Mary's bookshelf: all en-US Sat, 11 May 2024 09:05:14 -0700 60 Mary's bookshelf: all 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg A Winter in New York 101673373
When Iris decides to move to New York to restart her life, she realizes she underestimated how big the Big Apple really is—all the nostalgic movies set in New York she’d watched with her mom while eating their special secret-recipe gelato didn’t quite do it justice. 

But Bobby, Iris’s best friend, isn’t about to let her hide away. He drags her to a famous autumn street fair in Little Italy, and as they walk through the food stalls, a little family-run gelateria catches her eye—could it be the same shop that’s in an old photo of her mother’s?

Curious, Iris returns the next day and meets the handsome Gio, who tells her that the shop is in danger of closing. His uncle, sole keeper of their family’s gelato recipe, is in a coma, so they can’t make more. When Iris samples the last remaining batch, she realizes that their gelato and her gelato are one and the same. But how can she tell them she knows their secret recipe when she’s not sure why Gio’s uncle gave it to her mother in the first place?

Iris offers her services as a chef to help them re-create the flavor and finds herself falling for Gio and his family. But when Gio’s uncle finally wakes up, all of the secrets Iris has been keeping threaten to ruin the new life—and new love—she’s been building all winter long.]]> 384 Josie Silver 0593724933 Mary 5 3.64 2023 A Winter in New York
author: Josie Silver
name: Mary
average rating: 3.64
book published: 2023
rating: 5
read at: 2024/05/11
date added: 2024/05/11
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]]> Just Keep Walking 60848102
Along the trail, they’ll suffer through endless aches and pains, scorching heat, and crippling self-doubt. They’ll encounter bears, moose, and other wildlife and meet and collect an assortment of unlikely friends. Day after day, Jo will battle the incessant thoughts that come in and out of her head. But as one obstacle after the next continue to test her strength and ultimate survival, Jo will have to confront her greatest fears head on and learn how to be alone.

What begins as a journey to prove to her father that she and her mom can make it on their own turns into a quest to rediscover their strength, build resilience, and prove that they can survive—both for themselves and for each other.]]> Erin Soderberg Downing Mary 0 to-read 4.17 Just Keep Walking
author: Erin Soderberg Downing
name: Mary
average rating: 4.17
book published:
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/16
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]]> The Woman with No Name 197894208 She'll light the fire of resistance—but she may get burned�

1942. Though she survived the bomb that destroyed her home, Yvonne Rudellat's life is over. She's estranged from her husband, her daughter is busy with war work, and Yvonne—older, diminutive, overlooked—has lost all purpose. Until she's offered a chance to remake herself entirely�

The war has taken a turn for the worse, and the men in charge are desperate. So, when Yvonne is recruited as Britain's first female sabotage agent, expectations are low. But her tenacity, ability to go unnoticed, and aptitude for explosives set her apart. Soon enough she arrives in occupied France with a new identity, ready to set the Nazi regime ablaze.

But there are adversaries on all sides. As Yvonne becomes infamous as the nameless, unstoppable woman who burns the enemy at every turn, she realizes she may lose herself to the urgent needs of the cause�

Based on a true story, The Woman With No Name is a gripping story of secrets, spies, and the women behind the Resistance, from USA Today bestselling author Audrey Blake.]]> 384 Audrey Blake 1728270820 Mary 0 to-read 3.80 2024 The Woman with No Name
author: Audrey Blake
name: Mary
average rating: 3.80
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/02
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]]> <![CDATA[There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension]]> 181346634
There’s Always This Year is a triumph, brimming with joy, pain, solidarity, comfort, outrage, and hope. No matter the subject of his keen focus—whether it's basketball, or music, or performance—Hanif Abdurraqib’s exquisite writing is always poetry, always profound, and always a clarion call to radically reimagine how we think about our culture, our country, and ourselves.]]> 334 Hanif Abdurraqib 0593448790 Mary 0 to-read 4.32 2024 There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension
author: Hanif Abdurraqib
name: Mary
average rating: 4.32
book published: 2024
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/04/02
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]]> The Frozen River 112975658 A gripping historical mystery inspired by the life and diary of Martha Ballard, a renowned 18th-century midwife who defied the legal system and wrote herself into American history.

