19 novels narrated by the author

Night of Miracles

by Elizabeth Berg

I've looked at Elizabeth Berg's work differently ever since Liane Moriarty said this author changed her life—and not just her writing life. Her new novel begins with a link to Arthur Truluv; many of the same characters reappear in her new novel, again set in the small town of Mason, Missouri. Berg writes warmly of sympathetic characters facing uncertain times, and leaning on each other (and a little big of magic) to find their way.

The Covenant of Water

by Abraham Verghese

At 736 pages, the much-anticipated new novel from physician and author Verghese is the longest book in the guide. He puts every page to good use, portraying three generations of an Indian family who suffer from what they have come to call the “condition.” For each of the past seven generations, at least one family member has drowned unexpectedly, even though they avoid the water. But this family is determined to find meaning despite the suffering they experience and anticipate. Unfolding in 20th century rural South India (with one short trip to Scotland), this is a sweeping tale of love, family, faith, and medicine. For fans of Verghese’s Cutting for Stone and Nino Haratischwili’s The Eighth Life.

The Night Tiger

by Yangsze Choo

BOTM Club called this a "magical tale set in colonial Malaysia. If someone told me there's a book out there that's part history, part love story, part coming-of-age, part magical tale... It sounds too good to be true. But here's the thing: This book exists. This is a book that has something for everyone. There's a central mystery to satisfy puzzle-solving readers. There's a will-they-won't-they love story to tug at the heartstrings of every romantic. There's a touch of magic for fantasy fans; a portrait of colonial Malaysia for history buffs; and enough family drama to please those looking for a moving saga. Equal parts nail-biter and heartwarmer, this book transported me into a world entirely unlike my own." For fans of Isabel Allende and Min Jin Lee.

Legends & Lattes

by Travis Baldree

What’s an orc to do after they retire from the mercenary life? Why, open up the very first coffee shop in Thune, of course. Viv is ready for a fresh start but she’s going to need help from new friends, whether that’s introducing people to coffee for the first time or handling rivals. This is high fantasy with low stakes and an interesting combination of fantastical characters with coffee shops, cinnamon rolls, and lattes, making for a cozy read.

With the Fire on High

by Elizabeth Acevedo

Seventeen-year old single mother Emoni has always been told she has a magical touch in the kitchen. She dreams of a career as a chef but she doesn't have the time or money for her school's new culinary arts class, not if she's going to still be able to work part-time and provide for her child. She's torn in a lot of directions but her passion for food is clear. Told in stunning prose, this novel captured my heart—and made me want to bake! Acevedo creates fabulous characters to root for, and you'll be cheering for Emoni as you listen.

Death Valley

by Melissa Broder

From the publisher: "A woman arrives alone at a Best Western seeking respite from an emptiness that plagues her. She has fled to the California high desert to escape a cloud of sorrow—for both her father in the ICU and a husband whose illness is worsening. What the motel provides, however, is not peace but a path discovered on a nearby hike. Out along the sun-scorched trail, the narrator encounters a towering cactus whose size and shape mean it should not exist in California. Yet the cactus is there, with a gash through its side that beckons like a familiar door. So she enters it. What awaits her inside this mystical succulent sets her on a journey at once desolate and rich, hilarious, and poignant.

Apeirogon

by Colum McCann

An apeirogon is a polygon with an infinite number of sides, an apt metaphor for this non-linear tale of the real life friendship between Bassam Aramin, a Palestinian, and Rami Elhanan, an Israeli. They form a bond through their shared grief and empathy after their daughters are killed in separate incidents. More than that, they want their grief to lead toward peace and lasting change. A timely heartbreaking yet ultimately hopeful read.

Signal Fires

by Dani Shapiro

This is Dani Shapiro's eleventh book but her first novel after a fifteen-year gap, about a single tragic event that changes the lives of one family forever, and those of the family next door as well. Despite being character-driven the story has a super plotty opener: on a summer night in 1985, three teenagers go out drinking, one of them gets behind the wheel anyway, and there’s a terrible accident. Someone dies, someone else lies about it—and the consequences will be felt for generations. This moving story spans fifty years as it slowly examines the many secrets held between two families with an unexpected connection, and reflects on aging, grief, love and redemption, and what it means to be a family.

Long Way Down

by Jason Reynolds

This tense and tautly-written novel-in-verse takes place in the short span of sixty seconds. Fifteen-year-old Will gets on the elevator with his brother's gun tucked into his waistband. His brother Shawn is dead, and he wants revenge. The elevator stops on the sixth floor, and Buck enters. He tells Will to check the gun; one bullet is missing. Did Shawn ever use his gun? And then Will remembers: Buck is dead. Another figure from Will's past enters a few floors later, and then another, all connected to Shawn. Each one reveals pieces of Shawn's story, and Will has a decision to make as the elevator reaches the ground floor.

Caramelo

by Sandra Cisneros

Every summer, Lala Reyes’ entire extended family drives from Chicago to visit her paternal grandparents in Mexico City. She begins to tell the story of Awful Grandmother's life, starting with the rebozos her family manufactured and the prize design Caramelo, with frequent interjections and corrections from her grandmother. A sprawling multigenerational family story with plenty of lies, secrets, and warmth.

