Book FortuneS by eliza borné
Our crystal ball predicts your next great read Reader name: Colleen Hometown: Plano, TX Favorite genre: Literary fiction Favorite books: The Snow Child (Eowyn Ivey), The Language of Flowers (Vanessa Diffenbaugh), Tell the Wolves I’m Home (Carol Rifka Brunt). Colleen wrote in with a sentiment that many readers will recognize: “I’m always at a loss when I finish a wonderful book,” she told me. “It typically takes me months to come upon another of that caliber.” It does sometimes feel like we’ll never find a book as good as the last one we finished, doesn’t it? Fortunately, there are many books out there that satisfy Colleen’s criteria for great literary fiction: “The language and writing are so important . . . there needs to be a rich depth to it to hold my attention.” But then, she writes, “What a delight to be immersed in the world the author is creating.” One novel that I think will especially appeal to a fan of The Snow Child—a magical story with a breathtaking Alaska setting—is Swamplandia! by Karen Russell, described in BookPage as an “exhilarating, remarkably inventive amalgam of the real and the fantastic.” Russell’s Florida Everglades are just as vivid as Ivey’s Last Frontier, and I know Colleen will enjoy fully immersing herself in this swampy world. When it was published in the summer of 2012, Tell the Wolves I’m Home received glowing praise in our pages. Reviewer Stephenie Harrison wrote: “Exploring the very bones of life—love, loss and family—this compassionate and vital novel will rivet readers until the very end, when all but the stoniest will be moved to tears.” Likewise, readers will enjoy falling under the spell of another debut author, Karen Thompson Walker, and her young
narrator in The Age of Miracles. This lyrical and poignant coming-of-age story hinges on an event that sounds like something out of science fiction, though Walker makes it seem perfectly plausible—the slowing of the earth’s daily rotation. Finally, one of my favorite books of recent months—one that will surely appeal to a fan of The Language of Flowers—is Y by Marjorie Celona, a debut novel about a baby abandoned at a YMCA. Celona alternates between the story of the child and of her birth mother. Told with vivid and poetic descriptions, Y is an exploration of the concepts of family and home.
New York Times bestselling author
returns to Blackberry Island with the story of three very different women whose friendship will change the course of their lives.
Reader name: Pam Hometown: Birmingham, AL Favorite genres: Mysteries and thrillers Favorite books: Gone Girl and Sharp Objects (Gillian Flynn), A Killing in the Hills (Julia Keller), Defending Jacob (William Landay), The Lifeboat (Charlotte Rogan). I suspect that Pam is not alone in wanting books that can live up to Gillian Flynn’s dark and twisted stories! After all, Gone Girl was far and away the #1 book of 2012, according to BookPage readers. One staff favorite is Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross, in which a husband who fantasizes about his wife’s death sees his guilty nightmare come true. Like Gone Girl, this novel has an unusual structure and many gasp-worthy moments that will keep you turning pages as fast as you possibly can. The Good Father by Noah Hawley is a natural pick for readers who enjoyed Defending Jacob. In both novels, the narrator is a father who is unable to believe that his son committed murder—though in this case, the son is an adult, and the victim is a prominent presidential candidate. This is a harrowing and heartbreaking story. Finally, I relish a good courtroom scene—and it’s even better if you’re not quite sure which outcome to root for. Like The Lifeboat, Midwives by Chris Bohjalian is filled with questions surrounding the cost of human life, and it is sure to incite passionate discussion in a reading group. For a chance at your own book fortune, email bookfortunes@bookpage.com with your name, hometown and your favorite genre(s), author(s) and book(s).
Discover Book Club ideas for the Blackberry Island series at www.BlackberryIsland.com.
“A well-written story of healing, letting go and making room in your heart for hope.” —USA TODAY on Barefoot Season
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