Maine, 1789: When the Kennebec River freezes, entombing a man in the ice, Martha Ballard is summoned to examine the body and determine cause of death. As a midwife and healer, she is privy to much of what goes on behind closed doors in Hallowell. Her diary is a record of every birth and death, crime and debacle that unfolds in the close-knit community. Months earlier, Martha documented the details of an alleged rape committed by two of the town’s most respected gentlemen—one of whom has now been found dead in the ice. But when a local physician undermines her conclusion, declaring the death to be an accident, Martha is forced to investigate the shocking murder on her own.

Over the course of one winter, as the trial nears, and whispers and prejudices mount, Martha doggedly pursues the truth. Her diary soon lands at the center of the scandal, implicating those she loves, and compelling Martha to decide where her own loyalties lie.

Clever, layered, and subversive, Ariel Lawhon’s newest offering introduces an unsung heroine who refused to accept anything less than justice at a time when women were considered best seen and not heard. The Frozen River is a thrilling, tense, and tender story about a remarkable woman who left an unparalleled legacy yet remains nearly forgotten to this day.]]> 432 Ariel Lawhon 0385546874 Mary 0 to-read 4.37 2023 The Frozen River
author: Ariel Lawhon
name: Mary
average rating: 4.37
book published: 2023
rating: 0
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date added: 2024/01/06
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]]> The Housekeeper 48657688 When Claire sees Hannah Wilson at an exclusive Manhattan hair salon, it's like a knife slicing through barely healed scars. It may have been ten years since Claire last saw Hannah, but she has thought of her every day, and not in a good way. So Claire does what anyone would do in her position—she stalks her.

Hannah is now Mrs. Carter, living the charmed life that should have been Claire's. It's the life Claire used to have, before Hannah came along and took it all away from her.

Back then, Claire was a happy teenager with porcelain skin and long, wavy blond hair. Now she's an overweight, lazy drunk with hair the color of compost and skin to match. Which is why when Hannah advertises for a housekeeper, Claire is confident she can apply and not be recognized. And since she has time on her hands, revenge on her mind, and a talent for acting�

Because what better way to seek retribution—and redress—than from within the beautiful Mrs. Hannah Carter's own home?

Except that it's not just Claire who has secrets. Everyone in that house seems to have something to hide.

And now, there's no way out.


]]> 324 Natalie Barelli Mary 0 to-read 3.90 2019 The Housekeeper
author: Natalie Barelli
name: Mary
average rating: 3.90
book published: 2019
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/24
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]]> A Piece of the World 30255942 New York Times bestselling author of the smash bestseller Orphan Train, a stunning and atmospheric novel of friendship, passion, and art, inspired by Andrew Wyeth’s mysterious and iconic painting Christina’s World.

"Later he told me that he’d been afraid to show me the painting. He thought I wouldn’t like the way he portrayed me: dragging myself across the field, fingers clutching dirt, my legs twisted behind. The arid moonscape of wheatgrass and timothy. That dilapidated house in the distance, looming up like a secret that won’t stay hidden."

To Christina Olson, the entire world was her family’s remote farm in the small coastal town of Cushing, Maine. Born in the home her family had lived in for generations, and increasingly incapacitated by illness, Christina seemed destined for a small life. Instead, for more than twenty years, she was host and inspiration for the artist Andrew Wyeth, and became the subject of one of the best known American paintings of the twentieth century.

As she did in her beloved smash bestseller Orphan Train, Christina Baker Kline interweaves fact and fiction in a powerful novel that illuminates a little-known part of America’s history. Bringing into focus the flesh-and-blood woman behind the portrait, she vividly imagines the life of a woman with a complicated relationship to her family and her past, and a special bond with one of our greatest modern artists.

