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The Hold List: Best of the bestsellers

Feature by the editors of BookPage

At BookPage HQ, we look at books months before they’re published. So it’s always a delight when something we adored finally hits shelves, and everyone else falls just as head-over-heels in love with it as we did. Here are five recent blockbusters whose climbs up the charts made us cheer.

Mexican Gothic

I have long lamented the waning of the gothic novel. We as a society need more women running around crumbling hallways in giant ballgowns, gripping candelabras as they uncover hideous family secrets. Even if Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s novel doesn’t kick-start a whole new wave of romantically moody thrillers (though it certainly should), I’m delighted that its success catapulted its very deserving author onto the bestseller lists. Putting a unique and elegant stamp on a genre is Moreno-Garcia’s signature move. She’s written what she called a “fantasy of manners” with The Beautiful Ones and a Jazz Age coming-of-age novel that incorporated Mayan mythology in Gods of Jade and Shadow. So of course her gothic heroine isn’t a timid wallflower. Noemí Taboada is a headstrong and glamorous socialite whose foibles and inner demons make her as interesting as she is heroic. And the ending? Let’s just say it would blow Daphne du Maurier’s hair back. 

—Savanna, Associate Editor 

Just as I Am 

Perspective is a tricky thing to hold onto—the present moment with all its immediate concerns sure makes a lot of noise—but a thoughtful memoir of a long and well-lived life can help you find your center. Cicely Tyson’s autobiography came out earlier this year, two days before the author’s death, and quickly hit bestseller lists. It’s more than a recounting of Tyson’s life as a groundbreaking actor, producer and activist; it’s also an examination of how a person can use their gifts to make a difference and the mindset required to act on that goal. Co-written with Michelle Burford, a founding editor of O, The Oprah Magazine, the memoir is structured chronologically from Tyson’s childhood to later years, revealing how her rise as an actor led to a singular purpose: to use her art “as a force for good, as a place from which to display the full spectrum of our humanity.” Because, as she writes, art must “mirror the times and propel them forward.” 

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Catch and Kill 

The world has had more than its fair share of breaking news this past year, so it feels somewhat nostalgic to revisit newsworthy reporting from the bygone era of 2019. Ronan Farrow’s explosively investigated book Catch and Kill delivers on every one of its subtitle’s promises: “lies, spies and a conspiracy to protect predators.” As journalist Farrow began looking into decades of allegations against film producer Harvey Weinstein, ranging from verbal harassment to sexual abuse, his life began to get tricky. His employer, NBC, got more and more antsy about the story. He received a rash of threatening anonymous messages on Instagram. And through it all, he had the distinct feeling that he was being followed. This book’s pacing is breathless, the twists increasingly twisty. At times it reads like a spy thriller, except better—because by the end of this electric story, real women who have suffered in silence for years are finally heard, believed and vindicated. 

—Christy, Associate Editor 

The Poet X 

Once in a blue moon, a YA book earns universal critical acclaim and achieves great commercial success. The Poet X, Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut novel in verse, was one such book. It won just about every award that exists to honor YA literature, including the National Book Award and the Michael L. Printz Award, and spent more than 20 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. You’ll understand why as soon as you begin reading it. The story of Xiomara, a Dominican American teen who discovers the light of poetry burning within her and reckons with the forces in her life that would see it extinguished, will set your heart on fire. I especially recommend the audiobook for your first read, since Acevedo’s narration draws out the meter and musicality of her accessible, conversational verses. I’m usually wary of sweeping statements, but in this case, one is merited: The Poet X is a perfect book that everyone should read. 

—Stephanie, Associate Editor 

Beach Read 

I picked up Emily Henry’s Beach Read last spring, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. With no travel plans on the horizon, a vicarious getaway to the shores of Lake Michigan was appealing, and during what were repeatedly referred to as “uncertain times,” the anticipated beats of a rom-com sounded especially soothing. Why not read about two authors trying out each other’s genres to beat writer’s block, and reluctantly falling in love? Beach Read hit these marks and then surpassed them to become one of my favorite types of reading experiences: a diversion with depth. The screwball vibe and snappy dialogue I had been looking for are there on the page. But as Augustus and January slowly open up to one another, the lighter threads of the story are woven into an honest exploration of grief, trust and the healing power of art. It’s a connection-affirming, generous novel that deserves its status as a word-of-mouth bestseller. 

—Trisha, Publisher

Here are five recent blockbusters whose climbs up the charts made us cheer.

FictionComing of Age

Book Clubs: April 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

Growing up is hard to do—but great fodder for book club discussions.

Swimming in the Dark, Tomasz Jedrowski’s electrifying coming-of-age novel, takes place in 1980s Poland during a time of political upheaval. After they meet at a summer camp, Ludwik and Janusz begin a secret, passionate romance, spending idyllic hours together in nature. But the two don’t see eye to eye politically, and their relationship is threatened by Janusz’s devotion to the country’s embattled Communist regime. Jedrowski portrays the intense connection between two men in a repressive culture with wistfulness and emotional authenticity. The novel’s rich exploration of themes like loyalty and identity, as well as its less commonly trod historical setting, make it an excellent reading group pick.

