The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong, a recently published historical fiction story that spans World War I and the 1970s, when the first women were admitted into the Naval Academy; I'm reading Taylor Jenkins Reid's upcoming (to be published tomorrow) story about a cutthroat tennis legend making a comeback, Carrie Soto Is Back; and I'm listening to Empire of the Summer Moon, fascinating nonfiction by S.C. Gwynne about the Comanches and the American West.
What are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms?
01 The War Librarian by Addison Armstrong
Addison Armstrong's recently published historical fiction The War Librarian is inspired by the real-life stories of the first female volunteer librarians during World War I, as well as the first women who were accepted into the Naval Academy more than 50 years later.
The story shifts between 1918, when a young woman at the Dead Letter Office bravely embarks on a dangerous journey to France to serve as a librarian near the front lines of World War I, and 1976, when another young woman is determined to gain acceptance as one of the first female cadets at the U.S. Naval Academy.
Each women's secrets could be their undoing, and they must each fight harder for their rightful places in history than any of the men serving alongside them.
I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of Penguin Group Putnam and NetGalley.
02 Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Tough, talented Carrie Soto retired from tennis at the top of her game, as the best player in the world and the greatest of all time.
Her cutthroat desire to win didn't make her the most popular player in the world. But Carrie and her father sacrificed everything to get her to the top, setting records that should cement her place in tennis history.
Now retired, Carrie is a spectator at the US Open when she sees her record threatened by a young upstart.
No one returns to tennis at age 37. But with her fierce determination to win, believe it: Carrie Soto is back.
I received a prepublication edition of this book courtesy of Ballantine Books and NetGalley.
03 Empire of the Summer Moon: Quanah Parker and the Rise and Fall of the Comanches, the Most Powerful Indian Tribe in American History by S.C. Gwynne
In Empire of the Summer Moon, S.C. Gwynne explores the forty-year battle between white settlers and Native Americans in the American West, particularly focusing on Quanah, the chief of the most powerful tribe in American history.
Gwynne traces the evolution of the Comanches--including their unprecedented skill at breeding, breaking, riding, amassing, and trading horses as well as their revolutionary fighting style of hanging on the sides of their horses and shooting arrows under the horses' heads while galloping at full speed.
He also offers the fascinating story of Cynthia Ann Parker, a captive who assimilated into the Comanche tribe, married and bore children, and repeatedly refused to leave with white men determined to return her to a pioneer life.
One of Cynthia Ann's sons is Quanah, a legendary warrior who was never defeated by white men, and the complications and implications of his white-Native American heritage are emblematic of the conflicts, struggles, and balances of power that played out in our nation's history and within this book.