Quick Lit July 2018 Archives

The Selection

by Kiera Cass

From Booklist: "Cass’s immensely readable debut novel is a less drastic Hunger Games, with elaborate fashion and trappings. The fast-paced action will have readers gasping for the upcoming sequel."

Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process

by John McPhee

From the publisher: "Draft No. 4 is a master class on the writer’s craft. In a series of playful, expertly wrought essays, John McPhee shares insights he has gathered over his career and has refined while teaching at Princeton University, where he has nurtured some of the most esteemed writers of recent decades. In one essay, he considers the delicate art of getting sources to tell you what they might not otherwise reveal. In another, he discusses how to use flashback to place a bear encounter in a travel narrative, while observing that 'readers are not supposed to notice the structure. It is meant to be about as visible as someone’s bones.' Draft No. 4 is enriched by multiple diagrams and by personal anecdotes and charming reflections on the life of a writer. Throughout, Draft No. 4 is enlivened by his keen sense of writing as a way of being in the world."

There There: A Novel

by Tommy Orange

Orange’s multigenerational, multivoiced novel offers a nuanced glimpse into contemporary Native American life in Oakland, Calfiornia through the experiences and perspectives of twelve wide-ranging characters. As they prepare for the city’s first Big Oakland Powwow at the Oakland Coliseum, the lives of Orange’s diverse characters become intertwined: an aspiring filmmaker, a man who’s taught himself traditional Native dance with YouTube videos, a woman traveling to meet her grandchildren for the first time—on the condition that she remains sober. Orange says he wrote this novel to “try to honor and express fully all that it entails to be Native and be from Oakland,” and the early reviews say he nailed it.

Southernmost

by Silas House

From the publisher: "In the aftermath of a flood that washes away much of a small Tennessee town, evangelical preacher Asher Sharp offers shelter to two gay men. In doing so, he starts to see his life anew—and risks losing everything: his wife, locked into her religious prejudices; his congregation, which shuns Asher after he delivers a passionate sermon in defense of tolerance; and his young son, Justin, caught in the middle of what turns into a bitter custody battle. With no way out but ahead, Asher takes Justin and flees to Key West, where he hopes to find his brother, Luke, whom he’d turned against years ago after Luke came out. And it is there, at the southernmost point of the country, that Asher and Justin discover a new way of thinking about the world, and a new way of understanding love."

The Way Men Act

by Elinor Lipman

From the publisher: "Melinda LeBlanc, at 30, makes an untriumphant return to Harrow, Massachusetts, her recently gentrified hometown. She's unmarried, romanced out, designing wedding bouquets for old classmates who hadn't known a fraction of her early popularity. So why is she alone—not counting the occasional horizontal encounter—while these dull brides have found men and happiness? Libby Getchel, who designs strange dresses in the shop next door, and Dennis Vaughan, a native son who owns the hip Brookhoppers, a fly fisherman's paradise, provide friendship in mutating forms. The Way Men Act explores age-old quandary: Can you every truly go home again? Find out in this 'wise and charming novel'"

Quick Lit July 2018

The Selection

Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process

There There: A Novel

Southernmost

The Way Men Act

Find your next read with:

100 Book recommendations
for every mood

Quick Lit July 2018

The Selection

Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process

There There: A Novel

Southernmost

The Way Men Act

Find your next read with:

100 Book recommendations for every mood

100 Book recommendations
for every mood