Julie Hale

NonfictionMemoirFilmBiography

Book Clubs: December 2020

Feature by Julie Hale

Entertaining yet substantial, briskly paced yet informative, these celebrity memoirs and biographies are perfect for the busy month of December.

In Inside Out, actor Demi Moore comes to terms with her troubled past. As the daughter of alcoholic parents, Moore had an unstable and traumatic childhood, and her early career as a model left her feeling insecure about her appearance. Although she went on to achieve success in Hollywood, starring in such films as St. Elmo’s Fire and Ghost, she struggled for years with drug addiction. Throughout this candid, accomplished memoir, Moore is upfront about her marriages to Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher, and she provides fascinating insight into the movie business.

Esteemed actor Sally Field shares her personal story in her memoir, In Pieces. Born in Pasadena, California, in 1946, Field opens up about her solitary childhood, her alcoholic mother and the stepfather who abused her. She began acting as a teen, going on to star in blockbusters including Norma Rae and Forrest Gump. With sensitivity and a wonderful command of narrative, she reflects on important past relationships, including her romance with Burt Reynolds, and on the impulses that drive her acting. The result is a well-rounded, well-written portrait of an artist that will appeal to anyone who loves a good celebrity memoir.

Written by bestselling biographer Sheila Weller, Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge is an illuminating study of an American icon. Carrie Fisher, perhaps best known for portraying Princess Leia in the Star Wars films, was the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actor Debbie Reynolds. In this well-researched biography, Weller chronicles Fisher’s Hollywood up-bringing, her rise as an actor, her marriages and her experiences with bipolar disorder and drugs. Fisher’s intelligence and strength shine through in this lively narrative, which is rich with movie history and personal anecdotes, as well as themes of family and feminism.

Illustrator and author Edward Sorel revisits the golden age of Hollywood in Mary Astor’s Purple Diary: The Great American Sex Scandal of 1936. Sorel explores the life of actor Mary Astor, star of The Maltese Falcon and other classics, who kept a diary of her sexual affairs. In the 1930s, her ex-husband discovered the diary and used it against her during his legal battle for custody of their daughter. Sorel digs in to weighty topics including public image, the power of journalism and the female experience in show business, and his nifty illustrations add to the book’s appeal.

Entertaining yet substantial, briskly paced yet informative, these celebrity memoirs and biographies are perfect for the busy month of December.

In Inside Out, actor Demi Moore comes to terms with her troubled past. As the daughter of alcoholic parents, Moore had an unstable and traumatic…

Children's & YAPicture Book

A flurry of seasonal stories perfect for sharing

Feature by Julie Hale

Need a heaping dose of joy this holiday season? Fix yourself a steaming mug of cocoa, put on your warmest, fuzziest pajamas, and cuddle up with one of these spectacular picture books.

The Eight Knights of Hanukkah

Leslie Kimmelman and Galia Bernstein’s The Eight Knights of Hanukkah is a humorous adventure that features heroic cavaliers and a rascally dragon while drawing upon Hanukkah traditions.

Lady Sadie has invited her subjects to celebrate the final night of Hanukkah, but Dreadful the dragon is wreaking havoc and thwarting her plans. To stop him, Lady Sadie summons her children, the titular knights, and asks them to commit acts of courage and goodwill to get the holiday back on track. When the dragon’s fiery breath fries a boy’s dreidel, Sir Alex makes a new one. After Dreadful gobbles up the baker’s doughnuts, Sir Lily helps replenish the supply. The knights pursue Dreadful with persistence and bravery, but when they meet him face to face, they discover he’s not quite what he seems.

Bernstein’s illustrations of the mischievous Dreadful, the bold knights and gracious Lady Sadie are friendly and energetic, and design features such as a map of the kingdom will transport readers to the story’s medieval setting. In an afterword, Kimmelman explores the history of Hanukkah and the importance of performing mitzvoth—good deeds—throughout the year. It all adds up to a clever, thrilling journey that’s lots of fun.

The Night Before Christmas

Bestselling author-illustrator Loren Long offers an inspired take on a classic tale in The Night Before Christmas. In stunning illustrations that capture just a few of the many ways we celebrate the holiday today, Long updates Santa’s famous Christmas Eve visit with a contemporary sensibility that will resonate with readers of all ages.

