Los Angeles Times and Seattle Times. He and his family immigrated from the Phillipines when he was a young boy, when he quickly realized that American culture stereotyped Asian men in extremely negative ways. 

At age fourteen, he started keeping files of whenever he ran across something related to Asians—mostly race and manhood and power and sex, he would make a note and file it away. It ended up being two file cabinets full of "evidence" that he had no idea what to do with until many years later, this book.

In this book, he explores the many depictions of Asians in popular culture, and how they affected his own identity. In addition to his own experiences, he travels across the world to rediscover Asian explorers, warriors and great leaders, Asian men throughout history who have been forgotten or ignored by American history books.

This is a candid, engaging and incredibly illuminating memoir that covers a subject that isn't covered much in popular culture: sex and the Asian male.

Say Yes to the Marquess by Tessa Dare (2014)

Another absolutely adorable romance in the Castles Ever After series. 

This one is about Clio, who has been engaged to diplomat and world-wanderer Piers for eight years and has had enough. Once she inherits a castle, she decides to go it alone. But Piers brother, former prizefighter and yes, rake, is trying everything he can to keep them together. Even though the chemistry between them is amazing. 

It's very cute and funny and romantic. I love how Dare combines the tropes of historical romance with strong heroines, dishy romance and the smallest, subtlest nods to contemporary culture. Fun fun!

Happily Ever After by Elizabeth Maxwell (2014)

I love a book that leaps off the shelf at me at the library and asks me to take it home. This book was misshelved while I was looking for something else and it leapt into my hand. 

Sadie Fuller is a single mother, and a romance novelist who writes erotica under a pseudonym. Meanwhile, she's raising her daughter, dealing with her gay ex-husband, and dodging the PTA. When she runs into her newest romantic lead at Target, things get interesting. But not in the way that you might think. 

It's a fabulously original unexpected story with rich, realistic characters in a magical situation. So much quiet, dry humor. I love a scene when her ex forbids her to do something, then they pause to laugh hysterically at the thought of him forbidding her to do anything. 

Funny, realistic and delightful. I love a book where I'm not even done with it and I'm already looking for more work by the author. A total hidden gem, ala Tuscany for Beginners or Nancy's Theory of Style. Adorable.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik (2015)

So sigh. 

Despite a blurb from Gregory Maguire on the cover, I adored this book. A lovely fairy tale retelling which keeps the barest bones of the original tale (Beauty and the Beast) and transforms it into a magical, original tale. 

Agnieszka lives in a small village with her family in a land that is threatened by the mysterious Wood. The Dragon, a distant, cold wizard who protects the land chooses one girl every ten years to serve him in his tower. To everyone's surprise and dismay, Agnieszka is chosen. She learns that she has magic and works with the difficult, diffident Dragon to explore her magical abilities. 

But before you know it, her friends, family and land are threatened by the Wood and a magical war takes place. I love the friendship between Agnieszka and her good friend Kasia, the mysterious danger of the Wood, and the burgeoning relationship between Agnieszka and the Dragon. Plus, this book is a super dreamy grown-up romance.

I adored the insults that the Dragon throws at Agnieszka, like "recalcitrant idiot." Also, this book features very swoony kissing: "'You intolerable lunatic' he snarled at me, and then he caught my face between his hands and kissed me."

Romantic, suspenseful, well-written, and heart-rending, this is just a completely lovely novel.

You by Caroline Kepnes (2014)

Well-written thriller about a bookstore clerk who stalks, romances and stalks an attractive female customer. The stakes are high, and the perspective is really interesting. Although I normally loathe book written in the second person--to "you"--writing this narrative to the stalkee works beautifully and is very chilling. 

It's fascinating to read a stalkerish tale that takes place in the contemporary social media landscape. It's a deeply complex and yet very readable story. 

To say more would be spoilery.

George by Alex Gino (2015)

Juvenile novel about George, a young boy who considers himself a girl and his struggle with figuring herself out, telling his family, and desiring to star as Charlotte in the school play of Charlotte's Web. 

I kept bracing for something horrible to happen, and was cheered when it didn't. But Gino depicts the everyday stresses of childhood very well, and very evocatively. The look inside George's head, or as he prefers to think of himself, "Melissa," is unique and well done. 

A definite addition to the new transgender literature.

A School for Brides by Patrice Kindl (2015)

Young adult, Jane Austenesque sequel to the equally adorable Keeping the Castle, which was in its own way a nod to I Capture the Castle. 

Sometimes you just have to let a book speak for itself:

"Oh, she was pretty enough in the usual way, but she was not the heroine of a novel, fit for drama and a life of extraordinary jobs and griefs. No, she was one who would find contentment as the wife of a gentleman landowner and farmer, a magistrate and person of importance in a small country village. She was cut from a simple, strong cloth that would was and wear well, with modest trimmings for a holiday, she was not a fragile velvet or satin that must be kept for best."

