book nation by jen

Fiction

Sisters Cling to Lies to Maintain Their Not-So-Perfect Lives in Lauren Weisberger’s Latest

A perfect beach book that surprises and delights, makes you laugh and cry and sing 80s hair band music … there is nothing better than Lauren Weisberger’s new novel, Where The Grass Is Green And The Girls Are Pretty (Random House) to escape to a Paradise of sorts! Sisters, Peyton and…

Jennifer BlankfeinMay 19, 2021

Fiction

Steven Rowley’s “The Guncle” Packs a Gut-Punch of Heart and Humor

The Guncle (G.P. Putnam's Sons) by Steven Rowley is a delightfully heartfelt story of family and loss; the perfect book to kick off the summer, especially during Pride Month. Uncle Patrick, the fun uncle who lives across the country in Palm Springs, has no experience with children yet he is…

Jennifer BlankfeinJune 17, 2021

Fiction

Powerful Story Collection “To Be a Man” Dissects Gender Roles

“Krauss imbues her prose with authoritative intensity. In short, her work feels lived ... The strange urgency of Krauss’s art ... continues to haunt a reader’s mind and heart.” — The Washington Post —∞— "Each story is masterfully crafted and deeply contemplative, barreling toward a shimmering, inevitable conclusion, proving once…

Jennifer BlankfeinFebruary 8, 2021

Fiction

The Struggles and Joys of an Irishman’s Life Unfold in Epic Tale

https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/booktrib_the-hearts-invisible-furies-john-boyne.jpg There some epic novels that are ideal to tackle when you can devote a big chunk of time, and this winter could be just the time to make the commitment. Sinking your teeth into a long, well-written novel and feeling all the feels is a perfect way to spend…

Jennifer BlankfeinNovember 4, 2020

Fiction

“The Flight Portfolio” Inspired by Man Who Helped Jewish Artists Escape Occupied France

“Masterfully crafted and impossible to put down ... a testament to the enduring power of art, and love, in any form.” —Entertainment Weekly — AVAILABLE IN PAPERBACK BEGINNING JULY 1 — The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer (Knopf), an incredible, important work of fiction with a touch of humor, is…

Jennifer BlankfeinMay 26, 2020

Business Business - Featured Nonfiction

From Professional Peaks to Personal Pitfalls, Katie Couric’s Memoir Spares No Detail

I loved this memoir amidst the backdrop of modern history. With so many tears and "laugh out loud" moments, this was a joy, a walk down memory lane and an eye-opener. When my kids were little, I was a loyal Today Show viewer and, like most who turned to NBC…

Jennifer BlankfeinFebruary 4, 2022

Business Nonfiction

“From the Corner of the Oval:” A Job Landed by Craigslist

Beck Dorey-Stein is not unlike any young adult fresh out of school and focused on herself, her friends and her love life. Her boyfriend shenanigans and drinking escapades are typical and par for the course. But her job was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and captured in her memoir, From the Corner…

Jennifer BlankfeinSeptember 17, 2018

Book Club Network Thrillers

Debut Novel by Catherine Steadman is Bombshell Thriller

Psychological thrillers have been all the rage recently, beloved for their ability to grab your attention from the very first pages, pull you in, and become so intertwined and twisted that you're forced to second-guess yourself... and Downton Abbey actress Catherine Steadman has done just that in her fast-moving, debut novel Something…

Jennifer BlankfeinJuly 10, 2018

Book Club Network Nonfiction

“The Sun Does Shine:” Hinton Stares Down Death Row

The Sun Does Shine (St. Martin's Press) is a powerful and important memoir, showing a discouraging side of our legal system and an incredible testament of stamina and hope from one special individual Anthony Ray Hinton. In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted of murder in Alabama and sentenced to the…

Jennifer BlankfeinSeptember 6, 2018

Book Club Network Nonfiction

Susan Orlean Exposes Importance of Local Libraries

We know that today, libraries do not just house books, but they provide so much more to their community. In April 1986 a suspicious fire started at the Los Angeles Public Library and destroyed over 400,000 books and countless irreplaceable historical materials. Some of the lost relics included a cherished…

