It Was Karma, It Was Kismet

Okay, it’s official—a ridiculous amount of time has transpired since we’ve recommended your next great read. I could tell you all about a monster work deadline that beat me up for weeks. But I’ll spare you. Suffice it to say, I could use a nap. Followed by some amazing pages I simply can’t help but turn. A girl can dream, right?

Rae and I just read the same book: The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich. Will it surprise anyone that Rae is streets ahead of me when it comes to finding and getting to know the best authors? Didn’t think so. I shudder to admit that this the first Erdrich novel I’ve ever read. (She’s been nominated for the Pulitzer twice—she won for her 2020 novel The Night Watchman.) That’s a little appalling. I’m making amends now.

The Mighty Red is about real people. Real people living in North Dakota where life is hard more often than not. The focus of Erdrich’s story revolves around a teenage girl named Kismet, who’s comfortable in her skin but confused by love. The high school quarterback—haunted by secrets—pushes Kismet toward marriage, while a younger bookish boy named Hugo dreams of a future life with her too. Other interesting stories eddy around Kismet’s. I love this story about “ordinary people who dream, grow up, fall in love, struggle, endure tragedy, carry bitter secrets; men and women both complicated and contradictory, flawed and decent, lonely and hopeful. It is about a starkly beautiful prairie community whose members must cope with devastating consequences as powerful forces upend them. As with every book this great modern master writes, The Mighty Red is about our tattered bond with the earth, and about love in all of its absurdity and splendor.”

Posted by Tracy

Three Nonfiction Stunners

“Next time I’ll show up more put together.” —the title of my pending memoir

Would it surprise any of you as much as it did me that I started this post in May of 2023? The gasp I gasped. I’d lament the state of my life the past couple years but then that may add another year before this gets posted. For now, I’ll just refer you to the above quote.

In the words of Fran Lebowitz, “Think before you speak. Read before you think.” It’s no secret we’re big believers in devouring the written word around here. Nor will it surprise anyone that we believe books to be some of our finest teachers—both the fiction and nonfiction variety. I happened to be on a bit of a true tale kick a couple months ago (ahem, a year ago) and thought I’d share three standouts.

A Must Read

Ooof. This book. This is edge-of-your-seat reading, folks. You will gasp out loud, you will rage, you will cheer, and you will be shocked at how little can change in the span of a hundred years. With the recent rise of Christian Nationalism, this book is a must read. In the words of Pulitzer-Prize winning Elizabeth Kolbert: “Timothy Egan’s history of the Ku Klux Klan’s rise and fall is absolutely gripping. It is also terrifyingly relevant.”

A Gut Punch

Every once in a while, a book comes along that completely changes my worldview (Just Mercy, I’m looking at you). Matthew Desmond’s unflinching reporting on how our very systems create and maintain poverty in America is a gut punch. The New York Times writes: “A compact jeremiad on the persistence of extreme want in a nation of extraordinary wealth . . . [Desmond’s] purpose here is to draw attention to what’s plain in front of us—damn the etiquette, and damn the grand abstractions.”

A Beautiful Read

I came to this one by way of my latest literary bestie, Ann Patchett. She’s yet to lead me astray. Honestly, I’m not sure I need say more than what Jaouad has said herself, “I decided to reimagine my survival as a creative act.“ What a gift that she let us come along for the ride. Speaking of that ride, New York Times Book Reviewer Chanel Miller put it best: "I was immersed for the whole ride and would follow Jaouad anywhere. Her sensory snapshots remain in my mind long after reading . . . Not only can Jaouad tolerate the unbearable feelings, she can reshape them into poetry . . . Her writing restores the moon, lights the way as we learn to endure the unknown.”

PS- Jaouad’s instagram feed and newsletter are two of my favorite reads. I can’t get enough of her light.

Posted by Rachel

Stranger Things

“Extraordinary ... I was so thoroughly submerged in a rich fictional world, that for hours I barely came up for air ... Moore’s previous book...was a superb social novel about the opioid crisis in Philadelphia; The God of the Woods is something weirder and stranger and unforgettable.” —Maureen Corrigan, NPR

Rachel’s on top of things, no surprise there. When she posted Barack’s summer picks, I was delighted that me and the former Pres agree The God of the Woods is a great read. High five and fist bumps, Barack! Before I tell you why I think Jimmy Fallon’s Summer Book Club Pick was a hit, let me give you a little bit of background on Liz Moore’s latest.

The God of the Woods revolves around a teenage girl who disappears from her parent’s summer camp in the Adirondacks. Her prominent family ensures an exhaustive search ensues. They can’t face the possibility of another unsolved disappearance—their older son also vanished years before. Curious yet? Good. Moore will keep you guessing across the pages.

