This just in from Goodreads, books which were voted on by readers: Best Fiction Yellowface, R. F. Kuang Best Historical Fiction Weyward, Emily Hart The author tells the story of three women across five centuries. In the Southern Review of Books, May 17, 2023, Nicole Yurcaba writes that the book is one that “hums with endurance and carfully places a magnifying glass over the complexities
Susan Zurenda contacted me several months ago about her new book The Girl From the Red Rose Motel. I recently had a chance to read indepth reviews about the book, and I think it is one followers may want to buy or order, especially since so many of you have worked with students. Amber Wheeler Bacon, in the Southern Review of Books, September 8, 2023,
This one from Shelf Awareness FictionAmerica Fantastica by Tim O’Brien (Mariner)Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Ajdei-Brenyah (Pantheon)Good Night, Irene by Luis Alberto Ruiz (Little, Brown)In Memoriam by Alice Winn (Knopf)The Laughter by Sonora Jha (HarperVia)Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Ward (Scribner)Murder Your Employer: The McMasters Guide to Homicide by Rupert Holmes (Avid Reader Press)Prophet by Helen Macdonald & Sin Blaché (Grove Press)Shark Heart by Emily Habeck (Marysue Rucci Books)Whalefall by Daniel Kraus (MTV Books) NonfictionBetter
FICTION WINNER Blackouts, Justin Torres NONFICTION WINNER The Rediscovery of America, Ned Blackhawk Books of interest that were finalists in the selection process: Chain-Gang All-Stars, Nana Kwane Adjei-Brenyah (mentioned in an earlier blog post, this book is a type of “hunger games” meets the private prison system.) The End of Drum-Time, Hanna Pylvainen This author sets her fictional story in 1851 Scandinavia and tells,with exquisite
Yes, and I don’t mean Christmas lists. I mean the ones that reflect on the best books of 2023. The New York Times has already come out with its list, so take a look: The Bee Sting, Paul Murray An Irish family pulls together to overcome the 2008 financial cirisis as well as their own individual demons in a book that is full of hopefulness
Two blog readers responded with some recommendations for short books. Thank you to Beverly and Bette. Beverly Biersdorf–“Yes, I was going to mention “Animal Farm.” Also, from back in the day, I would mention “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway (96 pp) and “Jonathan Living Seagull” by Richard Bach (144 pp). More current short reads are “Tuesdays with Morrie” by Mitch Albom
Remember these books–The Space Between Us by Thridy Umriger, Tuesdays with Morey by Mitch Albom and West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge? I have read two of these books for a book club, West with Giraffes just recently. The good news is that these were three very good and popular books. The better news is that each of the three authors has written a new
After the many responses from the Long Books blog entry, a reader suggested that I ask folks about short books they have read and would recommend. Even if you absolutely LOVE long books, there could be a time when you really don’t have time!! The Goodreads newsletter for October 25, 2023, featured 68 short books to read–some classics and some fairly new. I list a
Thanks to several blog readers who responded to the question about long books. Since it is difficult to see responses on a particular blog entry, I have copied all of the replies. I hope you enjoy reading them and get some new ideas for long books that are worth the time. Length is not an issue, just love a great book. Two of my favorite
If you attended the Our World presentation on Kiawah Island on November 3, which I did, you now know who Alice Marble is. Before, I had never heard of her, who she was, what she did and why someone would write a book about her. Robert Weintraub set the record straight in his lecture about his new book The Divine Miss Marble: A Life of