Jennifer BlankfeinDecember 26, 2018

Book Club Network Book Club Network - Featured2 Fiction Fiction - Featured

Indian American Journalist Investigates Violence Enacted in the Name of “Honor”

“A woman can live in one of two houses — fear or love. It is impossible to live in both at the same time.” I loved Honor (Algonquin Books), an emotional, thought-provoking story, and the incredible writing of the author, Thrity Umrigar. Smita Agarwal, an Indian American reporter from Brooklyn cuts…

Jennifer BlankfeinJanuary 5, 2022

Book Club Network Book Club Network - Featured2 Fiction

Identity Is Complicated in “The Vanishing Half”

https://booktrib.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/the-vanishing-half-brit-bennett.jpg In an outstanding second novel that's now a Good Morning America Book Club pick, author Brit Bennett tackles the topic of identity, showing that who we are on the outside is only one part of us. The Vanishing Half is the story of African American identical twins in the 1950s…

Jennifer BlankfeinAugust 10, 2020

Book Club Network Fiction

Injustice for the Accused in Literary Thriller “A Burning”

"Majumdar excels at depicting the workings of power on the powerless... Fate has rarely been so many-faced, so muscular, so mercurial, or so mesmerizing." —The New York Times Book Review “This all-consuming story rages along, bright and scalding… The effect is transporting, often thrilling, finally harrowing… A damning critique of a…

Jennifer BlankfeinJune 29, 2020

Book Club Network Fiction

This “Trust Exercise” Crosses Student/Teacher Boundaries

Trust Exercise (Henry Holt & Co.) by Susan Choi is a challenge when it comes to making sense of it all, but I highly recommend it for book groups as it allows for interesting discussion. The book is in three distinct parts, similar to Assymetry by Lisa Halliday. Part One is…

Jennifer BlankfeinMay 6, 2020

Book Club Network Fiction

“Writers & Lovers:” Food for the Creative Spirit and Dreamers

I loved her 2014 release Euphoria and author Lily King has written another great one, although quite different, Writers & Lovers (Grove Press). We follow Casey Peabody, a writer, on a journey to find herself. “I am 31, and $73,000 in debt. I’ve moved 11 times, had 17 jobs and…

Jennifer BlankfeinMay 7, 2020

Book Club Network Fiction

Class, Race and Privilege Collide in “A Good Neighborhood”

Oak Knoll, the quaint North Carolina community in A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler (St. Martin's Press), is slowly turning over and older homes are being built into mansions. Wealthy, charming and successful Brad Whitman, his wife Julia and their daughters, Lily and Juniper move in next-door to single…

Jennifer BlankfeinApril 6, 2020

Sisters Cling to Lies to Maintain Their Not-So-Perfect Lives in Lauren Weisberger’s Latest

Steven Rowley’s “The Guncle” Packs a Gut-Punch of Heart and Humor

Powerful Story Collection “To Be a Man” Dissects Gender Roles

The Struggles and Joys of an Irishman’s Life Unfold in Epic Tale

“The Flight Portfolio” Inspired by Man Who Helped Jewish Artists Escape Occupied France

From Professional Peaks to Personal Pitfalls, Katie Couric’s Memoir Spares No Detail

“From the Corner of the Oval:” A Job Landed by Craigslist

Debut Novel by Catherine Steadman is Bombshell Thriller

“The Sun Does Shine:” Hinton Stares Down Death Row

Susan Orlean Exposes Importance of Local Libraries

Indian American Journalist Investigates Violence Enacted in the Name of “Honor”

Identity Is Complicated in “The Vanishing Half”

Injustice for the Accused in Literary Thriller “A Burning”

This “Trust Exercise” Crosses Student/Teacher Boundaries

“Writers & Lovers:” Food for the Creative Spirit and Dreamers

Class, Race and Privilege Collide in “A Good Neighborhood”

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