ON TURPENTINE LANE (2017)

On Turpentine Lane by Elinor Lipman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In 1999 I stumbled upon The Inn at Lake Devine and chose it to be featured at a Reader's Advisory Workshop where I was speaking. Elinor Lipman turned out to be a 'life author' for me. Her stories are what I call literate chic-lit but they are more than that.

Here's what I wrote in an earlier review on my blog:

She is the Jane Austen of her time. Language, dialogue and sentences are precise and exactly right. And you will want to be friends with all her characters. She deals with what could be uncomfortable topics that are part of our lives in a way that makes them palatable.

THE FIRST LINE: "If I hadn't been naive and recklessly trusting, would I ever have purchased number 10 Turpentine Lane, a chronic headache masquerading as a charming bungalow?"

THE STORY: Faith Frankel has returned to her hometown at the age of thirty-two to work for her private school writing thank you notes to wealthy donors. In the meantime, her fiance has abandoned her and is finding himself on a cross country walk. He's too busy to get in touch with her but posts pictures of himself with the women he is meeting on his trek. Luckily Faith has support from her office mate Nick Franconi. (Can you see where this is going?)

WHAT I THOUGHT: This screwball romantic comedy is funny, poignant, and a little outrageous. If you want a lovely, well-written escape from today's politics, you can't go wrong with Elinor Lipman. Highly recommended.

Title: On Turpentine Lane

Author: Elinor Lipman

Genre: Chic-Lit

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin

No. of Pages: 320

Copyright: February 14, 2017

ISBN-10: 054480824X

ISBN-13: 978-0544808249

Disclaimer: An advanced reading copy (ARC) of this book was provided to me by Houghton Mifflin and Net Galley for an honest review.

ELINOR LIPMAN is the author of ten novels, including The View from Penthouse B and The Inn at Lake Devine; one essay collection, I Can’t Complain; and Tweet Land of Liberty: Irreverent Rhymes from the Political Circus. She lives in Massachusetts and New York City. (from Amazon.com)

Short Takes 9/15/2016

Becky Masterman has a new thriller featuring Brigid Quinn, a retired FBI agent pushing 60. coming out March 21, 2017. You can read what I had to say about her earlier books HERE.

I am currently reading Elinor Lipman's On Turpentine Lane. It lays down on February 14, 2017. I've read and enjoyed many of her chic-lit novels. You can read my comments on earlier titles HERE.

Love cozy mysteries? Have you discovered Wendy Sand Eckel yet? Her series features Rosalie Hart, who escapes to Maryland's Eastern Shore to build a new life when she discovers her husband wants a divorce. Small-town charm and charming recipes make this series irresistible. My reviews HERE.

Worthy 2012 Titles

These are not necessarily books published in 2012 but rather the best of what I have read so far this year. They are listed in the order read from oldest to most recent. They are a random mix of non-fiction, juvenile, romance, mystery, and thriller. #BUTHATSJUSTME.

WIRE TO WIRE in a Occupy Wall Street Library

In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (Erik Larson)
"Erik Larson has once again proved he is a master of narrative nonfiction. This is a page turner set during Hitler's rise to power." (2012 paperback)

Bad Things Happen (Harry Dolan)
"Literate mystery fans, rejoice! Crisp, clean writing and plotting draw you in and keep you hooked. Harry Dolan is an author to watch." (2009)

Steal Like an Artist:10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative (Austin Kleon)
"It doesn't take long to read but it is inspiring and it's better in book format. I've already bought a copy for a friend. This is a great little book!"  (2012)

Wire to Wire (Scott Sparling)
"Intriguing, disturbing, and perfectly balanced, WIRE TO WIRE may change the way you look at the world and your place in it. Read it." (2011)

The Icon Thief (Alec Nevala-Lee)
"A first novel and literate thriller about the Russian mafia, the International Art World, and secret societies that is beautifully written." (2012)

Save Queen of Sheba (Louise Moeri)
"I just had to reread this gem of a story that I remembered from my days of reading juvenile books as an adult. It remains perfect. A wagon train is attacked by Indians and there are only two survivors, David (12) and his spoiled sister, Queen of Sheba (6)." (1981)

After Annie: A Novel (Michael Tucker)
"If you like solid writing, interesting characters, and a good story set in the theater world, you may be willing to put up with the cantankerous Herbie Aaron who is trying to survive his beloved wife's death from cancer. It's worth it." (2012)

Then She Found Me: A Novel (Elinor Lipman)
"Love. Love. Love. Elinor Lipman. She writes charming, literate stories that seem light and airy but underneath - ah, yes underneath - share a message. You want her characters to be your friends." (1990)

Then She Found Me (1990)

Then She Found Me by Elinor Lipman
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

My first Elinor Lipman was The Inn at Lake Devine (1999) and that was all it took to make me fall in love. Sometimes I forget about Elinor; but in the end, I discover her again. This time it was Then She Found Me, her first novel published in 1990 picked up in a used book store.

