Coconut Library

Don't Forget to Make the Change!

This is no longer a working Blog... You can find me now at:

Unputdownables

Please remember to make the necessary changes to keep following me:

1.) Follow the link above to the new blog, scroll to the bottom of the page and re-follow by subscribing in the e-mail form. Note, you will not automatically be switched over to the new blog as a subscriber. You must do that on your own (I would love to help out, but they won't let me). PLEASE don't forget to subscribe over at the new blog... unless of course you don't want to follow anymore. 

2.) Make the change in your blogroll if you have been so kind as to have put me there. :)

Thanks! Looking forward to seeing you on Unputdownables!

Good Things I Wish You by A. Manette Ansay

 

Good Things I Wish You by A. Manette Ansay

paperback 250 pages

published by Harper Perennial in 2010

ISBN-13: 978-0-06-123995-3 

In Good Things I Wish You, A. Manette Ansay weaves together the fictional story of modern day writer, Jeanette and that of her subjects Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. While researching this historical friendship that is widely considered a romantic relationship, Jeanette poses the question, can men and women ever just be friends?

From the beginning chapter, where we accompany Jeanette in meeting Hart on their first date, we watch as that question unfolds itself in her own life. Switching between past and present, Ansay explores the relationship between men and women. The question is not answered in Jeanette's case until the end of the book but the getting there is a tender and real study in the way we interact with each other. A recurring theme in the book is the thought that "there are things between men and women that do not change." And as often as the author proves that this could potentially be wrong, she shows us several ways of how it is right. 

There is nothing gripping about this novel, no sitting on the edge of your chair, but you might find that you keep getting pulled back by the ease of the prose and the intelligence behind the idea. Ansay writes her dialogue as though she had tape recorded people talking and then copied it down. It is not incredibly traditional and might feel jarring until you get used to it... though its uniqueness and may just keep you reading. 

I'm giving it 3 stars = Me Likey: Enjoyable! Particularly for fans of the genre. 

 About A. Manette Ansay

A. Manette Ansay is the author of eight books, includingVinegar Hill, Midnight Champagne (a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award), and Blue Water. She has received the Pushcart Prize, two Great Lakes Book Awards, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. She teaches in the MFA writing program at the University of Miami.

Connect with A. Manette Ansay:

• On her website
• On Facebook
• On Twitter: @amanetteansay

This book was given to me for an honest review by TLC Book Tours. 

  

I'm Moving!

I was going to wait to announce this until it was a little more ready, but people have been finding me out and I wanted to make sure all my very, very valued readers knew what was going on...

Guess what?!?

Coconut Library is moving. Well... moving and changing it's name. This has been a few months coming, and is finally here. The decision has been made. The end of an era. The salsa on the taco. Ok, I'll stop. 

Move where? Called what? What are you doing to me???

Well, glad you asked. 

Where: Moving to WordPress where it is infinitely easier for a girl like me to do some pretty sweet blog design (if I do say so myself). :) 

Why: Because I have a type A personality that wants things to be organized in a very specific way (and under my control design-wise). Changing the blog a little (and changing platforms), will allow me to do it. And changing the name gives more definition to what my blog is about. 

What: Unputdownables. That's the name -- I hope it's self explanatory, but if not give it a visit and check out the "About" page. 

When: Now. Not all at once. It's going to take me a durrrn good while to get the past year of posts (sans comments, weep weep) over to the new blog. Organized (of course) and ready to be read afresh. This address will be functioning probably until the end of the summer, possibly longer. So, as you get used to checking a new site, this will be here to remind you where to look. 

I really hope you will follow me over to the new site. I think you'll like it -- I hope you'll like it. I know I do!

This also means that those of you who follow me through e-mail or reader will need to re-follow me over there. The cool thing about the WordPress e-mail subscription is that you can opt for an everyday e-mail, or a weekly e-mail (where they package the newest posts into a tidy e-mail). I know by switching over I risk losing some of you wonderful readers, but I do hope you'll mark it down (or go ahead and do the switch right now) to re-subscribe and bookmark the new site. 

Thanks so much for supporting this blog, reading with me, and being part of the learning process. This is NOT goodbye, but rather an invitation to come see the "remodel"! (Which is still very much in progress).

Hope you'll join me! :)

Traveling Over to A Little Bookish Today!

Check me out on A Little Bookish today! 

Best of... Mystery Novels

 

image source

 

According to Library Journal and Helium, Romance and Mystery/Thriller are the top two selling genres in books (romance, apparently making up for half of all sold paperback books). Since I don't read much of either (I'm not sure chick-lit is considered romance in the figures they are looking at) I need to get some recommendations. 

Today I'm starting with Mystery. What are your favorite Mystery novels that you would recommend?