I firmly believe that Louise Erdrich should be on every reader’s “go to” reading list. Just when I think she can’t possibly write a better book than her last, she does. Not only does she always tell a compelling story filled with memorable characters, but she unfailingly writes masterful prose.
My most recent celebrity memoir on audiobook, Be Ready When The Luck Happens, was a delight from beginning to end. I’ve long known Ina Garten was charming from her TV shows and Instagram, and she brings that charm to bear on the telling of a surprising and compelling story.
Ever since hearing Lauren Marks interviewed on The Allusionist podcast, I’ve been wanting to read her memoir, and I’m so glad I finally did. In it Marks recounts her journey to recover the use of language after an aneurysm at the age of 27. I’ve always been fascinated by language acquisition in children and was intrigued to hear more about Marks’ experience.
This month’s selection for The Book Bus Book Club is The House at the Edge of Night. Banner has written a gorgeous novel with an incredible sense of place. Set on a small island off the east coast of Sicily, Banner tells the family saga of the Esposito family over four generations. Amadeo first comes to the island of Castellamare to practice as a doctor before the First World War.
Liane Moriarty is one of my “must read” authors. As soon as she publishes a new book, I’m on it. I enjoy her writing not only because she comes up with relevant and compelling storylines, but also because she consistently develops multi-faceted, interesting characters. In Here One Moment, Moriarty’s skill at observing and describing believable human behaviors shines through masterfully.
In early October, I heard a bit of buzz about a new animated movie called The Wild Robot. Specifically, I heard that it was not scary or overstimulating, but a wonderful story for kids and adults. We were heading north for Canadian Thanksgiving and I decided that in addition to seeing the movie over the holiday weekend, we could listen to the audiobook on our four-hour drive.
During her interview with Jenna, Blume discussed how her novel Summer Sisters had been reissued in a special 25th anniversary edition to coincide with Jenna’s selection of the book for her August 2023 “Read With Jenna Book Club.” Hager chose a 25-year-old book because she viewed it as the quintessential novel about female friendship. How was it possible I’d never heard of this book? Next trip to the bookstore, you can bet it was in my stack of books to buy. And I couldn’t wait to dive right in.
I wasn’t sure what kind of reading I was going to be able to handle during the high-anxiety week of the election, which ended up an emotional and difficult week for my family, as well. Tiny Beautiful Things is formatted as letters and replies from an online advice column. And although I didn’t have the energy to contemplate becoming a better version of myself, reading lots of short pieces was easier for my brain than one long book would have been.
When a friend asked me recently for a recommendation for her book club, “something somewhat new that probably most people won’t have read yet,” I couldn’t text her this title fast enough. I was riveted from the first page and raced through it at top speed, anxious and eager to see where Zhang would take her story next.
Not only did Robin, one of my oldest friends from Dartmouth, recommend this book to me, she actually handed me her copy when she finished reading it this summer. Having the book on my shelf certainly bumped it up on my reading list, and I’m so grateful Robin shared this beautiful little book.
In thinking about the two novels I’ve chosen to review this issue, it occurs to me that they have significant similarities. Both are written by women and have strong female protagonists. Both deal with issues of ownership and/or usurping the rights of others. And both are absolutely “must-reads.”
I recently added this book to my reading list based on several recommendations and then I spotted it in a Little Free Library in my neighborhood. So, after slogging my way through Donna Tart’s The Secret History, I wanted a book I could fly through and The Silent Patient definitely delivered.
First off, I want to point out that Jodi Picoult’s latest book is very different from any of her previous books. And, even though Picoult figures as one of my automatic “must read” authors every time she writes another book, By Any Other Name rocked me in a way only a very few of her other books have.
I’m not sure if Night Watch flew under the radar for everyone, or if it was just my 2023 baby fog, but I completely missed this Pulitzer Prize winner last year. And I’m thrilled I managed to snag it from the library because it was a truly stunning, unique and heartbreaking novel.
I might not have found this clever debut novel about time travel if my friend Jane hadn’t recommended it. Then after I’d finished reading it, I saw that it was on Barack Obama’s summer reading list!
I dont always love every pick in the Reece Witherspoon book club. I often find that the stories are exciting, but the actual execution lacks skill, or the authors choose the easy way out with a topic that could have been so much more. Anita de Monte Laughs Last surpassed all expectations and Gonzalez has written a truly skillful, intelligent and emotionally fascinating book.
Julia Phillips has written her second novel and it is every bit as wonderful as her debut novel, Disappearing Earth (read review here). To have Ann Patchett provide a promotional blurb on the cover of the book and call the author a “brilliant writer,” pretty much says it all. (I believe that Ann Patchett is one of the best authors writing today.)
To undertake the retelling of Mark Twain’s classic book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn could seem an incredible act of hubris. But to rewrite the iconic story from the perspective of Jim, the Black slave who is as crucial to the story as Huck himself, was absolute genius. In James, Percival Everett has forever changed how readers will view the story of Huckleberry Finn.
After reading and reviewing Anxious People (read review here), I knew I wanted to read more of Fredrik Backman’s work, and several people recommended Beartown as it’s the first in a series. When I was down visiting my mom in Maine and saw it on her shelf it felt like the perfect opportunity.
It has been a while since I read or reviewed a book by an African author, but Medie’s captivating novel has reminded me that some of the best contemporary writers seem to be coming from Ghana and Nigeria. And for a debut novel, His Only Wife is a knockout.