Long stays true to the spirit of Clement C. Moore’s poem even as he shifts its setting to the present day. His illustrations depict the holiday traditions of four diverse families in beautifully composed scenes executed in acrylic paint and colored pencil. Cozy mobile home, snug farmhouse, urban apartment, coastal bungalow—the homes may be different, but they’re all ready for Santa’s visit. Delightfully detailed paintings of children “nestled snug in their beds” and parents on the lookout for “the jolly old elf” capture the excitement and anticipation of the season. Endpapers show kiddos making crafts, putting up decorations, baking cookies and otherwise prepping for Santa’s arrival.

Long’s use of varied families and homes is a smart approach that truly modernizes the poem. Inclusive and human, warm and festive, his illustrations provide a wonderful complement to Moore’s text, ensuring that the famous tale will continue to be a seasonal staple.

The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol

Arthur A. Levine introduces a new holiday hero in the wonderfully original tale The Hanukkah Magic of Nate Gadol. Nate is a benevolent spirit with flashing eyes, a blue waistcoat, fancy boots and the unique ability to make “things last as long as they [need] to.” A noble figure, he only uses his gift for urgent requests, like prolonging the freshness of a flower in a sick child’s room or stretching a small quantity of butter for cooking.

Nate keeps a particular eye on two families—the Glasers and the O’Malleys—and helps them out if they fall on hard times. In the difficult winter of 1881, as the Glasers run short of food and the O’Malleys’ new baby falls sick, the holidays look far from bright. But on Christmas Eve, Nate teams up with a recognizable jolly old friend to assist both families and bring unexpected joy to their seasonal celebrations.

In a moving author’s note, Levine reflects on “the challenges of being a Jewish child during Christmas” and his desire to add to the mythology of the holidays. His sparkling story does just that. In Kevin Hawkes’ swirling, whimsical illustrations, Nate is jaunty and beaming with glistening gold details on his buttons, eyes and hair—a captivating sprite who hovers in midair and soars over rooftops. His holiday adventure has an inviting, appealing spirit.

The Little Bell That Wouldn’t Ring

Another inventive addition to the literature of the season, The Little Bell That Wouldn’t Ring, written by Heike Conradi and illustrated by Maja Dusíková, is an imaginative fable sure to prompt reflection on the true meaning of the Christmas holiday.

In an old church tower, three majestic bells—one silver, one bronze and one gold—practice for the approaching festivities. The tower’s newest addition is a small, unas- suming bell that refuses to make music, despite urging from the other bells. A friendly dove named Felidia notices the little bell’s silence and, concerned, seeks out her friend Carol the crow. “Nice words will help,” Carol advises.

And so Felidia embarks on a quest to discover words that might coax the little bell to ring. Checking in with her animal friends, Felidia solicits suggestions (Ringlebert the pigeon suggests “cake crumbs,” while Maurice the mouse proposes “cheddar, camembert, gorgonzola”). Felidia’s avian companions travel far and wide to gather words, but in the end, it’s a traditional holiday phrase discovered close to home that finally prompts the little bell to chime out for all to hear.

A sweet story that stresses the importance of friendship and encouragement, the tale of the bell comes to life in Dusíková’s lovely artwork. From the stately church tower to the bustling town square filled with market stalls, busy shoppers and rosy-cheeked children, her illustrations evoke a winter wonderland. The smallest bell, glowing and golden, has a magical aura all its own. Little ones will love ringing in Christmas with Felidia and her friends.

Need a heaping dose of joy this holiday season? Fix yourself a steaming mug of cocoa, put on your warmest, fuzziest pajamas, and cuddle up with one of these spectacular picture books.

NonfictionTechnologyMemoir

Book Clubs: January 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

Four fresh takes on work and life in the digital age.

In Uncanny Valley, Anna Wiener chronicles her career at a Silicon Valley startup. After an unrewarding stint in New York publishing, Wiener was ready to give the San Francisco tech world a try, but the behind-the- scenes reality of the industry took her by surprise. Wiener tells of a patriarchal culture of wealth and ambition that left her disenchanted and in search of answers about her own life. Written with humor and intelligence, this briskly paced memoir explores gender in the workplace, the millennial mindset and the uses and abuses of power by influential companies. It’s a tech industry tell-all that’s both riveting and relevant.

