We are thrilled to welcome Jennifer Gans Blankfein, our Bedside Reading® Reviewer.
Jennifer reads about 75 books every year. She is the one to go to when you want to read something fabulous, a page turner, something thoughtful or just a fun beach read. Jennifer will be contributing reviews of current books you must read.
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About: Jennifer Gans Blankfein is a freelance marketing consultant and book reviewer. She graduated from Lehigh University with a Psychology degree and has a background in advertising. Her experience includes event coordination and fundraising along with editing a weekly, local, small business newsletter. Jennifer loves to talk about books, is an avid reader, and currently writes a book blog, She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two sons and black lab.
Click Here to Read her Current Reviews: Book Nation by Jen https://booknationbyjen.wordpress.com. |
Fall Reviews
The Sun Does Shine is a powerful and important memoir, showing a discouraging side of our legal system and an incredible testament of stamina and hope.
In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted of murder in Alabama and sentenced to the electric chair. He was a 29 year old, poor, black man who had a job, a happy disposition and was a devoted son to his loving mother. The judicial system did not protect Hinton as it should have and he chose not speak for the first 3 years of his incarceration. Rebelling in silence as he wavered between anger and despair, he anticipated being put to death in the electric chair, knowing he was innocent but unable to prove it, despite every bit of evidence indicating the truth.
As time went on, and the legal system repeatedly failed him, Hinton decided to speak up, fight for justice, and he found a way to survive death row…for almost 30 years. Visitation with his mother and best friend, Lester kept his spirits up. He learned to exercise his imagination and transport himself to different times and places. Finding comfort in this, he wanted to share the pleasure of escaping with his fellow inmates and he started a book club. He researched the law while spending his allotted “free” time in the prison library. He sought out an attorney who had his best interests in mind and the drive to prove innocence. He befriended the most unlikely alleged criminals and created a supportive and caring family for himself; sadly 54 of them were executed during his incarceration.
With joy and appreciation for his relentless attorney, the unwavering love and friendship of him mother and Lester, and genuine forgiveness in his heart, Anthony Ray Hinton was released in his late 50s, in 2015.
This memoir was upsetting and joyful at the same time. The judicial system, race relations, prison conditions, and the death penalty all need to be reviewed, discussed, examined and improved so innocent people are not sent to jail, and people in jail are treated humanely. We are not meant to live in a 5 x 7 cell for any amount of time and these conditions with little human contact can contribute to negativity, violence and hopelessness. Putting people to death is barbaric and a poor precedent for a government of a free country to support. Anthony Ray Hinton had incredible strength of character and faith to be able to re-enter life outside prison and find joy and purpose. I admire his immense fortitude and ability to forgive.
I highly recommend this book. Check out Oprah’s interview with the author.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
In 1985, Anthony Ray Hinton was convicted of murder in Alabama and sentenced to the electric chair. He was a 29 year old, poor, black man who had a job, a happy disposition and was a devoted son to his loving mother. The judicial system did not protect Hinton as it should have and he chose not speak for the first 3 years of his incarceration. Rebelling in silence as he wavered between anger and despair, he anticipated being put to death in the electric chair, knowing he was innocent but unable to prove it, despite every bit of evidence indicating the truth.
As time went on, and the legal system repeatedly failed him, Hinton decided to speak up, fight for justice, and he found a way to survive death row…for almost 30 years. Visitation with his mother and best friend, Lester kept his spirits up. He learned to exercise his imagination and transport himself to different times and places. Finding comfort in this, he wanted to share the pleasure of escaping with his fellow inmates and he started a book club. He researched the law while spending his allotted “free” time in the prison library. He sought out an attorney who had his best interests in mind and the drive to prove innocence. He befriended the most unlikely alleged criminals and created a supportive and caring family for himself; sadly 54 of them were executed during his incarceration.
With joy and appreciation for his relentless attorney, the unwavering love and friendship of him mother and Lester, and genuine forgiveness in his heart, Anthony Ray Hinton was released in his late 50s, in 2015.
This memoir was upsetting and joyful at the same time. The judicial system, race relations, prison conditions, and the death penalty all need to be reviewed, discussed, examined and improved so innocent people are not sent to jail, and people in jail are treated humanely. We are not meant to live in a 5 x 7 cell for any amount of time and these conditions with little human contact can contribute to negativity, violence and hopelessness. Putting people to death is barbaric and a poor precedent for a government of a free country to support. Anthony Ray Hinton had incredible strength of character and faith to be able to re-enter life outside prison and find joy and purpose. I admire his immense fortitude and ability to forgive.
I highly recommend this book. Check out Oprah’s interview with the author.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Chicago is the third largest city in the US and we rarely associate it with the AIDS epidemic, yet, the city and its people were deeply impacted by the then mysterious and untreatable, deadly disease. Rebecca Makkai set the story, The Great Believers in her beloved hometown and takes us through overwhelmingly emotional times as we witness deep friendships, brotherly camaraderie, romantic and platonic love, unwavering support and devastating depression and loss.
It is 1985 Chicago, and Yale Tishman, the Director of Development at the new art gallery at Northwestern University is working on an exciting and valuable acquisition. His career in the art world is taking off at the same time AIDS has reared its’ ugly head and sadly, Yale loses his best friend Nico. Then, one after another his other friends and acquaintances are getting sick and dying. Yale tries to be a good friend to others as he grapples with his life and this dangerous disease that is making his social circle smaller and smaller. Nico’s loyal younger sister, Fiona is all he has left of his tight little community and they both struggle with the fears they face and the losses they have experienced.
Author Rebecca Makkai alternates back and forth in time and jumping ahead, in 2015, Fiona goes to Paris in search of her daughter, who has run away and joined a cult. Their relationship is estranged and at best strained. During her search, Fiona stays with an artistic friend from her youth who has documented the 1980s AIDS crisis through art and has a show scheduled in Paris during her stay. Time in France gives Fiona opportunity to try and deal with the trauma of her past, the loss of her brother and his friends, and understand how it has affected her relationship with her daughter.
