Love Is in the Air...

For February, book club members read biographies about famous couples in honor of this romantic month. Each person read a book of her or his choosing and reported back to the group. This way we all learned a lot about famous couples throughout history. We also found there was plenty of room for debate about historic figures and their thoughts and motivations. Books were passed around so that everyone could look at the photographs and other images included with each title.

While we discussed the books, members also enjoyed some festive refreshments with strawberry heart treats (made using the petit hearts pan from the library's new collection of circulating cake pans), European pastries, and tea. One member also made bookmarks for everyone decorated with hearts and proverbs.

Members chose to read the following books. Below each one are some takeaways from that title.

- The Silent Woman: Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes by Janet Malcolm (1994)

• This book provided a good framework for much of our discussion. The author muses on the meaning of biography and how unbiased a biographer can actual be. Fiction is arguably "truer" than nonfiction because everything exists in the author's imagination and is written as such, whereas with nonfiction we are beholden to various interpretations and opinions as to watch actually happened. With biographies of subjects who are gone, we have to question who has permission to speak for the dead and what is true versus what is speculation. With these particular subjects, we questioned Sylvia Plath's mental state and the idea of Ted Hughes being painted as the "bad guy" in the story.
• The New York Times book review of this title: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/03/27/books/the-importance-of-being-biased.html?pagewanted=all

- Eleanor and Hick: The Love Affair that Shaped a First Lady by Susan Quinn (2016)

• This is one of those "hidden histories" you don't learn about in your school textbook. This book uses published and unpublished memoirs/autobiographies and letters to explore the close relationship Eleanor Roosevelt had with reporter Lorena Hickok, a relationship that may have romantic. We listened to some snippets of the letters exchanged between the two to draw our own conclusions about the nature of that relationship. This book was interesting for also providing lots of historical context beyond the relationship between the two, including recovery from the Great Depression, the 1939 World's Fair, and life during World War II.
• The New York Times book review of this title: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/books/review/eleanor-and-hick-susan-quinn.html?_r=0

- No Ordinary Time, Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II by Doris Kearns Goodwin (1995)

• This book dovetailed nicely with the one above. Similarly, the book was not just about the couple's relationship but also filled with lots of historical detail, as is typical with this author loved by many. There is not one love letter included in this book for as the book makes clear, this relationship was not about love with "fireworks" (except perhaps in the very beginning). FDR's affairs (and some of Eleanor's side relationships as well) are explained, and it is apparent how the two lead separate lives. But they still had similar goals in their political lives and it becomes obvious how the two worked together to progress those goals, especially for social programs. 
• The New York Times book review of this title: http://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/19/books/books-of-the-times-a-monumental-presidency-and-the-telling-details.html

- I Love You, Ronnie: The Letters of Ronald Reagan to Nancy Reagan by Nancy Reagan (2002)

• This is a quick and easy read that is a sweet love story. You don't need to like Ronald Reagan as a president to enjoy this title. The book mostly just contains love letters but there are also some facts for context, including those about Reagan's political life and about the public outreach/education the couple did related to illnesses they had (cancer and Alzheimer's disease). The book also includes photographs of the actual letters.
• The New York Times book review of this title: http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/10/22/bib/001022.rv104246.html

- The Good Shufu: Finding Love, Self, and Home on the Far Side of the World by Tracy Slater (2015)

• This memoir is about the author's unexpectedly finding love later in life after being independent and career-minded, someone who dated but wasn't interested in marriage. A professor at Boston University, she met a man who was visiting the U.S. from Japan to take one of her courses. The two fell in love and she began splitting her time between the U.S. and Japan. The book contains many observations about cultural differences between the two countries. It is an interesting read that is not heavy and nobody dies!
• The Boston Globe book review of this title: https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2015/07/17/book-review-the-good-shufu-finding-love-self-and-home-far-side-world-tracy-slater/VSVDF6x8JxXDKxoOIbNAbL/story.html

- The Lincolns: A Scrapbook Look at Abraham and Mary by Candace Fleming (2008)

• While technically considered a juvenile title, this book is appealing to an adult audience as well. It is rife with information, much of which are historical details you missed out on in school. The book contains many vignette-style individual stories with interesting factoids, and the many photographs were lovely to look at while reading. While many know a lot about Honest Abe, this book provided a great deal of information about Mary Todd as well that most of us hadn't known about before. This title provided plenty of fodder for book club members to discuss Mary's mental state at various points of her life and how history has potentially maligned her reputation.
• Kirkus Reviews book review of this title: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/candace-fleming/the-lincolns-2/

- James and Dolley Madison: America's First Power Couple by Bruce Chadwick (2014)

• Like with several other couples we learned about, these two were total opposites from their upbringings to their personalities. This book talked a lot about the social scene in Washington, D.C. at the time, which was still being developed. In particular, it described the elaborate parties thrown by the Madisons and how a person was considered one of the "right people to be" if he or she got an invite from the fashionable First Lady. This book helped highlight Dolley's role in promoting James Madison and making his political career successful. 
• Kirkus Reviews book review of this title: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/bruce-chadwick/james-and-dolley-madison/

- Victoria and Albert: Their Love and Their Tragedies by Richard Hough (1996)

• Again, we learned that this historic couple was sometimes at polar opposites from one another. The relationship started as one that appeared more as a political alliance than a great romance, but the pair grew to love each other deeply and after Albert's death, Victoria mourned him for the rest of her life. This book provides a lot of history about the monarchy in Europe at the time and shows how Victoria became the "grandmother of royalty."
• Kirkus Reviews book review of this title: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/richard-hough/victoria-and-albert/

- In This Together: My Story by Ann Romney (2015)

• It was interesting to read this book in Ann Romney's own words. It is a tender love story, where it becomes obvious the role she played in her husband's political campaigns. There are many details included here that didn't come out when Mitt Romney was on the national scene as a presidential candidate. For instance, we learned about Ann Romney's struggle with multiple sclerosis and the money donated by the couple for research on neurological disorders.
• The Boston Globe book review of this title: https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2015/09/30/ann-romney-book-photos-show-personal-life/PiuOCfuq8ATYx7WmH5J4lL/story.html

Have you read any of these or any other couples' biographies? What did you think of them?