Gretchen McCulloch delivers an intriguing study of the terminology, grammar and symbolism that shape online communication in Because Internet. McCulloch is a linguistics whiz who writes clearly and comprehensively for the lay reader about her area of expertise. In Because Internet, she delves into the development and diffusion of online slang, the power of memes and the inspiration behind emoji. Trends in online vocabulary and the progression of language are among the subjects up for debate, providing reading groups with meaty material for discussion.

Jia Tolentino critiques digital-age trends and attitudes in her acclaimed debut essay collection, Trick Mirror. Over the course of the book’s nine pieces, Tolentino examines the impact of social media and the internet, the American dream of perfectionism and other timely topics. She also shares personal stories, including an essay on her brush with reality TV. (She appeared on “Girls v. Boys: Puerto Rico.”) Funny, savvy and insightful, the collection establishes Tolentino as a vital millennial voice. Complex topics including self-image in the era of Instagram and the risks and rewards of social media make this collection a terrific pick for any book club.

Of the moment and utterly fascinating, Victoria Turk’s Kill Reply All explores the unique and multifaceted challenges of digital communication. Turk, who is a features editor at Wired UK, offers valuable advice about how to communicate online with confidence, whether that’s through chatting in a dating app or answering emails at work. Bringing a comic flair to the proceedings, she covers important topics like online friendships, the uses of emoji and the finer points of text messaging. There’s plenty for reading groups to debate and discuss in Turk’s thoughtful yet lighthearted guide to being polite in your online life.

Four fresh takes on work and life in the digital age that are also fantastic conversation starters for your reading group.

NonfictionSelf-Help

Resolve to make 2021 as bright as possible

Feature by Julie Hale

To guide you on the path of positivity in the new year, four books provide support, affirmation and inspiration.

Beginners

In Beginners: The Joy and Transformative Power of Lifelong Learning, author Tom Vanderbilt demonstrates the importance of cultivating curiosity and trying new skills on for size. Vanderbilt was looking for ways to reengage with life when—taking a cue from his inquisitive young daughter—he decided to immerse himself in activities he’d always wanted to tackle, including drawing, singing and surfing. “I was a quick study when it came to facts,” Vanderbilt writes, “but what had I actually learned to do lately?”

In Beginners, Vanderbilt reveals what it’s like to pick up skills as an adult novice. He blends his personal story with research into neuroscience, psychology and education and recounts his rookie experiences with humor and heart. His insights into midlife learning will resonate with readers who have a desire to try new pursuits but may need a little nudge. Beginners, he says, is not “a ‘how to do’ book as much as a ‘why to do’ book. . . . It’s about small acts of reinvention, at any age, that can make life seem magical.” As Vanderbilt proves, there’s no expiration date on the ability to learn. Pick up a copy of Beginners and make 2021 a time of discovery.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Tom Vanderbilt narrates the audiobook for Beginners, and it’s just the encouragement we all need.

This Book Will Make You Kinder

If becoming a nicer, more tolerant human is one of your objectives for the year ahead, then check out Henry James Garrett’s This Book Will Make You Kinder: An Empathy Handbook. Garrett’s academic background is in the field of metaethics, the study of the nature and meaning of morality, and he views empathy—“our capacity to experience those feelings we witness in others”—as the primary motivator of human kindness. In his new book, he offers guidance on how to maximize our empathetic impulse.

As he provides advice on overcoming limitations to empathy, building better listening skills and coming to grips with your own potential for not being nice, Garrett outlines concrete steps to help you increase your kindness quotient. A bang-up artist (you may have seen his Instagram account, Drawings of Dogs), his delightfully droll illustrations of talking animals and objects (e.g., two magic markers discuss the impact of coloring outside the lines) bring levity to his lessons. “If you don’t do the work of good listening, of paying attention,” Garrett writes, “you’ll continue to be cruel in ways you otherwise couldn’t and will fail to be outrageously kind in ways you otherwise would.” A total attitude-changer, this book will carry you into the new year on a tide of positivity.

Laziness Does Not Exist

In Laziness Does Not Exist, social psychologist Devon Price explores the culture of work and how our society’s emphasis on achievement is leading to burnout and exhaustion. From an early age, Price says, we’re conditioned to believe that productivity equals self-worth—an idea that’s part of what they call the “laziness lie,” which leads to feelings of guilt over not doing enough. “It’s also the force that compels us to work ourselves to sickness,” Price explains.

