Author Archives: Melissa Beck

About Melissa Beck

My reading choices are rather eclectic. I enjoy reading a wide range of books especially classics, literature in translation, history, philosophy, travel writing and poetry. I especially like to support small, literary presses.

September 19, 2014 · 7:35 pm

Stuck In A Good Book Blog Hop

I am happy to be participating in the latest blog hop hosted by I am a Reader, Not a Writer and Val at Stuck in Books. I am offering a $25 Amazon Gift Card so that you can buy either your own hardcover, a couple of paper back books, or several e-books.

I love it when I am reading a book that is so good that I lose all track of time and forget what’s going on around me. I’ve even burned dinner a few times because I’ve been stuck in a good book. I will give you suggestions of some of my favorite books that I have gotten “stuck” in lately. Then I invite you to scroll down and enter the giveaway.

1. Literary Fiction: The Naïve Guys by Harry Patz

I just finished this book a few weeks ago and it was funny and poignant at the same time. I would classify THE NAIVE GUYS not just as literary fiction, but also as historical fiction because of its accurate depiction of life in the early 90’s in New York. Mark, the main character, is trying to figure out his life and career now that the easy days of college are behind him. Click here for my full review

2. Historical Fiction: Madame Picasso by Anne Girard

Ever since I read this book I have been fascinated with the works of Picasso. This book is told from the point of view of one of his lovers, Eva Gouel. This book is about love, inspiration, history and art. If you like a Parisian setting in the early 20th century this is a must read. Click here for my full review.

3. Classics: Journey by Moonlight by Antal Szerb

This is a book that I have actually gotten “stuck” in on more than one occasion. The main character is sick of doing what his family, friends and society expect of him. When he goes to Italy on a honeymoon with his wife he gets “lost” in many different ways. This book kept me guessing the fate of the main character until the very end. Click here for my full review.

Please click on this Entry -Form to enter to win the $25 Amazon Gift Card. Giveaway ends on 9/25 and the winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to respond. Thanks so much for stopping by my site. If you like what you see please follow The Book Binder’s Daughter via e-mail so you don’t miss a review or giveaway!

Click here to see the other blogs participating in this hop!

5 Comments

Filed under Classics, Giveaways, Historical Fiction, Literature/Fiction

September 17, 2014 · 12:00 am

Review: Stevenson’s Treasure by Mark Wederanders

I am pleased to welcome Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours back to the Book Binder’s Daughter. Today the book I am reviewing is about the life and adventures of Robert Louis Stevenson. I invite you to read my review, learn a bit about the author and visit the other stops on the tour.

My Review:

The strength of this novel is the character of Robert Louis Stevenson himself. The story is told from two different points of view, that of Stevenson himself and a woman named Fanny with whom he is hopelessly in love. Stevenson has a great sense of humor and even though he is sickly with a lung disease and his life always seems to be a mess, he manages to make light of his turmoil through his humor.

Fanny and Stevenson meet at an art colony in France and he is immediately smitten with her. But Fanny is already married, albeit unhappily, and has two children. Stevenson ignores these obstacles that stand in their way of being together. When Fanny leaves to go back to California, Stevenson embarks on a 6,000 mile journey to find her again. How far would you be willing to journey to be with the one you love?

I think that we tend to idealize famous writers like Stevenson and image that stories and novels come to them effortlessly. Mark Wiederanders shows us that Stevenson’s writing process was anything but easy and Stevenson never really intended to write fiction at all. He likes to entertain Fanny, her children and others with his stories but he doesn’t start to write fiction in a serious way until he is forced to make a living from his stories.

STEVENSON’S TREASURES is a fun and entertaining read that mixes humor, great writing and adventure. I highly recommend this book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction set in the 19th century and for anyone who wants to know more about the multifaceted character of Robert Louis Stevenson.

About The Author:

Mark Wiederanders lives in Northern California and writes about the private lives of famous authors. His screenplay about William Shakespeare’s family, “Taming Judith” was a finalist in the Academy of Motion Pictures’ annual screenwriting competition and was optioned by a film company. The idea for his current novel, STEVENSON’S TREASURE hatched during a visit to Carmel, when Mark learned that Robert Louis Stevenson suffered a near-fatal collapse in 1879 while hiking nearby. What was the young, as-yet unknown Scottish writer doing so far from home?