The Guncle

by Steven Rowley

When Patrick aka Gay Uncle Patrick aka GUP is called in to take care of his nine-year-old niece Maisie and six-year-old nephew Grant after the death of their mother (and his best friend) at his brother’s request, he tries to get out of it. What does a former actor know about raising kids? But needs must and so to Patrick’s Palm Springs home they go. In the process, Patrick has to take stock of his fading career and finally grieve the past loss of his partner, all while shepherding Maisie and Grant through their new normal. A heartwarming exploration of grief and family.

A Thousand Ships

by Natalie Haynes

"Men’s deaths are epic, women’s deaths are tragic." Haynes seeks to upend that familiar narrative in this retelling of the Trojan War myth that centers the voices of women, girls, and the three goddesses whose feud started it all. While not shying away from the brutality of the ancient narrative, Haynes, a former stand-up comedian, laces her often difficult tale with a dark edge of humor. Nowhere is this more evident than in Penelope's story, which unfolds as a series of gloriously snarky letters to her husband Odysseus.

The Sentence

by Louise Erdrich

What to say about this book? By turns delightful and dreadful, it's set inside the very real independent bookstore Birchbark Books, owned by novelist Louise Erdrich, and takes place from November 2019 to November 2020. Wonderful and beautiful and at times laugh-out-loud funny, but also heart-stopping in its descriptions of the Covid-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd (which took place just a few miles away). Avid readers take note: this book about books includes more than 150 book recommendations, which are thoughtfully compiled in an appendix. Make sure to take a look at the back matter, or download the audiobook supplement if you read in that format, as I did.

Still Life

by Sarah Winman

From the publisher: "A captivating, bighearted, richly tapestried story of people brought together by love, war, art, flood, and the ghost of E. M. Forster. Tuscany, 1944: As Allied troops advance and bombs fall around deserted villages, a young English soldier, Ulysses Temper, finds himself in the wine cellar of a deserted villa. There, he has a chance encounter with Evelyn Skinner, a middle-aged art historian who has come to Italy to salvage paintings from the ruins and recall long-forgotten memories of her own youth. In each other, Ulysses and Evelyn find a kindred spirit amidst the rubble of war-torn Italy, and set off on a course of events that will shape Ulysses's life for the next four decades."

Wolf in White Van

by John Darnielle

Nominated for the National Book Award and Winner of the Alex Award, John Darnielle is best known for his band The Mountain Goats but he writes fiction too. After a disfiguring injury as a teen, Sean Phillips retreated from society and focused on creating the text-based, roleplaying game Trace Italian. He guides players through a dystopian America. Disaster strikes when two players take the imaginary game into the real world and Sean is called to account. Structure nerds, this one's for you: the story unfolds in the reverse, traveling back to Sean’s accident.

Thank You for Listening

by Julia Whelan

Two audiobook narrators find love in this meta take on contemporary publishing. Romance enthusiasts always roll their eyes when critical readers mock the “predictability” of the genre. In her long-anticipated sophomore novel, top-tier narrator Whelan (Educated, The Great Alone, and 2022’s Book Lovers) has a ball skewering the tired objections of romance skeptics as she takes us deep into the world of the field she knows so well. Actress-turned-narrator Sewanee is still recovering from a terrible accident that scarred her inside and out when she’s cast alongside the sexy and secretive Brock McKnight in a coveted project. Whelan clearly enjoys playing with the genre’s familiar tropes—snowed in, just one night, mistaken identity. With wittily named chapter titles (don’t miss them!) and great supporting characters, this sometimes steamy romance shows our heroine forgiving herself and finding true love. Open door. For fans of Emily Henry’s Beach Read and Linda Holmes’s Evvie Drake Starts Over.

A Tale for the Time Being

by Ruth Ozeki

A couple of years after the devastating 2011 tsunami, a woman finds a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the wave, containing a diary—washed up on the shore of her remote island home in the Pacific Northwest. The woman is an American novelist with writer's block; the diary belongs to a troubled Japanese schoolgirl who's contemplating "dropping out of time," by committing suicide. Ruth is determined to find the girl and get her help, but how? And even stranger—as she acts on the diary's clues and begins reaching out to people who may know the teen's family, the words in the diary begin changing. This was a WEIRD book, a real brain-bender. I found it fascinating, but heads up: the content is strange, sad, and gritty.

The Idea of You

by Robinne Lee

I picked this up after Claire raved about it on this episode of What Should I Read Next: it sounded like perfect travel reading, so I packed it for my trip to NYC. Kismet: because so much of the book is set in New York, I found myself walking by locations for key scenes, and even read about a dramatic event on 57th Street while I was reading in bed at a hotel on that same street! To her great surprise, 39-year-old gallery owner Solène falls madly in love with a 20-year-old member of the boy band August Moon, embarking on an initially secret and then all-too-public relationship that unfolds in glamorous (read: seriously fun to read about) settings all over the world. The premise feels a little bit squidgy, but Lee really sells it, believably showing their clandestine affair evolve into a serious and loving relationship. This novel is packed with BIG FEELINGS, lavish descriptions of luxe locales, and interesting details on the business of contemporary art. This is also very much a story about an "aging" woman reclaiming her sexuality: heads up for some seriously racy scenes.

19 novels narrated by the author

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