Makkai has developed complete and complex characters that I feel like I know and truly care about. Her writing evokes overwhelming emotion and I love how the two time periods are weaved together through her compelling storytelling. Some people compare this book to A Little Life, and yes, both are gut wrenching and sad, but in The Great Believers there is a well researched overview of Chicago history and AIDS in the 1980s, a window into the art world, terrorism in 2015 Paris, so much love, friendship and family…a much warmer novel that combines the burden of memories with hope and positivity. I highly recommend this book – great for book clubs!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
It is 1985 Chicago, and Yale Tishman, the Director of Development at the new art gallery at Northwestern University is working on an exciting and valuable acquisition. His career in the art world is taking off at the same time AIDS has reared its’ ugly head and sadly, Yale loses his best friend Nico. Then, one after another his other friends and acquaintances are getting sick and dying. Yale tries to be a good friend to others as he grapples with his life and this dangerous disease that is making his social circle smaller and smaller. Nico’s loyal younger sister, Fiona is all he has left of his tight little community and they both struggle with the fears they face and the losses they have experienced.
Author Rebecca Makkai alternates back and forth in time and jumping ahead, in 2015, Fiona goes to Paris in search of her daughter, who has run away and joined a cult. Their relationship is estranged and at best strained. During her search, Fiona stays with an artistic friend from her youth who has documented the 1980s AIDS crisis through art and has a show scheduled in Paris during her stay. Time in France gives Fiona opportunity to try and deal with the trauma of her past, the loss of her brother and his friends, and understand how it has affected her relationship with her daughter.
Makkai has developed complete and complex characters that I feel like I know and truly care about. Her writing evokes overwhelming emotion and I love how the two time periods are weaved together through her compelling storytelling. Some people compare this book to A Little Life, and yes, both are gut wrenching and sad, but in The Great Believers there is a well researched overview of Chicago history and AIDS in the 1980s, a window into the art world, terrorism in 2015 Paris, so much love, friendship and family…a much warmer novel that combines the burden of memories with hope and positivity. I highly recommend this book – great for book clubs!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
With history, science and creativity, talented author Esi Edugyan tells the story of an 11 year old slave, in Barbados and his adventurous escape to freedom. Washington Black, or Wash, brought up in the sugar cane fields, experienced more than his share of oppression, suffering and abuse. When the slave master’s brother, Titch, visits the plantation and asks for the boy to be loaned to him, an unusual friendship and reliance developed between the two.
Growing up among brutal violence, Wash found Titch to be a father figure. Titch was an abolitionist at heart and although he was focused on his scientific discovery of a flying machine, he provided opportunity for Wash as he taught him to read and nurtured his artistic abilities. When Wash found himself in a dangerous situation, Titch abandoned his scientific experimentation to save him and they journeyed to the Arctic, where Wash gained his freedom, yet deep seeded scars of his past lingered, contributing to his ongoing struggle with truly feeling free.
The two parted ways and Wash clumsily navigated his first feelings of love and independence while he continued his quest for connection, respect and feelings of belonging, safety and equality.
Esu Edugyan’s characters are deep and well developed, and the story is heartbreaking, heartwarming, adventurous and rich with history. When we learn and think about slavery we remember and try to understand the brutality inflicted on human beings, and the horrific mindset slave owners embodied, but the author brings to light more than just the struggles, abuse and loss of dignity, loss of self respect and self worth and loss of life…she reminds us of the incredible talents, contributions and genius that were sacrificed by taking away the rights of so many.
Finding love and pursuing scientific discovery began to fulfill Wash’s dreams for a well lived life yet, even when he was free and slavery was outlawed, he was haunted by his past. “I became a boy without identity, a walking shadow, and with each new month I fell deeper into strangeness. For there could be no belonging for a creature such as myself, anywhere; a disfigured black boy with a scientific turn of mind and a talent on canvas, running, always running, from the dimmest of shadows.”
This is a story of a slave, his passage to freedom, his never ending search for identity, love, family and success. It is an incredible adventure from the islands to the Arctic and beyond. Can we overcome setbacks from our youth, or do we carry scars that impact our life forever?
In Washington Black, Edugyan gives Wash physical scars from the past reminding us that we are made up of life experiences that cannot be erased, and who we are is developed from our life journey. Longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize, for me this is a winner!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Growing up among brutal violence, Wash found Titch to be a father figure. Titch was an abolitionist at heart and although he was focused on his scientific discovery of a flying machine, he provided opportunity for Wash as he taught him to read and nurtured his artistic abilities. When Wash found himself in a dangerous situation, Titch abandoned his scientific experimentation to save him and they journeyed to the Arctic, where Wash gained his freedom, yet deep seeded scars of his past lingered, contributing to his ongoing struggle with truly feeling free.
The two parted ways and Wash clumsily navigated his first feelings of love and independence while he continued his quest for connection, respect and feelings of belonging, safety and equality.
Esu Edugyan’s characters are deep and well developed, and the story is heartbreaking, heartwarming, adventurous and rich with history. When we learn and think about slavery we remember and try to understand the brutality inflicted on human beings, and the horrific mindset slave owners embodied, but the author brings to light more than just the struggles, abuse and loss of dignity, loss of self respect and self worth and loss of life…she reminds us of the incredible talents, contributions and genius that were sacrificed by taking away the rights of so many.
Finding love and pursuing scientific discovery began to fulfill Wash’s dreams for a well lived life yet, even when he was free and slavery was outlawed, he was haunted by his past. “I became a boy without identity, a walking shadow, and with each new month I fell deeper into strangeness. For there could be no belonging for a creature such as myself, anywhere; a disfigured black boy with a scientific turn of mind and a talent on canvas, running, always running, from the dimmest of shadows.”
This is a story of a slave, his passage to freedom, his never ending search for identity, love, family and success. It is an incredible adventure from the islands to the Arctic and beyond. Can we overcome setbacks from our youth, or do we carry scars that impact our life forever?
