I’m taking off for Asheville today! Thanks so much for your suggestions on what to do there (and feel free to keep piling them on!) I can’t wait to see many of you at Malaprop’s Bookstore tomorrow night (that’s Saturday, November 4) at 6 p.m. to discuss my book Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything and do a little literary matchmaking for What Should I Read Next LIVE.
I have another book tour stop rapidly approaching, this time near Indianapolis. Wild Geese Books is graciously hosting me in Franklin Indiana, Saturday November 18 at 1pm. Get your tickets here.
My favorite finds from around the web:
• 7 books to read while you wait to see ‘Murder on the Orient Express.’
• Man with one leg dresses up amazingly every Halloween. 5 of my 6 family members read—and loved—Josh Sundquist’s YA novel Love and First Sight, but I didn’t know much about the author’s personal life until a podcast guest clued me in. (That episode of What Should I Read Next is coming this Tuesday!)
• A secret to a happy marriage. “What I didn’t realize was that the longer you’re together, the more you have to talk about.”
• Don’t tell. How you make your art, that is. “It feels good, as someone who shares what feels like a lot of my process, to keep a little bit to myself, especially because this work is so new and I’m still figuring it out.”
• We shape our lives, and then our lives shape us. My episode of Create Your Now is live! This was so much fun to do.
New month, new Book of the Month selections:
I’m required to say this news is sponsored because BOTM sends me books sometimes, but I’ve been a happy paying customer for nearly two years now.
Readers, November isn’t traditionally a great time for new releases, but you’d never know it to look at this month’s Book of the Month picks. My BOTM shelf is full so I piled November’s new titles on top: Tom Hanks, Andy Weir (author of The Martian), Alice Hoffman, Krysten Ritter, and Louise Erdrich.
I read Future Home of the Living God earlier this fall and recommended it to Nicholas Siegel in episode 95 of What Should I Read Next (“Really weird stories you should totally read.”). Imagine The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Passage, and you’ve got this dystopian novel about right. I read it in two days, and thought it was extremely well done.
I was also happy to see Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None is a November add-on. I put off reading Christie for too long. If that’s you, this is a good month to make amends.
On the blog:
One year ago:Â Are you a plotter or a pantser? Exploring a divide in humanity, thanks to National Novel Writing Month.
Two years ago: 7 underrated memoirs that deserve a place on your TBR list.
Three years ago: Our Craigslist Christmas.
Four years ago: 5 concrete changes I’ve made because of Myers-Briggs and Enneagram insights.
Five years ago: Dress for the day; dress for the life.
Six years ago: I finally figured out why I lose my temper on Thursdays.
Have a great weekend!
5 comments
Maybe you’ve said before, but I always wonder how many books you read a year. Especially since you try not to repeat recommendations on the podcast, that means every year you’re recommending 140-150 different books. I know you have a lot of years of books to pull from, but I read a lot and I’d run out of books to recommend after a couple years at that rate.
I know this question seems out of the blue – the BoTM club triggered it. The choices were really good, but I only got two because I’m behind on previous months. It seems like you get all 5 frequently.
Asheville native here….do NOT miss Battery Park Book Exchange. Couple of minutes walk from Malaprop’s. Also, if you like used books visit Malaprop’s sister book store Downtown Book & News (also a short walk). If you don’t think you will be in the area again, I would visit Biltmore. It is beautiful, but can be an all day thing…so play that by ear based on your time. If you want to see a street with beautiful tress that’s close by…drive up Martin Luther (5 minute drive from downtown). It’s the street I work on and the trees are beautiful at this very moment (and it’s a good use of a limited time schedule). Hop up to the Grove Park, use the the self parking (free the first 3 hours) and walk around & check it out. If you have additional time, cruise over to West Asheville (my neck of the woods). Awesome, funky neighborhood and you can visit a couple of places on the river if you would like. Have a great time!
My husband and I just returned from a driving vacation to the Blue Ridge Parkway to see the Fall Colors! So beautiful! Before we left, my husband suggested that we download a couple of audio books for the trip. I checked your blog for some recommendations and had him listen to a sample of a few. (I was hoping for “Outlander,” but he wasn’t interested.) We ended up downloading “A Man Called Ove” and “News of the World” – we both enjoyed them a lot!
That brings me to suggest: Would you consider a post that lists fiction books recommended by men, for men (and women, too, of course)? Even if it’s a short list, it would be really helpful!
I just moved from Asheville to Minneapolis after living there for 6 years. I miss it so much! Have fun! Future Home of the Living God sounds good. I love a good dystopian novel!
so are you saying you pay $10/mo. for a certain number of months?