Release Day! By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult ~ My Thoughts #ByAnyOtherName @jodipicoult

Happy Release Day!

Congratulation Jodi

on the recent release of

By Any Other Name!

 

By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

Historical Fiction, 544 pages

Published August 20, 2024 by Ballantine Books

Two women, centuries apart — one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare's plays — are both forced to hide behind another name to make their voices heard.

In 1581, Emilia Bassano — like most young women of her day — is allowed no voice of her own. But as the Lord Chamberlain's mistress, she has access to all theater in England, and finds a way to bring her work to the stage secretly. And yet, creating some of the world's greatest dramatic masterpieces comes at great cost: by paying a man for the use of his name, she will write her own out of history.

In the present, playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. Although the challenges are different four hundred years later, the playing field is still not level for women in theater. Would Melina — like Emilia — be willing to forfeit her credit as author, just for a chance to see her work performed?

Told in intertwining narratives, this sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire asks what price each woman is willing to pay to see their work live on — even if it means they will be forgotten.

My thoughts about By Any Other Name ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first lines.)

First lines—"Many years after Melina graduated from the Bard College, the course she remembered the most was not a playwriting seminar or a theater intensive but an anthropology class."

By Any Other Name was an interesting read and nothing like I have ever read. I know when I start one of Jodi Picoult's books that I am going to be learning a lot about a subject I knew little to nothing about. This time it was all about Shakespeare and two women who were wrapped up in his works. 

This story is told in two time periods. One it set back in the 1500's around the hard life of Emilia Bassano. Her life was not at all easy and being a very talented writer, but a women, her work would not be recognized for its worth. Then in the present day, Melina Green, has written a screenplay centered on the life of Emilia but runs into roadblocks because she is a woman. Has nothing changed in all these years?

I enjoyed this story for the struggles of the two women even though I am not really much of a fan of Shakespeare. There is so much more to this story, focusing on the lives of these two amazing women. And once again, I came away from a Picoult book knowing so much more that I did before I started. 

I received a copy of By Any Other Name rom the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

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About the author

Picoult is the recipient of many awards, including the New England Bookseller Award for Fiction, the Alex Awards from the YALSA, a lifetime achievement award for mainstream fiction from the Romance Writers of America, the NH Literary Award for Outstanding Literary Merit and the Sarah Josepha Hale Award. She holds honorary doctor of letters degrees from Dartmouth College and the University of New Haven. She is a patron of the Carole Shields Prize for Fiction which is awarded to female fiction writers.

Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of 29 novels, including By Any Other Name, Mad Honey, Wish You Were Here, The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, and My Sister's Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page.

Picoult lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children.

Connect with Jodi

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | Goodreads

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

This OR That Giveaway № 94 ~ The Good Woman by Jane Porter OR Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult #TheGoodWoman #SingYouHome

 

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

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The Good Woman

(Brennan Sisters #1)

by Jane Porter

Paperback ~ Published September 2012

Is it possible to leave it all behind?

The firstborn of a large Irish-American family, Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being "the good woman" have taken a toll and though her winery career thrives, Meg feels burned out and empty, and more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It's here, alone together in an exotic city, far from "real" life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg.

Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she's ever made, especially that of her marriage. For Meg, something's got to give, and for once in her life she flees her responsibilities--but with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating. Now she must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

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Sing You Home

by Jodi Picoult

Hardcover ~ Published March 2011

After Zoe Baxter loses her baby, the only way she can find of coping is to try again. But her husband Max disagrees - more than that, he wants a divorce. When they separate, there is no mention of the unborn children they created together, still waiting at the clinic.

The Zoe falls in love again, out of the blue, and finds herself with an unexpected second chance to have a family.

But Max has found a new life too - one with no place in it for people like Zoe. And he will stand up in court to say that her new choice of partner makes her an unfit mother.

Jodi Picoult's most powerful novel yet asks who has the right to decide what makes the ideal family?

Read my thoughts here

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways! 

This OR That #Giveaway № 90 ~ Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult OR The Night Shift by Natalka Burian #SmallGreatThings OR #TheNightShift

 

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

*****************

Small Great Things

(Ruth Jefferson #1)

by Jodi Picoult

ARC ~ Published October 2016

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.

Read my thoughts here

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The Night Shift 

by Natalka Burian

ARC ~ Published July 2022

Only by traveling into the past can Jean discover a happy future…

Hidden behind back doors of bars and restaurants and theaters and shops all over New York City are shortcuts—secret passageways that allow you to jump through time and space to emerge in different parts of the city. No one knows where they came from, but there are rules—you can only travel through them one way and only at night.

When Jean’s work friend Iggy introduces her to the shortcuts, it’s to help shorten her commute between her night shifts bartending and her work at an upscale bakery. Jean is intrigued but has a hard time shaking the side effects—the shortcuts make her more talkative, more open to discussing her past and recalling memories she’s tried hard to forget.

