Savvy Book - BY ANY OTHER NAME, by JODI PICOULT

Hello Savvy Readers,
Thanks to those who submitted book ideas, and to all who voted this week!

** Our next book is.... BY ANY OTHER NAME by JODI PICOULT **

Some special notes:
With a longer book, we're adding a few more weeks before our next meet-up, bringing us to Saturday, August 9.

For those not reading a print book or kindle-like device, please note, this is a highly rated audio book!

We'll be meeting at the same café as our June meetup. If you plan to attend and need the address, please message organizer Maria through the Meetup app after you RSVP to receive the location details.

• See the Goodreads page linked below for more info!
• Please RSVP (required), due to limited and reserved seating at the meetup location. If you register but later cannot attend, kindly update your RSVP. If the RSVP window has closed, feel free to message organizer Maria.
• Audio listeners are encouraged and very welcome!
• Spoilers will be part of the discussion, but there’s no pressure to finish the book. Read or listen at your own pace and join us for a thoughtful conversation.
• Questions? Message organizer Maria directly through the Meetup app.
• Gentle reminder: we meet in a social café setting, so background noise can vary.

Newcomers are always welcome!
Regards,
Maria

NEXT SAVVY BOOK: *** BY ANY OTHER NAME, by JODI PICOULT ***

Goodreads Choice Award - 4.11 star rating
Nominee for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction (2024)
Audible (Audio Book) - 4.5 stars rating

From the New York Times bestselling co-author of Mad Honey comes an “inspiring” (Elle) novel about two women, centuries apart—one of whom is the real author of Shakespeare’s plays—who are both forced to hide behind another name.

Young playwright Melina Green has just written a new work inspired by the life of her Elizabethan ancestor Emilia Bassano. But seeing it performed is unlikely, in a theater world where the playing field isn’t level for women. As Melina wonders if she dares risk failure again, her best friend takes the decision out of her hands and submits the play to a festival under a male pseudonym.

In 1581, young Emilia Bassano is a ward of English aristocrats. Her lessons on languages, history, and writing have endowed her with a sharp wit and a gift for storytelling, but like most women of her day, she is allowed no voice of her own. Forced to become a mistress to the Lord Chamberlain, who oversees all theatre productions in England, Emilia sees firsthand how the words of playwrights can move an audience. She begins to form a plan to secretly bring a play of her own to the stage—by paying an actor named William Shakespeare to front her work.

Told in intertwining timelines, By Any Other Name, a sweeping tale of ambition, courage, and desire centers two women who are determined to create something beautiful despite the prejudices they face. Should a writer do whatever it takes to see her story live on . . . no matter the cost? This remarkable novel, rooted in primary historical sources, ensures the name Emilia Bassano will no longer be forgotten.

Goodreads page here!