Here are a few books I’ve recently read or plan to read soon:
The Last Days of Dogtown — Anita Diamant
I picked this up at a “take one, leave one” bookshelf at my Starbucks several years ago. It’s my fourth book for my Clear Your Shelves (and Kindle) Challenge. (This year I’ve committed to reading fifteen.) Based on a historical town in Massachusetts, Dogtown is a dying community peopled by widows, misfits, cads, and maybe even a few witches. Each chapter reads like a vignette and reminded me somewhat of Olive Kitteridge.
New Kid — Jerry Craft
As soon as this year’s Newbery was announced, I placed a hold at my library. This is the first graphic novel to win the award! Seventh-grader Jordan Banks is the new kid at a prestigious school. He has a lot to navigate, including being one of the few kids of color on campus. Honest, funny, poignant, and real, I suspect every kid will be able to relate to some part of Jordan’s story.
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America — Erik Larson
I remember first hearing about this book when we lived outside Washington, DC. I was listening to NPR as I drove not far from the Pentagon. (How or why I remember this detail, I don’t know.) My older son beat me to reading it when he picked it up a few years ago. With my own con man story in the works, I’m especially curious about this book.
Little Women — Louisa May Alcott
I haven’t read this since my last year in college. Time to pick it up again!
The Mortification of Fovea Munson — Mary Winn Heider
Last year, during my critique group’s annual retreat, Uma Krishnaswami sat giggling with this book about a girl who instead of going to summer camp gets stuck working in her parents’ cadaver lab. Uma teaches at the Vermont College of Fine Art’s MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults program, and Mary Winn Heider was one of her students. She left it with me to enjoy!
I’d love to hear — what’s on your nightstand right now?
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