Spring Book Preview – Part One
March 24, 2021
Red Fern Book Review podcast tie-in. Tune in to hear the chat!
Dusk, Night, Dawn by Anne Lamott – I have had Anne Lamott’s book, Bird by Bird, on my shelf for more than 25 years. It is well-thumbed, extensively highlighted and treasured. Anne’s voice is uniquely wise, honest, hilarious, self-deprecating and hits all the hard topics with a gentle touch. Recently, I heard Anne interviewed on a podcast and had to stop in my tracks to write down a fresh aha! gem. A few steps later, more gems to note. Slow walk that day! She is simply enchanting and her optimistic, yet realistic, view is most welcome when things seem gloomy out there. This latest writing is part of a series focused on coming to terms with Life’s essential truths and has been called “an ode to relishing small things.” While some categorize her writing under “Religion”, I would argue that she is universally appealing to the Human faith. Can’t wait to read her newest words and will surely have the highlighter handy!
When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain – If you’ve been flipping pages in the historical fiction genre anytime in the last decade, you will surely know of Paula McLain. She has beautifully reimagined the lives of Hemingway’s wives, Hadley Richardson in The Paris Wife and Martha Gelhorn in Love & Ruin. Both were hugely popular reads with book clubs. My particular favourite among her books, so far, is Circling the Sun, which explores the exciting and unusual life of Beryl Markham. McLain’s newest story goes in a different direction and emerges in the realm of mystery and suspense. A Missing Persons Detective returns to her hometown for some much needed respite and becomes enmeshed in two intense new cases, each involving a young woman. Paula McLain has written honestly in essays about her own difficult childhood and one can imagine that When the Stars Go Dark may draw on some of this traumatic experience as inspiration. (See Real Simple essay called A Lesson In Motherhood and find others on Paula’s website) By all accounts it’s as beautifully written as her earlier works and grips the heartstrings all the way.
Brat: An 80’s Story by Andrew McCarthy – Brat as in Brat Pack. With us now? If you were coming of age in the 1980s, you may well have been living in a director John-Hughes-infused world of movies, soundtracks and fashions featuring stars known as the Brat Pack. Andrew McCarthy was the tall, quiet observer, angsty, best friend … Fast forward many years and I found myself noting the by-line of a remarkably well-written travel essay. “Would that be the one and same?”, I wondered. Sure enough! Turns out Andrew McCarthy had traveled widely in his adult life and recorded his thoughts and experiences in the most respected travel publications. Read some of his essays here. He’d also written a well-reviewed memoir called The Longest Way Home as well as the YA book, Just Fly Away. Both were NYT best sellers. Which is all only to say, I look forward to reading Brat for the writing. He’s also featured in the credits as a Director for many episodes of top popular television series. There are a few tetchy interviews on record in which McCarthy made it clear he was a reluctant member of the so-called band of Brats. This may lead one to believe that some conflict lies within the story behind the story. Good writing and perhaps some intriguing celebrity revelations ahead.
The Secret Keeper of Jaipur by Alka Joshi – I really enjoyed reading The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi and know I wasn’t alone; it was a global best seller and a Reese’s Book Club favourite. In its pages we were introduced to the precocious little helper, “Malik”. Well, Joshi’s new book, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, follows along with Malik’s story. He’s back, 12 years later and working as an apprentice at the pink palace and enmeshed in tangled webs of love, lies and class struggles. Lakshmi is back too, providing connections and unraveling more of her own story. I love when a book lingers long in one’s memory and I expect The Secret Keeper of Jaipur will do so just as The Henna Artist did.
How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue – A very striking cover on this one! You may recognize the author’s name from her wildly successful book, Behold the Dreamers, published in 2016. That one has gone on to become an opera, a stage play and is now slated to become a television mini-series. I still have it on my must read list. Meanwhile, How Beautiful We Were, seems primed to achieve a level of greatness all its own. A young African woman returns to her fictional village following studies abroad and takes up the battle to defend her ancestral land and the dignity of her people in the shadow of an American oil company’s reckless and crushing endeavours: oil spills, tainted drinking water, the greed of profit seekers… Reviewers almost unanimously celebrate the main character, Thula, as a heroine to remember though the story reflects the perspectives of many.
