It‘s time for our #LiteraryCrew discussion! I have 7 questions posted as spoilers; you can find these on my feed, the book‘s feed, or by searching the group‘s hashtag.
I think this is my favorite of Davis‘s I‘ve read so far. Hope you enjoyed it too!
The Chelsea Girls | 
It‘s time for our #LiteraryCrew discussion! I have 7 questions posted as spoilers; you can find these on my feed, the book‘s feed, or by searching the group‘s hashtag.
I think this is my favorite of Davis‘s I‘ve read so far. Hope you enjoyed it too!
7. McCarthyism plays a massive role in this novel. Do you think McCarthyism made romantic and friendly relationships difficult? Why or why not? If so, what were the complications and the consequences of having a relationship? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
Link in comments to a PBS American Experience page on Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism
6. “Maxine‘s bravery in the square, as well as now, with the major, astonished Hazel. She wished she were that brash. But she wouldn‘t dare question an authority figure. Always the understudy, in life as well as in art.” How does Hazel transform throughout the novel, and does the word “understudy,” which she considers to have negative connotations, change in meaning as well? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
5. How do Hazel and Maxine subvert or conform to 1950s expectations and gender roles? ~from Reading Group Guides #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
4. What did you think of Charlie and his desire to join the FBI? How do you think his relationship with his father shaped his ambitions? Were you rooting for him and Hazel? Why or why not? ~from Reading Group Guide #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
3. When Maxine flubs her lines on opening night, her career doesn‘t suffer, but Hazel‘s does. Why do you think that is? How would you have reacted in Hazel‘s situation? Do you think she has a right to be bitter about the success of Wartime Sonata‘s revival, or should she be grateful? ~from Reading Group Guides #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
2. If Maxine had not made the tragic choice she did, do you think she and Hazel would have renewed their friendship? If you were in Hazel‘s shoes, would you forgive Maxine? Why or why not? ~ from Reading Group Guides #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
1. I enjoy Davis's works because she focuses each story on a landmark in New York City. For this novel, we visit the Hotel Chelsea.
Have you visited the Hotel Chelsea? Do you want to visit after reading this book?
Links in comments to an interview in which Davis details her reasons to feature the Hotel Chelsea, as well as the history of the hotel from the hotel's website. #LiteraryCrew #BuddyRead
pickWe follow the friendship of Hazel and Maxine. They met on a USO tour at the end of WWII. The core of the story takes place during the McCarthy witch-hunt of communists in the entertainment industry. I listened to this on audio and I didn‘t care for the narrator for Maxine, even though I really liked the character. I enjoyed the story overall even if it got a little cheesy at times. But didn‘t really love the end. Read for #literarycrew
pickI inhaled this on audio! I wasn‘t expecting to get it so fast for June‘s #literarycrew but here we are. I loved it. Please note I am a total grudge holder just like Hazel! It‘s a ♋️ 🦀thing. Also my vendetta against rabbits continues. I planted 2 cucumbers in my garden instead of my raised beds and I thought one had succumbed to cooler than usual temps BUT NO, it‘s the goddamn rabbits. This was was so healthy and alive this morning 🤬🤬🤬
Despite having a house to clean and an unending to do list in the garden, I just want to build Lego a bit so I started Sunflowers to take a break from cleaning and gardening and not from this book for #literarycrew
repost for @Librarybelle:
#LiteraryCrew : I apologize for the late post of this, but our June book is all about the Chelsea in NYC, the MacCarthy era, and friendship.
Discussion on June 30th. Read at your own pace throughout the month of June. I‘ll post periodic checkins during the month. All are welcome to join.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list! #BuddyRead
#LiteraryCrew : I apologize for the late post of this, but our June book is all about the Chelsea in NYC, the MacCarthy era, and friendship.
Discussion on June 30th. Read at your own pace throughout the month of June. I‘ll post periodic checkins during the month. All are welcome to join.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from the tag list! #BuddyRead
mcctrish, mjdowens, melissajayne, Jerdencon, tpixie, LapReader, Cuilin, kspenmoll, PurpleyPumpkin, Prairiegirl_reading, Deblovestoread, Sace, CatLass007, Mollyanna, BookwormAHN, Pogue, dabbe, Sargar114, Karisa, bumpinthenight, Singout, julieclair, AllDebooks, Lkempf
Started working in my gardens today. So now it‘s time for a new book and a bath!
so-soThis is the first Fiona Davis book that I didn't love.
It takes place during the McCarthy era and focuses on two women in the arts.