To write the novel that resulted from this question, Mark studied hundreds of historical letters and visited sites near him in Monterey, San Francisco, and Calistoga. Then he followed Stevenson’s footsteps to Europe, lodging at the Stevenson home in Edinburgh followed by a week in the Highlands cottage where RLS wrote TREASURE ISLAND. Mark is also a research psychologist (Ph.D, University of Colorado) who has studied treatment programs for delinquents and the criminally insane. His interests include acting in community theater (recently a Neil Simon play), downhill skiing, golf, and spending time with his wife and three grown children.

For more information please visit Mark Wiederander’s website and blog. You can also find him on Facebook.

Stevenson’s Treasure Blog Tour Schedule:

Monday, September 15
Review & Interview at Back Porchervations

Tuesday, September 16
Review at The Writing Desk

Wednesday, September 17
Review at The Book Binder’s Daughter
Review, Interview & Giveaway at Based on a True Story

Thursday, September 18
Review at Library Educated

Friday, September 19
Spotlight at CelticLady’s Reviews

Monday, September 22
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, September 23
Interview at Book Babe

Wednesday, September 24
Spotlight at Princess of Eboli

Thursday, September 25
Review & Giveaway at Beth’s Book Reviews
Spotlight & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Friday, September 26
Spotlight & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Connection

Wednesday, October 1
Review at Svetlana’s Reads and Views

2 Comments

Filed under Uncategorized

September 15, 2014 · 12:00 am

Review: The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters

I received and Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book through the Penguin First To Read site.

When I write a review I like to give a bit of a summary to allow my readers to judge whether or not they would enjoy the setting and the characters of a book. THE PAYING GUESTS is hard to give a summary for without giving away the plot, so I will be a little more vague than I usually am with my comments. This is a very emotional read and makes the reader think about various social issues that are still controversial in the world today.

Frances Wray and her mother live in London in the early 1920’s in a large house but are barely making ends meet. Both of Frances’ brothers died in World War I and her father succumbed to apoplexy shortly thereafter. As a way to bring in more income, Frances and her mother decide to rent out the second floor of their house to tenants. This decision to open their house to a young couple, Leonard and Lillian Barber, drastically changes all of their lives forever. Frances is ashamed that she has to rent out her house to strangers, so she calls them “paying guests” to make herself feel better about the situation.

THE PAYING GUESTS reminds us that just because the Great War had ended, doesn’t mean that people weren’t still suffering from its far-reaching consequences. Many families, like Frances’, had multiple men, fathers, brothers, cousins, that were lost in battle. The women who are left behind are forced to pick up the emotional and financial pieces of their broken lives. Many of the men who were lucky enough to return home after the war are injured physically and emotionally and have a hard time finding employment.

Some of the themes that Sarah Waters explores in this novel are bold and just as relevant and controversial in the 21st century as they were in the 20th century. People are constantly trying to conform to what they think are acceptable norms in society. With whom are we ever truly ourselves? Do we put on different personas and acts for different types of relationships? This book makes us realize that when people are not allowed to be themselves, it forces them to do things they would not under ordinary circumstances. two major issues with the book were with the third part. The first two parts of the book we

The two major issues that I had with the book occurred in the third part. The first two parts were page-turners and there were so many unexpected plot turns. However, I felt that the story became much slower in the third part and the book could have been about 150 pages shorter. The author chose such controversial themes to explore and provided us with brave and courageous female characters. The ending, however, did not match the audacity of the rest of the novel.

Despite my issues with the last third of the book, I still think that THE PAYING GUESTS is worth a read if you like historical fiction set in the 1920’s. Maybe others won’t mind the ending. If you read this book let me know what you think in the comments.

