FICTION
In Persuasion Nation by George Saunders (author of Lincoln in the Bardo.) Short stories by a writer with an imaginative mind, focusing on our immersion in advertising and buying.
The Briar Club by Kate Quinn. This work, set in an all-female boardinghouse, tells stories of family and survival. It is set in Washington, D.C., in the 1950s, with good historical background. The boarders come together, with surprises.
Three Days in June by Anne Tyler. In this short, wry new novel by the famous writer, a woman is passed over for a plum job, grapples with emotions surrounding her daughter’s wedding, and is faced with the unexpected arrival of her ex-husband on her doorstep.
The Road to Dalton by Shannon Bowring. This detailed novel by a Maine writer is about lives of residents of a small town in Aroostook County in 1990.
Sisters of the Heart and Snow by Margaret Dilloway. Two sisters grow up in a dysfunctional family that has strained their relationship. They know nothing about their mother’s Japanese origins. Their mother tells them to find the book that tells the story of a 12th-Century female samurai. Will that tale help heal their relationship?
The Money Lake by Rowland Creitz. In 1889 a weak earthen dam threatens a rural retreat for wealthy people. The main characters work to avoid disaster.
Learned by Heart by Emma Donahue. This historical novel, based on fact, follows the story of two girls who fall secretly and dangerously in love with each other while attending an English boarding school in the early 1800s. One is white, the other biracial.
NONFICTION
Backyard Bird Chronicles by Amy Tan. The famous author describes seven years of watching birds in her yard in California. The book includes her artwork. Very interesting and informative.
The Bookstore by Evan Friss. The history of the development of bookstores in the U.S. The work includes much historic info about books, publishing, etc.
The Great Displacement by Jake Bittle. This riveting book looks at several U.S. locations that have suffered recent climate-affected disasters and tells personal stories of those involved.
MYSTERIES
Unnatural Causes by P. D. James. One in the long line of her well-written British police mysteries featuring Inspector Adam Dalgleish. He vacations in Sussex and becomes involved in a seemingly impossible murder.
Malice by Lisa Jackson. A New Orleans detective thinks his mind is playing tricks. After an accident, he keeps seeing his dead wife. He goes to LA to investigate her death. Her friends are murdered and he becomes a suspect.