PS I no longer participate in WWW.WEDNESDAY via that link because her blog won't accept Blogger comments. I mention this only to save you the frustration I experienced trying to link up.
1. What are you currently reading? Mary Lincoln: Biography of a Marriage by Ruth Painter Randall. I love the premise of this book: Mary Lincoln deserves a "new hearing." So much of what has been said and written about her has been negative, or cruel, or out of context.
Ms. Randall gives a new (newish; the book was published in the 1950s) and exhaustively researched look at the First Lady. So far it's sympathetic but not white-washed. (Mary's sharp tongue and impulsivity are often referenced.) And while it can be scholarly, the information is shared in a linear, easy-to-understand manner.
2. What did you recently finish reading? Laura by Vera Caspary. This novel tells the story of The Laura Hunt Murder Case, a sexy and lurid news story that captivated New York one August in the 1940s. To solve the case, Detective Mark McPherson spends time with, and closely observes, Laura's fiance Shelby Carpenter, her mentor and confidante Waldo Lydecker and her elegant aunt, Susan Treadwell.
Part of the fun of this book is hearing the story told by different narrators. Writing in such distinctly different voices couldn't have been easy for Caspary but she does it very well. It's an entertaining, evocative book.
3. What will you read next? I don't know.