Bernice Graverman is a talk show host and full of herself. Thirty-six years after giving up a child, she decides to find her and becomes an whirlwind force in April Epner's quiet life. But this isn't the story you might expect. The characters are charming and exasperating and funny. The surprises keep coming, one more outrageous than the next. It's a wonderful dance of a fairytale life.

You can see a list of Elinor Lipman's books on Wikipedia by clicking HERE. I am busy trying to figure out which titles I have missed. As it turns out, none, more's the pity. Her personal website is HERE.

Apparently this is the only one of Elinor's books that has been made into a movie starring Helen Hunt, Bette Midler, Colin Firth, and Matthew Broderick. The cast alone makes it something I will have to search out this summer. (I just requested from my local library!)

P.S. Elinor Lipman has a new book coming out Coming 8/28: TWEET LAND OF LIBERTY, a collection of Tweet Poems concerning the 2012 elections. She writes one everyday. Here's a sample, "Dressage is Mrs. Romney's passion/Expensive sport of horses prancin'/Tails & top hat crown the picture/& make the very rich look richer" Follow her on Twitter to read her acerbic and insightful 140 character rhymes! https://twitter.com/#!/ElinorLipman


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A Visit to the Book Sale

I succumbed to being on a committee committed to resurrecting the library at the Middle School at Parkside (Jackson Public Schools). The building was originally a high school so there is rather a nice space that was the library. Yesterday and today there was a book and bake sale held to raise a little money and a lot of awareness.

Although I donated a few rather nice things (newish books as well as DVD's), I planned to delight in that added shelf space. Alas!

I thought I would stop by yesterday and see what was being offered. There was actually a ton of attractive stuff unfortunately for me. Even though I managed to avoid many things, I ended up with the following for a variety of reasons: The Lion in Winter script (because we are doing a staged reading in January); Ruth Rendell's The Rottweiler; The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (because I felt I needed to refresh my memory); Then She Found Me (because I adore Elinor Lipman and don't think I read this early novel marked as a teen read); Linda Fairstein's The Kills; and Stieg Larsson's The Girl Who Played With Fire (I haven't read the first book yet but at least I won't have to go to the library for this second title). Why? I don't need anything else to read. I didn't quite fill the shelf space back up.

My name is Ann and I am a book addict.

The Family Man (2009)

The Family Man by Elinor Lipman

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ever since I reviewed Inn at Lake Devine for a Reader's Advisory Workshop, I have been hooked on Elinor Lipman's charming comedy-of manner tales. Some might consider her stories fluff but I disagree. She is the Jane Austen of her time. Language, dialogue and sentences are precise and exactly right. And you will want to be friends with all her characters. She deals with what could be uncomfortable topics that are part of our lives in a way that makes them palatable.

My only complaint is that I can read (devour) an Elinor Lipman novel more quickly than she can write them.


View all my reviews.

Elinor Lipman Has a New Book Out!

A number of years ago, when I was still doing Readers' Advisory Workshops, I stumbled on Elinor Lipman's works and fell in love. My first read was The Inn at Lake Devine, which I shared with my audience and I've been hooked ever since.

Entertainment Weekly, my source of all things wonderful, gave an 'A' review The Family Man (2009), a "sparkling, sprightly comedy". Here's the blurb from Ms. Lipman's website, "A hysterical phone call from Henry Archer's ex-wife and a familiar face in a photograph upend his well-ordered life and bring him back into contact with the child he adored, a short-term stepdaughter from a misbegotten marriage long ago." Comedy-of-manners, social comedy, whatever you want to call it, Elinor Lipman writes engaging stories with people you wish were your friends.

I put The Family Man on reserve at the library! Can't wait!

Body Surfing by Anita Shreve

I finally felt like picking up something to read and was sorting through the small stack of ARCs I still have left to consider. The first thing that had to go was the serial killer novel that I would have read in the past.

Recently a friend shared a novel he had written about serial killers and I was so aghast at the things he had written that I don't feel like reading anything that even borders on what I have decided to call porn violence anymore. I gave him back his manuscript. And I actually threw the serial killer book in the trash!

Anita Shreve's Body Surfing was the perfect antidote. This is the first book I have read by this author and she reminds me a bit of Elinor Lipman, who I adore.

Last night I came across a young women at the lake reading another title by this author called Where or When. As we were talking she shared that she had just read Body Surfing and that had been her first book by Shreve as well!

You can visit Anita Shreve's official website here if you can handle the Myst-like music.