In Washington Black, Edugyan gives Wash physical scars from the past reminding us that we are made up of life experiences that cannot be erased, and who we are is developed from our life journey. Longlisted for the 2018 Man Booker Prize, for me this is a winner!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
If you are looking for an addictive quick read with brief chapters, interesting characters and psychological suspense, The Woman In the Window is for you!
Dr. Anna Fox is trapped in her home. Not literally…she is agoraphobic, presumably triggered by a tragic event. Her child psychologist medical practice has ended due to her being unable to leave her house, so she spends much of her time on the computer watching horror movies, consulting lonely people with problems in chat groups and playing chess. When she is not online she spies on her neighbors, peering through her camera lens and out the window. Throughout her waking hours Anna consumes wine like water and pops pills for her ailments.
The story consists of Anna and her neighbors; amongst them are Ethan, a homeschooled teenage boy who seems lonely and depressed, Alistair, Ethan’s father who believes Anna is delusional, and Jane, Ethan’s mother who pays Anna a visit to play chess and drink wine. We meet, Anna’s support system; Dr. Fielding and physical therapist Nina, both who make house calls, and Anna’s ex-husband Ed and their young daughter Olivia. Anna also has an elusive, odd tenant, David, who lives in her basement.
The story is told by Anna, and her suspicions about the neighbors grow when she hears screams and sees something devastating our her window, but when the authorities are called in, proof is unattainable and Anna’s fear to leave the safe haven of her home is only one of the setbacks. Her state of mind is questionable and nobody’s stories line up, but the truth lies amongst the chaos. Manipulation and illusions drive this twisted mystery and kept me second guessing right up until the end.
This was a true page turner with multiple surprises, mysterious characters, and eye opening reveals that caused me to reevaluate what I thought I knew every step of the way. A most enjoyable read, narrated by a woman, and written by a man. The Woman in the Window has been compared to Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Rear Window, and it will be hitting the big screen starring Amy Adams as Anna, releasing in 2019
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Dr. Anna Fox is trapped in her home. Not literally…she is agoraphobic, presumably triggered by a tragic event. Her child psychologist medical practice has ended due to her being unable to leave her house, so she spends much of her time on the computer watching horror movies, consulting lonely people with problems in chat groups and playing chess. When she is not online she spies on her neighbors, peering through her camera lens and out the window. Throughout her waking hours Anna consumes wine like water and pops pills for her ailments.
The story consists of Anna and her neighbors; amongst them are Ethan, a homeschooled teenage boy who seems lonely and depressed, Alistair, Ethan’s father who believes Anna is delusional, and Jane, Ethan’s mother who pays Anna a visit to play chess and drink wine. We meet, Anna’s support system; Dr. Fielding and physical therapist Nina, both who make house calls, and Anna’s ex-husband Ed and their young daughter Olivia. Anna also has an elusive, odd tenant, David, who lives in her basement.
The story is told by Anna, and her suspicions about the neighbors grow when she hears screams and sees something devastating our her window, but when the authorities are called in, proof is unattainable and Anna’s fear to leave the safe haven of her home is only one of the setbacks. Her state of mind is questionable and nobody’s stories line up, but the truth lies amongst the chaos. Manipulation and illusions drive this twisted mystery and kept me second guessing right up until the end.
This was a true page turner with multiple surprises, mysterious characters, and eye opening reveals that caused me to reevaluate what I thought I knew every step of the way. A most enjoyable read, narrated by a woman, and written by a man. The Woman in the Window has been compared to Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train and Rear Window, and it will be hitting the big screen starring Amy Adams as Anna, releasing in 2019
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Habitually early, I walked into the Fairfield Library book event and took a seat in the front row. I prefer to have an unobstructed view to the speaker and don’t feel shy about sitting alone in the center of the first row, but clearly, if others like to have an unobstructed view, their preference for being more obscure or part of a crowd, protected in a pack in the middle or back, surrounded by others and not so close, outweighs the desire to be directly in front. The author, Delia Owens was at the podium getting herself prepared for her book talk on Where the Crawdads Sing, her first fiction book, and she looked directly at me sitting alone and smiled. She came over to say hello, thanked me for attending and told me she knew me from Instagram.
The room started to fill up and Delia sat down next to me in the front row and I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with her for a while before the program began. She told me she lived in Africa with her husband, now ex-husband for 23 years. They were married for over 40 and several years ago divorced. They still live together on the same property in Idaho but it is a huge piece of land so it is working out fine for now. We talked about the pressure her relationship endured in those years, being so secluded from other humans while they did research, and how the hopes of it repairing itself upon their return went unfulfilled.
This one on one conversation along with Delia Owens’ public talk on Where the Crawdads Sing, her research on the social biology of animals, and her book’s main character Kya, who grew up on her own in the marsh in North Carolina got me thinking about seclusion, women, being alone and how everyone has different levels of enjoyment and tolerance when they are solo. According to Delia, just as in a troop of baboons, a herd of elephants, and a pride of lions, human females tend to travel in groups, play, eat and sleep together. There are many benefits of having alone time, but how much is too much? Isolation can change a person, and in Kya, a character based on many women the author knows, we can see how being alone can have major impact. But as Delia said, women are strong. We can do a lot more than we think we can and when put in the situation, we do it.
She said she wrote Where the Crawdads Sing in two parts, PART 1 is The Marsh – a beautiful place of light and sparkling water. Part 2 is The Swamp – a dark place. Like Kya, her character in the book, sometimes in our lives we go to The Swamp, but we always strive for the Marsh.
Delia Owens is an inspiring speaker, well prepared as one would expect a researcher would be. She did say, standing up in front of a room full of women caused her to experience the same feelings she has when being rushed by lions in Africa – a sign to me that she does not crave crowds and probably feels most peaceful alone and riding horses. She did mention her house is many miles from civilization and she goes to town one a week to see people when she is at home in Idaho. It was incredible to meet her in person and observe how her life experiences influenced her and how so much of that is evident in her writing. Where the Crawdads Sing was chosen for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club and I agree with Reese when she says she didn’t want the book to end!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
The room started to fill up and Delia sat down next to me in the front row and I had the wonderful opportunity to talk with her for a while before the program began. She told me she lived in Africa with her husband, now ex-husband for 23 years. They were married for over 40 and several years ago divorced. They still live together on the same property in Idaho but it is a huge piece of land so it is working out fine for now. We talked about the pressure her relationship endured in those years, being so secluded from other humans while they did research, and how the hopes of it repairing itself upon their return went unfulfilled.
