1. What are you currently reading? Jackie: Her Transformation from First Lady to Jackie O by Paul Brandus. I've read many, many books about JBKO, but this is the first I can recall that concentrates on that five year period between autumn 1963 and autumn 1968, when Jacqueline Kennedy was the world's most famous widow.
Will I learn anything new? So far, the only nugget I've gleaned debunks the popular rumor that Jackie and Bobby Kennedy were lovers by sharing that there was no mention of an affair in Bobby's FBI file. J. Edgar Hoover hated Bobby, and loved notating the sex lives of his enemies, so if credible evidence existed, it would have made Bobby's file.
The rest of the book, so far, is pretty familiar stuff. Compelling, to be sure. But that's because Jackie's life was so dramatic. Hopefully Mr. Brandus will deliver more nuggets like the one I mentioned above. Fingers crossed.
2. What are you currently reading? The Visitor by K.L. Slater. David, aged 40+, has a hard time leaving the house. It takes all his strength and wherewithal to handle his part-time job as a parking lot attendant. He spends the rest of his time in his room of his mother's house, watching the neighborhood. Through binoculars and telescopic lenses.
That's when he spots Holly, the young woman visiting his widowed next door neighbor. He doesn't know how long Holly plans to stay, but he never wants her to leave.
This books is a thriller, but a highly unsatisfying one. David and Holly are introduced to us slowly and carefully, which builds the suspense. David's story is revealed slowly, as well, and when we understand why he's suffering from PTSD we begin to feel sorry for him. But the character of Holly! Nothing about her is believable.
I don't recommend this.