The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh – Here is a debut novel from an accomplished essay writer who has thoroughly researched a little known true story from wartime Belfast. There are so many layers: The Belfast Blitz, British Loyalist/Irish political tension, Belfast’s first woman Zookeeper, the bond between a heartbroken young woman and an orphaned elephant (named Violet) and some suspenseful hide and seek. Oodles of stars being allocated in the reviews of this one! WWII themed historical fiction is so popular at the moment and this story offers a uniquely compelling take on wartime challenges. I love a good foray into a different time and place and early readers assure that this read will transport us and engage us dramatically. “A gripping and uplifting tribute.” (Hachette) A little bonus trivia … Published as The Zookeeper of Belfast in some regions while titled The Elephant of Belfast here in Canada – Zookeeper and elephant share equal billing in the story it seems. Also, beloved author Michael Morpurgo, discovered this story as well and wrote his version for children called “An Elephant in the Garden“. Bit of a spoiler there I guess!
More Spring book releases in the next Post!
Soon to be Released!
December 31, 2020
If your Christmas stocking featured a book shop gift card and you’re looking for spending inspiration or you want to get your name in early at the library, take a peek at these titles releasing in the next few weeks. 2021 is already shaping up to be a stellar book year! You will see some favourite writers in the midst along with a few new names (to me anyway). I have a burgeoning bedside table but know that I’ll be keeping an eye out for these too.
Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson – Canadian Jennifer Robson has written several acclaimed novels based on historical events and eras. (The Gown, Somewhere in France, Moonlight Over Paris …) Her thorough research and ability to craft characters who capture our hearts leads me to believe this will be another winner. Set in Italy during the Second World War, and based on a true story, Our Darkest Night is “a compelling tale of bravery, perseverance, and the immeasurable power of love in the face of adversity.” (Kristin Beck) January 5/21
The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves – Kind of cheating as this was actually first published in April 2019 but is about to be released in paperback. “… a compelling novel with beautifully rendered characters, an extraordinary tale filled with sensitivity and empathy that gives readers a peek into the world of autism through the eyes of a woman who proves to be as audacious as she is charming. Readers, don’t you dare miss this love story.” Descriptions make me think of a bit of a Queen’s Gambit vibe. Without the darkness and drinks! January 7/21
Better Luck Next Time by Julia Claiborne Johnson – “Better Luck Next Time crackles with wit and wisdom. This delightful novel of love and loss on a divorce ranch in Nevada during the Great Depression is poignant, hilarious, and, at times, achingly sad. I love this glorious book!” (Mary Pauline Lowry) Until the 1970s, Divorce ranches in Reno were destinations for those seeking a “quickie” divorce, granted after 6 weeks as a resident. Also known as getting Reno-vated! January 5/21
The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin – The Children’s Blizzard was an actual epic storm that took place in January 1888 across the Midwest US. It came up suddenly and caught many school children, most of homesteading immigrant families, making their way home. “In this atmospheric novel, as relentlessly paced as a thriller, you experience the encroaching storm from many perspectives and, in the process, understand something important about the tenacity of the human spirit.” (Christina Baker Kline) January 12/21
The Last Garden of England by Julia Kelly – “Kelly’s novel encompasses everything I love in historical fiction: a dramatic setting depicted so vividly I could’ve sworn I was strolling through the gardens of Highbury House as I turned the pages, and a series of stories that intertwine each other effortlessly, echoing the theme of love lost and found. A delight.” (Fiona Davis) If that review doesn’t have you on your way to putting this on the shelf … grand English Manors and luscious gardens … done! Julia Kelly has also recently written the well reviewed, The Light Over London and The Whispers of War. January 12/21
That Old Country Music by Kevin Barry – Barry is an accomplished novelist and short-story writer with an exquisite gift for language. This is a collection of eleven short stories set among the characters and landscape of his native Ireland. This interview in the Paris Review (here) may give us a sense of the humour he is capable of incorporating into even sometimes darker tales. “I had to quit reading this book the first day I had it in my hands, just so I could have it to read the next day. It’s that good.” (Richard Ford) January 12/21
