2021

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

My Monday tradition, including a look back and a look ahead — what I read last week, what new books came my way, and what books are keeping me busy right now. Plus a smattering of other stuff too.

Life.

I loved everything about the inauguration — Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, the amazing Amanda Gorman, seeing the Obamas and Clintons, even the guy whose job it was to sanitize the podium in between speakers. (Could have done without Garth Brooks, but oh well.) And of course, the main event — seeing our new President and Vice President taking their oaths of office — brought me to tears. It feels like a bright and shining new day, although I think it’s going to take all of us a while to get used to how it feels not having to hear about the latest awful thing the 2x-impeached person said or did on a daily basis. A return to normalcy and decency!

I’m loving all the Bernie memes, although I think this is my favorite graphic related to the inauguration:

In terms of my own life, I’ve spent most of this past week sick with persistent headaches and chills — but I tested negative for COVID, so that’s at least a relief. I was supposedly taking sick days, but ended up working practically every day anyway, because apparently work stops for no woman. Starting to feel a bit better finally, and hey, at least I was able to read!

What did I read during the last week?

Nemesis Games by James S. A. Corey: The fabulous 5th book in the Expanse series. My review is here.

We Came Here to Shine by Susie Orman Schnall: My book group’s pick for January — historical fiction set at the 1939 New York World’s Fair. My review is here.

Tithe by Holly Black: The 1st book in the Modern Faerie Tales trilogy. My review is here.

The Viscount Who Loved Me (Bridgertons, #2) by Julia Quinn: Just couldn’t resist reading more Bridgertons books! My review is here.

Pop culture & TV:

I mean, obviously the highlight was watching the inauguration!

Beyond that, I watched bits and pieces of a few different things:

Finished The Great on Hulu. Awesome! Can’t wait for season 2.
Started two Masterpiece shows: All Things Great & Small and Miss Scarlet and the Duke. Liking both so far.

I’m trying to decide what binge to start next, and I think it’s down to either Killing Eve or Queen Sugar. Any recommendations?

I’m also feeling pretty annoyed that there doesn’t seem to be a free option, despite how many streaming subscriptions I have, to watch the new season of A Discovery of Witches. Argh.

Puzzle of the week:

I didn’t do any. Between my achy head and my lack of focus, just couldn’t get into it this week.

Fresh Catch:

Two new books:

What will I be reading during the coming week?

Currently in my hands:

Valiant by Holly Black: The 2nd book in the Modern Faerie Tale trilogy. I decided to keep going, and plan to read #3, Ironside, right after this one.

Now playing via audiobook:

Nothing at the moment, which is really weird for me. Because of how I was feeling this week, I just wasn’t up to listening to anything, and ended up finishing up my most recent audiobook (The Viscount Who Loved Me) by switching to the print version. Hopefully, I’ll get back to my audiobook routine in the next few days.

Ongoing reads:

Outlander Book Club is re-reading Outlander! We’re reading and discussing one chapter per week. This week: Chapter 33, “The Watch”.
Our current classic read is part 2 of Don Quixote. My book group is reading and discussing three chapters per week.
I’m slowly reading The Heroine’s Journey by Gail Carriger. I’m reading this in small bites, but didn’t make any progress this week.

So many books, so little time…

23Jan2021

Book Review: We Came Here To Shine by Susie Orman Schnall

Posted in Book Reviews by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Title: We Came Here To Shine
Author: Susie Orman Schnal
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Publication date: June 16, 2020
Length: 384 pages
Genre: Historical fiction
Source: Purchased
Rating:

At the iconic 1939 New York World’s Fair, two ambitious young women—a down-on-her-luck actress and an aspiring journalist—form an unlikely friendship as they navigate a world of possibility and find out what they are truly made of during a glorious summer of spectacle and potential…
Gorgeous Vivi is about to begin filming her first starring role in a Hollywood picture when the studio head ships her off to New York as a favor to a friend. She’s assigned the leading role in the heralded Aquacade synchronized swimming spectacular at the World’s Fair, a fate she believes will destroy her film career. If she performs well, she’ll have another chance at stardom, but with everything working against her, will her summer lead to opportunity or failure?
Plucky Max dreams of becoming a serious journalist, but when her job at the New York Times doesn’t pan out, she finds herself begrudgingly working for the daily paper of the World’s Fair. As her ideas are continually overlooked by her male counterparts and her career prospects are put in jeopardy, Max must risk everything to change the course of her life.
When Max and Vivi’s worlds collide, they forge an enduring friendship. One that teaches them to go after what matters most during the most meaningful summer of their lives.

We Came Here To Shine takes place at the 1939 New York World’s Fair, bringing the spectacle to life through the experiences of Max and Vivi, two very different women who find themselves drawn together as they each battle sexism and misogyny.

Max is a journalism student at NYU, whose dream is to become a star reporter for the New York Times. As part of the coursework, each member of the class is assigned to a summer internship with a New York publication. Max is crushed when she loses out on her first choice with the Times, and is instead assigned to Today At The Fair, the daily paper produced at the World’s Fair to highlight the days’ events and generate buzz and excitement.

