Style and Savings Reads – April 2016

This month’s Style & Savings book list includes The Precious One,  Gatsby’s Girl, and How to be Parisian Wherever You Are 

Title: The Precious One

Author: Marisa de los Santos

Goodreads Synopsis: 

From the bestselling author of Belong to Me, Love Walked In, and Falling Together comes a captivating novel about friendship, family, second chances, and the redemptive power of love

In all her life, Eustacia “Taisy” Cleary has given her heart to only three men: her first love, Ben Ransom; her twin brother, Marcus; and Wilson Cleary — professor, inventor, philanderer, self-made millionaire, brilliant man, breathtaking jerk: her father.

Seventeen years ago, Wilson ditched his first family for Caroline, a beautiful young sculptor. In all that time, Taisy’s family has seen Wilson, Caroline, and their daughter Willow only once.

Why then, is Wilson calling Taisy now, inviting her for an extended visit, encouraging her to meet her pretty sister — a teenager who views her with jealousy, mistrust, and grudging admiration? Why, now, does Wilson want Taisy to help him write his memoir?

Why I Would Pick up this Book: Mostly because the way Wilson is described is intriguing! Also, I think the family dynamic between the half-sisters will be interesting. I also want to know the story of Taisy’s first love since the synopsis hints that there may still be a connection.

Title: Gatsby’s Girl

Author: Caroline Preston

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Just as Jay Gatsby was haunted by Daisy Buchanan in The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fizgerald was haunted by his own great first love — a Chicago socialite named Ginevra. Alluring, capricious, and ultimately unavailable, she would become his first muse, the inspiration for such timeless characters as Gatsby’s Daisy and Isabelle Borge in This Side of Paradise.
Ginevra was sixteen, a rich man’s daughter who had been told she was pretty far too often for her own good. Scott was nineteen, a poor boy full of ambition. They met at a country club dance in St. Paul, Minnesota, in January 1916. For almost a year they wrote each other letters — so long, breathless, and yearning that they often required more than one envelope.

But despite their intense epistolary romance, the relationship wouldn’t last. After throwing him over with what he deemed “supreme boredom and indifference,” she impulsively married a handsome aviator from the right society background.

Ruminating over what might have been had she picked the writer instead of the flier, she furtively reads the now famous Fitzgerald’s work. When she sees herself — much to her surprise — in his characters, it’s not just as the spoiled debutante he’d known; he’s also uncannily predicted the woman she’s become, cracks and all.

Why I Would Pick up this Book: Since American Literature class sophomore year of high school, I have been a fan of The Great Gatsby. It paints a picture of the Roaring 20’s as extravagant, reckless and full of glamour & excitement. I loved seeing it come to life in the 2013 version of the movie with Leo DiCaprio as Gatsby. The synopsis sounds like The Great Gatsby was actually based on Gatsby’s Girl which is a true life story of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Ginevra.

Title: How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are

Author: by Anne Berest, Audrey Diwan, Caroline de Maigret, Sophie Mas

Goodreads Synopsis: 

Bohemian free-thinkers and iconoclasts, Anne Berest, Caroline De Maigret, Audrey Diwan and Sophie Mas cut through the myths in this gorgeous, witty guide to Parisienne savoir faire.

These modern Parisiennes say what you don’t expect to hear, just the way you want to hear it. They are not against smoking in bed, and all for art, politics and culture, making everything look easy, and going against the grain. They will take you on a first date, to a party and through a hangover. They will tell you how to be mysterious and sensual, make your boyfriend jealous, the right way to approach weddings and the gym, and they will share their address book in Paris for where to go at the end of the night, for a birthday, for a smart date, for vintage finds and much more.

Full of wit and self-deprecating humour, How To Be Parisianexplains those confusing subjects of clothes, makeup, men, culture and lifestyle as only a true Parisienne can.

Why I Would Pick up this Book: Paris is such a beautiful place and I am interested in how French/Parisian culture differs from American culture. I have been fortunate to visit Paris for a short time, enough to see the sights but not long enough to get to know people.