The Girl With the Louding Voice, Abi Daré’s accomplished debut, tells the story of Adunni, a 14-year-old Nigerian girl who harbors hopes of getting an education and leaving poverty behind. Adunni faces many challenges, including an arranged marriage, but she’s determined to live life on her own terms—and to help other women. Language plays a major role in this lively, inspiring story, and Adunni’s remarkable voice is one readers won’t forget. Potential discussion topics include gender norms, societal expectations and the importance of agency.

Philippe Besson’s Lie With Me is an unforgettable exploration of early love and a piercing analysis of social class and self-image. With true passion, the novel’s narrator, a successful writer named Philippe, recalls an affair he had in high school with a classmate. Because he’s the school principal’s son, Philippe keeps his love for Thomas, the son of a farmer, a secret. He doesn’t talk to Thomas at school, and Thomas senses early on that their relationship is doomed. Molly Ringwald’s (yes, that Molly Ringwald) translation from the original French captures the bittersweet emotions at play during a formative time in the young men’s lives.

Etaf Rum’s tense, dramatic novel, A Woman Is No Man, follows three generations of Palestinian American women as they try to reconcile arranged marriages and motherhood with their personal desires. The story of Isra, who immigrates to America with Adam, her husband, forms the backbone of the novel. Isra and Adam settle in Brooklyn, where she struggles with an overbearing mother-in-law. Isra eventually gives birth to four daughters, including Deya, who wishes to attend college in open defiance of family expectations. Rum explores Arab American culture in a multilayered narrative that’s rife with discussion material.

Growing up is hard to do—but great fodder for book club discussions.

RomanceFiction

Endearing novels explore Christian faith amid romantic and familial love

Feature by Edith Kanyagia

Three heroines weather tremendously difficult circumstances, uncovering and navigating unsettling details about their families’ histories with admirable grace.

★ A Dance in Donegal

In Jennifer Deibel’s debut novel, A Dance in Donegal, Moira Doherty travels from Boston to Donegal, Ireland, fulfilling her late mother’s dream that her daughter would return to their breathtaking homeland. Moira endures the strenuous journey and arrives in the village of Ballymann, where the villagers’ reception is mixed. Donegal is a charming place, but despite Moira’s excitement, some of the villagers’ disconcerting remarks send her in search of the truth about her mother. In the process, a romance blossoms between Moira and a handsome, honorable thatcher who defends her against the villagers’ prejudice and hostility.

Deibel’s descriptions of Ireland’s landscape, enticing cuisine, sonorous language and vibrant culture converge to form a spectacular background for the story. A gentle thread of suspense builds throughout, beginning with a strange dream Moira has at the story’s opening, which hints at her task in Donegal and her mother’s looming secret. There’s also a love triangle that keeps Moira on her toes.

As an outsider, Moira struggles to be accepted by the tightknit, superstitious Irish community, but she wins hearts through her powerful faith and her love for everyone she encounters. While unraveling her family’s secret and becoming immersed in Irish culture, Moira discovers her roots and finds happiness.

Her Every Move

As in A Dance in Donegal, the devastating details of a family’s history form the foundation of Kelly Irvin’s latest suspense novel, Her Every Move. When a climate change debate at a San Antonio library becomes the target of a tragic bombing, the event’s coordinator, Jackie Santoro, is identified as a key suspect.

Detective Avery Wick believes Jackie’s motive was to avenge her father, who died by suicide before the commencement of his criminal trial, and whose death left his family with a deep-seated resentment toward the city’s officials who leveraged the allegations against him. While detectives look into Jackie’s past, the real attacker threatens to continue his trail of destruction if his group’s demands are not met.

As these tense events unfold, Irvin dives deeper into Jackie’s and Avery’s complex personal lives, and as the pair gets to know each other, the professional boundaries between them become blurry. Though it includes a slow-burning romance and gripping details of chaotic explosions, the novel is, at its core, a heartwarming exploration of faith and friendship.

’Til I Want No More

The past also plays a critical role in Robin W. Pearson’s encouraging, family-centric love story ’Til I Want No More. Theodore is kind and loving, the kind of man that columnist Maxine should settle down with. Even her mother approves of him. But Maxine fights to maintain control of her feelings amid her premarital counseling sessions with Theodore—and the return of her teenage love, JD, whose presence threatens to destroy her future with Theodore and expose secrets that she has concealed for a long time.

Emotional scenes reveal key events from Maxine’s childhood and turbulent teenage years, when she felt unwanted. These early experiences contributed to her decision to settle down with Theodore before she’d properly dealt with her past, but grown-up Maxine sometimes still feels unworthy. The novel also includes Maxine’s articles about her family life, upcoming wedding plans and relationship with Theodore, adding another layer of context to Maxine’s life as the drama unfolds.

With help from her community, Maxine learns that by confronting her tangled past, she can face her future and discover her true self. Uplifting faith-based messages are included throughout, and the story’s easy pace allows time to take in each lesson.

Three heroines weather tremendously difficult circumstances, uncovering and navigating unsettling details about their families’ histories with admirable grace.
NonfictionFictionChildren's & YAMiddle GradeMemoir

The Hold List: Books served with a twist

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Life is full of surprises, but for avid readers, a genuinely unexpected twist is rare. After a while, the startling becomes predictable, the out-of-left-field ho-hum. We recommend these books for readers who are in desperate need of a shock—and these aren’t spoilers, because there’s no way you’ll see them coming.