"A happy marriage confers a great advantage upon all members of the union: the wife, the husband, and any children in their care. It is not essential for fulfillment in life; both sexes may live singly and be well satisfied with their lot. And not every marriage is happy; many married people must seek their contentment elsewhere. Yet where a sturdy bond does grow up between a wedded pair it becomes a source of strength and joy their whole lives through." 

 Great characters, lovely humor, adorable and sweet book. 

The Viscount Who Lived Down the Lane by Elizabeth Boyle (2014)

Lovely Regency novel about Louisa Tempest, a young woman who "comes face-to-face with the reclusive Viscount Wakefield. But even more dismaying than his foul temper is the disarray in which she finds his home. Convinced his demeanor would improve if his household were in order, Louise resolves to put everything to rights." (Thanks, Goodreads!)

What? Organizing AND romance? Yes, please! 

Don't forget the great characters, realistic relationships, and the very lovely romance. A new favorite author.

Destiny's Embrace by Beverly Jenkins (2013)

Perfectly dreamy romance. Beverly Jenkins is often mentioned as a great romance author of color and a great author, period. 

This historical romance is about Mariah Cooper, a headstrong woman who leaves her lousy, abusive mother and heads across the country to work as a housekeeper for a handsome rancher in California. 

Drama, chemistry, and love ensues as well as excellent character development, along with a fascinating thread of race issues that runs throughout the entire book. 

And very romantic! Beautiful.

The Killer Next Door by Alex Marwood (2014)

The tagline: "How well do you know your neighbours?"

The novel takes place in an apartment building in South London. The tenants, all a bit down on their luck, have a variety of problems, but one of them holds one very nasty secret: he/she is a serial killer. 

Marwood keeps the tension and the suspense at a high level throughout the whole book, even after the killer is unveiled halfway through. The characters are strong, the plot is well done. Quite a bit of suspense, and it dips into horror as well. It's also wonderfully rich in its London setting, and features a fantastic ending.

See also The Wicked Girls. Equally gripping (if a little fat-shaming.)

Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg (2015)

Charming nonfiction book where Aziz, with the help of nonfiction writer Eric Klinenberg (Going Solo, Heat Wave), explores modern romance, online dating, patterns of love and so on. 

I love Aziz's distinctive, hilarious voice which comes through so vividly in the narrative. I totally also admire the effort he made to do something broader and more universal than the traditional comedian memoir. 

Movie Star: A Novel by Lizzie Pepper by Hilary Liftin (2015)

If you've ever been even mildly intrigued by the Tom Cruise/Katie Holmes marriage/fiasco and the world of Hollywood and Scientology, you'll love this novel.

It's a marvelously dishy roman a clef fictional memoir by "Lizzie Pepper", a young actress who marries a megastar actor who is involved with a powerful Hollywood church/cult. Sound familiar? 

It's wonderfully Inside Hollywood not only in the Scientology scandal aspect but as how superstardom really works. It's a fascinating look at how the whole process works and a great slant on an often-speculated about, complicated relationship. Fun and SO dishy.

Stand Up Straight and Sing! by Jessye Norman (2014)

Jessye Norman became famous in the world of opera, but now considers herself to be a singing artist. She has won Grammys, the National Medal of the Arts, and a Kennedy Center Honor. 

She grew up in Augusta, George in the 1940s, a time when the deep South was still segregated. Her parents were active in civil rights issues and race was always at the forefront in her childhood. Her parents spoke of illustrious African American leaders as if they knew them personally, and they felt as close as family.

"I learned about race discrimination and America's system of apartheid long before my first day of school... Jim Crow was hard to miss in Augusta in the 1950s and 60s. It was written in bold block letters above the water fountains and the phone booths and the public restrooms. It was on signs above the waiting areas at the train station and the restaurants and convenience stories, too; WHITES ONLY. COLORED ONLY. The schools were segregated, as were the churches, and the neighborhoods of Augusta were defined clearly along racial lines. There was absolutely no way the message could be ignored, especially for a curious little girl who had learned to read rather early."

Norman's writing is stately and majestic—even when describing the many incidents of racism that have affected her life. From Augusta, Georgia to the less-than-inclusive world of grand opera, this is a fascinating book.

Waking Up White: and Finding Myself in the Story of Race by Debby Irving (2014)

Debby Irving grew up in a suburb of Boston, as WASPy as you can get and was totally clueless about race. As she began work on racial equity, she quickly found out she had much to learn. In her own words: 

"Not so long ago, if someone had called me a racist, I would have kicked and screamed in protest. "But I'm a good person!" I would have insisted. "I don't see color! I don't have a racist bone in my body!" … I thought being a racist meant not liking people of color or being a name-calling bigot."

