New Leaf Nominations for May * Guilty Pleasures, Between the Covers

[CRussel]

Many of our non-NA members don't have access to Overdrive library books, Jon. And I suspect that several of the editions have added material at the end. I'm not going to worry about which version folks are able to acquire, and I doubt it will make a material difference. Can we please stop obsessing. This is about READING. And discussing the book. Not quibbling about page counts. (Last and final warning.)

[Bookworm_Girl]

I struggled with what to nominate this month. I'm going to go with The Talisman Ring by Georgette Heyer.

From Amazon US:

One of Heyer's funniest Regency romances, and one of readers' favorites.

An impetuous young lady and a fugitive nobleman?
When spirited Eustacie stumbles into a band of smugglers, she is delighted to be having an adventure at last. Their leader, young heir Ludovic Lavenham, is in hiding, falsely accused of murder. Pursued by the law, Eustacie and Ludovic find refuge at an unassuming country inn.

And the delightfully sensible couple who try to keep them out of trouble...
The resourceful Miss Sarah Thane and the clear-thinking Sir Tristram Shield gamely endeavor to prevent Ludovic's arrest and Eustacie's ruin as the four conspire to recover the missing talisman ring that will clear Ludovic's name.

[CRussel]

Oooh, goody. An excuse to read a Georgette Heyer Regency. Or, really, re-read. But whatever, I'll second it.

[CRussel]

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[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Oooh, goody. An excuse to read a Georgette Heyer Regency. Or, really, re-read. But whatever, I'll second it.

I had a hunch you might approve!

[gmw]

It seems I have some tickets left, as do a few others, so...

I nominate The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie.

From Goodreads:

Newly-orphaned Anne Beddingfeld is a nice English girl looking for a bit of adventure in London. But she stumbles upon more than she bargained for! Anne is on the platform at Hyde Park Corner tube station when a man falls onto the live track, dying instantly. A doctor examines the man, pronounces him dead, and leaves, dropping a note on his way. Anne picks up the note, which reads "17.1 22 Kilmorden Castle". The next day the newspapers report that a beautiful ballet dancer has been found dead there-- brutally strangled. A fabulous fortune in diamonds has vanished. And now, aboard the luxury liner Kilmorden Castle, mysterious strangers pillage her cabin and try to strangle her. What are they looking for? Why should they want her dead? Lovely Anne is the last person on earth suited to solve this mystery... and the only one who can! Anne's journey to unravel the mystery takes her as far afield as Africa and the tension mounts with every step... and Anne finds herself struggling to unmask a faceless killer known only as 'The Colonel'

381 pages according to Goodreads.

Christie is a favourite curl-up-in-the-corner-with-something-familiar sort of read, and The Man in the Brown Suit is a favourite Christie. Lively and funny.

Lots of editions out there, I tend to prefer the larger publisher editions because I assume those are legit, whereas I'm not so sure about some of the others.

Example prices: Kobo US $9.99, Kobo CA $11.99, Kobo UK £3.99, Kobo AU $5.99.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by gmw

It seems I have some tickets left, as do a few others, so...

I nominate The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie.

I'll second this one. I've not read it so it will be good if it wins.

[CRussel]

Hey, folks. One day left to get your nominations and seconds in. I see we still have one languishing for a second, and it looks like a fun book, but I'm out of tickets. Plus there's still time to add a new one and get it seconded. So, what ARE your guilty pleasures to read in this highly unusual time?

[Catlady]

What the heck. We need something really trashy. I considered V. C. Andrews's My Sweet Audrina, which apparently outdoes even Flowers in the Attic, but I decided to go with a trash classic, Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls (1966, 454 pp.), instead.

At a time when women were destined to become housewives, Jacqueline Susann let us dream. Anne, Neely, and Jennifer become best friends as struggling young women in New York City trying to make their mark. Eventually, they climb their way to the top of the entertainment industry only to find that there’s no place left to go but down, into the Valley of the Dolls.

Sex and drugs and shlock and more--Jacqueline Susann's addictively entertaining trash classic about three showbiz girls clawing their way to the top and hitting bottom in New York City has it all. Though it's inspired by Susann's experience as a mid-century Broadway starlet who came heartbreakingly close to making it, but did not, and despite its reputation as THE roman á clef of the go-go 1960s, the novel turned out to be weirdly predictive of 1990s post-punk, post-feminist, post "riot grrrl" culture. Jackie Susann may not be a writer for the ages, but--alas!--she's still a writer for our times.

E-book and audiobook. Available in all relevant countries. E-book can be borrowed through Overdrive.

Amazon U.S., $9.99

[gmw]

I can't really see me voting for either of the two books currently waiting for a second, but I have a third ticket to spend and it seems a shame to waste it so ...

I second Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susann. After all, Captain Kirk and Spock named Jacqueline Susann as one of the "Giants" of our time.

[CRussel]

Well, we still have one book looking for a second. Last Call. This closes down when I log on in the morning.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Catlady

What the heck. We need something really trashy. I considered V. C. Andrews

Is this actually written by V. C. Andrews or is it written but one of the stable of authors pretending to be V. C. Andrews?

[JSWolf]

I'll give my last nod to a book that's a bit trashy as well...Exit to Eden by Anne Rice.

The bold erotic masterpiece by Anne Rice writing as Anne Rampling

They call her the Perfectionist. A stunning, mysterious, and fearless sexual adventurer, Lisa is founder and supreme mistress of The Club—an exclusive island resort where forbidden fantasy meets willing flesh. Here eager participants who can afford life's most exquisite luxuries can experience the breathtaking pleasures of surrender and submission. Here nothing is taboo.

A thrill-seeking photojournalist, Elliott risks his life daily in the most dangerous, war-torn regions on Earth. Now he has come to Paradise to explore his most savage and vulnerable sexual self, committed to the ultimate plunge into personal risk.

Together, their journey to the limits of erotic pleasure will take them farther than they ever dreamed they'd go . . .

[CRussel]

Nominations are closed, and the poll will go up shortly.

And, the poll is up.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Catlady, I thought of you this morning. The Wall Street Journal on Saturdays is doing a “comfort reads” section during this quarantine lockdown period. Today’s feature was a full page on Valley of the Dolls. The teaser is “Take in the Trash: A classically cheesy read that’s soothing right now” and the article is “High Time for Low Brow.”