Waking Lions

I’m not much for “gotchas.” Often when a book takes a long time to reveal its twist, I feel a little let down—either with myself for not seeing it coming, or with the author for trying to trick me. But when a story starts with a twist—or in the case of Waking Lions, two twists—I’m on the hook, as every page after such a destabilizing opening could shake things up even more. Israeli author Ayelet Gundar-­Goshen’s novel opens with the accidental death of an Eritrean immigrant, run over by an Israeli neurosurgeon’s SUV during an after-hours joyride in the desert. The next day, the dead man’s wife arrives at the doctor’s doorstep, having found his wallet beside the body, and blackmails him into tending the wounds of Eritrean refugees in a hidden desert location. The twists roll on and on in this provocative blend of thriller and social novel, its velocity never dropping, its controlled tension mirroring the ups and downs of a heart monitor.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Ninth House

Being BookPage’s mystery and suspense editor is a blessing and a curse. I can spot a disappointing ending a mile away, but I’ve also developed an unfortunately strong sense of pattern recognition. Superfluous character who is frequently mentioned or somehow involved in the plot? J’accuse! All this to say, I thought I had Leigh Bardugo figured out. I thought Ninth House, a wintry fantasy-mystery set among Yale’s secret societies, would be one of those books to which I would correctly guess the denouement but would enjoy regardless. As it turned out, Bardugo is smarter than I am. She planned for readers like me, and I fell for it hook, line and sinker. The rapt, breathless joy I felt upon realizing what her real game had been all along was one of my favorite reading experiences of last year.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

I Am, I Am, I Am

Nonfiction books don’t usually have twist endings—at least not in the conventional sense. When I finished Maggie O’Farrell’s memoir I Am, I Am, I Am, however, I reacted as I might have to a particularly startling mystery—gripping the page, mind reeling, trying to grasp the unexpectedness of its conclusion. The book is composed of 17 snapshots from the author’s life of all the times she’s had brushes with death: meeting a murderer on a trail in the woods, a childhood illness, a speeding car that clipped her side, dysentery, three near-­drownings, the perils of childbirth and more. These encounters ebb and flow over the course of the book as mortality approaches and recedes again in the rearview mirror. By the penultimate chapter, O’Farrell’s relationship with death reaches a crescendo, and I thought to myself, How could a close call get any closer? But keep reading. As it turns out, death has been just out of frame the whole time.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Toys Go Out

The subtitle of Emily Jenkins' unbelievably charming collection of stories about a little girl's toys is “Being the Adventures of a Knowledgeable Stingray, a Toughy Little Buffalo, and Someone Called Plastic.” Plastic takes center stage in the story “The Serious Problem of Plastic-ness,” in which she is dismayed by a book left lying open on the girl’s bedroom floor. Plastic is unable to find herself among the animals depicted in the book. Her distress increases when she reads in the dictionary that plastics are “artificial,” which “doesn't sound nice at all.” Only after a long talk with TukTuk the yellow bath towel (who has seen “a lot of strange behavior in her life as a towel”) does Plastic realize her identity. Jenkins has marvelously concealed key details about Plastic before this point, so the revelation of Plastic's true form feels like a delightful surprise for both Plastic and the reader.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

Sweet Tooth

Any reader of Atonement knows that British writer Ian McEwan is not afraid of a story-shaking ending. For admirers of that book, or any novel that sticks a difficult landing, his 2012 novel, Sweet Tooth, is a treat. In the early 1970s, fresh out of Cambridge, Serena Frome is recruited for the British secret service. An indiscriminate speed-reader who believes “novels without female characters were a lifeless desert,” Serena is assigned to recruit writers for a cultural propaganda campaign by posing as the representative of a literary foundation. This rather low-stakes spy game (which unfolds against an equally mundane, grounded portrayal of 1970s Britain, with its energy and labor crises) rolls out as planned—until Serena falls for one of the novelists. If you think you know where this is going, well, you’re not exactly wrong. But McEwan leverages the fungible line between fact and fiction and the power of stories, steering us toward a surprise ending that casts in a different light all that came before.

—Trisha, Publisher

We recommend these books for readers who are in desperate need of an unexpected twist—and these aren’t spoilers, because there’s no way you’ll see them coming.
Science Fiction & FantasyFiction

Book Clubs: February 2021

Feature by Julie Hale

Fight the winter doldrums with four fresh takes on the supernatural.

Danvers, Massachusetts, site of the 1692 witch trials, is the setting of Quan Barry’s enchanting novel We Ride Upon Sticks (Vintage, $16.95, 9780525565437). The year is 1989, and the teenage girls on the Danvers Falcons field hockey team are desperate to get to the state finals, so they sign a pact of sorts with the devil. The pact seems to work, as the team hits a winning streak, and all manner of witchy teenage mischief ensues. As many ’80s references as a “Stranger Things” fan could desire and a group of unforgettable female characters make this a delightful read, and Barry’s exploration of gender roles and female friendship will spur spirited discussion in your reading group.

