The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen - Summer Reading Spectacular!
Circulating Ideas 265
Sorry this is out a little late (the podcast came out on schedule but the newsletter… 🤷🏻♂️ Sorry!), but I am writing this from my hotel room in New York City, where I’m vacationing (we visited the Natural History Museum, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Midtown Comics!). This ties in well with my interview for this week, which features a book with a lot of travel, The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen! I enjoyed my conversation with Jessie, and I enjoyed the book, even though it’s not in my normal wheelhouse of reading. One thing I’m learning this summer is that I should expand my reading!
Check out my interview with Jessie Rosen now, either as a podcast or the transcript!
The answer to the biggest question of her life lies in someone else’s past.
Shea Anderson’s beloved Nonna had endless rules for a happy, healthy life: avoid owls, never put a hat on a bed, and never, ever accept a marriage proposal that comes with an heirloom ring. Happily ever after is hard enough without bad karma in the mix.
Naturally, panic sets in when Shea’s boyfriend, John, proposes with an heirloom ring. Yes is her answer, but Nonna’s warning sets Shea on a mission to ensure the ring contains forever energy: She will find its previous owners wherever they may be. With the help of her long-suffering big sister and a nosy journalist eager for a big story, Shea embarks on a journey that takes her from Los Angeles and New York to Italy and Portugal.
Sophisticated, cinematic, and full of lively observations, The Heirloom is a diamond-sharp read for everyone who’s ever tried to make their own good luck.
Summer Reading List
One of the things I’m enjoying is putting together a Summer Reading List, with each guest author adding a book or two of their choosing. I’ll update the list with each episode until we have our complete list at the end of the summer!
The Steerswoman (Cory Doctorow’s pick)
How to Solve Murders Like a Lady; Children of Anguish and Anarchy; Georgette Heyer; Saara El-Arifi; the Daevabad Trilogy (City of Brass, Kingdom of Copper, Empire of Gold) (Amita Murray’s picks)
How the Word Is Passed (Kirsten Miller’s pick)
James Madison's Notes on the Debates in the Federal Convention, May 25, 1787 (A. J. Jacob’s pick)
Summer Romance; Expiration Dates (Jessie Rosen’s picks)
Ready Reference
Mentioned on the podcast:
The Circ Desk
Rebecca Vnuk from Library Reads and Yaika Sabat from NoveList are back yet again to work another shift on The Circ Desk, this time discussing women’s relationship fiction and finding fun read-alikes!
The Circ Desk recommends:
Steve Thomas is a public library manager who lives in the suburbs of Atlanta with his wife, two kids, and one dog. He has worked in libraries since the year 2000 and has hosted the Circulating Ideas podcast since 2011. He really likes Coke Zero.
Currently reading: The Bourne Treachery by Brian Freeman