How the One Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones – Set in a Barbados resort community where conflicts among the beach dwellers and the well-off mansion owners simmer and a botched robbery has dramatic repercussions. “How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is simply brilliant. By the first chapter, it burned into my heart. Ambitious, poetic, and layered with the rich voices of its many stunning characters, this terrific debut novel by Cherie Jones opened my eyes to the many ways that her young Barbadian protagonist must fight for her life.” (Lawrence Hill) January 26/21
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah – The Nightingale and The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah are two of the most compelling reads I’ve experienced in recent years. This new novel is set in the 1930s Depression era and follows a woman making difficult decisions for her family while draught and despair surround her. I have no doubt that it will be at least as engaging as the earlier reads. “Hannah brings Dust Bowl migration to life in this riveting story of love, courage, and sacrifice…combines gritty realism with emotionally rich characters and lyrical prose that rings brightly and true from the first line“ – (Publishers Weekly) February 2/21
Red Island House by Andrea Lee – Another one with an intriguing location and social challenges. “From National Book Award–nominated writer Andrea Lee, an epic, gorgeously evocative novel about love and identity, following two decades in the marriage between an African American professor and her wealthy Italian husband as it unfolds on the remote and mysterious island of Madagascar.” (Publisher) March 23/21
Celebrity Book Clubs
August 19, 2020
Hiking 2015, by Darren Thompson
Hope you’ve all been enjoying a good summer with books galore. I’ve had some hits and misses but overall there are some good pages in the bank. You’ll hear about the best ones soon. Feel free to share your own hits!
I have an arm’s-length list of topics to share with you but it was a message in my in-box this morning that put me back in the chair to write. From whence the message? A shoe company I once patronized. The content? An invite to join their new Book Club! Not the first place I think of when I think of book clubs.
I’d already begun piecing together notes about the recent surge of celebrity book clubs so it seemed a sign. It seems everyone from the iconic, (Oprah and Reese and former NFL-er Andrew Luck), to all the TV hosts (Jenna and GMA), to every bookseller (Chapter’s, Parnassus, Powell’s) and yes, even to the shoe store, has formed a virtual book club. I haven’t actually joined in with any of the groups but I do give the books and their reviews a second look. Oprah’s picks have sometimes been a bit dark for my liking, Reese’s are quite consistently choices I’ve enjoyed though sometimes a little on the “lite” side and I’ve said before that Heather’s selections are dependably good ones for me too. What’s your experience been? Do you follow any celebrity book clubs you’d recommend?
Here are some of the latest picks that have caught my eye in a few of the most popular “Celebrity” Book Clubs:
Heather’s Book Club (Heather Reisman of Indigo-Chapters)
The Education of an Idealist by Samantha Power, A Long Petal of the Sea by Isabelle Allende, The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole, Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Hello Sunshine Book Club (Reese Witherspoon’s picks)
The Henna Artist by Akra Joshi, The Guest List by Lucy Foley, Everything Inside by Edwidge Danticat, Untamed by Glennon Doyle
The Overstory by Richard Powers, Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life by William Finnegan, Preaching to the Chickens: The story of a young John Lewis by Jabari Asim, The Hare with the Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal
Good Morning America (GMA) Book Club
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, The Lions of Fifth Avenue by Fiona Davis, In Five Years by Rebecca Serle, Long Bright River by Liz Moore
A Burning by Megha Majumbdar, Valentine by Elizabeth Wetmore, The Girl with the Louding Voice by Abi Dare, All Adults Here by Emma Straub
Deacon King Kong by James McBride, Caste by Isabel Wilkerson, The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
And the shoe company, Margaux’s, inaugural selection for their new book club called (wait for it) Footnotes!
Debbie Travis – A New Chapter
July 23, 2020
Twenty or so years ago, the creative home improvement reality shows we’ve come to love were just getting started on TV and the initiator of them all, the Belle of the Ball, was Debbie Travis (The Painted House to start …). She brought her effervescent personality and her zesty sense of humour to the mix along with her sponges and designer’s eye, providing the perfect formula for the legions of others who followed in her footsteps.