This one on one conversation along with Delia Owens’ public talk on Where the Crawdads Sing, her research on the social biology of animals, and her book’s main character Kya, who grew up on her own in the marsh in North Carolina got me thinking about seclusion, women, being alone and how everyone has different levels of enjoyment and tolerance when they are solo. According to Delia, just as in a troop of baboons, a herd of elephants, and a pride of lions, human females tend to travel in groups, play, eat and sleep together. There are many benefits of having alone time, but how much is too much? Isolation can change a person, and in Kya, a character based on many women the author knows, we can see how being alone can have major impact. But as Delia said, women are strong. We can do a lot more than we think we can and when put in the situation, we do it.
She said she wrote Where the Crawdads Sing in two parts, PART 1 is The Marsh – a beautiful place of light and sparkling water. Part 2 is The Swamp – a dark place. Like Kya, her character in the book, sometimes in our lives we go to The Swamp, but we always strive for the Marsh.
Delia Owens is an inspiring speaker, well prepared as one would expect a researcher would be. She did say, standing up in front of a room full of women caused her to experience the same feelings she has when being rushed by lions in Africa – a sign to me that she does not crave crowds and probably feels most peaceful alone and riding horses. She did mention her house is many miles from civilization and she goes to town one a week to see people when she is at home in Idaho. It was incredible to meet her in person and observe how her life experiences influenced her and how so much of that is evident in her writing. Where the Crawdads Sing was chosen for Reese Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine Book Club and I agree with Reese when she says she didn’t want the book to end!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
It is always a special treat and enlightening to attend an author talk, and recently I was thrilled to hear Katharine Weber speak about her new book, Still Life With Monkey with contributing editor and former Book Review section editor for Publisher’s Weekly, Sybil Steinberg. Between research and literary knowledge, the intelligence on the stage was vast. With sophisticated language and deep characters, Weber’s Still Life With Monkey is a must read for all book groups. There are many stories within the story and much to discuss.
Duncan Wheeler is a talented architect and owner of his own firm in New Haven, CT. He was visiting his Thimble Islands site and while driving home on I95 with his assistant, was in a car accident. His assistant was killed and he survived but suffered injury that resulted in becoming a quadriplegic. His wife Laura, is an art conservator at the Yale Art Gallery, fixing broken things for a living. She sees Duncan fall into depression, and while she struggles with her own thoughts of letting go her dream to become a mother, she reduces her hours at work so she can take care of her husband. Every day had become “a broken series of unsuccessful gestures”, his will to live is wavering, and so to add to the already growing number of hired aides to help take care of Duncan, and to lift his spirits, she requests a capuchin monkey to become a part of their in home support. Ottoline was feisty, charming and lovable – a welcoming character who gave Duncan some pleasure as he thought about how he might live and how he might exit this life. Will sitting around in a wheelchair all day be Duncan’s life? Is being alive the same as living?
Not only are we forced to ponder what a life worth living may be, but Katharine Weber teaches us about architecture and art conservation, about care for a paraplegic and about helper monkeys. In CT, helper monkeys are not legal, but in MA there is a legitimate program that has been around for close to 40 years called Helping Hands. Katherine had the opportunity to meet a married couple and their helper monkey, Farah on numerous occasions, and witnessed the benefits the monkey provides like buttoning and unbuttoning, page turning, social interaction, bonding and emotional connection. Farah is 7 lbs and 36 years old and is living with her 2nd and last family, as 40 years old is life expectancy for a monkey living in captivity. Weber’s human characters are not based on real people, but Ottoline the capuchin was based on the charming and lovable Farah.
The character of Ottoline adds texture to an already rich story that highlights ideas about twins, children and secrets. Duncan is a twin and had been considered the original, and his brother Gordon, the copy. Duncan had a big life, was highly educated, married with a big job, and in contrast, Gordon had a speech impediment and rode his bike to work at a bookstore. Interesting to examine their relationship and Gordon’s relationship with Laura, Duncan’s wife. Also, worth looking at is the impact the neighborhood children have on Duncan’s mental health, and the effect secrets may have on relationships and self worth.
Still Life With Monkey is a story about life and relationships. It is not a tearjerker yet it is filled with compassion and humor. I highly recommend it for book clubs and discussion.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Duncan Wheeler is a talented architect and owner of his own firm in New Haven, CT. He was visiting his Thimble Islands site and while driving home on I95 with his assistant, was in a car accident. His assistant was killed and he survived but suffered injury that resulted in becoming a quadriplegic. His wife Laura, is an art conservator at the Yale Art Gallery, fixing broken things for a living. She sees Duncan fall into depression, and while she struggles with her own thoughts of letting go her dream to become a mother, she reduces her hours at work so she can take care of her husband. Every day had become “a broken series of unsuccessful gestures”, his will to live is wavering, and so to add to the already growing number of hired aides to help take care of Duncan, and to lift his spirits, she requests a capuchin monkey to become a part of their in home support. Ottoline was feisty, charming and lovable – a welcoming character who gave Duncan some pleasure as he thought about how he might live and how he might exit this life. Will sitting around in a wheelchair all day be Duncan’s life? Is being alive the same as living?
Not only are we forced to ponder what a life worth living may be, but Katharine Weber teaches us about architecture and art conservation, about care for a paraplegic and about helper monkeys. In CT, helper monkeys are not legal, but in MA there is a legitimate program that has been around for close to 40 years called Helping Hands. Katherine had the opportunity to meet a married couple and their helper monkey, Farah on numerous occasions, and witnessed the benefits the monkey provides like buttoning and unbuttoning, page turning, social interaction, bonding and emotional connection. Farah is 7 lbs and 36 years old and is living with her 2nd and last family, as 40 years old is life expectancy for a monkey living in captivity. Weber’s human characters are not based on real people, but Ottoline the capuchin was based on the charming and lovable Farah.