Told in evocative and lucid prose, A Piece of the World is a story about the burdens and blessings of family history, and how artist and muse can come together to forge a new and timeless legacy.]]> 352 Christina Baker Kline 0062356283 Mary 0 to-read 3.81 2017 A Piece of the World
author: Christina Baker Kline
name: Mary
average rating: 3.81
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/24
shelves: to-read
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]]> <![CDATA[Murder at an Irish Wedding (An Irish Village Mystery, #2)]]> 31508477 "Any wedding is a big deal in the small village of Kilbane even more so when the bride is a famous fashion model. It s also good for business. Not only has customer traffic picked up at Naomi s Bistro, Siobhan O Sullivan and her five siblings have a full plate catering for the three-day affair. And Siobhan s own beau, local garda Macdara Flannery, gladly steps in as best man after the groom s first choice makes a drunken arse out of himself.
Even if he hadn t been disinvited to the wedding, the original best man wouldn t have been able to show. He s been found murdered in the woods, casting a pall over the nuptials. And when a second member of the wedding party is poisoned by a champagne flute engraved with Macdara s name, the garda goes from being best man to prime suspect.
With a killer at large and a string of robberies plaguing Kilbane, Siobhan feels more than a little protective of her village. She vows to clear Macdara s name, but the suspect list is as long as the guest list. Like the bride walking down the aisle, Siobhan needs to watch her step. For as she gets closer to unveiling the truth, the murderer is planning a very chilly reception for her . . .
PRAISE FOR "MURDER IN AN IRISH VILLAGE"
""
If Janet Evanovich and Maeve Binchy wrote a book together, "Murder in an Irish Village"would be the result. This one isdelicious fun. Laurien Berenson, author of"Live and Let Growl"
A lively debut . . . The cheeky and close-knit O Sullivans are sure to appeal to cozy fans, who will also appreciate the warmth and spirit of the people of Kilbane. "Publishers Weekly"
A smart whodunnit in an idyllic locale. I dare you not to be charmed by sleuth Siobhan and her siblings, the O Sullivan Six. Barbara Ross, author of"Fogged Inn"
""
This entertaining combination of Maeve Binchy s old-world Irish charm and Janet Evanovich s roguish humor is a smart, fast-paced read. Devotees of the Hibernian mysteries of Dicey Deere and M.C. Beaton will toast this debut with a pint of Guinness. Slainte! "Library Journal"]]> 304 Carlene O'Connor 1617738492 Mary 0 to-read 3.96 2017 Murder at an Irish Wedding (An Irish Village Mystery, #2)
author: Carlene O'Connor
name: Mary
average rating: 3.96
book published: 2017
rating: 0
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date added: 2023/11/24
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]]> A Wedding in December 14963 352 Anita Shreve 0316154512 Mary 0 to-read 3.12 2005 A Wedding in December
author: Anita Shreve
name: Mary
average rating: 3.12
book published: 2005
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/06/28
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]]> Cane River 5167 A New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club Pick-the unique and deeply moving saga of four generations of African-American women whose journey from slavery to freedom begins on a Creole plantation in Louisiana.

Beginning with her great-great-great-great grandmother, a slave owned by a Creole family, Lalita Tademy chronicles four generations of strong, determined black women as they battle injustice to unite their family and forge success on their own terms. They are women whose lives begin in slavery, who weather the Civil War, and who grapple with contradictions of emancipation, Jim Crow, and the pre-Civil Rights South. As she peels back layers of racial and cultural attitudes, Tademy paints a remarkable picture of rural Louisiana and the resilient spirit of one unforgettable family.

There is Elisabeth, who bears both a proud legacy and the yoke of bondage... her youngest daughter, Suzette, who is the first to discover the promise-and heartbreak-of freedom... Suzette's strong-willed daughter Philomene, who uses a determination born of tragedy to reunite her family and gain unheard-of economic independence... and Emily, Philomene's spirited daughter, who fights to secure her children's just due and preserve their dignity and future.

Meticulously researched and beautifully written, Cane River presents a slice of American history never before seen in such piercing and personal detail.