In TJ Klune’s fantastical tale The House in the Cerulean Sea, Linus Baker, caseworker from the cold, impersonal Department in Charge of Magical Youth (DICOMY), must decide if a group of enchanted youngsters poses a threat to the future of the world. When he befriends the odd bunch (which includes a gnome, a strange blob and the actual Antichrist) and falls for Arthur Parnassus, their kindhearted and devoted caretaker, Linus’ loyalty to DICOMY wavers. Klune contributes to the tradition of using speculative fiction to obliquely discuss the experiences of marginalized groups in this funny, inventive and gently told novel.

Stephen Graham Jones’ chilling The Only Good Indians tells the story of Lewis and his three friends, Native American men who left the Blackfoot reservation in search of a different life and who share a bond from a traumatic event in their childhood. When Lewis is visited by an ominous elklike figure, mysterious deaths start to occur, and the men realize that their past has—literally—come back to haunt them. Jones’ atmospheric novel is compelling both as a horror novel and in its treatment of guilt, social identity and the complexities (and dangers) of assimilation. The canny, surprising ways he combines Native history and traditions with horror tropes will give your book club plenty to talk about.

J.D. Barker and Dacre Stoker offer a spine-tingling supplement to Bram Stoker’s iconic Dracula with Dracul. Bram is the main character and narrator of Barker and Stoker’s Ireland-set tale (and yes, Dacre Stoker is the real-life great-grandnephew of the Victorian author). As a boy, Bram has strange encounters with his nursemaid, Ellen Crone, who seems connected to a series of local deaths. When Bram and his sister, Matilda, learn years later that Ellen is a member of the bloodsucking undead, they find themselves in the center of a terrifying mystery. Reading groups will enjoy making connections between Stoker’s original story and this creepy companion novel as they examine the conventions and devices of both supernatural narratives.

Fight the winter doldrums with four fresh takes on the supernatural.

FictionYA FictionYAMemoirComing of Age

The Hold List: Sweet & surprising love stories

Feature by the editors of BookPage

Typically in this column, the BookPage editors try to pick a topic that is an unexpected challenge—like books to read in public or our preferred characters to partner with for a zombie apocalypse. This month’s theme is perhaps the broadest it’s ever been, as these five books are all love stories, though not necessarily in ways you’d expect.

Jazz

In my opinion, Jazz is the most underrated of Toni Morrison’s books. As expansive and bold as Song of Solomon, as ardent and poetic as Tar Baby and almost (almost!) as tragic as Beloved, Jazz is a story of overwhelming, destructive passion. It was published just a year before Morrison won the Nobel Prize, and she was clearly at the height of her powers, with all her skills on glorious display in every passage. Take the descriptions of Joe Trace’s affair-­addled conscience, or the tense yet loving exchanges between Alice and Violet, or Golden Gray’s surreal backstory. Each of these story­lines shows the disastrous effects of love gone awry. Jazz is not a sweet love story, but that doesn’t diminish its beauty. The humanity, the depravity and the tragedy all elevate the story, and the characters are treated with the utmost sympathy. As with the finest of novels, the real love story isn’t on the page; it happens between the reader and Morrison herself.

—Eric, Editorial Intern

My Life in France

Is there another book more overflowing with love stories than My Life in France? Julia Child’s memoir about her years in Paris, Marseilles and Provence is a three-pronged romance about her love for France, her love for cooking and her love for her husband, Paul. (In the film Julie and Julia, Paul is played by Stanley Tucci, which makes him even more lovable.) From the moment Child sits down for her first meal in France—marveling at wine being served with lunch and wondering aloud what a shallot is—until, having established a French home-cooking empire, she lounges with James Beard at her summer home in Provence, she is a marvel of wit, candor and unpretentious enthusiasm for the pleasures of food. In an age when you might feel compelled to drape your excitement with a layer of irony, so as not to seem uncool, it’s cheering to read the story of one woman whose small dreams blossomed as she watered them with sincere love.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Wives and Daughters

The sheltered daughter of a country doctor, Molly Gibson finds her perfectly happy life upended when her father marries the snobbish, shortsighted and dictatorial Hyacinth Kirkpatrick. But there is a silver lining: her utterly fabulous, breezily charming new stepsister, Cynthia. In a lesser book, Cynthia would be an 1830s version of a Jane Austen mean girl, like Caroline Bingley or Mary Crawford. But due to author Elizabeth Gaskell’s ceaseless, penetrating empathy, Molly and the reader come to understand how Cynthia’s wit and flightiness serve as defense mechanisms, and how under all her glamour and coquetry, she is still just a teenage girl doing her best. Molly and Cynthia fall in and out of love with various gentle­men, but the most tender relationship in the novel is between the two of them—two girls who have found the sister they always wanted and who see the best in each other even when no one else will.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