The character of Ottoline adds texture to an already rich story that highlights ideas about twins, children and secrets. Duncan is a twin and had been considered the original, and his brother Gordon, the copy. Duncan had a big life, was highly educated, married with a big job, and in contrast, Gordon had a speech impediment and rode his bike to work at a bookstore. Interesting to examine their relationship and Gordon’s relationship with Laura, Duncan’s wife. Also, worth looking at is the impact the neighborhood children have on Duncan’s mental health, and the effect secrets may have on relationships and self worth.
Still Life With Monkey is a story about life and relationships. It is not a tearjerker yet it is filled with compassion and humor. I highly recommend it for book clubs and discussion.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Summer Reviews
David Scott Kastan, a George M. Bodman Professor of English at Yale University and Stephen Farthing, an artist and elected member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London and Emeritus Fellow of St. Edmund Hall, the University of Oxford have collaborated on this beautiful, and educational book about the history of color and how it plays out in the world through art, politics, perceptions and more.
On Color encourages us to think about what we see, what each color symbolizes and how it makes us feel. According to the authors, scientists believe there are more than 17 million different colors. Red is known to be the color of roses, yet is the rose red or does it just appear to be red? In trying to understand what each individual actually sees, Kastan discusses how length, an objective property, is something that can be proven and verified by measurement, while color is perceived and can only be classified as an aspect… a vague property.
Did you know there was no Orange before oranges came to Europe? Van Gogh celebrated the depth of the color in his Basket With Six Oranges, while other artists utilized Orange differently. How did Yellow become associated with asians and what does color have to do with racial identity? Green may be a political color in Ireland but in the United States it has become the color of our environmental movement, and ecological concerns.
About 20% of people choose Green as their favorite color (I am one of those people).
For centuries, Blue has been the color of despair. Paintings from Picasso’s Blue period depict his depression. In the 1670s Newton named the color Indigo – at the time, it was a dye to color things blue. He also changed ROYGBIP (Purple) to ROYGBIV (Violet) and then, in the late 1800s Impressionism embraced Violet. Controversy surrounded the use of Violet in art because it did not represent the truth, only the trick of the light. Black is the color of funerals, the fashionable LBD (little black dress) and the color of darkness. Is White a mixture of all colors? Does it mean purity?
“Color doesn’t tell us what that meaning is. We tell the color; and whatever we say it means, we make it mean…”
So much to enjoy and absorb in this insightful and sophisticated exploration of color, art and history within each chapter, along with current perceptions and discussions…
This beautiful book wouldn’t be complete without mention of the infamous black and blue/white and gold dress that brought color discussion to the forefront and became an internet sensation!
I highly recommend this book to history lovers, artists, and all who see in color! The hardcover edition makes a beautiful gift!
On Color is part of the Bedside Reading program and will be complimentary for guests at the Conrad Hotel in NY later this year.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
On Color encourages us to think about what we see, what each color symbolizes and how it makes us feel. According to the authors, scientists believe there are more than 17 million different colors. Red is known to be the color of roses, yet is the rose red or does it just appear to be red? In trying to understand what each individual actually sees, Kastan discusses how length, an objective property, is something that can be proven and verified by measurement, while color is perceived and can only be classified as an aspect… a vague property.
Did you know there was no Orange before oranges came to Europe? Van Gogh celebrated the depth of the color in his Basket With Six Oranges, while other artists utilized Orange differently. How did Yellow become associated with asians and what does color have to do with racial identity? Green may be a political color in Ireland but in the United States it has become the color of our environmental movement, and ecological concerns.
About 20% of people choose Green as their favorite color (I am one of those people).
For centuries, Blue has been the color of despair. Paintings from Picasso’s Blue period depict his depression. In the 1670s Newton named the color Indigo – at the time, it was a dye to color things blue. He also changed ROYGBIP (Purple) to ROYGBIV (Violet) and then, in the late 1800s Impressionism embraced Violet. Controversy surrounded the use of Violet in art because it did not represent the truth, only the trick of the light. Black is the color of funerals, the fashionable LBD (little black dress) and the color of darkness. Is White a mixture of all colors? Does it mean purity?
“Color doesn’t tell us what that meaning is. We tell the color; and whatever we say it means, we make it mean…”
So much to enjoy and absorb in this insightful and sophisticated exploration of color, art and history within each chapter, along with current perceptions and discussions…
This beautiful book wouldn’t be complete without mention of the infamous black and blue/white and gold dress that brought color discussion to the forefront and became an internet sensation!
I highly recommend this book to history lovers, artists, and all who see in color! The hardcover edition makes a beautiful gift!
On Color is part of the Bedside Reading program and will be complimentary for guests at the Conrad Hotel in NY later this year.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
If you are looking for a book to bring to the beach this weekend, here it is! Not Her Daughter is a gripping page turner that had me completely swept up in the drama and questioning what is morally right. Sarah, a successful business woman becomes upset when she observes a mother mistreating her young daughter, Emma, in an airport. Weeks later, by chance, Sarah observes the same girl while at school and feels overwhelming compassion and the urge to save her. She secretly follows her home to check on her wellbeing and after witnessing the mother engaging in more abusive behavior, Sarah decides to act.
Amy, an unfit mother knows she has a beautiful grey eyed, brown haired daughter but is not able to manage her work, her baby son and her useless husband along with this button pushing, irritating daughter of hers. She cannot control her inner anger and is constantly lashing out at her bothersome child. And then Emma is gone. Is Amy worried and upset…or relieved?
An illegal kidnapping, or a rescuing in the best interest of the child – that is up to you, as Sarah and Emma, the unlikely duo hit the road together.
Being on the run with the now missing five year old girl is not an easy task and Sarah does her best to keep her friends, family and coworkers oblivious. Then she runs into her ex boyfriend and her secret is in jeopardy. Can she escape judgement along with the authorities? Does Emma’s family even want her back?