Here are a few reasons The God of the Woods is a cut above your typical thriller: for one, Judyta Luptack is an extremely likable female investigator who knows her worth, despite being in a male-dominated field. (I felt a connection to Moore’s characters.) And who doesn’t love layers of family secrets? This riveting mystery has loads of them. Maybe the most compelling reason to read this Fallon-approved whodunnit is it’s hard to untangle, which is the hallmark of a great mystery in my mind. I’m pretty sure me and Barry are on the same page here: we derive real satisfaction from figuring out the puzzle. Remember, it’s about the quest, not the grail!

Posted by Sharee

In Jenna We Trust

“All The Colors of the Dark kept me frantically turning the pages and somehow made me cry at the end…Brava!”—Kristin Hannah

I’m ba-ack! While I’ve been verbally pining for a vacation, that is not the reason for my month-long silence. (Give it up for Sharee who’s kept the good books a comin’!) I could offer several excuses for being a sloth, but here’s my truth: I’ve been bewitched. My head and heart succumbed and I fell headlong into a wonder-induced, hypnotic state since I finished All The Glimmering Stars. A message for the ages. Florence Okori is my hero, my mentor, my inspiration. In the words of our girl Rae, if there were a required reading list for life, All The Glimmering Stars would definitely be on it. I can’t stop thinking about it. Mark Sullivan, you’re made up of countless tiny luminous stars. Thanks for lighting my universe.

Choosing what to read after experiencing book nirvana is tough. Naturally, I went with a different genre. A crime thriller sounded about right. In Jenna we trust, so I downloaded Chris Whitaker’s All the Colors of the Dark. I was hooked from the start. A one-eyed Missouri boy named “Patch” saves a girl who is attacked in the woods. The plot thickens quickly when the attacker kidnaps Patch—he locks him in a dark cellar for months on end. The boy’s only source of light comes from a girl, real or imagined, named Grace. Once Patch resurfaces, life still feels heavy and dim. More girls disappear. Patch is on a mission. Whitaker’s plot is well thought out and complex—plus he weaves in important ideas about hope and love. Because we’re fans of a real whodunnit and big believers in Grace, this book fits the 2@27 bill. Brava, C. Whit. Brava!

Posted by Tracy

Treat Yo Shelf To The Queen

“The Reigning Queen of Historical Fiction”—Fiona Davis on Kate Quinn

It’s no secret I’m a historical fiction junkie. What you might not know is New York Times bestselling author, Kate Quinn, is fast becoming one of my favorite historical fiction writers. If you haven’t tapped into her network of books, you really should. She builds stories around powerful, self-assured women that draw you in and make you want to be a better person. When I saw she had a new release, July fireworks lit up and activated this old lady’s brain. I’d discovered my next best read—The Briar Club.

Set in the McCarthy era of the 1950s, The Briar Club is a story about a mismatched group of women at a drab boardinghouse in our nation’s capital. Most of the boarders tend to keep a low profile. Women who are pros at burying secrets down deep. When the beautiful and mysterious Grace March moves into the attic, everything begins to change. Grace (aptly named) has a way of drawing people into her warm circle of friendship. She understands the art of making people feel loved. Her weekly attic dinners and window-brewed sun tea become a place of healing and refuge for everyone at Briarwood House. As Grace’s neighbors share their struggles and reveal their secrets to her, they realize they know very little about who Grace really is. They have no clue about the secrets she keeps that ultimately lead to murder at the boardinghouse. If only Briarwood’s drab walls could speak.

You’ll have to join the club to pull back the curtain on a killa. My bet is you’ll be glad you did. In this bibliomane’s opinion, The Rose Code is still Quinn’s best historical fiction to date. Fiona Davis called it “A knockout of a story.” It was just too good and the inspiration behind my visit to Bletchley Park. That being said, The Briar Club is in my top three Kate Quinn offerings and definitely earns 4 plus stars.

Posted by Sharee

Book Nirvana

“And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)

My love of books began at a young age. Books have a way of making you experience the world in a fresh new light. Of course, the best of them make you feel a palpable mix of emotions. And then there are those rare, exceptional books that you can’t stop thinking about, long after you’ve read the last page. Mark Sullivan’s latest historical fiction, All the Glimmering Stars, is nothing short of book nirvana. He takes readers on a journey full of human suffering but inextricably woven with a firm hope and belief in the overall goodness and power that comes from being a “good human.”

Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori are optimistic, young teens trying to navigate life in Uganda during the turbulent ‘90s. Both are taken and forced into combat by members of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), led by the maniacal African warlord, Joseph Kony.