The Darling

We all love a love story, but let’s be real: Damage can be done when we take too many cues from fictional narratives. Caridad, the fabulously complicated Latina scholar at the heart of Lorraine M. López’s novel, is particularly caught up in the messaging of classic love stories, and she spends this dramatic, often funny tale sorting through serial relationships and beloved books by white men. As she seeks answers to who she is, she calls upon works by Henry Miller, Gustave Flaubert, Leo Tolstoy and other notable dead white guys who wrote about women but danced around topics like female sexuality and motherhood. Classic literature lovers may recognize The Darling as an homage to Chekhov’s 1899 short story “The Darling,” but Caridad stands on her own in this tale of self-discovery, ambition and desire. As she tests the limits of her romantic relationships, it becomes clear that the most complicated entanglement is when you love a book but cannot agree with the vision of its creator.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Lovely War

Near the end of the criminally underrated film That Thing You Do!, Guy Patterson (played by Tom Everett Scott) asks Faye Dolan (played by Liv Tyler), “When was the last time you were decently kissed? I mean, truly, truly, good and kissed?” There are so many reasons to love Julie Berry’s historical fiction masterpiece Lovely War, not least of which is its delicious narration by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, but at the top of my list is this: It features the best kiss I’ve ever read. After being separated by the horrors of a world war, YMCA volunteer Hazel and British sharpshooter James reunite in Paris for one magical evening of dinner in a cozy cafe, dancing alone in a park with no music and then finally—well, I won’t spoil it. “There’s nothing like the rightness of it,” says Aphrodite. “Nothing like its wonder. If I see it a trillion more times before this world spirals into the sun, I’ll still be an awed spectator.” You will, too.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

These five books are all love stories, though not necessarily in ways you’d expect.
RomanceNonfictionFictionMemoirGraphic Novels & ComicsBiography

The Hold List: Books that are personal treats, just for us

Feature by the editors of BookPage

January may be a time for resolutions, but it’s also a time for celebrating all we accomplished the year before. We’re treating ourselves to these books as we begin the new year with hope.

Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too

How can something so cute be so devastating? In this comic book, Jonny (Jomny) Sun takes a goofy premise—a cute alien is sent to Earth to document human activity—and milks it for every drop of philosophical and existential wisdom. It’s sweet, silly, sentimental, but also frightening. At first, I was hesitant to choose this book for this month’s theme, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that its waves of emotion are a treat. It’s an indulgence and a wonder to step outside of your brain—all three pounds of tissue and synapses—and see the world through the eyes of a kind alien. And it feels good, life-affirming and joyous to know that I’m not the only one who’s so pensive about this life thing. This book is a friend—a friend who challenges you, but they do it because they love you.

—Eric, Editorial Intern

The Best of Me

I’ve read everything David Sedaris has ever written. I own every book he’s ever published. So perhaps some will call it “indulgent” or “difficult to justify” when I nonetheless buy his latest collection, The Best of Me, since it’s a compilation of previously published works. But here’s the thing—this isn’t just another retrospective volume of an author’s most popular works, selected on the basis of their fame. Instead, Sedaris chose each piece himself, based on a metric only he could know, and I’m curious to see which wild cards he included. I know, for example, that “Santaland Diaries,” which first launched him to fame on “This American Life” in 1992, is excluded. But that essay from Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim where he drowns a mouse in a bucket? It’s there. Surprise, delight, confusion, nausea—I’m eager for whatever reactions this book will incite.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Braiding Sweetgrass

It’s been six years since Robin Wall Kimmerer’s luminous collection of nature essays was first published, and I’ve given away every copy I’ve ever owned. That’s fitting: Braiding Sweetgrass endows its reader with the recognition that the world has offered us endless gifts, leading us first to gratitude and then to minidewak, the giving of our own gifts as thanks and recompense in a “covenant of reciprocity.” Kimmerer’s book inspires courage to fight for the Earth amid climate urgency, reveals new ways of knowing and seeing while protecting Indigenous wisdom and fosters a community that actively seeks to heal humanity’s relationship with the world. I’ll keep giving away copies of this book, but this special edition, reissued with letterpress-printed illustrations to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the fabulous indie press Milkweed Editions, will be a gift I give myself.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Catherine the Great

Do I need more biographical tomes of powerful, take-no-prisoners women on my shelves? Yes. Yes, I do. There is nothing that relaxes me more than sinking into an enormous book full of royal scandals and opulent palaces— bonus points if someone gets poisoned via byzantine plot. I read Robert K. Massie’s superb biography of Catherine the Great earlier this year, and I have been peppering my poor boyfriend with anecdotes about her ever since. For example: When Catherine fell ill early on in her engagement to Peter, the future emperor of Russia, she would pretend to be unconscious in order to eavesdrop on the people gathered around her sickbed. Massie loves Catherine even more than I do. He explores her glamorous court and magnetic personality with flair and precision in this absolute masterpiece of a biography.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

The Duke and I

I’m still pretty new to the wide and wonderful world of Romancelandia, though most of the books I read for pleasure in 2020 were romance novels. I bounced happily back and forth between contemporary and historical settings, from Helen Hoang’s The Kiss Quotient to Evie Dunmore’s Bringing Down the Duke. The only thing I love more than a happy ending is a new series I can dive in to and get lost in for volume after volume, and a friend who knows this about me recommended Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton books more than a year ago. Now that Shonda Rhimes is adapting the sprawling series for Netflix, I want to make sure I’ve read at least the first few books before I watch the first season of the show, which drops on December 25, so I’m planning to pick up The Duke and I and let it sweep me off my feet and into the new year.