Price proposes that we adjust our perspectives on work and stop using achievement as a benchmark for appraising personal value. In the book, they take a cleareyed look at the science and psychology behind the concepts of laziness and productivity and share stories from folks who have grappled with work-life balance.

Perhaps most importantly, the author stresses the necessity of simple relaxation: “It’s not evil to have limitations and to need breaks.” With tips on setting boundaries and integrating beneficial techniques like expressive writing into your daily routine, Price’s book will give you a fresh perspective on the meaning of success—and the confidence to schedule more “me-time” this year.

Friendshipping

Making friends is a basic element of socialization, yet the ability to bond doesn’t come naturally to everyone, and many people find that the process becomes more difficult as they get older. How can we break down the barriers that keep us from connecting with others? Authors Jenn Bane and Trin Garritano offer answers in Friendshipping: The Art of Finding Friends, Being Friends, and Keeping Friends.

Hosts of the popular “Friendshipping” podcast, the authors have devoted many hours to the study of social networks large and small, and their chatty, accessible book collects the best of their advice, with suggestions on how to make new friends, how to handle a friendship that could be morphing into something more and how to call it quits when a friendship fails. The volume also includes valuable questions from podcast listeners and sample scripts that will kick-start your socialization skills.

Featuring fabulous illustrations by Jean Wei, Friendshipping provides readers with the right tools for building—and sustaining—valuable relationships. Whether you’re looking to enlarge your circle of intimates or cultivate more one-on-one connections this year, Bane and Garritano will help you develop habits and behaviors that will widen your world.

To guide you on the path of positivity in the new year, four books provide support, affirmation and inspiration.

NonfictionMemoirBiography

Book Clubs: March 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

Celebrate Women’s History Month with terrific nonfiction titles spotlighting female pioneers and groundbreakers.

Adam Hochschild’s spirited biography Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes chronicles the life of Rose Pastor Stokes (1879–1933), a Russian refugee of Jewish descent who married millionaire James Graham Phelps Stokes. The two became members of the Socialist Party and mixed with figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois and anarchist Emma Goldman. Hochschild’s enthralling narrative shines a light on Pastor Stokes’ work as a champion of the working class and of the feminist cause. Pick this one if your group is ready for a dynamic discussion of social justice, women’s rights and the often overlooked history of American activism during the early 20th century.

In Horror Stories, musician Liz Phair—perhaps best known for her 1993 release Exile in Guyville—looks back at some painfully formative moments in her life. She writes with vibrancy and honesty about being unfaithful to her first husband, getting into a street brawl in Shanghai and giving birth to her son after 32 hours of labor. She's refreshingly upfront about her own personal shortcomings, but she's also compassionate about them, allowing her to connect with readers who've experienced their own missteps. Book groups will appreciate Phair’s skills as a memoirist and find rich topics for conversation, including the female experience in the music industry and riot grrrl-era feminism. 

Dorothy Day: Dissenting Voice of the American Century by John Loughery and Blythe Randolph provides an in-depth look at a legendary lady. Dorothy Day (1897–1980) was a noted journalist, pacifist and advocate for labor and women’s rights. A Brooklyn native, she was also part of the Greenwich Village scene that included poet Hart Crane and playwright Eugene O’Neill. This lively biography documents her personal and political evolution in wonderful detail. Brimming with history and discussion topics related to religion and progressivism, it’s an inspired choice for Women’s History Month.

In her brave, probing memoir Recollections of My Nonexistence, essayist and activist Rebecca Solnit recounts her coming-of-age as a writer. Solnit settled in San Francisco as a teenager during the 1980s. While in grad school, she entered the writing world—an arena dominated by men—and worked to overcome gender barriers and find her place as an artist. Solnit’s astute observations of the literary life and the San Francisco art scene make for fascinating reading, and her evolving sense of her own identity and empowerment will prompt lively conversation among readers.

Celebrate Women’s History Month with terrific nonfiction titles spotlighting female pioneers and groundbreakers.