Not only did Debbie (along with her husband Hans) create an empire of TV production, home decor and paint products, books, speaking engagements etc., she, at the same time, was mother to two busy little boys. When she noticed an increased fixation among her fans on how she was managing family and firm, she responded by writing a wonderful book called Not Guilty: My Guide to Working Hard Raising Kids and Laughing Through the Chaos. I think the title says it all!
Just because we haven’t seen Debbie on TV as often in recent years, doesn’t mean she hasn’t been her usual busy and creative self. In fact, she had a bit of an epiphany and had an utter reinvention. In short form, inspired by Frances Mayes’ Under the Tuscan Sun, Debbie and Hans purchased a rundown villa in Italy and set to restoring it as a boutique hotel with a vision to Debbie hosting themed women’s retreats for starters. Of course, they’ve done it all beautifully. See Tuscan Getaway for a glimpse. I see now that Olive Oil, Lavender products and Wine sales have evolved from the groves, fields, and vines. Ever the business mind!
Fortunately for us, Debbie was again inspired to share the knowledge she gained along the path. The new book (recently released in paperback) is called Design Your Next Chapter: How to Realize your Dreams and Reinvent Your Life. It is a very personal account of her own recognition, in her early 50s, that she needed a change. The tools and exercises she (and her important friends and guides) found to help her choose and forge a new path are offered in the book. Stories of others who’ve dreamt and then pursued new directions are also featured. It’s a delightful memoir, a workbook and an inspiring self-help guide all in one! I would say, beyond her boisterous Brit humour, Debbie’s best qualities are her honesty and her easy-to-relate-to demeanour. You’ll read this and feel like you just walked the seawall with a best pal – the advice is that good and the tone that encouraging!
A bonus and a perfect companion read, Frances Mayes’ recent novel, Women In Sunlight, may well be inspired by one of Debbie’s women’s retreats. And if all of these gorgeous descriptions of the Italian people and countryside still aren’t enough for you, read the newest travel guide releases by Mayes called See You In the Piazza: New Places to Discover in Italy and Always Italy with Ondine Cohane.
Bookless Club and Friendship
July 7, 2020
I think I can safely say most of us love a Saturday morning. My Saturday mornings have recently become even more special thanks to my friend Karen and the Bookless Club.
At the beginning of May, a new column written by the talented Jane Macdougall, surfaced in the Vancouver Sun newspaper. A few kind friends immediately alerted me to this delight, “The Bookless Club“, knowing it would be right up my alley. They were so right! They also know condo living has complicated my newspaper delivery so I’m not savouring my Saturday papers in the same way anymore and may have missed out.
Karen took things further and has devotedly and reliably (even when she’s road tripping!) snapped a photo of the column each week and forwarded it to me. This spark of joy, courtesy of Karen, makes my day. The texted photo arrives with a “Have a lovely day!” and a “This is a great one!” Sometimes we have a quick conversation generated by the article. The Comfort Food column prompted this exchange: “Honey on toast!” and “PB on toast fingers dipped in chocolate milk!”
What’s a Bookless Club you ask? Well, according to its creator, it takes the best part of book club which is the conversation and community but isn’t limited by a single focus; it’s not just one story, it’s an exchange of stories. Jane explains: “For me, author Carol Shields summed it up best when she said, “We want, need, the stories of others. We need, too, to place our own stories beside theirs to compare, weigh, judge, forgive and to find, by becoming something other than ourselves, an angle of vision that renews our image of the world.” The Bookless Club found its footing when, housebound in a Pandemic, Jane realised that “I miss conversation. My mind is going to weeds without it.”
The actual column is lively and facilitates thoughtful conversation just as Jane intended. The most recent featured the friendship between Jane’s son and his best buddy. “One of them brings the fireworks, the other one knows where the hoses are. One of them spits in the wind, the other one makes sure the getaway car is gassed up. I like to think they complement each other, that they’re good for one another.” Deep sigh. I loved this! Each week, Jane provides a prompt based on the column’s theme and the replies appear the following Saturday. Tune in and see the submissions to: “Are old friends best? Do you have friendships that go back to childhood?” Search the Archives for Car Loves, Precious Pandemic Pets, Memorable Travel Moments and more … all terrific.
Storytelling indeed connects us and Jane oversees a wonderful forum during a time when connectedness is most meaningful. Look her up, enjoy the well-written content, and join the conversation with your own stories. And, if you have a heart as big as my friend Karen, pass the article along to someone and make their Saturday!