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

January may be a time for resolutions, but it’s also a time for celebrating all we accomplished the year before. We’re treating ourselves to these books as we begin the new year with hope.

RomanceNonfictionFictionChildren's & YAMiddle GradeFamily Drama

The Hold List: Books that inspire good cheer toward humanity

Feature by bookpagedev

Sometimes empathy for our fellow humans can feel just beyond our reach. On those days, we want to shut out the world and escape from our differences. Fortunately there are books that reaffirm hope and help us feel patience for our neighbors once more, like breathing warm breath onto cold hands.

Ninety-Nine Stories of God

This book is pretty clear about what it’s offering: 99 stories from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Joy Williams, all of them in some way about God. In typical Williams fashion, though, Ninety-Nine Stories of God is far more than that. The stories here are short and strange, the longest no more than a few pages, but each is crammed with life. From Kafka and a fish to the Aztecs and O.J. Simpson, these stories highlight the absurdity and whimsy of being alive. A teacher recommended this book to me, but she warned me to curb my expectations: While “God” is present in each story, the book is really about humans and the strange things we do for faith. Praying, hoping, crying—it’s all crystallized in these short stories. Williams reminds us that God, however you think of God, is in people.

—Eric, Editorial Intern

Evvie Drake Starts Over

I hate Hallmark movies. So much so that I can’t even stomach watching them in a so-bad-it’s-good type of way. I get anxious the farther I get from an urban center, I break out in hives when faced with a quirky pun, and I have never really understood the appeal of New England. So it means a lot for me to say that reading Linda Holmes’ wry romance, Evvie Drake Starts Over, filled me with joy. The author’s warmth and humor radiate off every page, the sense of place (a tiny town in Maine, by the sea) is absolutely perfect, and then there’s the marvelous Evvie herself, she of the relatable breakdowns and perfect zingers and hard-won journey to happiness and love. This is an endearing little bundle of a book, and after finishing it, I considered, for the first time in my life, taking a trip to Maine.

—Savanna, Associate Editor

Flora & Ulysses

I love all of Kate DiCamillo’s books, but I love her Newbery Medal-winning Flora & Ulysses most of all. The miraculous, madcap adventure of a superpowered squirrel and the girl he loves, Flora & Ulysses is as honest about the possibility of goodness as it is about darkness and despair. In a world where tragedy can be “just sitting there, keeping you company, waiting,” Flora believes herself a cynic who can’t afford to hope. In fact, all of the characters have been, in one way or another, disappointed by other people. DiCamillo’s willingness to acknowledge how audacious it can be to hold on to hope amid uncertainty makes the book’s climax, in which so many hopes are rewarded, all the more moving. As one character says, “There is much more beauty in the world if I believe such a thing is possible.”

—Stephanie, Associate Editor

The Lager Queen of Minnesota

No one makes me feel good about the world quite like my mom and grandma, the relentlessly positive Minnesota matriarchs of my family. But their upbeat nature isn’t a willful idealism; rather, it’s a daily choice to take the hard stuff in stride, to make the most of it, because why not? J. Ryan Stradal’s Midwestern family drama takes me home. It’s got some ups and downs as two estranged sisters figure their way through a longtime divide, but it’s packed with redemption, as one of the sisters’ granddaughters makes a go of a new beer venture that promises to change everyone’s fortunes for the better. Behold the power of hard work and determination to heal nearly any wound. You’re never too old, and it’s never too late, if you’re willing to put a little elbow grease into it. Plus, there’s pie and there’s beer, and those are my two pandemic love languages.

—Cat, Deputy Editor

Cosy

The best way for me to show good cheer toward humankind is to spend time away from them. Call it introversion, call it misanthropy—the bottom line is that I can lose steam quickly when I interact with people, and it’s difficult to be charitable toward your fellow human when you’re cranky. This is where a book like Cosy becomes invaluable. From soups to tea to socks to soft lighting, Laura Weir is an expert at cultivating a space that’s warm, peaceful and snug, and she shares her insights in prose that radiates comfort. Need a cozy movie, hike, book or tipple? There are recommendations in every category, as well as atmospheric musings on the philosophy of coziness. Dipping into this book makes me gentler and more compassionate, and during a year when keeping your distance is a concrete act of kindness, Cosy is worth its weight in gold.

—Christy, Associate Editor

Sometimes empathy for our fellow humans can feel just beyond our reach. On those days, we want to shut out the world and escape from our differences. Fortunately there are books that reaffirm hope and help us feel patience for our neighbors once more, like breathing warm breath onto cold hands.
Science Fiction & FantasyFictionAudioMemoirHumor

Audio: December 2020

Feature by Anna Zeitlin

Some are short, and some are long, but the stories in these three audiobooks will sweep you away for hours.

★ The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

V. E. Schwab’s The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue is a rare, original fable that feels timeless. As a young woman in the 17th century, Addie makes a deal with the darkness, embodied by Luc, a trickster god. He grants her immortality with the caveat that everyone she ever meets will fail to remember her. Addie lives in the shadows for hundreds of years, roaming Europe and the United States, finding ways to get by and doomed to solitude, until one day, she meets a man who can remember her. This epic story, spanning three centuries and two continents, is expertly narrated by Julia Whelan. Her performance grows and changes with Addie, capturing her early French accent and her later American one, which still carries a slight French tinge. This is a transporting listen, and these characters will stick with you for a long time.