In the words of Rita Dove, ‘Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful’

Feature by Julie Hale

Writing in a refreshingly defiant voice, Yemeni American poet Threa Almontaser offers a razor-sharp interrogation of home, gender and cultural norms in her first collection, The Wild Fox of Yemen. In “Muslim Girl with White Guys, Ending at the Edge of a Ridge,” Almontaser articulates the challenges of living between two cultures: “Neither muscle nor mouth / devoted to one way of speaking. Every language / I borrow from somewhere else.”

While addressing the generational differences and frictions that exist within her extended family, Almontaser reveals herself to be exceptional at playing with shape, manipulating a page’s white space in order to underscore her ideas. (The lines of “Feast, Beginning w/ a Kissed Blade” form the shape of a knife, crafted to conclude on a pinpoint.) Winner of the 2020 Walt Whitman Award of the Academy of American Poets, Almontaser’s daring debut both speaks to and transcends the times.

Everyday Mojo Songs of Earth: New and Selected Poems, 2001–2021 offers a wonderful overview of recent work by beloved, acclaimed poet Yusef Komunyakaa. Spanning 20 years, the volume brings together selections from his previous books and features 12 new poems.

A Louisiana native, Komunyakaa enlivens observations about youth, music, race, love and war with singular, spellbinding imagery. His poems capture the magnitude of everyday moments and the mysteries of the natural world. In “Slingshot”—as “summer rambles into a quiet / quantum of dogwood & gum”—a boy’s experiment with a homemade weapon proves to be transformative. In “Our Side of the Creek,” the poet is attuned to the ominous: “The Jim Crow birds sang / of persimmon & mayhaw / after a 12-gauge shotgun / sounded in the mossy woods.” Komunyakaa, who won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1994, writes majestic yet deeply human poems that make this a collection to savor.

In his innovative and urgent first collection, The Perseverance, British Jamaican poet Raymond Antrobus reflects on finding his place in poetry as a deaf person. In “Echo,” he writes, “Even though I have not heard / the golden decibel of angels, / I have been living in a noiseless / palace where the doorbell is pulsating / light and I am able to answer.”

Themes of misunderstanding and the nature of communication run through Antrobus’ work. “When you tell someone you read lips you / become a mysterious captain,” he says in “I Move Through London Like a Hotep,” which takes its title from a misheard phrase. Throughout the collection, he adopts different forms and registers with the ease of a seasoned writer. His appealing book, which has already received numerous honors, including the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry, deserves a wide readership.

Update: April 7, 2022
Headline updated to reflect attribution to Rita Dove.

In the pages of these poetry collections, you’ll meet three extraordinary poets whose work provides prismatic perspectives on the human experience.
NonfictionBlack HistoryBiography

Book Clubs: May 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

These terrific titles shed new light on fascinating figures and monumental moments that have shaped our world today, and will make you wish you had read them years ago.

Erica Armstrong Dunbar illuminates the life of a freedom fighter in Never Caught: The Washingtons’ Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge. Born into enslavement in Mount Vernon, Virginia, Ona Judge moved with George and Martha Washington to Philadelphia, where, under Pennsylvania law, enslaved people were to be freed after six months—an edict Washington flouted. When Judge fled the Washington household, she became the center of a protracted search. Books clubs may view Washington in a new light after reading Dunbar’s revealing narrative, which also explores social justice, gender and notions of heroism.

In The Compton Cowboys: The New Generation of Cowboys in America's Urban Heartland, Walter Thompson-Hernández tells the remarkable story of the Compton, California, ranch where local youngsters have the opportunity to learn firsthand about the long history of America’s Black cowboys. The narrative focuses on a core group of characters, including single mother Keiara, who hopes to win a rodeo championship. A lively blend of reportage and history, the book provides a fundamental new perspective on the concept of the American cowboy and its legacy within the Black community.

Gareth Russell’s Young and Damned and Fair: The Life of Catherine Howard, Fifth Wife of King Henry VIII provides fresh insight into the life of Catherine Howard, whose brief reign as queen of England ended when she was charged with treason and executed. Too often a side character in the story of her husband, Catherine is given new depth and dimension in Russell’s narrative, which focuses on her innermost circle and explores the court intrigue that brought about her end. Rich in detail and talking points, including Tudor politics and the role of aristocratic women in the 16th century, this compelling biography is a can’t-miss pick.