Stuart: A Canadian Treasure
July 1, 2020
Aaaah dear Stuart, you’ve been on my mind so often in recent times. We lost you just over three years ago and we’ve missed you terribly but these recent months have created a chasm that it seems only you, and maybe a little dose of Dr. Bonnie Henry, could fill. Stu, things have been grim, glum and grating. But there have been shiny moments too. I know you would have found them, sprinkled them with your fairy dust and invited us down the path with you to see and savour these little joys. There is no way you’d have allowed us to wallow and whine.
It’s Canada Day today and there has probably never been another Canadian who has visited and embraced as many parts of this country as you did. You and your vibrant curiosity were welcomed warmly at coffee shops, and bake shops and book shops (especially book shops!) in cities and towns, big and small. The small were clearly your favourites (though you would never play favourites) and you conveyed their very essence to us in a way that made us feel we were there along with you and the villagers. Thank you for helping us know and love our Canada and all its citizens.
I heard your voice the other day and it stopped me in my tracks. CBC was playing in the background and all of a sudden you were there with me in my kitchen. I can’t begin to explain how that felt. I know you would have found the perfect words and captured the moment. One follower of the Vinyl Cafe wrote this: “I was listening to the Current on Friday and suddenly the story came on. I wasn’t prepared. I had to lean against the counter and feel the emotions rise.” So I wasn’t alone with the surging sentimentality. Lest anyone doubt your lofty position in the hearts of Canadians, this comment made me laugh out loud: “Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s address was broadcast instead of (Stuart’s) story in Manitoba. Any way it can still be heard via another source? Was very disappointing!” You will always be the Primest of our Primes.
The CBC and its legion of fellow Stuart and Vinyl Cafe devotees recognized your voice was desperately needed in our kitchens and hearts again, and soon. The Current played a few of your stories to overwhelming delight and now, it’s been officially announced – you’re back for the Summer! I know exactly where I’ll be on Sundays at noon. And I can’t wait. I can’t wait to hear your comforting cadence, your playful pauses to allow us to catch up with your wit, your own battles to overcome the giggles … and I’ll have the tissues at the ready, for the inevitable happy tears and for the ones shed in missing you too.
Happy Canada Day, Stuart!
(illustration by Michael deAdder)
Hand Drawn Vancouver
June 23, 2020
In a Summer where we’re being encouraged to stay close to home, how wonderful to have a new guidebook of sorts to help us explore our nearby neighbourhoods. If you’ve become too comfortable being housebound, this might be just the inspiration you need to get out there and investigate.
Illustrator and writer, Emma Fitzgerald has imaginatively captured scenes of little pockets around the city of Vancouver and included conversations with those she’s encountered or overheard. Her work has been described as “part sketchbook, part journal” by the Globe and Mail and we like both. We’re also big on “Whimsical” and “Charming” here at BTB and this promises each in abundance. I’m particularly fond of the storefronts and streetscapes captured in Emma’s drawings as we know, all too well, that the city is changing and these may be the nostalgic views we’ll treasure most in the future.
This little story explains the source of Emma’s inspiration: “My daily commute to school, an hour each way in the backseat of the car, was an education in the geography of the city. We passed through Dundarave and Ambleside, stalled in traffic at Park Royal, went over the Capilano River Reserve while crossing the Lions Gate Bridge, and then were momentarily surrounded by trees in Stanley Park. It was often a quick drive through the West End and Downtown, seemingly before anyone else was awake, then over the Burrard or sometimes Granville Bridge, through Kitsilano, all the way to Dunbar—only to do it all in reverse at the end of the day. Looking out of the window, I discovered that each neighbourhood had its own unique architecture and population, and they became endlessly interesting to me.”
While Emma mostly grew up in Vancouver, she also spent some time studying and living in Halifax. She successfully captured that city in Hand Drawn Halifax. Rumour has it that she’s now in Victoria and exploring that city for its own Hand Drawn edition. We’ll have to stay tuned!