This quick read is perfect for an escape from reality…don’t nitpick the practicality of the story and just enjoy the ride!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Amy, an unfit mother knows she has a beautiful grey eyed, brown haired daughter but is not able to manage her work, her baby son and her useless husband along with this button pushing, irritating daughter of hers. She cannot control her inner anger and is constantly lashing out at her bothersome child. And then Emma is gone. Is Amy worried and upset…or relieved?
An illegal kidnapping, or a rescuing in the best interest of the child – that is up to you, as Sarah and Emma, the unlikely duo hit the road together.
Being on the run with the now missing five year old girl is not an easy task and Sarah does her best to keep her friends, family and coworkers oblivious. Then she runs into her ex boyfriend and her secret is in jeopardy. Can she escape judgement along with the authorities? Does Emma’s family even want her back?
This quick read is perfect for an escape from reality…don’t nitpick the practicality of the story and just enjoy the ride!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Twenty something Beck is living in DC, enjoying time with her boyfriend, working a part time teaching job and part time at Lululemon, trying to make ends meet, when she answers an ad for a job as a stenographer at a law firm on Craigslist. They ask for her resume and cover letter and Beck, thinking nobody even reads her cover letters, omits it. She hears back with a request for the cover letter and feeling discouraged from her ongoing job search she tells them in an email that her resumé speaks for itself. But then she was invited to come in and take a test, which she does, and enjoys it – it is not a typing test as she expected, but a multiple choice and analogy test. Beck, having done well on the test, is called back again for an interview. She agrees to go but misses it due to Lululemon training. She has no interest in working as a stenographer but feels she needs interview practice so she makes a halfhearted effort. Feeling apathetic but with some vague sense of responsibility, she writes to apologize and gets this message back:
Hi Rebecca,
I understand you’re busy. For transparency’s sake, I wanted to let you know this is a job at the White House, and you’d be traveling with the President on his domestic and international trips. Let me know if this changes things.
Bernice”
And this very email changes Beck’s trajectory in life and in love as she embarks on a crazy journey with the White House staff and President Obama’s team.
I really enjoyed this memoir, From the Corner of the Oval; Beck 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, fun to read and reminiscent of the good ol’ days in the big city for me, but her job was a once in a lifetime opportunity that gives this memoir an extended life, great interest and that un-put-downable quality! Author Beck Dorey-Stein shares tidbits of insight and glimpses of President Obama and his staff through her eyes as she tells her personal story of struggles and growth, personal and professional, with this incredible, little known insider view as the colorful backdrop.
If you enjoy memoirs, if you have an interest in hearing about what is is like to travel the world with the President of the United States, or if you want to read about one young woman’s journey to find herself and happiness, Beck Dorey-Stein’s From the Corner of the Oval is for you!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Hi Rebecca,
I understand you’re busy. For transparency’s sake, I wanted to let you know this is a job at the White House, and you’d be traveling with the President on his domestic and international trips. Let me know if this changes things.
Bernice”
And this very email changes Beck’s trajectory in life and in love as she embarks on a crazy journey with the White House staff and President Obama’s team.
I really enjoyed this memoir, From the Corner of the Oval; Beck 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, fun to read and reminiscent of the good ol’ days in the big city for me, but her job was a once in a lifetime opportunity that gives this memoir an extended life, great interest and that un-put-downable quality! Author Beck Dorey-Stein shares tidbits of insight and glimpses of President Obama and his staff through her eyes as she tells her personal story of struggles and growth, personal and professional, with this incredible, little known insider view as the colorful backdrop.
If you enjoy memoirs, if you have an interest in hearing about what is is like to travel the world with the President of the United States, or if you want to read about one young woman’s journey to find herself and happiness, Beck Dorey-Stein’s From the Corner of the Oval is for you!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
So much sorrow as the characters in There There seek connection and struggle with identity…an honest and important debut.
Author Tommy Orange gives us a window into Native American Indian suffering and challenges with skill. We follow more than a dozen characters, hearing their stories as they prepare to attend a major Pow Wow, a coming together of Natives from all over. As we know, their land was taken away from them, but most have never lived the traditional Indian life on a reservation. They are interested in their own culture and history yet they know so very little about where they truly came from, the people, the places, and the rituals and traditions. Not knowing their past contributes to unsettled feelings, and a sense of belonging is challenging and often laced with despair.
Tony Loneman was born to an alcoholic and has some mental deficits. He deals drugs. He plans to go to the Pow Wow to steal money.
Dene Oxendene smokes weed. He takes over his uncle’s movie making project about Indians and their stories. He plans to go to the Pow Wow to interview Natives.
Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield lived on Alcatraz in protest when she was a child, with her mom, who died of cancer and her sister. She plans to go to the Pow Wow to see her grandson dance.
Edwin Black searches online and finds his long lost father. He plans to meet him at the Pow Wow.
Everyone is searching for their history, a means to an end and connection while battling despair, addiction, weight issues and social challenges. I found this book, a collection of integrated personal stories, compelling and tragic. Not knowing who you are can be devastating and hearing the words of a character who is half Native and half white, the struggle is evident as Orange writes, “You’re from a people who took and took and took and took. And from a people taken. You were both and neither. ”
With clarity and honesty, There There is a story of the urban Native Americans, an inherently beautiful people with a painful past and a deep sense of spirituality. I highly recommend this book.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Author Tommy Orange gives us a window into Native American Indian suffering and challenges with skill. We follow more than a dozen characters, hearing their stories as they prepare to attend a major Pow Wow, a coming together of Natives from all over. As we know, their land was taken away from them, but most have never lived the traditional Indian life on a reservation. They are interested in their own culture and history yet they know so very little about where they truly came from, the people, the places, and the rituals and traditions. Not knowing their past contributes to unsettled feelings, and a sense of belonging is challenging and often laced with despair.
Tony Loneman was born to an alcoholic and has some mental deficits. He deals drugs. He plans to go to the Pow Wow to steal money.
