Liked a lot, but did not love.
But the ending. . . the ending was good. I had suspicions, but was still very, very satisified.

Audio book for road trip.

Part of me wishes that I had read this instead of listened to it, and I'm not sure why that is, exactly. Maybe fluffier works better for me in the car.
At any rate, I loved this story of Nobody Owens and the graveyard. Deeply magical and satisfying. Will probably have to check out some more Gaiman, as I'm pretty sure this is my first by him.

So, here's the thing. I liked the book a lot--thought it did a great job of capturing the complexity of Stanton. Definitely a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the women's suffrage movement.
However, it wasn't one of those biographies that captured my imagination. It was one of those books that I didn't feel pulled back to--and it shows in how long it took me to finish it!

Plenty of laugh-out-loud moments. And if I had known a good portion of the book was set in the stacks of the LBJ Library, the museum nerd in me would have picked it up a lot sooner. Loved, loved the theory that "Bird" really ran the White House.
Story of a grad student living in co-op, across the street from the worst fraternity ever. Oh, and the usual looking for love and looking for self and all that stuff. Some of the characterizations were spot on--Fayrene cracked me up.
The act of final revenge is awesome, and though the actual ending might be hard to believe, somehow I did. Because it's exactly the sort of thing that would happen in politics.
Probably most enjoyable for those who appreciate Texas things, grad school stories, or archive stories.

My love affair with Elizabeth Enright continues.

For some reason, I thought this was set during the 19th century, but rather it's one of those rare kidlit-history books set between the wars. I loved Garnet--she's funny and smart and gets in trouble. Like other Enright books, the descriptions are spot on. A wonderful book that made me giggle.

A dark, witty look at a highly unusual teacher and her "set." It's the kind of book that I feel the need to re-read, just so I can better catch how Spark wove all the threads together to make the story.
Don't want to say too much, except that I highly recommend it.

Rereading--haven't picked it up in at least a decade. . . Probably more like 15 years.
This was one of my early kidlit loves--I know I read it pre-Anne. But rereading it now, as an adult and as a historian, I am amazed at what a layered story this is. And how terrifying it is at times. It's the fantasy element that appealed to me as a child, but I had forgotten how dark this book is.
I stayed up far too late finishing it--once the Magic happens, you just can't put it down.

Sigh. Will have to revisit more Burnett soon.

This is a haunting story of a father and son, war, lost art, and one kickass museum curator. It's also about the emotions around art.
Daniel Berenzon is an art dealer. More than that, he loves art and holds his son to impossible standards as they rehearse the paintings that have passed through the gallery. But then World War II comes, Paris falls, and they must go into hiding. When they return, all of the art is gone--even what was hidden in underground vaults and kept in bank vaults.
And so the son begins to desperately hunt--to find what happened to the art and to the friends. Meanwhile, there is the shadowy figure of Rose, a woman he loved and who was his father's apprentice. During the occupation, she was able to become invisible and kept impeccable records--of what was looted and where it was sent.
It's one of those books I'll be thinking about for days, especially the ending. I've seen the documentary on the Monuments Men and read some about the current issues of wartime provenance in art museums. But this is an infinitely more accessible way of telling the story--a story we really need to know (especially in light of the much more recent looting of the Iraq museums).
Beautifully written, but there were a few small annoyances. However, my copy is an ARC, so I trust that they've been fixed in the final edition.
Highly recommended to all who enjoy stories of WWII, art, museums, history. And, of course, kickass museum curators.

Just the barest outline of this book was enough to make me want to read it: Belle Greene was the first director of the Morgan Library, beginning her employment just after the turn of the century, and quickly became one of the most powerful people in the rare book/art world. But then there's this twist: she was passing. As white.

As I started reading, it got even better. Her father was the first African American graduate of Harvard and was pretty prominent in politics. But her mother made the decision to separate and eventually to move from the upper middle class of black society into middle class white society.

Belle herself was quite the character--she was a trailblazer, who was constantly trying to learn more about her chosen field. She had a lengthy affair with Bernard Berenson (art critic) who also happened to be a good friend of Edith Wharton. There was a lot of name dropping.

But I can only give it three stars because some of it felt repetitive. I wanted more about the scholarship at the Library, the daily running of it, how she made such an impact on such a male-dominated field. But I did get to know every detail abour her affairs. And though Ardizzone did a pretty good job of explaining the intricacies of passing, I felt like there could have been a bit more grace with that. Editing this down a bit would have made a much tighter story, with a far greater impact. However, I must acknowledge that some of my issues are caused by gaps in the historical record (Belle burned all of her letters before her death)

Recommended for anyone interested in this time period, racial identity, fancy museum people or glamorous librarians.

I am still slightly annoyed with the library for taking their own sweet time in getting this book to me. But it was so worth the wait! More summer adventures, more of the fabulous Melendys, and yes, I admit it: I teared up a bit when Oliver declared the best part of his birthday was Mark becoming part of the family.

Love, love, love these books. Hate that it took so long for me to find them, but so grateful that they're a part of my life down.