Coffee Table Summer Travels
June 16, 2020
These are beautiful coffee table books through the pages of which we can vicariously travel to traditionally dreamy domains of Summer. Coffee Table Books are not easy on the wallet, unless you compare them to the cost of the tickets to travel, yet they are a wonderful way to savour beautiful photography and design. I have a healthy little collection focused on travel and design and art and I enjoy visiting the titles often. They are indeed “trippy”! I don’t put them on my coffee table, however, lest someone spill the coffee.
Summer to Summer: Houses by the Sea is a new one, being released today in fact. It features the stories and photos of a selection of gorgeous homes along the North East Coast of the United States. The area really is a mecca for stunning Summer home architecture. Even if you are lucky enough to visit the region, you can’t always get inside the homes – through these pages you can! “All we need to do is settle back, kick off our shoes, and let the sun-kissed pages of Summer to Summer wash over us.” (publisher)
Summertime is colourfully filled with images that represent the epitome of an ideal summer; 46 different photographers share places that are lodged in their summer memories. Evocative quotes and summery reflections by literary icons are sprinkled among the photographs and there is true sense of nostalgia throughout. Joanne Dugan, the editor of this lovely book, writes: “It turns out that my first summer love was not a person but a place.” Read a mood-setting excerpt here.
Summer Houses by the Sea: The Shingle Style focuses on perhaps the most iconic design of a traditional summer home. Shingled summer homes “are an expression of the romantic longing for the sea.” (publisher) While this one may be more of an architectural study than a seasonal celebration, its photographic pages will still give you a sense of summer days spent in some treasured historic homes as well as in some newer shingled havens. You’ll learn a little in this one but the dreamy summer journey will be there too.
Summer Reads 2020
June 9, 2020
Art by Charlie Mackesy
The Summer Reads list is a bit of a tradition here at Bedside Table Books and started as a way to help you make choices to fill your seasonal book bag. You won’t find Dostoevsky on this list (sorry, Fyodor!) but you will hopefully, without too much effort, travel the world a little bit with some interesting folks, learn a little here and there, have a good laugh and maybe even get a chill down your spine. I’ve researched and narrowed down a mountain of choices to these few. I’ll be digging in soon and hope you’ll join me. If you have found an ideal Summer Read yourself, feel free to share it with us.
The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell – A memoir of a young man and his penguin. How’s that for a unique start?! A young Englishman heads for South America to teach at a boarding school and on a weekend adventure finds himself rescuing a penguin who insists on sticking around.
When All Is Said by Anne Griffin – An elderly Irishman spends an evening at a hotel bar, making five toasts to five influential people in his life. This one might be your rainy day read as it seems reflective and bittersweet but by all accounts features a well written character who will remain with you. “If you had to pick five people to sum up your life, who would they be? If you were to raise a glass to each of them, what would you say? And what would you learn about yourself, when all is said?”
Last Days of Cafe Leila by Donia Bijan – There are many tales of people leaving Iran but few telling the story of returning. In this novel, a woman leaves San Francisco to return to Tehran and her family and the restaurant that has been their business for three generations. She brings her teen daughter and together they explore themes of change and family. Refinery 29 says, “… a love letter to family, food and culture.” I thought it interesting that the author is an award-winning Chef and former restaurateur – so many reviews mention how beautifully the Persian food features.
The Summer Country by Lauren Willig – This one travels in time and location, to Victorian era Barbados. A family saga, epic in scale, set in the Caribbean of the 1800s. Comparisons to the Thorn Birds had me convinced if the gorgeous cover art hadn’t already. A young woman surprisingly inherits, from her grandfather, a sugar plantation that no one even knew existed. The plantation, or what remains of it, has stories (romance, ghosts!) that must be explored. So many good reviews and apparently one to really sink into and savour.
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok – I absolutely loved the author’s first book, Lost in Translation, and so am really looking forward to this one. A Chinese immigrant family’s hidden story is revealed as a younger sister goes looking for her elder sister who’s mysteriously disappeared in the Netherlands. Suspense and secrets and sisters … sounds simple but it’s complicated!