"It turns out, stumbling block number 1 was that I didn't think I had a race, so I never thought to look within myself for answers. The way I understood it, race was for other people, brown and black-skinned people."

"Waking up white has been an unexpected journey that's required me to dig back into childhood memories to recall when, how and why I developed such distorted ideas about race, racism and the dominant culture in which I soaked."

Debby Irving is now a racial justice educator. Her hope is that by sharing her own sometimes cringe-worthy struggles, she can offer a fresh perspective on bias, stereotypes, and tolerance. It's a fascinating book and well worth reading for anyone who is interested in exploring issues of race, racism and white privilege.

The Prince of Los Cocuyos by Richard Blanco (2014)

Richard Blanco is best known as a poet. He was the fifth inaugural poet in the US, and the youngest, first Latino, immigrant and gay person to be chosen as an inaugural poet. His memoir is about growing up in a vibrant, Cuban-American extended family and community in Miami. 

Much of his youth was spent divided between two almost imaginary worlds: The Cuba that his family left behind and idealize and the equally idealized America he saw on television shows like the Brady Bunch. He struggled between the two, not really belonging fully to either, despite his best efforts to teach his family American ways.

Here's a telling bit from a family road trip to Disneyland:

“Mama stepped inside slowly and cautiously scanned the crowd like a dumbfounded senorita Dorothy in the land of los americanos. No one looked Cuban, much less felt Cuban; none of the men smelled like cigars, none of the women had their hair up in rollers, and no one was kissing anyone on the cheek or yelling to each other across the room. There wasn’t a single word of Spanish in the air and all the signs were in English only. Mama and Papa were at our mercy.”

Blanco writes of his childhood with humor and affection, and yet quite clear-eyed realism, particularly as he learns about himself and his sexuality.

Fire Shut in My Bones by Charles Blow (2014)

“I looked over at the rusting pistol on the passenger seat. It was a .22 with a long black barrel and a wooden grip. It was the gun my mother had insisted I take with me to college “just in case.” I had grabbed it from beneath my seat when I jumped into the car. I cast glances at it as I drove. I had to convince myself that I was indeed about to use it.”

This memoir, by a columnist for the New York Times, is about growing up poor, African-American and sexually conflicted in a small, segregated town in Louisiana.

Blow shares his rich family history, the vibrant characters and vignettes from his childhood, which felt so out of time I had to keep reminding myself we were born the same year. This mesmerizing, gripping memoir follows him into college and interning for the New York Times, which brings us to the beginning of the book. 

So does he use the gun? Read the book and find out.

When a Scot Ties the Knot by Tessa Dare (2015)

Upon reading this book, I immediately decided that I LOVED Tessa Dare and must read all of her novels at once.

Third in the Castles Ever After series (all about women inheriting castles--how awesome is that?), this historical romance is about a shy woman who makes up a dashing imaginary Scottish soldier boyfriend and sends him letters (which gets her family off her back.) All goes well (and she inherits a castle) until the imaginary Scot shows up at her front door as real as it gets.

This novel has everything I love in a romance: rich, endearing characters, marvelous chemistry and romantic, uncontrived build-up. I love their joke about "remember when" when the thing is happening right now, and I love her calling him Captain MacGrumpy or whatever variation on his name she feels like. Trust me, it's far cuter than I'm making it sound. Just loooovely.

The CEO Buys in by Nancy Herkness (2015)

When I look at the title and cover of this book, I think: really? I liked this?  But I did.

This is a rather delicious romance novel about self-made, disillusioned billionaire Nathan Trainor, who makes a bet with two other billionaires that he can find a woman who loves him for him, not for his money. Enter temp Chloe Russell who is quickly promoted to his assistant after a flu outbreak, and when Trainor falls ill, finds herself spending time with him at his palatial penthouse.

I love a nice, substantial, competent heroine and Chloe Russell definitely fits the bill. Great character work all around and some lovely love scenes add up to a delightful romance novel.

Also, if you've ever watched the fabulously gorgeous Miss Fisher Mysteries and eyed Detective-Inspector Jack Robinson with interest, you'll love this book. The hero is a dead ringer for DI Robinson, just transferred to the present. Nothing wrong with that.

The Uninvited by Cat Winters (2015)

This historical novel is set during WWI and the influenza epidemic. Ivy recently recovered from a bout of the flu, and is finding the world has changed radically since she took to her bed. Not only is she dealing with the loss of family members, she still has her lifelong ability to see ghosts.

She struggles with the overzealous American Protection League and her feelings for a German living in her town while taking on the job of driving a Red Cross ambulance. And did I mention she see ghosts? So very lovely and romantic.

See also the romantic ghost stories of Simone St. James.