I always look forward to Carol Goodman's novels. They are perfect summer beach reads. Usually they are set in upstate New York, and there is generally some sort of mystery involved in the story--though the books are not traditional mysteries, more a mixture of mystery and suspense. I was hooked with her first book, The Lake of Dead Languages (which I am told--as I have not read it, I can't guarantee--is reminiscent of Donna Tartt's The Secret History). I have read each new novel as it has come out, and while I think the first remains my favorite, I still have enjoyed her subsequent books.
Her newest novel, The Sonnet Lover, was just released this month. I try and not buy hardcovers, but this is one case where I know I will actually have it read within the month after I buy it (unlike other hardcover books that I buy and later get peeved about when I see them in the bookstore in paperback--and I still have not read the book!--an annoying habit I am trying to break). This novel is set yet again in New York, but also in Italy. According to the description on the book jacket:
"Did Shakespeare pen a series of passionate sonnets, unknown to modern scholarship, ardently praising a mysterious dark-haired beauty? This tantalizing question is raised in a letter to literature professor Rose Asher. But the letter’s author, Rose’s star pupil, is not telling. A troubled, enigmatic young man, he plunged to his death in front of the college’s entire faculty, an apparent suicide. Determined to find the truth, Rose journeys from New York to Italy, back to the magnificent Tuscan villa where as an undergraduate she first fell in love."
When I was at the bookstore I also spotted two interesting nonfiction books (which I managed to not succumb to buying!); Privilege and Scandal: The Remarkable Life of Harriet Spencer, Sister of Georgiana , by Janet Gleeson, and A Mirror Garden: A Memoir , by Monir Farmanfarmaian. I read Georgiana: Duchess of Devonshire , by Amanda Foreman a few years ago and enjoyed it, which made me pick up the Gleeson book. I was so close to buying it, but knowing how slow I am to get to books sometimes, I set it back down (yes, it is a hardcover). I am not sure why I am so attracted to reading about British aristocrats, but I can't help myself. I guess if there is a life as different than my own--that would be it. And it is always interesting to read about what you don't have I suppose. Farmanfarmaian's memoir sounds exotic. Yet another privileged life--she was born in Iran into a prominent family, she later came to New York to study as an artist. Two books I will be looking for at the library! Yes, more books to add to the neverending queue. Can't you just see all those books lined up one after the other waiting patiently to be read??