When Iggy goes missing, Jean believes it’s related to the shortcuts and his growing obsession with them. But as she starts digging into their origins, she comes to find a strange connection between herself and the shortcuts. A shimmering, propulsive novel set in New York City during the early aughts and across time, The Night Shift shows that by confronting the past can we reshape our future.  

Read my thoughts here

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways! 

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan ~ My Thoughts #MadHoney @jodipicoult @JennyBoylan

Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Jennifer Finney Boylan

Fiction, Mystery Thriller, 464 pages

Published October 4, 2022 by Ballantine

A soul-stirring novel about what we choose to keep from our past, and what we choose to leave behind.

Olivia McAfee knows what it feels like to start over. Her picture-perfect life—living in Boston, married to a brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon, raising a beautiful son, Asher—was upended when her husband revealed a darker side. She never imagined she would end up back in her sleepy New Hampshire hometown, living in the house she grew up in, and taking over her father's beekeeping business.

Lily Campanello is familiar with do-overs, too. When she and her mom relocate to Adams, New Hampshire, for her final year of high school, they both hope it will be a fresh start.

And for just a short while, these new beginnings are exactly what Olivia and Lily need. Their paths cross when Asher falls for the new girl in school, and Lily can’t help but fall for him, too. With Ash, she feels happy for the first time. Yet at times, she wonders if she can she trust him completely . . .

Then one day, Olivia receives a phone call: Lily is dead, and Asher is being questioned by the police. Olivia is adamant that her son is innocent. But she would be lying if she didn’t acknowledge the flashes of his father’s temper in him, and as the case against him unfolds, she realizes he’s hidden more than he’s shared with her.

Mad Honey is a riveting novel of suspense, an unforgettable love story, and a moving and powerful exploration of the secrets we keep and the risks we take in order to become ourselves.

My thoughts about Mad Honey ~~

(I love to note the first lines of the books I'm reading. First lines can really grab a reader's attention and I love seeing where the author takes the reader after their first line.)

First line—"From the moment I knew I was having a baby, I wanted it to be a girl."

Jodi Picoult is one of those authors that I will just read, no matter what she publishes. So I basically went into this book not really knowing anything about it. Like all of her stories, there are lessons to be learned and I learned a lot about the lives and work of the honey bee. But then the story took a turn that I didn't see coming and I learned so much more about another topic that I know little about. 

Ms. Picoult's books always make me see facts of life around me that I need to better understand, all while wrapping it around a wonderful story with amazing characters. The teenage lives of Lily and Asher are full of fun, love, and teenage drama—times two. And then things take a turn for the worse, when Lilly ends up dead. Asher's life changes in a second! 

I found myself totally engrossed with the storyline and the lives of Lily and Asher, as well learning so much about bees on the side. There is plenty of drama, suspense, and love in Mad Honey to satisfy everyone. 

I highly recommend Mad Honey, for a story that will open reader's minds to so much that is going on the world, from bees to what some teenagers are dealing with today. 

I received a copy of Mad Honey from the publisher via NetGalley and this is my honest opinion.

About the authors

Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-eight novels, including Wish You Were Here, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, and My Sister’s Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire.

Mad Honey, her new novel co-authored with Jennifer Finney Boylan, is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on October 4, 2022.

Connect with Jodi

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

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Jennifer Finney Boylan is the author of sixteen books, including Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs. Since 2008 she has been a contributing opinion writer for op/ed page of the New York Times; her column appears on alternate Wednesdays. A member of the board of trustees of PEN America, Jenny was also the chair of the board of GLAAD for many years. She is currently the Anna Quindlen Writer in Residence and Professor of English at Barnard College of Columbia University.

Jenny is a well known advocate for human rights. She has appeared five times on the Oprah Winfrey Show and has also been a guest or a commentator on Larry King Live, Good Morning America, and The Today Show. She is also a member of the faculty of the Breadloaf Writers' Conference of Middlebury College as well as Sirenland, in Positano, Italy.

She lives in Maine with her wife Deirdre. They have two children.

Connect with Jennifer

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

*********************

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

This OR That #Giveaway № 76 ~ Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult OR The Life We Almost Had by Amelia Henley #SmallGreatThings #TheLifeWeAlmostHad

 

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

*****************

Small Great Things

(Ruth Jefferson #1)

by Jodi Picoult

ARC ~ Published October 2016

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years' experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she's been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don't want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy's counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other's trust, and come to see that what they've been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn't offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.

Read my thoughts here

*****************

The Life We Almost Had

by Amelia Henley

ARC ~ Published July 2020

From the USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author comes an emotional romance that is "beautifully written and plotted" (Candis).

This is not a typical love story, but it's our love story.

When Anna arrives in a Spanish beach town for a much-needed escape from real life, she isn’t looking for love. Until Adam sweeps her off her feet. There’s no denying their connection, and what begins as a beautiful romance soon becomes a vow to love each other . . . forever.