In Midnight in Chernobyl: The Untold Story of the World's Greatest Nuclear Disaster, Adam Higginbotham delves into the mysteries behind the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl atomic energy station. The Soviet government tried to cover up the truth about the catastrophe, which sent radioactive clouds across parts of the Soviet Union and Europe. Incorporating newly available archival material and extensive interviews, Higginbotham pieces together the events that led to the accident and dispels the mythology that has since surrounded it in this darkly fascinating book.

These terrific titles shed new light on fascinating figures and monumental moments that have shaped our world today, and will make you wish you had read them years ago.

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Book Clubs: June 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

These four out-of-this-world science fiction and fantasy novels are perfect for book clubs.

Kacen Callender’s Queen of the Conquered tells the story of Sigourney Rose, whose family was killed when her native islands—and many of their inhabitants —were colonized by the Fjern. As the king of the islands prepares to select a successor, Sigourney focuses on avenging her family. Using her psychic gifts, she fights to survive in an atmosphere of suspicion and political intrigue. The first volume in the Islands of Blood and Storm duology, Callender’s novel is a fast-paced, epic tale that examines political oppression and the nature of power. 

In Unconquerable Sun, Kate Elliott introduces readers to Princess Sun, daughter of the daunting queen-marshal Eirene and next in line to lead the Republic of Chaonia. As she comes into her own as a leader, Sun is targeted by foes who want her out of the way. Inspired by the life of Alexander the Great, Elliott spins a suspenseful, imaginative sci-fi story with an unforgettable heroine at its center. With themes of gender, identity and loyalty woven throughout, this first installment of the Sun Chronicles has much to offer reading groups.

Inspired by a song from the rap group clipping., Rivers Solomon’s The Deep focuses on Yetu and her people, the wajinru, who are descended from pregnant African women who were cast overboard by slave traders while at sea. The wajinru live beneath the sea, and Yetu serves as their memory-keeper, recalling a tragic past that her sacrifice allows the rest of her people to forget. When the memories overwhelm Yetu, she heads to the surface—a decision that has fateful repercussions. Solomon explores individual agency and collective trauma in this beautifully rendered fantasy. 

In Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire, Mahit Dzmare, ambassador to the Teixcalaanli Empire, finds herself embroiled in a political plot after her predecessor dies. As she sets out to learn the truth behind the previous ambassador’s death, Mahit grapples with the customs of the Empire and faces a mystery that could bring about the complete destruction of her home space station. The first book in the Teixcalaan series, Martine’s novel immerses readers in a fantastical world of conspiracy and intergalactic exploits. Cultural differences and the importance of home provide a rich thematic underpinning, making this an excellent pick for book clubs.

These four out-of-this-world science fiction and fantasy novels are perfect for book clubs.

NonfictionWomen's HistoryNatureAmerican History

Book Clubs: September 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

These four provocative nonfiction books offer fresh perspectives on our nation.

A first-rate collection of essays gathered from Southern Living and Garden & Gun magazines, Where I Come From: Stories From the Deep South by beloved memoirist Rick Bragg provides unique insights into the author’s corner of America. In these brief but powerful pieces, Bragg’s curiosity ranges far and wide as he reflects upon personal interests (pickup trucks, Southern cuisine, country music) and more universal matters (race and religion). Offering a kaleidoscopic look at the contemporary South, this colorful compilation is sure to inspire rousing discussions. 

David Gessner takes readers on an unforgettable tour of the nation’s monuments and parks in Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt’s American Wilderness. Gessner gives an overview of the life and conservation work of Theodore Roosevelt and also shows how that work remains significant today as he visits Yellowstone National Park, the Grand Canyon and other sites. Subjects such as environmentalism and the future of public lands will get book clubs talking, and Gessner’s humor and incisive observations make him a wonderful traveling companion.

In Looking for Miss America: A Pageant’s 100-Year Quest to Define Womanhood, Margot Mifflin delivers a fascinating historical survey of the Miss America pageant. Using the contest as a gauge of the advancement of women in America, Mifflin traces its evolution from a tourist attraction in Atlantic City in 1921 to a scholarship contest 100 years later. Her brisk, spirited narrative will entertain readers even as it presents fruitful material for discussion, with topics as wide-ranging as the #MeToo movement and the role of pageants in society.

