2019 Fall Book Preview Archives

The Dutch House: A Novel

by Ann Patchett

I love sibling stories and meaty family sagas, as well as stories told with a reflective, wistful tone. This one delivers on all counts. Cyril Conroy means to surprise his wife with the Dutch House, a grand old mansion outside of Philadelphia. But a symbol of wealth and success for some is a symbol of greed and excess to others—including, crucially, Cyril's wife—and the family falls apart over the purchase. In alternating timelines, we get the whole story, over five decades, from Cyril's son Danny. The audiobook is narrated by Tom Hanks.

The Water Dancer

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Ta-Nehisi Coates wrote a novel and I'm going to read it. Booklist says, "Coates brings his considerable talent for racial and social analysis to his debut novel, which captures the brutality of slavery and explores the underlying truth that slaveholders could not dehumanize the enslaved without also dehumanizing themselves. Beautifully written, this is a deeply and soulfully imagined look at slavery and human aspirations."

A Bitter Feast: A Novel (Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James Novels)

by Deborah Crombie

You should read this series in order. Crombie loves the classics like Agatha Christie and something I love about her series is that you get the characters' personal lives in every novel, but you also get the procedural and they have a strong sense of place. I love this British mystery series, recommend it highly for Louise Penny fans.

Olive, Again

by Elizabeth Strout

A follow-up novel to the 2009 Pulitzer winner Olive Kitteridge. From the publisher: "Prickly, wry, resistant to change yet ruthlessly honest and deeply empathetic, Olive Kitteridge struggles to understand not only herself and her own life but the lives of those around her in the town of Crosby, Maine. Whether with a teenager coming to terms with the loss of her father, a young woman about to give birth during a hilariously inopportune moment, a nurse who confesses a secret high school crush, or a lawyer who struggles with an inheritance she does not want to accept, the unforgettable Olive will continue to startle us, to move us, and to inspire us—in Strout’s words—'to bear the burden of the mystery with as much grace as we can.'"

Nothing to See Here

by Kevin Wilson

This weird and wonderful story focuses on a powerful Southern political family with one tiny problem: when their kids get mad, they spontaneously combust. The husband is angling to become Secretary of State, and may even run for president one day—but if the truth gets out, his career is over. And so the family calls on an unlikely candidate to step in as a nanny-of-sorts: an estranged old friend with a troubled past who has no idea what she’s in for. A surprisingly poignant meditation on friendship and motherhood, hopes and dreams, triumph and defeat, and a story about becoming your own person, and forming your own family—whether that’s the one you’re given, or the one you find. This is a SHORT book, so if you need some momentum in your reading life, this could be the ticket.

The Starless Sea: A Novel

by Erin Morgenstern

The writing is absolutely lovely, the premise is interesting. I'm finding it strongly reminiscent of The Ten Thousand Doors of January, which I loved. Whispersync audio narration available (I've heard some readers say they could ONLY enjoy it on audio, and some say they could NEVER enjoy it on audio ... so there you go).

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts

by Kate Racculia

Kate Racculia wrote the very weird book that so many of you LOVE, 2014's Bellweather Rhapsody. Erika Swyler, bestselling author of The Book of Speculation said, "Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts is so much fun it should be criminal. A mystery hidden in a game, hidden in a romp around Boston, with intrigue, a little romance, and a ghost? Perfection. Racculia has a gift for both humor and creating deeply relatable oddballs. Genuinely funny, whip-smart, and at times profound, it is a novel that reminds us both of the pure joy of play, and the importance of finding people who matter."

This Tender Land

by William Kent Krueger

This tough and tender coming-of–age story is Part Grapes of Wrath and part Huckleberry Finn, while mirroring The Odyssey’s narrative. The tale centers on four Minnesota kids during the Great Depression, whose respective situations become ever more impossible due to human cruelty and circumstance. After a tornado demolishes the last of life as they know it, they realize no one is going to save them—and so they make a plan to save themselves that starts with escaping down the river in a canoe. Their little band by turns encounters kind strangers and others all too willing to exploit vulnerable children. For those of you who say my husband Will is your book twin: he loved this. An epic story, beautifully told, and one that contains perhaps the finest setup-and-payoff sequence I’ve read in years. Content warnings apply. For fans of Krueger’s Ordinary Grace and Jess Walter’s The Cold Millions.

Chirp

The Nanny: A Novel

by Gilly Macmillan

I've read and enjoyed previous books by Macmillan, like What She Knew and The Perfect Girl. I wasn't sure if I was going to read this one, but then my mystery-loving (and mystery-writing loving friends chimed to tell me how much they loved it. One reviewer described this as "a twisted version of Downton Abbey gone very, very wrong."

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

by Alix E. Harrow

I recommended this on a recent episode of WSIRN: episode 196 with Anudeep Reddy as a gateway fantasy, a fantasy novel for people who don't like fantasy. I loved this so much that we're reading this in February with the Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club. This is a literary mystery, a book about books, coming-of-age story, a tale of adventure and suspense and revenge, and tattoo artistry is a main theme. This was creative and inventive and lots of fun. Also note, this was great on audio.

2019 Fall Book Preview