Years later, cracks have appeared in their marriage. In an attempt to rekindle their fire, they return to the island where they first met. But when disaster strikes, forever no longer seems within their grasp. Anna isn’t ready for a world without Adam. And she discovers that there is a way back together—but it will demand life-changing consequences. Now Anna must ask herself one question: How much will she sacrifice for true love?

The Life We Almost Had is an epic love story with an unexpected twist; one that will tear apart your heart and put it back together again—perfect for fans of The Notebook and The Light We Lost.

Read my thoughts here

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

This OR That Giveaway № 64 ~ Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult OR The Book of Longings by Sue Monk Kidd #SingYouHome #TheBookOfLongings

 

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to cull my collection and to share some of the many books I have. I get to clear off some of my shelves to make room for more books and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

*****************

Sing You Home

by Jodi Picoult

Hardcover ~ Published March 2011

After Zoe Baxter loses her baby, the only way she can find of coping is to try again. But her husband Max disagrees - more than that, he wants a divorce. When they separate, there is no mention of the unborn children they created together, still waiting at the clinic.

The Zoe falls in love again, out of the blue, and finds herself with an unexpected second chance to have a family.

But Max has found a new life too - one with no place in it for people like Zoe. And he will stand up in court to say that her new choice of partner makes her an unfit mother.

Jodi Picoult's most powerful novel yet asks who has the right to decide what makes the ideal family?

Read my thoughts here

*****************

The Book of Longings

by Sue Monk Kidd

Paperback ~ Published April 2020

"An extraordinary novel . . . a triumph of insight and storytelling." --Associated Press

"A true masterpiece." --Glennon Doyle, author of Untamed

An extraordinary story set in the first century about a woman who finds her voice and her destiny, from the celebrated number one New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Life of Bees and The Invention of Wings.

In her mesmerizing fourth work of fiction, Sue Monk Kidd takes an audacious approach to history and brings her acclaimed narrative gifts to imagine the story of a young woman named Ana. Raised in a wealthy family with ties to the ruler of Galilee, she is rebellious and ambitious, with a brilliant mind and a daring spirit. She engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes narratives about neglected and silenced women. Ana is expected to marry an older widower, a prospect that horrifies her. An encounter with eighteen-year-old Jesus changes everything.

Their marriage evolves with love and conflict, humor and pathos in Nazareth, where Ana makes a home with Jesus, his brothers, and their mother, Mary. Ana's pent-up longings intensify amid the turbulent resistance to Rome's occupation of Israel, partially led by her brother, Judas. She is sustained by her fearless aunt Yaltha, who harbors a compelling secret. When Ana commits a brazen act that puts her in peril, she flees to Alexandria, where startling revelations and greater dangers unfold, and she finds refuge in unexpected surroundings. Ana determines her fate during a stunning convergence of events considered among the most impactful in human history.

Grounded in meticulous research and written with a reverential approach to Jesus's life that focuses on his humanity, The Book of Longings is an inspiring, unforgettable account of one woman's bold struggle to realize the passion and potential inside her, while living in a time, place and culture devised to silence her. It is a triumph of storytelling both timely and timeless, from a masterful writer at the height of her powers.

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

*********************

Be sure to check the sidebar for my current giveaways!

This OR That #Giveaway № 53 ~ Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid OR Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult #SingYouHome #DaisyJonesAndTheSix

 

I have sooooo many books!

The This or That Giveaway! feature that I post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the many books I have. It's a way for me to cull my collection and give someone else the chance to enjoy these treasures.

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

*****************

Daisy Jones & The Six

by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Hardcover ~ Published March 2019

A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous break up.

Everyone knows Daisy Jones & The Six, but nobody knows the real reason why they split at the absolute height of their popularity…until now.

Daisy is a girl coming of age in L.A. in the late sixties, sneaking into clubs on the Sunset Strip, sleeping with rock stars, and dreaming of singing at the Whisky a Go-Go. The sex and drugs are thrilling, but it’s the rock and roll she loves most. By the time she’s twenty, her voice is getting noticed, and she has the kind of heedless beauty that makes people do crazy things.

Another band getting noticed is The Six, led by the brooding Billy Dunne. On the eve of their first tour, his girlfriend Camila finds out she’s pregnant, and with the pressure of impending fatherhood and fame, Billy goes a little wild on the road.

Daisy and Billy cross paths when a producer realizes the key to supercharged success is to put the two together. What happens next will become the stuff of legend. 

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Sing You Home

by Jodi Picoult

Hardcover ~ Published March 2011

After Zoe Baxter loses her baby, the only way she can find of coping is to try again. But her husband Max disagrees - more than that, he wants a divorce. When they separate, there is no mention of the unborn children they created together, still waiting at the clinic.

The Zoe falls in love again, out of the blue, and finds herself with an unexpected second chance to have a family.

But Max has found a new life too - one with no place in it for people like Zoe. And he will stand up in court to say that her new choice of partner makes her an unfit mother.

Jodi Picoult's most powerful novel yet asks who has the right to decide what makes the ideal family?

*****************

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**************************

Be sure to check the sidebar for all of my current giveaways!