It felt predictable to me.
pickAs usual, Fiona Davis teaches me something I don't know while entertaining me with an immersive tale. I love her writing and her focus being on famous NYC buildings with history.
pickAfter reading my first Fiona Davis book earlier this year (“The Magnolia Palace”) I started to read her backlist and have not been disappointed. She has such a gift for weaving a major historical event into a riveting plot with characters who seem to leap off the page. “The Chelsea Girls” is no exception and is another hit 🙌 I‘ve already got my preorder in for her next book that‘s publishing in June 2023 😁
pickThe Chelsea Girls follows a twenty year friendship between Hazel and Maxine, which started with trauma in Italy. They‘re both engaging and intriguing characters and as the red scare comes to Broadway, they both find themselves in the spotlight. It‘s tense but also a wonderful portrait of the Chelsea Hotel – famously home to artists and bohemians, it becomes their refuge as they battle the forces trying to tear their lives apart.
So many books collected in June! In case you didn‘t know I had an issue! 🤣
Right stack: Top 3 library books, bottom 3 books I‘ve got for free
Left stack: I had a free book on ThriftBooks and then had to get enough books for free shipping (ones with stickers), the top 5 were bought from my local indie. I had to buy books for #LMPBC and of course couldn‘t get just one!
Any you‘d recommend I start with?
#bookhaul #junebookhaul #summerreading
#woman #CuriousCovers
I have a plan to read all the Fiona Davis building books and to pair with them a nonfiction book about the building. So far I‘ve read Life at the Dakota so The Address will be next. I have The Barbizon to pair with The Dollhouse. I don‘t have a nonfiction to pair with the tagged book yet.
#12booksof2020 @andrew65
I forgot to post my last of the 12 days of Christmas yesterday.
I really enjoyed this one set in a different time period. I know it was was a fiction book, but I learned a lot of this timer period.
pickAn intriguing and satisfying story of an iconic hotel, female friendships and a dark era of our political past. https://www.bluestockingreviews.com/post/the-chelsea-girls check out the full review ...#findinggreatreads #readitloveit # BlueStockingReviews
pickThis was good but much different than I thought it would be. Less about this hotel that‘s a haven for the creative souls and much more about communism in the entertainment industry in the 50‘s. Enjoyable. Favorite quote ( from any book read recently ) - ‘Still, the world is run by men who want power, who will say anything to attain it, and do anything to retain it‘ Hoping to see that change more and more.
pickExcept for New York City‘s Chelsea Hotel, I didn‘t know the subject matter of this book. My goodness, reading about the political pressures of Senator McCarthy and Roy Cohn in their hunt for communists back in the 50s bears striking similarities to current affairs.
pickI guess I forgot to add this one. Full of McCarthyism, Communist spies, and Broadway. Not The Americans, this one deals more with friendships than assassins. An enjoyable, light read. The narrator is wonderful.
so-soThis may be an unpopular opinion, but I thought the story was good, but the writing was so mediocre! It was too flowery and did a lot of telling, not showing (if I understand that whole thing right). I rather regret sticking it out now, as nothing exciting ever happened anyway. I did enjoy the setting and the whole Mccarthy era background and have to give her credit for thorough research.
pickHazel and Maxine meet in 1945 when they‘re both part of a USO show in Naples, Italy. They quickly become best friends but the Red Scare drives them apart. This is a story about friendship, loyalty, betrayal and, ultimately, forgiveness.
Spot 4 for #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks
In the dead of night, during the dreary month of March, the Chelsea Hotel is a quiet place.
#firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl
The book was perfectly positioned until I stepped away to take a picture, then down it went.
1) The Chelsea Girls
2) Too many characters and plot lines!!!
3) Kimberly Belle
I hope everyone is safe and well ❤️
#WondrousWednesdsy
pickI saw some negative reviews for this book and put it off despite having an ARC. Pleased to report that I enjoyed it thoroughly: spanning the end of WWII through the late 1960s, encompassing McCarthyism, communist spies, and the broadway theater scene, all with the iconic Hotel Chelsea as a backdrop and a colorful cast of characters. Even with all that, it‘s fun to read and not complicated (exactly what my squirrel brain needs right now).
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Not exactly sure why but not in love with this one.
Repost for @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks :
Our lineup for the year!! We hope you can join us! Discussion every Sunday at 1 pm cst!! 📚🙌🏻📚🙌🏻
#BotmBuddyRead
pickI'm going to give this one 🌟🌟🌟 stars for the storyline and 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 for peaking my curiosity about The Chelsea Hotel and sending me down Google's rabbit hole. What a complicated and fascinating history...
5d