Dene Oxendene smokes weed. He takes over his uncle’s movie making project about Indians and their stories. He plans to go to the Pow Wow to interview Natives.
Opal Viola Victoria Bear Shield lived on Alcatraz in protest when she was a child, with her mom, who died of cancer and her sister. She plans to go to the Pow Wow to see her grandson dance.
Edwin Black searches online and finds his long lost father. He plans to meet him at the Pow Wow.
Everyone is searching for their history, a means to an end and connection while battling despair, addiction, weight issues and social challenges. I found this book, a collection of integrated personal stories, compelling and tragic. Not knowing who you are can be devastating and hearing the words of a character who is half Native and half white, the struggle is evident as Orange writes, “You’re from a people who took and took and took and took. And from a people taken. You were both and neither. ”
With clarity and honesty, There There is a story of the urban Native Americans, an inherently beautiful people with a painful past and a deep sense of spirituality. I highly recommend this book.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
If you are in need of a blood chilling thriller to make your heart pound, Baby Teeth is for you! Author Zoje Stage mastered dark and suspenseful when she created seven-year-old Hanna, the only child of Suzette and Alex. Suzette had a difficult childhood, poor mothering and a continual battle with Crones Disease, and when she meets Alex in a professional environment, he saved her from loneliness and despair by respecting her design work and falling in love. Alex, an architect, is a cheery Swedish man who desperately loves his wife, Suzette, and showers his very bright but mute daughter Hanna with love and attention. Both parents want to be the best they can be; they spend lots of time with Hanna, they have patience for their daughter, but she doesn’t speak a word and seems to only love her Daddy.
After being kicked out of several preschools for bad behavior that Alex cannot recognize or accept, Suzette is homeschooling her daughter but seeing red flags in her behavior towards her. She witnesses outrageous outbursts but due to her lack of confidence in her parenting and wife skills, she keeps some of what she experiences with her daughter to herself so as not to upset her disbelieving husband.
Hanna has an alter ego that seems to want to kill Mommy so she can have Daddy all to herself and she is working on a plan. When mother and daughter are alone she terrorizes and scares her but when Daddy gets home she is her cuddly sweet self.
Life becomes dangerous for Suzette when warnings escalate from Hanna’s artwork that depicts a dead Mommy to Hanna speaking obscene and threatening messages to her mother when nobody else is around to sophisticated scheming that leads to illness and physical violence! Suzette and Alex’s parenting skills are in question along with safety in their home when they finally reach out for help and share what is going on with outsiders as the danger and threats escalate…but will it be too late?
This is a creepy story…but good creepy! If you want to feel positive about your own family, OR you don’t want to have children, this book will support you in a big way! Baby Teeth is a quick summer read that will keep you engaged and freaked out.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
After being kicked out of several preschools for bad behavior that Alex cannot recognize or accept, Suzette is homeschooling her daughter but seeing red flags in her behavior towards her. She witnesses outrageous outbursts but due to her lack of confidence in her parenting and wife skills, she keeps some of what she experiences with her daughter to herself so as not to upset her disbelieving husband.
Hanna has an alter ego that seems to want to kill Mommy so she can have Daddy all to herself and she is working on a plan. When mother and daughter are alone she terrorizes and scares her but when Daddy gets home she is her cuddly sweet self.
Life becomes dangerous for Suzette when warnings escalate from Hanna’s artwork that depicts a dead Mommy to Hanna speaking obscene and threatening messages to her mother when nobody else is around to sophisticated scheming that leads to illness and physical violence! Suzette and Alex’s parenting skills are in question along with safety in their home when they finally reach out for help and share what is going on with outsiders as the danger and threats escalate…but will it be too late?
This is a creepy story…but good creepy! If you want to feel positive about your own family, OR you don’t want to have children, this book will support you in a big way! Baby Teeth is a quick summer read that will keep you engaged and freaked out.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Get ready to read this one, sure to be all over social media this fall! As we can imagine, contention in government could lead to citizens’ rights being taken away, and in Vox, author Christina Dalcher goes to the extreme with this concept and shows us how easy it is to change people’s mindset in a short time. In this made up Handmaid’s Tale – like world, women are only allowed to speak 100 words per day. Their words are counted by a bracelet each one wears, and when they go over the limit, they receive an electric shock. All women have been removed from the workforce and are only allowed to take care of the home and family. Could something like this ever happen? I found there to be some vague parallels to real life, was captivated by the storyline, and even though the ending was a little far fetched and dramatic for me, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Maddening, frightening and exhilarating, this could be a fantastic movie!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
In Girls’ Night Out, the thrilling summer read by authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke, Ashley invited her old friends Natalie and Lauren to go on a girls’ vacation in Tulum, Mexico… but it is not the easygoing carefree celebratory trip they had wanted. Ashley and Natalie are best friends that work together and they are in disagreement about whether or not to sell the company they own. For personal reasons they have not shared with each other, neither are willing to budge. Lauren, typically the third wheel in this longtime friendship, had lost her husband the prior year and had a falling out with Ashley at his funeral. Both were hoping to repair their fractured friendship, but bad feelings run deep.
The ladies plan to spend some quality time together hoping they can mend some fences, but their issues are not exactly fixable with a few cocktails far away from home…despite the beautiful setting and casual atmosphere, problems esclate when a charming local insinuates himself in the midst of their relationships and their planned girl time. This fast paced thriller will keep your attention as everyone’s secrets are slowly revealed and at the same time physical danger ensues…your pulse will increase as you race to the finish…another fun page-turner by writing team Liz Kenton and Lisa Steinke!
Girls’ Night Out is a perfect summer thriller…a girlfriends trip to Mexico….secrets and tragedy….a fun escape!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
The ladies plan to spend some quality time together hoping they can mend some fences, but their issues are not exactly fixable with a few cocktails far away from home…despite the beautiful setting and casual atmosphere, problems esclate when a charming local insinuates himself in the midst of their relationships and their planned girl time. This fast paced thriller will keep your attention as everyone’s secrets are slowly revealed and at the same time physical danger ensues…your pulse will increase as you race to the finish…another fun page-turner by writing team Liz Kenton and Lisa Steinke!
