On my bedside table:
——–
Lie Down with the Devil | Linda Barnes | from St. Martin’s Press | coming in August
One of my favorite fictional PI’s, Carlotta Carlyle is facing the most important investigation of her career — a mystery in her own life involving an unusual link between her mob-connected boyfriend and the death of a bride-to-be. These books are always a quick, fun read. Carlotta drives a cab, plays volleyball and swears.
——–
Salvage | Jane Kotapish | from MacAdam/Cage | available now
I love books published by this small, independent publisher and am looking forward to this debut novel about the collision point of memory, family, and forgiveness. It’s about a woman fleeing her hectic Manhattan life who finds solace in drink and gardening in rural Virginia.
——–
The Great Derangement | Matt Taibbi | Spiegel & Grau (RH) | just out
Taibbi is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and has covered politics nationally and internationally for the magazine for ten years. The subtitle of this book is “a terrifying true story of the war, politics & religion at the twilight of the American empire.” It looks like he will shine light on the corruption and absurdities of American politics. After seeing him on Book TV, I can’t wait to read it.
——–
Finding Nouf | Zoe Ferraris | Houghton Mifflin | coming out in June
When 16 year old Nouf goes missing and is found drowned, a guide hired by her prominent family to search for her, feels compelled to find out what really happened. The story takes place in the Middle East and delves into the world of the wealthy, the protected, the segregated societies that we know little about in the West. Highly recommended by my bookseller colleagues, I am looking forward to reading this one.
———
Books coming out in the next few months that I highly recommend:
———
Sweeping Up Glass | Carolyn D. Wall | Poisoned Pen Press | coming in August
This is a debut mystery that I thought was great — the end was a bit weak but the characters and story will keep you reading late into the night. It takes place in dirt poor Kentucky during the 30’s and pits a grandmother and her grandson against bigots and racists in their community. The loving relationships between blacks and whites and the ability of communities to pull together and share deeply held secrets is a huge part of the story.
——–
The Well & the Mine | Gin Phillips | Hawthorne Books | available now
Phillips weaves the multiple voices of a Depression-era family into a tale that’s both tragic and affirming. It’s about the coal-mining country of rural Alabama — its poverty, racial tensions, and labor loyalties. Like a Gee’s Bend quilt, Phillips stitches tradition, color and necessity into every sentence of this superb first novel.
——–
In Hovering Flight | Joyce Hinnefeld | Unbridled Books | Sept
I loved this book — great dialogue, interesting complicated characters, and who doesn’t like birds? I loved the pace of the novel which allowed me to breathe as I read, imagining watching birds in flight, feeling the changes in the seasons, delighting in new life. No one is going to find this book because it comes from a small press unless people like me tell them about it or it gets a rave review which it totally deserves. Trust me on this one — read it, share it with your friends. I loved it.
——–
America, America | Ethan Canin | Random House | (coming in July)
Ethan Canin is a great short story writer. I loved Emperor of the Air. I haven’t, until this one, liked his novels. This one is great and is set in small town America during the Nixon years. It’s about family and politics and the impact of fate on a young man’s life. This particular boy works for a poerful political family who takes him under their wing but not for purely altruistic reasons which he learns as he grows up and is asked to ‘pay back’ the favors granted him in his youth. The perfect book to read as we contemplate the election this fall and what it takes to win the presidency in America.
——–
The Little Book | Selden Edwards | Dutton | August
Another debut novel that took 30 years to write! It bends time and convention — the protagonist finds himself propelled back in time from San Fransico, 1988 to Vienna, 1897. He arrives with no money, modern clothes, and spends time with Sigmund Freud , his dead father and philosophers who drink coffee in fin de siecle cafes. I loved the characters and thought about them for weeks after I had finished the novel. This book reminded me in some ways of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife that I also really liked.
