The Motley Reader

Do you have a favorite author? You know what I mean right? You've read all their books. You follow them on social media. You know their birthday, the story behind their writing career, and where they like to vacation. You probably recommend them to everyone even if they don't ask.  Now, what if you found out that your favorite author may have plagiarized their most famous book, which also just happens to be your all time favorite? That is the premise of my most recent read  First Impressions by Charlie Lovett. Before reading this book I had never heard of Charlie Lovett. But as you know, I have been listening to the What Should I Read Next podcast by Anne Bogel. Each episode of this podcast is filled with lots of book talk, including book recommendations. First Impressions has been mentioned by Bogel multiple times on the show. From the description she gives, I was intrigued by the concept so I added it to my Goodreads "Want to Read" list a few weeks ago.  Once the ...

How about this for a tagline? A haunting debut novel set against the background of New York City in the 1920s.... Sounds interesting right? Yeah, I thought so too.  I acquired The Other Typist from a book swap held at a local restaurant where I live. I was taken in by the back cover summary. Words like prohibition, speakeasies, fascination and obsession grabbed me and I was looking forward to when I would have time to fall into this story. It was advertised as a thriller along the same lines as Gone Girl . I've not read Gone Girl , but I am familiar with this genre which is a combination of thriller and suspense. It is most often characterized by a "surprise" or shocking ending. It is the story of Rose Baker a self described dignified lady who works with the police typing criminal interviews. Her life is ordinary and quite normal until another typist named Odalie Lazare is hired. Odalie introduces Rose to a life she has not ever experienced. Rose becomes entranced by Oda...

Summer Reading Continued.... Me Elton John has been on my radar since last year when I read the Julie Andrews biography. Biographies haven't really been something I've gravitated toward until recently. I think the year we did the reading challenge at school got me hooked on biographies. That year, in order to get in as many books as possible I started reading books in the Big Head biography series. If you are unfamiliar with these books, they are a series of biographies written on an elementary grade level. They are called Big Heads because of the caricature of the subject on the front cover. Learn more here:  http://www.whowasbookseries.com/who-was/ Anyhoooo. Back to Elton John. I was never a huge fan. But growing up in the late 70's and then the 80's it's hard not to know who Elton John is or not heard any of his songs. However, his biography is another matter completely. Now I'm going to give you the warnings first. There is interesting language in this book...