Fall Favorites
"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. '' Albert Camus
Fall is publishing’s busiest season and they often save their biggest authors for September and October. There are a lot of lists available online but here are 4 fiction and 5 non-fiction books I am very excited about:
Fiction
Death at the Sign of the Rook by Kate Atkinson - The latest addition to her Jackson Brodie Series. Her excellent writing and witt elevate this book above the usual mystery. I read an advanced copy and loved it! It’s clever and fun. (Out 9/3/24)
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout. She is linking her two literary worlds -Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton and apparently there is a mystery linking them. (Out 9/10/24)
We Solve Murders - After delighting everyone with The Thursday Murder Club Series, Richard Osman is bringing us a new set of characters. I read an advanced copy and am happy to report this new entry is phenomenal. (Out 9/17/24)
The Grey Wolf, Louise Penny’s latest (#19 ) in her Armand Gamach Series. (Out 10/29)
Non-fiction
Book and Dagger brings together two popular topics: books and World War 2. It highlights the role of literature professors, librarians, and historians in undercover and investigative work during the war. (Out 9/24).
The Barn - Publishers have highlighted this book to us as a stand out for fall. Though it promises to be difficult, I am hoping to gain a better understanding of some darker events in our country’s past. (Out 9/24)
Be Ready When the Luck Happens - Ina Garten’s memoir. After delighting us for decades with her love of France and her delectable yet accessible recipes, we finally get to hear her story. This is likely to be a great holiday gift book. (Out 10/1)
Meditations for Mortals - I have already dived into this book and love everything about it. Divided up into short essays to be read over four weeks, so far each one has resonated with me. I will definitely highlight this title when I have completed it. (Out 10/8)
The Serviceberry - By indigenous author and scientist Robin Wall Kimmer. Her book Braiding Sweetgrass is treasured by many. I am excited to read her beautiful prose again. (Out 11/19)
Other popular authors releasing books are Liane Moriarty, Matt Haigg, TJ Klune, Rumaan Alam, Sally Rooney, Richard Powers, Louise Erdrich, Jodi Picoult, and Ta-nehisi Coates.
Links to Bookish Things I Love :
I love this surprising list of books adapted to movies & this list of bookish movies.
This op-ed by Margaret Renkl for the NYT about her own collection of books is wonderful, particularly this quote:
I’m aware that a novel is not a thing. A poem is not a thing. Whether a story or a poem or an essay or an argument comes in through your ears or your eyes or your fingertips doesn’t change the alchemy that happens in reading: the melding of writer and reader, one human heart in communion with another, and with all the others, past, present, and future, who have read the same book. That magic is unrelated to the delivery system of a text. It happens whenever and however a person reads.
Note: Renkl has a beautiful guided journal, Leaf, Cloud, Crow: A Weekly Backyard Journal coming out this fall, as a companion to her phenomenal book The Comfort of Crows.
Book Styling ideas and tips for your home courtesy of Southern Living.
Lit Hub’s Literary Road Map reminds me of my own list of states that I am visiting through reading. I track the locations of books I read and want to hit all 50 states. This site has some great suggestions for my project.
Recent Reads
I devoured this suspenseful novel set in Northern Ireland in just a couple days. Not long but tautly written, Northern Spy tells the story of Tessa, who works for the BBC and is enjoying being a new mom to her infant son. One day, she sees a TV report showing her sister Marion stealing from a petrol station with known IRA members. Tessa’s world is rocked: her sister has gone camping, her sister isn’t interested in politics. As Tessa tries to come to terms with the new reality, she finds herself mixed up in the volatile and uncessing conflict in Northern Ireland. Her loyalties become frayed and tested. Berry does an excellent job painting realistic characters and familial relationships. Tessa’s son now plays a central role in the lives of her and her family - and his safety is paramount. Berry knows how to ratchet up the tension as the book goes along. A sequel, Trust Her, was just released this summer and I can’t wait to read it . [Published: 2021, Pages: 268]
The Housekeeper and Professor is a quiet book that is a hugely popular in Japan. Written by Yōko Ogawa, it was published in Japan in 2003, and translated into English in 2009.
I love this satisfying little Japanese novel so much. It is the heartwarming story of a housekeeper, a math professor, and the housekeeper’s 10 year old son Root as in “the square root.” Not a lot happens in this novel except that we get to know three people for a season of life. The housekeeper (unnamed) is hired to take care of the professor who has an unusual memory problem. Because of a car accident, he only has memories prior to 1975 and the most recent 80 minutes of his life. Every morning she reintroduces herself to him and takes care of him with the utmost of patience. When the professor realizes that she has a son home alone after school, while she is at work, he insists that the son come to his house instead. Over time the three develop into a sort of family. They talk about number proofs, baseball, and there is the quiet enjoyment of people that like being with each other. This is not a plot driven book, yet I enjoyed it so much, each character precious to me. I am so glad I came across this book. [Published 2003; pages 191]
I have struggled to find titles mystery titles that hold my attention this year. Fortunately towards the end of summer I was on a roll - God of the Woods, All the Colors of the Dark, as well as Death at the Sign of the Rook, and We Solve Murders have all been outstanding.
The Murders in Great Didling is another title that I enjoyed immensely. A well known author suffering from writer’s block has moved to the downtrodden town of Great Diddling. While attending a village fete on the grounds of a local estate, someone is murdered on the premises. A couple things made this mystery stand out for me: 1. I enjoyed the central protagonist - a curmudgeonly author, 2. about mid-way through, the villages host a literary festival and everything about that is delightful, 3. the found family elements tugged at my heart, 4. the mystery is engaging enough to keep me guessing till the end.
This is a great option if you are a fan of the Thursday Murder Club Series, Anthony Horowit’s Magpie Murders, and even Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone in My Family has Killed Someone. [Published: August, 2024, Pages 424]
A Season For That is the recollection of six months spent in the South of France. Steve and his wife make the big decision to move to a small town in France with their two school age children - both as a strategy to have their kids become fluent in French and to fulfill the author’s long held dream to immerse himself in French culture. After a rough start arriving and setting up life in Autignac, Hoffman and his family find ways to become part of the village, not just outsiders looking in. This book has a wonderful sense of place detailing their interactions with village shop owners, neighbors, and observations of the beauty they are now immersed in. Much of the book describes his fledgling attempts to cook locally sourced authentically French dinners (while his family rolls their eyes) and his work with local wine makers. There is a definite focus on the wine making process that would make this book a good read for anyone interested in the subject. It is also a great read if you have ever considered the expatriate life, even for just a season. Hoffman is an excellent writer but can spend too much time navel gazing in a self-deprecating way. While it begins as endearing, it soon grows tiring. This is a book, while not a complete hit, is still worth reading. [Published: July 2024; Pages: 368]