Books Via Ashley

Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff Synopsis Mathilde and Lotto elope after only five weeks of dating. The book covers the course of their marriage and the secrets that keep it alive. Review This book won many "Book of the Year" awards, plus was President Obama's favorite book of 2015. I like reading books that get a lot of attention like this, since often they're fairly decent books. However, this book was definitely not among my favorites, nor even close. I felt like this book pretentiously sells itself on the discussion and examination of abstract values and emotions, like "art", "creativity", "love" through flawed and hyper-"realistic" characters, but lacks actual substance. Lotto is an arrogant playboy who has slept with every girl he can get his hands on, and an aspiring actor who isn't a very good actor at all. But instead of doing something else, he sits around for seven years while Mathilde keeps their

The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton Synopsis In Amsterdam, 1686, young Nella Oortman has married a very wealthy--and much older--merchant, Johannes Brant. She moves from her little village and into his house in the city. Her new husband is kind, but unfortunately has no real interest in her, and leaves her alone in the house with his spinster sister, Marin, and the two servants. As a wedding gift, Johannes buys her a miniature version of their house. She finds a miniaturist and sends a request for things to furnish the little house. But then Nella starts receiving packages that she didn't ask for, and the Miniaturist seems to know things that should be impossible for anyone outside the house to know. As things grow more dangerous for the family, Nella finds herself drawn to the elusive Miniaturist--Are they predicting what will happen, or are they the cause? Review The story's creepy and suspenseful premise, plus the setting in Amsterdam during its Golden Era, is what

How do you find new books to read? I won't lie, I spend a lot of my time looking at books. Other people may browse music or shoes online; I look at books. I'm constantly searching for new books to read, new series to discover, new worlds to explore.  Here are my favorite ways to find books: 1) Ask friends! I periodically ask on social media, or by word of mouth, what everyone is reading and what they would recommend. I've come across some great new series this way. And bonus! You already have someone to talk about it with! 2) Best-seller lists. Whether the NYT or on Amazon or elsewhere, I figure most books that make the best-seller list do so because a lot of people like reading them. I've found several amazing books this way.  Plus, it helps me to branch out and try books that are outside of the typical genres I enjoy. 3) Awards lists . Closely related to the point above, I look at the various book awards and see what's been nominated and what's won. Ag