Black Bottom Saints

Co-narrated by Prentice Onayemi and Imani Parks, Alice Randall’s novel Black Bottom Saints captures the memories of Joseph “Ziggy” Johnson, a gossip columnist who founded a famed dance school in Detroit. As Ziggy recalls the men and women who touched his life from the 1930s to the ’60s, he pays tribute to these heroes and toasts each one with a custom cocktail (recipes included). From local legends to household names like Count Basie and Martin Luther King Jr., each story shines a spotlight on Black excellence. Onayemi does a beautiful job narrating the book from Ziggy’s perspective, bringing gravity and a warm nostalgia to the telling. Parks plays Ziggy’s goddaughter, who is piecing together his story, and her modern sensibility provides a welcome contrast. Both narrators hail from Broadway, and they bring notable vitality to the narration.

The Best of Me

Arguably the king of audiobooks, David Sedaris returns with his greatest hits, The Best of Me, all selected by the author from his more than 25-year career. From imagined letters to the editor to quirky stories about his large family, this collection gathers all the favorites in one place. Sedaris narrates the audiobook as only he can, his distinct voice emphasizing the odd observations that make his perspective so unique. This is a perfect point of introduction to an expansive and celebrated opus.

Some are short, and some are long, but the stories in these three audiobooks will sweep you away for hours.

MusicArts & Culture

Face the music

Review by Martin Brady

At the top of the holiday wish list for many music lovers is With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars by Jonathan Kellerman. Yes, it’s that Jonathan Kellerman, the best – selling suspense novelist, who also happens to be a foremost guitar collector. Gorgeous multi – view color photos of each of the 120 – plus guitars in Kellerman’s personal collection are the big draw here, but the author also provides marvelous rundowns of how he came to acquire each instrument and what is so special about its design and musical properties. There are acoustics and electrics of various shapes and sizes, brand names like Gibson, Martin, Fender and Rickenbacker, plus particularly rare instruments crafted by independent artisans, including a double – necked 17 – stringer. A foreword by former Police guitarist Andy Summers testifies to the jaw – dropping experience of viewing the Kellerman collection in person.

Roots music

Country star and longtime Grand Ole Opry member Marty Stuart has been hanging with legends since he was a teenager. During that time, Stuart has amassed a considerable collection of music – biz memorabilia, including his own on – the – road photographs and informal portraits, all of which are gathered in Country Music: The Masters. Stuart’s coverage of the greats and near – greats is comprehensive and often very candid, and even his blurred, snapped – on – the run photos have historic value. There are also pictures of elaborate costumes, tour buses, concert posters, song lyrics, instruments, album covers, etc. Perhaps best of all is Stuart’s gallery of gifted but generally little – known country music sidemen, whose talents have infused thousands of important recordings. The book’s cover shot of

Richard Carlin’s Worlds of Sound: The Story of Smithsonian Folkways tells of Folkways Records, which from 1948 to 1986 was the foremost source of seminal U.S. jazz, blues and folk recordings. Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly and children’s entertainer Ella Jenkins were the label’s leading artists, but founder Moses Asch and his team of traveling producers also searched the world over to record African, Asian and island music; animals; the sounds of cities and rural areas; poetry and political events. Asch ran things on a shoestring from his Manhattan office, but he provided opportunity and freedom to writers, singers and instrumentalists and developed a treasured catalog, all of which was purchased by the Smithsonian in 1987. This remarkable volume features noteworthy black – and – white and color photos of the artists plus fascinating album – cover reproductions and catalog lists. It also includes a CD sampler of representative Folkways cuts.

A lifetime playlist

With a virtually impossible task before him, music writer Tom Moon set out to select 1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener’s Life List. This all – styles wander through the greatest recorded music of all time finds Moon doing an honest job of trying to isolate the important artists and their work. His alphabetically arranged text is by artist, by composer (in the case of classical recordings), or by individual album title or song. In order to extend the coverage, Moon offers references to related important artists who don’t get a main entry. Hence, Burl Ives and Charles Ives sit side by side having made the grade, yet Moon can’t muster even a passing reference to the pop group The Four Seasons, whose incredible string of classic ’60s recordings certainly might earn a mention above the work of the Beau Brummels or sultry jazz/pop songstress Julie London. Meanwhile, the Smashing Pumpkins are only a footnote, which just seems wrong given the other contemporary groups who earned main entries. There’s probably too much Bart

Icons remembered

Already the author of a biography of Kurt Cobain – Heavier Than Heaven (2001) – Charles R. Cross now offers the late grunge rocker’s many fans Cobain Unseen, described as “a secret visual history of the things [Cobain] created and collected.” Cross’ text tends mostly to explore the youthful pain, obsessions, emotional difficulties and addictions that plagued Cobain but were also key motivators in the emergence of his powerful rebellious image and musical anthems. The book features many previously unseen Cobain family photographs plus reproductions of personal memorabilia including Cobain’s offbeat artwork, his informal writings and letters, song lyrics, early concert posters and samplings of the eccentric things he deemed collectible. The book includes an audio CD on which Cobain recites spoken-word material along with an interview with Cross about his research experience.