Ojibwe author David Treuer gives a fresh account of Native American history in The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee: Native America from 1890 to the Present. Blending history and reportage with personal narrative, Treuer sets out to show that, contrary to the story told in books such as Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Indigenous culture was not destroyed in the late 19th century. Rather, it is still alive and vibrant today. Authoritative yet accessible, his book is rich in talking points, including contemporary depictions of Native Americans in popular culture and the impact of the American Indian Movement.

These four provocative nonfiction books offer fresh perspectives on our nation.

NonfictionAnimals

Book Clubs: October 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

From ants to whales, these inviting nonfiction books offer eye-opening perspectives on animals.

In Fathoms: The World in the Whale, Rebecca Giggs considers the background and mythology of the mighty whale. Tracking the creature across centuries through a spellbinding survey of history, science and art, Giggs evaluates the whale’s enduring importance and shows how its relationship to the environment has altered over time. With stops in Australia and Japan, Giggs’ fluid account will captivate readers, and questions related to species’ extinction and environmental degradation will spark inspired dialogue among book clubbers.

Beloved naturalist Edward O. Wilson became intrigued by ants as a boy in Mobile, Alabama. That interest developed into a lifelong preoccupation, and in Tales From the Ant World, he shares personal anecdotes and scientific insights related to the insect. From the fire ant to the uncommon New Caledonian bull ant, Wilson looks at 25 different species. His book is packed with fascinating ant-inspired trivia and research stories, and Wilson’s always absorbing voice makes potentially dry subjects such as biodiversity, the world’s ecosystems and scientific methodology endlessly fascinating.

Patrik Svensson’s The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination With the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World sheds new light on an elusive animal. Although research studies related to the eel are plentiful, scientists still know very little about the fish. For example, eels have never been observed giving birth or mating, and they inexplicably swim back to the ocean near the end of their life, even though they spend the majority of their time in fresh water. Svensson chronicles the eel’s remarkable existence through a synthesis of history, science and memoir. Readers will find plenty to talk about in his compelling narrative, such as evolution and the limits of scientific research.

Jennifer Ackerman investigates avian traits in The Bird Way: A New Look at How Birds Talk, Work, Play, Parent, and Think. Providing a fresh take on our fine-feathered friends, Ackerman analyzes recent scientific research into bird habits related to communication, reproduction and feeding practices. She takes a multifaceted approach to her subject, creating a narrative that will cause many readers to revise their perceptions of birds as simple creatures. Book clubs can dig into rich topics such as animal cognition and species development.

From ants to whales, these inviting nonfiction books offer eye-opening perspectives on animals.

Memoir

Poetic realms of James Merrill

Review by Julie Hale

Knopf has begun republishing the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Merrill, widely considered one of the leading American poets of the 20th century. The first title on tap, Collected Poems, is a lavish, 885-page volume that spans Merrill's 50-year career, documenting the evolution of an artist. The book contains the whole of Merrill's published lyric poems, excluding (because it was too lengthy) , The Changing Light at Sandover, an epic work based on the poet's famous experiments with a Ouija board. Merrill, who probed both the worldly and spiritual realms the here and the hereafter seemed interested in everything: music and theater, history and myth, and, always, the act of writing itself. A poet of consistent elegance, Merrill, it seems, never missed a beat. In the years to come, Knopf will bring out Merrill's novels, plays and nonfiction, as well as a biography. For now, the man himself is immortalized in a new book by novelist Alison Lurie. Familiar Spirits: A Memoir of James Merrill and David Jackson chronicles Lurie's friendship with Merrill and his partner, David Jackson. Lurie, who knew Merrill for more than 40 years, covers a lot of territory in this little book, remembering Merrill's life with Jackson in New York, Athens and Key West, and ruminating on the supernatural forces that lay behind the composition of the mystical, mammoth Sandover. A mix of analysis and fresh insight, Familiar Spirits is sure to lend new dimension to an already multi-faceted figure.