Girls’ Night Out is a perfect summer thriller…a girlfriends trip to Mexico….secrets and tragedy….a fun escape!
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
Something in the Water
I read the whole book in two sittings! Psychological thrillers are supposed to grab you right away, pull you in, create situations where you make assumptions and then force you to second guess yourself…Author Catherine Steadman did just that in her fast moving debut novel Something in the Water. (FYI she is also an actress from Downton Abbey and she narrated the audio book!)
Mark is an investment banker and Erin is a filmmaker in the midst of making a documentary about people in prison. (The subjects of money and crime could be foreshadowing!!!) The handsome couple is honeymooning in exotic Bora Bora and they are very much in love. While on a secluded scuba diving day trip they discover something in the crystal clear blue water. They make a decision about what to do and so it begins! That is all I can say! Around ever corner the newlyweds have to decide how to proceed, and as they dig their grave (figuratively…and maybe even literally!) they battle their moral compass while their loyalty to each other is tested. Greed, curiosity and BIG secrets make this latest Reese Witherspoon Book Club choice a fun summer read! - -Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
The Subway Girls
It is not often where I pick up a book that has everything I’m looking for at that moment and The Subways Girls by Susie Orman Schnall delivered. I started out in my early 20s in NYC at an ad agency so this book was a real treat for me as I was immediately drawn in and wanting to read more. The urge to google and learn something new is always a good sign when I am reading a book, and the Miss Subways ad campaign sparked my interest. Well developed, relatable characters that had me rooting for them and invested in them so much to pull at my heart strings and cause me to shed some tears, two separate and equally intriguing stories that perfectly connect, and just enough information or a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter to spur me made this a winner for me.
In her novel, Susie Orman Schnall explores some of the challenges women faced in the 1940s and some that still exist today. In 1949 Charlotte wants to graduate college and work in advertising, yet the ad agencies only seems to have women working in the typing pool. She has an opportunity to be in ad campaign that essentially is a beauty contest where the winner’s photo will be up in the subway cars, a lovely and successful boyfriend who wants to marry her and start a family, but her desire is to be educated and become a working woman, not a beauty queen or a wife and mother. Her father demands she drop out of school, work at the family business and not participate in the Miss Subways contest. After being rejected from all the jobs she applied to, feeling rebellious and going against her father’s wishes, and initially not being in favor of becoming an object of beauty, she decides to apply for Miss Subways anyway – with nothing to lose, she thinks it could help her father’s business by getting some publicity should she win. Her supportive boyfriend stands by her, although some of his decisions reflect questionable judgement. (No spoilers!)
Seventy years later, successful ad executive Olivia has to come up with an advertising idea for the MTA. She has a complicated relationship with her boss, who has power over her financially and emotionally. Her male coworker is not a fan of women and has no problem stealing her ideas and presenting them as his own. Feeling despair, alone and her job on the line, Olivia has to make some decisions. Her strength and perseverance, despite the odds being against her, lead her to research the old Miss Subways campaign. Through heartbreak, a new love and a surprising connection right next door, Olivia’s future begins to look bright. Striking a balance for women is often challenging; a constant juggling between works and family….wanting it all. Happiness is fluid and different things may be more important at different times. I found myself rooting for both Charlotte and Olivia, a champion for the women, no matter what they wanted in order to be happy – the job, the beauty contest, the attention from the guy, the winning campaign…I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
To learn more about The Subway Girls read this fascinating Harper’s Bazaar article written by the author.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-
It is not often where I pick up a book that has everything I’m looking for at that moment and The Subways Girls by Susie Orman Schnall delivered. I started out in my early 20s in NYC at an ad agency so this book was a real treat for me as I was immediately drawn in and wanting to read more. The urge to google and learn something new is always a good sign when I am reading a book, and the Miss Subways ad campaign sparked my interest. Well developed, relatable characters that had me rooting for them and invested in them so much to pull at my heart strings and cause me to shed some tears, two separate and equally intriguing stories that perfectly connect, and just enough information or a cliffhanger at the end of each chapter to spur me made this a winner for me.
In her novel, Susie Orman Schnall explores some of the challenges women faced in the 1940s and some that still exist today. In 1949 Charlotte wants to graduate college and work in advertising, yet the ad agencies only seems to have women working in the typing pool. She has an opportunity to be in ad campaign that essentially is a beauty contest where the winner’s photo will be up in the subway cars, a lovely and successful boyfriend who wants to marry her and start a family, but her desire is to be educated and become a working woman, not a beauty queen or a wife and mother. Her father demands she drop out of school, work at the family business and not participate in the Miss Subways contest. After being rejected from all the jobs she applied to, feeling rebellious and going against her father’s wishes, and initially not being in favor of becoming an object of beauty, she decides to apply for Miss Subways anyway – with nothing to lose, she thinks it could help her father’s business by getting some publicity should she win. Her supportive boyfriend stands by her, although some of his decisions reflect questionable judgement. (No spoilers!)
Seventy years later, successful ad executive Olivia has to come up with an advertising idea for the MTA. She has a complicated relationship with her boss, who has power over her financially and emotionally. Her male coworker is not a fan of women and has no problem stealing her ideas and presenting them as his own. Feeling despair, alone and her job on the line, Olivia has to make some decisions. Her strength and perseverance, despite the odds being against her, lead her to research the old Miss Subways campaign. Through heartbreak, a new love and a surprising connection right next door, Olivia’s future begins to look bright. Striking a balance for women is often challenging; a constant juggling between works and family….wanting it all. Happiness is fluid and different things may be more important at different times. I found myself rooting for both Charlotte and Olivia, a champion for the women, no matter what they wanted in order to be happy – the job, the beauty contest, the attention from the guy, the winning campaign…I thoroughly enjoyed this book!
To learn more about The Subway Girls read this fascinating Harper’s Bazaar article written by the author.
-Jennifer Gans Blankfein-