It gets even worse when she and her classmate Charlie show up to work on the first day, only to be told that Charlie will write all the articles, and Max will be responsible for the daily event listings. When she protests, she’s told that women aren’t suited for reporting, and are much better at doing detail work like lists and calendars. Max is furious, especially because she and her classmates are competing for a scholarship that will be awarded based on submission of articles written during the internship. Without the scholarship, Max doesn’t see a way that she can afford the next year’s tuition.

Meanwhile, Vivi is on track as a rising starlet in the Hollywood studio system. After supporting roles in a few films, Vivi is about to start filming a starring role in a new movie — until the studio chief informs her that she’s being replaced, and is instead being loaned out to Billy Rose, the producer of the Aquacade swimming show at the World’s Fair. The Aquacade’s star (in the role of Aquabelle Number One) has been injured, and they need someone to replace her and draw in the crowds. Vivi isn’t a movie star yet, but the producers all agree that the Hollywood cachet will boost ticket sales.

Vivi is dismayed and hurt, but has no choice. She’s under contract to the studio, which means they can do as they want with her. They also dangle a promise that after the summer, they have another starring role all lined up for. Do what they want, and she’ll get that chance. Don’t do it, and the studio will be done with her, ending her Hollywood dreams for good.

There’s a lot to like about We Came Here To Shine, but it fell flat for me in several ways.

First, what I liked:

Being introduced to the wonders of the Fair, which at that time would have been mind-boggling. New technologies, glorious buildings and gardens, international pavillions, glamorous restaurants, and the Aquacade — the book does a great job of conveying the awe of experiencing the Fair for the first time.
I liked Max and Vivi’s friendship and how they supported one another through their lowpoints, helping each other figure out how to get out of terrible situations and take control of their own paths.
The sense of the impact of the Depression, as shown by Max’s family life as well as by some of the negative reactions to the Fair around the ticket prices making it beyond the reach of many families.
The photos and historical notes included in the book, which really helped me appreciate different attractions mentioned in the story, as well as explaining which of the issues and people are real and which are created by the author.
The inclusion of the National Women’s Party (a real organization) as an inspiration for both Max and Vivi.

The bits that didn’t really work for me:

For someone who’s described as being top of her class in journalism, the tastes we get of Max’s writing just aren’t impressive. In fact, the pieces she submits for the scholarship competition are sensational without including sources or diving beyond the surface.
It doesn’t actually make sense that Vivi would be chosen to take on the high-profile starring role in the Aquacade. She was on her high school swim team, but has never done choreography or synchronized swimming, and is initially given just four days to rehearse before her first performance.
Vivi’s family drama, which drove her to Hollywood in the first place, isn’t explained well enough. We know the basics of what happened, but (see below), the presentation left me feeling that I was reading about stock characters, rather than unique people and dynamics.
SPOILER: Vivi, with Max’s help, finds a way to get out of her contract and leave the Aquacade and Hollywood in her past. It’s clear that she’s been mistreated, cheated, and controlled by the various powerful men who run the industry and have absolute power over her career, but I couldn’t quite accept that Vivi’s need to take back her life would include giving up her career and switching aspirations quite so suddenly. It reads as if she never really wanted to become an actress in the first place, but that’s not the impression I had at the start of the book.

The biggest issue I had with the book is the writing. The writing style makes the story feel bland, even when there’s something dramatic happening. In fact, this is probably what bothered me the most: Even as certain events unfolded, I felt like I was being told about what happened, rather than actually seeing them happen. Again and again, I felt like I was reading a summary of the big moments — some key parts felt too short or glossed over, and I never got the sense that I was there.

Still, I did enjoy enough aspects of We Came Here To Shine to make me glad I read it. I’ve now spend some time browsing images and videos to get a sense of what being at the Fair was like. To learn more about the Fair, check out https://www.1939nyworldsfair.com/index.htm. Also, here’s a short video highlighting the Aquacade (silent, but still fun to watch.)

We Came Here To Shine is my book group’s pick for January — yet another book that I likely would not have come across otherwise. Despite the problems mentioned above, it’s worth reading to experience the time and place of such a unique and exciting event.

18Jan2021

The Monday Check-In ~ 1/18/2021

Posted in The Monday Check-In by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Life.

We need these words more than ever this year.

Meanwhile, just sitting here counting the days until January 20th.

In family news, my husband got his vaccine this past weekend! I’m so happy. I know I probably have months to wait to get vaccinated myself, but it’s a relief that at least one family got it.

What did I read during the last week?

The Exiles by Christina Baker Kline: Five-star historical fiction – my review is here.

A Cuban Girl’s Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey: I had mixed feelings about this YA read. My review is here.

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes: I ended up really enjoying this audiobook. My review is here.

I ended up DNFing two ARCs this past week — just couldn’t get into either one. Life’s too short to force myself to read something that isn’t working for me!

Pop culture & TV:

I decided to reactivate my Hulu subscription after taking a pause for most of the past year. First up: The Great! I’ve watched about half, and it’s awesome.

Also, random fun fact: I took a Jane Austen quiz, and apparently this is the man for me:

Interesting…

Puzzle of the week:

Upstairs, downstairs… I really liked this one.

Fresh Catch:

Two new non-fiction books this week:

After finishing The Exiles, I decided an actual history book about Australia would be a good idea — looking forward to starting The Fatal Shore soon.

What will I be reading during the coming week?