Knopf has begun republishing the work of Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Merrill, widely considered one of the leading American poets of the 20th century. The first title on tap, Collected Poems, is a lavish, 885-page volume that spans Merrill's 50-year career, documenting the evolution of…

PhotographyArts & Culture

Wild things: stunning gifts from the natural world

Review by Julie Hale

Award-winning nature photographer Art Wolfe spent three years capturing the images in The Living Wild, a splendid volume of pictures that pays tribute to the natural world and the creatures who inhabit it. More than 140 species are offered here, including rarities like the never-before-photographed Bornean bay cat. Wolfe has a compassionate eye and, with the use of a wide-angle lens, has taken care to include each species' natural environment in his photographs. The results are miracles of composition and light. These pictures deliver not only benign pandas, furtive wolves and lanky camels, but the places where they live, from the green forests of China's Qinling Mountains to the golden dunes of the Gobi Desert.

A wealth of information on each species is included in The Living Wild. Also provided are the stories behind the shots. Authored by Wolfe himself, capsule summaries reveal how the photographer managed to capture each stunning image. Those interested in the seemingly serendipitous process that is nature photography will find the artist's anecdotes intriguing.

In addition to vibrant visuals, The Living Wild offers essays by some of the world's leading conservationists, Jane Goodall among them, who emphasize the book's underlying message of what's at stake in the new millennium: nothing less than the extinction of many of the animals depicted due to disease, overhunting and habitat destruction. While a few of Wolfe's subjects are what he calls the success stories of conservation animals like the gray whale and the bald eagle whose numbers have been nursed back to higher levels most of the creatures shown are living on an environmental edge. In the end, these timeless photographs serve as a reminder to the viewer that nature is not inexhaustible.

Art Wolfe is joined by other celebrated photographers in Wild Asia, a rich visual journey through the world's largest, most environmentally diverse continent. Asia's extent resists definition, writes naturalist Mark Brazil in the book's introduction, and the pictures that comprise this vivid volume prove him right. Focusing on a different geographical area in each chapter, Wild Asia tours the Indian Himalayas, the forests of Japan and the Russian tundra, as well as other locales. In cataloguing the creatures these landscapes support, Wolfe and company have taken pictures that distill the innocence and savagery, playfulness and brutality that make the wild what it is wild. Special features include the famously elusive Himalayan snow leopard and the world's largest lizard, southern Asia's Komodo Dragon.

Contributed by a group of renowned naturalists, Wild Asia's text is both accessible and informative, a fine complement to these first-class photographs. Without being heavy-handed, the book examines conservation issues, gently reminding readers that the natural diversity Asia offers is at the mercy of man. The companion volume to a 10-part documentary that appeared on the Discovery Channel in the fall of 2000, Wild Asia is nothing if not reverent, a breathtaking testament to a complex continent and the delicate alliance that exists there between species and environment.

Award-winning nature photographer Art Wolfe spent three years capturing the images in The Living Wild, a splendid volume of pictures that pays tribute to the natural world and the creatures who inhabit it. More than 140 species are offered here, including rarities like the never-before-photographed…

FictionPopular Fiction

Prep

Review by Julie Hale

Lee Fiora is a teen from South Bend, Indiana, attending the high-status Ault School on scholarship. Ault’s well-heeled student body includes some familiar figures a Barbie-ish blonde (named, affluently enough, Aspeth Montgomery), a hunky basketball star and a lonely gay student but Sittenfeld’s novel is more than a collection of stereotypes. With this unique and powerful coming-of-age novel, she tells the tale of an outsider who learns as she goes along how to cope in an unfamiliar world.

Lee’s decidedly middle-class upbringing is revealed when her mother and father arrive at the school for Parents’ Weekend in their shabby old Datsun. The weekend proves a catastrophic one for the humiliated Lee, providing her with a new perspective on the way families work. When she becomes involved with basketball hero Cross Sugarman, the experience is not quite as grand as Lee imagined. The growing pains set in as through various friendships and romances Lee comes into her own. As a narrator, she is endearing and awkward, with her own idiosyncrasies and obsessions, and the reader is drawn to her a loner in a world of wealth and social status.

Sittenfeld’s portrayal of this sensitive, tormented youth has won her comparisons to J.D. Salinger. Prep is a witty and wise debut novel that perfectly captures the essence of adolescence, but goes beyond the teen experience to encompass larger themes like identity and family.

Lee Fiora is a teen from South Bend, Indiana, attending the high-status Ault School on scholarship. Ault’s well-heeled student body includes some familiar figures a Barbie-ish blonde (named, affluently enough, Aspeth Montgomery), a hunky basketball star and a lonely gay student but Sittenfeld’s novel is…

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