6 Comments

Filed under Historical Fiction, World War I

Tagged as 20th Century, Historical Fiction, World War I

September 12, 2014 · 12:00 am

Review and Giveaway: Madame Picasso by Anne Girard

I am very excited to welcome Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tours back to the Book Binder’s Daughter today with an historical fiction novel set in early 20th Century France. I invite you to read my review, learn a bit about the author and enter to win your own copy of Madame Picasso. (US only)

My Review:

At the center of this magnificent tale of art and love is Picasso. When the story opens his star is just beginning to rise and he is among the celebrated artists hanging around the trendy cafes and social venues in Paris. The one thing in his life that he feels isn’t quite right is his relationship with his longtime mistress Fernande. He and Fernande have been together for five years and she was with him in the beginning of his career when he was a poor, starving artist. Does he really love her or is he holding on to her for the sake of nostalgia?

Picasso meets a petite and pretty woman named Eva who works as a seamstress at the Moulin Rouge. Eva has escaped her dull life in the suburbs of Paris to come to the city and make her own way. The actors and staff at the Moulin Rouge quickly understand that Eva, despite her petite stature, is a resourceful person whom many underestimate. Picasso also recognizes this passion in her and it ignites a fire within himself.

A large part of the book is the dance that Picasso and Eva do around each other. Picasso is not a free man and thoughts of Fernande hold him back from true love. Eva knows the reputation that this passionate Spanish artist has with women and doesn’t want to get her heart broken. Anne Girard keeps us guessing until the very end whether or not Eva and Picasso will find their happy ending.

The mark of a good historical fiction, for me, is whether or not the book makes you want to learn more about the time within which it is set. This was definitely the case for me with MADAME PICASSO. After reading this book I eagerly searched the Internet to understand more of Picasso’s art and the world in which he lived. Readers of historical fiction will definitely enjoy the Parisian setting amid the art world at the turn of the 20th century.

About the Author:

Anne Girard was born with writing in her blood. The daughter of a hard-driving Chicago newsman, she has always had the same passion for storytelling that fueled his lifelong career. She hand-wrote her first novel (admittedly, not a very good one) at the age of fourteen, and never stopped imagining characters and their stories. Writing only ever took a backseat to her love of reading.

After earning a bachelor’s degree in English literature from UCLA and a Master’s degree in psychology from Pepperdine University, a chance meeting with the acclaimed author, Irving Stone, sharply focused her ambition onto telling great stories from history with detailed research. “Live where your characters lived, see the things they saw,” he said, “only then can you truly bring them to life for your readers.” Anne took that advice to heart. After Stone’s encouragement twenty years ago, she sold her first novel. When she is not traveling the world researching her stories, Anne and her family make their home in Southern California. When she is not traveling or writing, she is reading fiction.

Anne also writes historical fiction under the name Diane Haeger. For more information, visit www.dianehaeger.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.

Giveaway:

The author is giving away one paperback copy of Madame Picasso to one of my readers in the U.S. The entry is very easy. Just leave a comment at the end of this post telling me you want to win! The winner will be chosen on Sept. 26th via e-mail and will have 48 hours to respond.

The Winner of the Giveaway is: Suzy Q. Thanks to everyone who entered!

Madame Picasso Blog Tour Schedule:

Monday, August 25
Review at Flashlight Commentary

Tuesday, August 26
Review at Historical Fiction Notebook
Interview & Giveaway at Flashlight Commentary

Wednesday, August 27
Review & Giveaway at Peeking Between the Pages
Interview & Giveaway at Historical Fiction Notebook

Thursday, August 28
Review & Giveaway at Words and Peace
Review & Giveaway at Kinx’s Book Nook

Friday, August 29
Review at Scandalous Women
Review at Curling Up by the Fire

Monday, September 1
Review at A Bookish Affair
Spotlight & Giveaway at Passages to the Past

Tuesday, September 2
Review & Giveaway at Luxury Reading
Interview & Giveaway at A Bookish Affair

Wednesday, September 3
Review at Gobs and Gobs of Books
Spotlight & Giveaway at Susan Heim on Writing

Thursday, September 4
Review & Giveaway at The Maiden’s Court

Friday, September 5
Review at To Read or Not to Read

Monday, September 8
Review at Book of Secrets
Review & Giveaway at Mina’s Bookshelf

Tuesday, September 9
Review at A Chick Who Reads

Wednesday, September 10
Review at Books in the Burbs

Thursday, September 11
Review at Ageless Pages Reviews

Friday, September 12
Review at Caroline Wilson Writes
Review at The Book Binder’s Daughter

