14 books about walking and hiking
I’m awfully fond of walking, in any season. And the beautiful (and warmer!) weather we’re experiencing right now where I
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I’m awfully fond of walking, in any season. And the beautiful (and warmer!) weather we’re experiencing right now where I
Host of The Habit: Conversations with Writers about Writing podcast, Jonathan Rogers uses Flannery O’Connor’s letters to prove that she wasn’t only a Southern Gothic, but also full of wit. This will make you want to revisit her writings or pick them up for the first time. From the publisher: “Flannery O’Connor’s work has been described as ‘profane, blasphemous, and outrageous.’ Her world—our world—is the stage whereon the divine comedy plays out; the freakishness and violence in O’Connor’s stories, so often mistaken for a kind of misanthropy or even nihilism, turn out to be a call to mercy. In this biography, Jonathan Rogers gets at the heart of O’Connor’s work. He traces the outlines of a life marked by illness and suffering, but ultimately defined by an irrepressible joy and even hilarity.”
It’s no longer the midpoint of winter, not exactly. That came and went ten days ago and because my mom
I’ve been wanting to read this ever since I read and loved her novel Eight Hundred Grapes. People Magazine calls this “A fresh funny take on the search for a soulmate.” And Entertainment Weekly says it’s “Fizzy, amusing.”
I love Kathleen Norris. From the publisher: “A celebrated poet transports readers to the heart of the Great Plains, examining her heritage, religion, language, and the land itself, revealing the contradictions of small-town life on the Great Plains. Kathleen Norris invites readers to experience rich moments of prayer and presence in Dakota, a timeless tribute to a place in the American landscape that is at once desolate and sublime, harsh and forgiving, steeped in history and myth. In thoughtful, discerning prose, she explores how we come to inhabit the world we see, and how that world also inhabits us. Her voice is a steady assurance that we can, and do, chart our spiritual geography wherever we go.”
This is the strong debut from now-established novelist Patchett. I enjoyed this one, and recommend following it up with her mini-memoir The Getaway Car, where she tells the story of how the novel came to be.
From the publisher: “An essential, surprising journey through the history, rituals, and landscapes of the American South—and a revelatory argument for why you must understand the South in order to understand America. We all think we know the South. But the idiosyncrasies, dispositions, and habits of the region are stranger and more complex than much of the country tends to acknowledge. This is the story of a Black woman and native Alabaman returning to the region she has always called home and considering it with fresh eyes. Her journey is full of detours, deep dives, and surprising encounters with places and people. She renders Southerners from all walks of life with sensitivity and honesty, sharing her thoughts about a troubling history and the ritual humiliations and joys that characterize so much of Southern life. Weaving together stories of immigrant communities, contemporary artists, exploitative opportunists, enslaved peoples, unsung heroes, her own ancestors, and her lived experiences, Imani Perry crafts a tapestry unlike any other.”
Entertainment Weekly calls this “a moving look at the value of human connection in a scary, chaotic world.”
Dr. Ruth Galloway is dedicated to her career as a forensic archaeologist and her two cats in Norfolk. When a child’s bones are discovered on a beach, the detective calls her in for help, suspecting they may be the remains of a girl who went missing a decade prior. Instead, the bones are revealed to be from the Iron Age, drawing Ruth further into the mystery. Then a second girl goes missing and the detective receives a sinister letter. They’ll have to work fast to determine if a copycat is on the rise. Readers tell me they love the atmospheric, remote salt marsh setting, as well as Ruth’s tart tongue and promising love interests. The fourteenth book recently released.
Shauna Niequist called this one of her favorite books: “Hamilton is kind of 50% Reichl, 50% Bourdain—a fabulous writer, irreverent and honest, with lush language and such immediacy and likeability.”
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