Anthony escapes multiple near-death experiences (even a trip to the morgue) to become the radio operator for some of the senior members of the LRA and eventually Kony himself. His hope for survival rests on his ability to communicate on behalf of corrupt leaders and his gift to navigate via the stars.

Florence was one of the brightest students in her school. She had big dreams of becoming a nurse. In the LRA, she assists the medical team and perpetually hopes she can one day return to her former life. Both Florence and Anthony desperately hold on to the lessons they learned from their parents about being a good human.

At the lowest point of these young protagonists’ lives, a chance meeting pulls them into the same proximity. The true story of their lives is miraculous. It will stun you—and leave you believing in the power of being a “good human.” A glimmering five star read from this book-loving soul.

Posted by Sharee

Vacation's All I Ever Wanted

“I just want to lie on the beach and eat hot dogs. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” Kevin Malone

I’ve never considered Kevin Malone my spirit animal, but I see eye-to-eye with the Scranton branch numbers guy. I just want to lie on the beach. (If J-Dawgs happened to have a cart offshore, I’d eat a frank for sure.) Today marks the first day of summer. Hopefully, you’ve got some plans that involve dog days in the sun, the most relaxing waves ever, and time on your side. If you’re anything like me, deciding which books to tow along matters more than SPF. Good books make an escape even breezier. So, here are a few winners worthy of your beach bag.

If you prefer a light, carefree read on your summer vacay, you’ll want to check out Emily Henry’s latest: Funny Story. When Daphne experiences heartbreak after rooting herself to a Wisconsin native with girlfriend confusion, she’s forced to pivot. Her dream job as a children’s librarian fills her soul far more than her wallet. So she’s forced to consider a roommate. Choosing a quirky, scruffy guy named Miles who used to date her former fiancé’s soulmate seems like an odd choice. But funny stories rarely fall in step with the norm. Sharee said Henry’s latest is both sincere and heartfelt. It will warm you like the morning sun. (The fact that Julia Whelan narrates this charmer will make you love it all the more.)

Will it surprise that I don’t require a light read for the beach? I’m in a committed relationship with my TBR tower. I just finished David Balducci’s A Calamity of Souls. I’m new to Balducci, but I’ve been trying out authors lately in the same way I’m exploring alternate sources of protein. (Barebell is my latest favorite. Try ‘em, you’ll like ‘em!) The novel revolves around a murder case. The year is 1968. A prominent white couple is murdered, and their black employee is accused. Oh, how I love a mystery. This book is so much bigger than mere suspense. In fact, S.A. Crosby said A Calamity of Souls is “an immovable object of history slamming into the irresistible force of truth.” We all know To Kill A Mockingbird is in a league all of its own—Calamity made me nostalgic for Lee’s masterpiece. Now that’s sayin’ something. Throw in some sun and some sand and you’ve got an instant vacation.

Posted by Tracy

Another Wrinkle in Time

“Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill.” —Barbara Tuchman

I love to speculate. Of course, simple truths are better than grand speculations, but that doesn’t stop me from theorizing thinly and otherwise. Wanna hear my latest supposition? Madeleine L’Engle and Rachel Khong are total soul sisters, separated by a silent generation, baby boomers, and latchkey kids. Someone summon the Newberry winner to pay an ethereal visit to the Real Americans’ author. The prize-winning writers would have a lot to talk about. Surely, L’Engle would have questions about the time-arresting powers of an immigrant family, 3 generations deep. Yes, that says time-arresting. The power to “keep time still” constitutes a wrinkle.

Real Americans chronicles the lives of three family members: Mei, the Chinese-born ambitious geneticist; Lily, her American-born daughter who struggles to find her identity; and Nick, Lily’s biracial boy who’s kept in the dark for years. Ultimately, their family’s saga underscores just how difficult it is to create a culture of belonging. For some, the meaning of home is fuzzy and obscured. It seems Khong and I would agree that choices, more often than not, trump fate. This novel offers a unique view. We “see people blown slightly sideways through life, through unexpected passages that they often choose very quickly.”

Several reviewers have compared Real Americans to Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. I feel like Khong’s story was more ambitious—it took on an awful lot. After all, “The book poses a dizzying array of questions: What does it mean to be American, and who gets to say who is one? How much can we blame our parents for who and what we become? Am I, maybe, racist? When scientists and techies say they can make a better human, should we run the other way?” Oh, and is our luck in life ever really under our control? What is the true meaning of good fortune? These are weighty questions. One thing’s for sure: Real Americans will make you think. Maybe even speculate deeply.  

P.S. For the sensitive reader, there are F-bombs on pages and a trace of steamy.

One last thought: This made me want to read Khong’s first novel, Goodbye Vitamin.

Posted by Tracy