Monday, September 15
Review at Layered Pages
Review at Carole’s Ramblings

Tuesday, September 16
Review at She is Too Fond of Books

Wednesday, September 17
Interview & Giveaway at Let Them Read Books

Thursday, September 18
Review at One Book of a Time

Friday, September 19
Spotlight & Giveaway at So Many Precious Books, So Little Time

Monday, September 22
Review & Giveaway at Broken Teepee

Tuesday, September 23
Review at The Librarian Fatale

Wednesday, September 24
Review at CelticLady’s Reviews
Review at WTF Are You Reading?

Thursday, September 25
Review at Kincavel Korner

Friday, September 26
Interview at Kincavel Korner

25 Comments

Filed under Historical Fiction

Tagged as Historical Fiction; Picasso; Paris

September 11, 2014 · 12:00 am

Review and Giveaway: I Looked For the One My Heart Loved by Dominique Marny

Book Synopsis:
Anne and Alexis are separated by war as children and reunited later by destiny. A powerful and dramatic love story that spans decades in spite of its seeming impossibility.

Anne, 9, and Alexis, 11, grow up together in the Montmartre area of Paris. While she has a major crush on him, he merely sees her as his friend’s little sister. After WWII begins, the two are separated as their families flee Paris to avoid the German occupation. When they say goodbye, Alexis promises to always protect Anne.

Anne holds on to this promise for years as she constantly thinks of Alexis, wondering where he may be. Anne grows up, finds works in an art gallery, and marries a kind, devoted man with whom she has two children. But her heart still belongs to Alexis and she never stops looking for him. Their paths cross fatefully one day in Brussels many years after they were separated.

Alexis, living in Canada and soon to be moving to San Francisco, has a family of his own; a wife in constant depression and a son. Despite their responsibilities to family and the geographical distance that keeps them apart, Anne and Alexis find a way to love one another, secretly yet passionately.

But after all this time, will they ever manage to be truly together, completely? [provided by the publisher]

My Review:

This was a lovely book that spans forty years of life in Paris beginning in 1939. When World War II begins, neighborhoods of families and friends are scattered throughout France. The main character in the book, Anne, and her family flee to the countryside to live with her grandparents until the turmoil of German occupation settles down. Anne who, at the time is 9 years old, is very upset to leave her brother’s friend Alexis on whom she has a childhood crush.

At first I thought that Anne’s fondness for Alexis, which she thinks back on throughout her adult life, was unrealistic. How many of us carry a torch for someone whom they met as a child? However, the circumstances surrounding the chaos and destruction of World War II leave an impression on Anne. Her thoughts of Alexis appear to be more than just a childhood crush; she looks back on the time she spent with him as one of peace and happiness before the war ushered in a period sadness, destruction and change.

Anne seems to be fond of her husband Francois, but he never is the great love of her life. He is comfortable and takes care her and they have two wonderful children. They never have anything in common beyond their family. So when Anne meets Alexis again later in life, she is easily tempted to have an affair with him because of their immediate connection. They share a past and memories of their old neighborhood of Montmartre and they both have a deep love and appreciation for art.

The author keeps us wondering until the end of the story if Anne and Alexis will ever be able to break free of their unhappy marriages and be together. I LOOKED FOR THE ONE MY HEART LOVED is a great read for those who appreciate historical fiction set in Paris.

About the Author:
Dominique Marny was raised in a family that loves art, literature, adventure and travels. In addition to being a novelist, she is a playwright, screenwriter, and writes for various magazines. Watch the video below in which Dominique talks about her book and how Paris inspired its setting.

Giveaway:

The publisher is giving away one paperback copy to someone in the U.S. and one e-book to all other International entries. The giveaway is open until 9/14. Click on the link below to enter:

Entry -Form

Thanks so much to France Book Tours for hosting another great tour. Please click on the banner below to see all of the stops on this tour and to view other ongoing tours:

10 Comments

Filed under Giveaways, Historical Fiction

Tagged as Giveaways, Historical Fiction, Paris, World War II

Author Archives: Melissa Beck

About Melissa Beck

Stuck In A Good Book Blog Hop