Wild Horses of the Summer Sun by Tory Bilski – A group of women, initially unknown to one another, meet annually to escape from their regular lives to ride horses in Iceland. The author recounts stories of her annual trip, her companions (four footed and two) and the extraordinary setting while exploring themes of identity, aging, friendship, freedom … “Filled with adventure and fresh humor, as well as an incredible portrait of Iceland and its remarkable equines, Wild Horses of the Summer Sun will enthrall and delight not just horse lovers, but those of us who yearn for a little more wild in everyday life.” Paperback will be released in August. I’ll be in line!
Grown Ups by Marian Keyes – Beloved Irish writer, Marian Keyes, takes on life and all its foibles with equal doses of humour and poignancy in her fiction and non-fiction. This one is a big juicy novel featuring a fancy family who becomes a bit unraveled when one member’s concussion causes her to become a little too unfiltered. The revelations cause the extended family to have to “grow up”. Along with the hilarity is some complexity in the lives of well-crafted characters.
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett – Already an accomplished author of The Mothers, Brit Bennett’s newest book was released on June 2nd into a world that could not be more ready to receive it. By all accounts this is an impressively written and important book. Identical twins escape their small town together but choose different paths in life, one as a black woman and the other, passing as white. The story moves forward through the 1950s to the 1990s, on to the next generation, and boldly examines the historical and social influences on their lives. Book clubs are going to be leaping for this one.
We Came Here to Shine by Susie Orman Schnall – You may recall Susie’s last book, The Subway Girls, appeared on a previous Summer list. Susie takes inspiration from a moment in history, does extensive research for true authenticity, and weaves stories featuring intrepid heroines. The historical inspiration for this latest book was The 1939 New York World’s Fair. Two feisty young women are working at the Fair, both in positions beneath their aspirations and limited by the biased environment around them. They form a friendship which provides support and gives them courage to face their challenges. Susie describes the Fair meticulously and more than one reviewer described the book as “cinematic” with the Fair itself acting as a prominent character.
Beach Read by Emily Henry – This seems poised to be the runaway beach bag hit for the summer. Very generous reviews and apparently more depth to it than the cover might suggest. An acclaimed writer of Literary Fiction is spending the summer at a beach house. Next door is a bestselling Romance writer. Each is suffering from severe writer’s block and so begins the tale of them challenging each other to bust out of the creative doldrums. The witty banter, Lake Michigan in the summer, and a little romantic frisson evidently adds up to excellent summer entertainment.
Saturdays at Noon by Rachel Marks – “Endearing, emotional and uplifting” The reviews for this book are outstanding. Circumstances bring a father and son to an Anger Management class where they engage with a young woman, also enrolled. Neither adult is especially fond of the other but a bond develops between the young woman and the boy who happens to be on the Autism spectrum and the story evolves from there. This is Rachel Marks’ first book and her inspiration came from her struggles in understanding her own son’s autistic behaviours. She writes exceptionally well and also from a place of true empathy for the characters’ experiences.
The New Girl by Harriet Walker – This is the goosebumps contribution. A psychological thriller in which a freelance journalist is brought in to cover the maternity leave of an accomplished fashion magazine editor. The temp plays at assuming the so-called perfect lifestyle of the editor in her absence while the new mother, responding to a few triggers, becomes highly suspicious and paranoid. Is it an innocent game or is something sinister at work?
Charlie Mackesy
June 6, 2020
I’ve had such an urge to share a few recent discoveries with you. Never more insistently than when I came upon the gentle wonder of Charlie Mackesy and his Boy, Mole, Fox and Horse. This little crew will charm you with their poignant observations and kind support and encouragement of one another. The messages are sweet and thoughtful and oh, so precious. Charlie captivates and communicates with a sweep of ink and a splash of paint; seemingly simple arcs and wisps become the characters and his beautiful script, their wise words. Art and Lit!
I first encountered Charlie’s work within the wilds of Pinterest. As I joined the slightly more exotic Instagram world, there he was again. Lucky for all of us, he gathered those posts and pages into a charming book. While The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse was published in October 2019 and was a popular Christmas gift, it has become a particularly comforting touchstone of the COVID era. I encourage you to take a peek into Charlie’s world; you will savour the friendship and adventures and your heart will grow three times. The actual book itself is beautifully bound and makes a pretty little gift.
Do follow along with Charlie and add his book to your shelf, or to someone else’s special collection. You’ll treasure always.