]]> 522 Lalita Tademy 0446678457 Mary 4 4.08 2001 Cane River
author: Lalita Tademy
name: Mary
average rating: 4.08
book published: 2001
rating: 4
read at:
date added: 2013/01/28
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]]> Gap Creek 77398
But Julie and Hank's new life in the valley, in the last years of the nineteenth century, is more complicated than the couple ever imagined. Sometimes it's hard to tell what to fear most—the fires and floods or the flesh-and-blood grifters, drunks, and busybodies who insinuate themselves into their new life. To survive, they must find out whether love can keep chaos and madness at bay. Their struggles with nature, with work, with the changing century, and with the disappointments and triumphs of their union make Gap Creek a timeless story of a marriage.

A native of the North Carolina mountains, Robert Morgan was raised on land settled by his Welsh ancestors. An accomplished novelist and poet, he has won the James B. Hanes Poetry Prize, the North Carolina Award in Literature, and the Jacaranda Review Fiction Prize. His short stories have appeared in Prize Stories: The O. Henry Awards and New Stories from the South, and his novel The Truest Pleasure was a finalist for the Southern Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction.]]> 336 Robert Morgan 0743203631 Mary 5 3.75 1999 Gap Creek
author: Robert Morgan
name: Mary
average rating: 3.75
book published: 1999
rating: 5
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date added: 2013/01/28
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]]> Black and Blue 5157
Now she is starting over in a city far from home, far from Bobby. And in this place she uses a name that isn't hers, and cradles her son in her arms, and tries to forget. For the woman who now calls herself Beth, every day is a chance to heal, to put together the pieces of her shattered self. And every day she waits for Bobby to catch up to her. Because Bobby always said he would never let her go. And despite the flawlessness of her escape, Fran Benedetto is certain of one thing: It is only a matter of time...]]> 288 Anna Quindlen 0385333137 Mary 5 3.90 1998 Black and Blue
author: Anna Quindlen
name: Mary
average rating: 3.90
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/01/28
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]]> Midwives 5166
As recounted by Sibyl's precocious fourteen-year-old daughter, Connie, the ensuing trial bears the earmarks of a witch hunt except for the fact that all its participants are acting from the highest motives—and the defendant increasingly appears to be guilty. As Sibyl Danforth faces the antagonism of the law, the hostility of traditional doctors, and the accusations of her own conscience, Midwives engages, moves, and transfixes us as only the very best novels ever do.]]> 384 Chris Bohjalian Mary 5 3.99 1997 Midwives
author: Chris Bohjalian
name: Mary
average rating: 3.99
book published: 1997
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/01/28
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]]> I Know This Much Is True 227711
One of the most acclaimed novels of our time, Wally Lamb's I Know This Much Is True is a story of alienation and connection, devastation and renewal, at once joyous, heartbreaking, poignant, mystical, and powerfully, profoundly human.]]> 897 Wally Lamb 0060987561 Mary 5 4.21 1998 I Know This Much Is True
author: Wally Lamb
name: Mary
average rating: 4.21
book published: 1998
rating: 5
read at:
date added: 2013/01/28
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]]> Mary, Called Magdalene 360625 The New York Times bestselling author of Elizabeth I reveals the untold story of Mary Magdalene--a disciple of Jesus Christ and the most mysterious woman in the Bible.

Was Mary Magdalene a prostitute, a female divinity figure, a church leader, or all of those? Biblical references to her are tantalizingly brief, but we do know that she was the first person to whom the risen Christ appeared--and the one commissioned to tell others the good news, earning her the ancient honorific, "Apostle to the Apostles."

Today, Mary continues to spark controversy, curiosity, and veneration. In a vivid re-creation of Mary Magdalene's life story, Margaret George convincingly captures this renowned woman's voice as she moves from girlhood to womanhood, becomes part of the circle of disciples, and comes to grips with the divine.

While grounded in biblical scholarship and secular research, Mary, Called Magdalene ultimately transcends both history and fiction to become a "diary of a soul."]]> 630 Margaret George 0142002798 Mary 0 to-read 3.89 2002 Mary, Called Magdalene
author: Margaret George
name: Mary
average rating: 3.89
book published: 2002
rating: 0
read at:
date added: 2013/01/28
shelves: to-read
review:

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