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Brigitte’s Bookshelf

I post book reviews, reading recommendations, and more on my instagram blog, @brigittesbookshelf

Check out a few recent posts below, and follow me to keep up with all my latest reads and reviews!

It’s women’s history month and I would be remiss if I didn’t thank @vikingbooks for sending me this book, a biography of Edith Wilson, UNTOLD POWER. I’ve got to say that I don’t know much about Edith Wilson, but I’ve always hated her husband, President Woodrow Wilson, not only because he royally effed up the women’s suffrage efforts but he was also a raging white supremacist. Nevertheless, I am excited to read and learn more about Edith Wilson, and as a women’s historian, it’s so important to not only learn about, but also to interrogate the stories that we read about our history! One interesting fact about Edith Wilson is how she essentially managed the presidency in secret after her husband suffered a debilitating stroke. Looking forward to reading and learning more! Happy pub day to the latest book that made me cry! BEYOND THAT, THE SEA has a beautiful sense of place and tells a poignant story about what makes a family. Set on a tiny island off the coast of Maine, post-war London, and the suburbs of Boston, the novel is written in short chapters that switch POV between Beatrix, a young British girl sent to America to escape the blitz, William and Gerald, her two new American brothers, Mr. and Mrs. Gregory, her host parents, and Millie and Reg, her parents back home. Bea falls in love with her American life, and when the war ends five years later, she struggles with where she really belongs. Decades later, both families grow older and confront the bittersweet memories of all they sacrificed, lost, and learned in those wartime years. HORSE is a sweeping historical novel that gallops from the antebellum south to the modern art scene in 1950s New York to the archives of the Smithsonian in present day DC. It is the story of an incredible racehorse and the young Black man who raised him, as well as a tale about history that is lost and found, and the persistence of racism in America. I was entranced and heartbroken by this novel, surprisingly moved by the racing scenes and absolutely swept into Jarrett’s life as an enslaved man and talented horse trainer. Geraldine Brooks’s beautiful writing underscores the hypocrisy of white men, especially slaveholders who counted themselves as exceptional. The modern day sections entwined with a young Black art historian, Theo, and a white bone expert, Jess, were equally astute. I had no idea how capacious this novel would be, but like the best historical fiction, it sweeps you into a world that is distant but most importantly, most uncomfortably, still familiar. A true epic. Things I love: Happy pub day to this incredible novel, the feminist boarding school murder mystery you never knew you needed! I’ve been hyping up this novel on bookstagram and IRL ever since I devoured my ARC from @vikingbooks back in November. And I even brought a copy with me to visit my boyfriend’s old stomping grounds at Groton (which is definitely NOT the fictional Granby School in the novel…but the vibes were eerily similar). Anyway, I’ve enthused about this novel in previous posts, and now you can also read rave reviews in @newyorkermag and elsewhere. So I’ll leave you with this: read. this. book! A sweet and emotional debut novel, MAAME is about a 25 year old woman tasked with caring for her father who has Parkinson’s. Maddie lives with her dad in London. though her mom spends most of the year back in Ghana and her brother is often off on his own. But when Maddie gets the chance to move out, she embraces a bucket list of “new Maddie” goals, from drinking alcohol and going out to brunch to trying to date and saying yes to everything. Though an unexpected tragedy threatens to cut short her attempt at self-actualization, Maddie’s amazing friends help her navigate grief, a toxic job, terrible dates, and a tenuous relationship with her mother. Jessica George writes from the heart with warmth and humor derived from personal experience. The perfect Valentine’s Day read that celebrates love in all of its expressions: romance, friendship, family, and self-love! I freaking LOVED this book when I read the ARC last fall and I am SO excited to see it out in the world in just a few weeks! Thank you @vikingbooks for this amazing box of Granby School-themed goodies. I Have Some Questions For Out is out on 2/21! Cheers to Rules of Civility, an atmospheric novel about misadventures in 1938 New York. ✨ The life of Katey Kontent, the novel’s savvy and sardonic heroine, changes inexorably on New Years Eve when she and her friend Eve meet Tinker Grey. Tinker is a polished, moneyed man who introduces the young women into the glitzy world of Manhattan’s upper echelons. FINANCIAL FEMINIST by Tori Dunlap of @herfirst100k is an amazing guide to getting your financial goals in shape. It is accessible, honest, and fun to read, with interactive journaling sections (including mantras and visualizations), painless budgeting tips, and blunt assessments of how privilege and the patriarchy affect financial opportunities. Tori’s definition of financial feminism is about empowerment and building the life you want—whether that means fueling your wanderlust and saving up for travel, donating to causes that matter to you, or paying off debt. She also talks about negotiating a raise, a job offer, and even rent payments. As you can see from all of my sticky notes, this book was super useful and I will be returning to it for years to come! Thank you @deystreet for the #gifted copy!
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