The Elvis Encyclopedia, by Adam Victor, is a valuable one – stop source of all things informational about The King. The A-to-Z reference covers seemingly every person, place and thing that touched Elvis’ eventful life, and it’s nothing if not exhaustive. There’s also a bevy of photos, many printed full-page, of Elvis onstage, in front of the movie camera or hobnobbing with family, friends and fans. Occasional typos creep into the text, yet Victor has certainly cast his net widely in search of rarely seen pictures, and on that nostalgic note alone his is a regal book – fit for a king.

The Complete Quincy Jones: My Journey & Passions is yet another paean of praise to a huge musical figure. This colorful, well – illustrated hagiography is generally chronological, from Jones’ early life in Chicago and Seattle, through his growing career as a horn player for ensembles led by Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, to his stint as producer of pop hits like Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” plus award-winning albums by Sinatra, Streisand and, of course, Michael Jackson (Thriller). The text also covers Jones’ work as a composer of TV and movie scores, plus his role as the mastermind behind “We Are the World.” Jones’ private life – three marriages, two notable affairs, seven children – is rarely discussed, but there is frank coverage of his life – threatening 1974 brain aneurysm and discussion of his humanitarian work. Big names provide the prefatory essays – Maya Angelou, Clint Eastwood and Bono – and Sidney Poitier’s afterword closes the book.

Hear my words

Paul Simon is one of America’s great popular songwriters of the past half century, and Lyrics 1964 – 2008 pays tribute by comprehensively collecting his songs, from the early days of Simon & Garfunkel (“The Sound of Silence”) through his solo period (“Kodachrome”) and on to his later ethnic experimentations (“Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes”). It’s a treasure trove for Simon’s legion of fans.

Grander still is The Complete Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II, a stoutly elegant compilation of 850 of the theatrical master’s song lyrics, arranged chronologically from early efforts and revue contributions through his incredible collaborative output with composers such as Jerome Kern (Show Boat, etc.) and Richard Rodgers (Oklahoma!, etc.). The text offers cast lists for Hammerstein’s many Broadway musicals, along with revealing tidbits about show history, song origins and lyrics that were cut from opening night or went unused altogether. Of equal note are the wonderfully printed production stills from stage and movie versions of the Hammerstein oeuvre, sheet music covers and photos of Hammerstein himself, hanging with family members and his composer buddies.

At the top of the holiday wish list for many music lovers is With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars by Jonathan Kellerman. Yes, it’s that Jonathan Kellerman, the best – selling suspense novelist, who also happens to be a foremost guitar collector. Gorgeous multi – view color photos of each of […]
NonfictionFictionAudio

Audio: November 2020

Feature by Anna Zeitlin

Beloved writers and big-name narrators make this month’s audio picks extra special.

★ Intimations

Written just a few months into the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown, Zadie Smith’s Intimations captures our current moment with astute observations, imagination and empathy. Through personal essays that focus on small moments to reveal profound truths, Smith notes how the virus is changing the behavior of her New York City neighbors. She also explores the ways that racism rages unchecked, as if it were another type of virus. It’s astounding that Smith, an award-winning writer of both fiction and nonfiction, has already gained such perspective on the present, an accomplishment that typically requires more time and distance. She is a gifted storyteller, and her narration makes it feel all the more personal. This is a worthy listen, even if just for the various New York characters who interrupt Smith’s proper British narration.

★ When No One Is Watching

The first suspense novel from critically acclaimed romance author Alyssa Cole, When No One Is Watching is a social thriller about gentrification gone extra bad. Sydney Green is living in her mother’s Brooklyn home when she notices the neighborhood beginning to change. She reluctantly teams up with Theo, one of her many new white neighbors, to research the history of the neighborhood for a tour she’s planning to give. When the neighborhood’s Black residents start disappearing in suspicious ways, Sydney knows there must be more going on. This raucously funny, shocking thriller, narrated by Susan Dalian and Jay Aaseng, will ring eerily true to anyone who’s lived in a gentrifying neighborhood. Dalian’s narration gives us a sense of Sydney’s no-nonsense attitude and sharp wit, while Aaseng gives Theo a chill, cool-dude vibe.

The Switch

In Beth O’Leary’s The Switch, career-focused Leena is forced into a two-month sabbatical from work, so she decides to home-swap with her newly divorced grandmother, Eileen. Leena learns how to slow down and connect with her new Yorkshire neighbors, while Eileen has a thing or two to teach everyone in the big city of London— and they both have fun exploring the men in their new surroundings. Narrators Alison Steadman and Daisy Edgar-Jones alternate chapters between the two perspectives. Steadman may be familiar to listeners as Mrs. Bennet from the BBC’s 1995 adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, and she brings the same level of sass to her role as Eileen. Edgar-Jones recently won over viewers in her starring role in “Normal People,” and she does a great job adding dimension to Leena.

Beloved writers and big-name narrators make this month’s audio picks extra special.</p

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