Authors Share Their Favorite Books (So Far) This Year
Authors Share Their Favorite Books (So Far) This Year
May is "Get Caught Reading Month." These authors tell us about the best book they’ve read so far this year.
I want to note that I do not get paid to do these posts, I just love authors and the book industry. However, they do take time and energy to create. If you want to donate a few dollars to my coffee fund, which keeps this blog going, you can do so here: https://venmo.com/AshleyHasty or here: http://paypal.me/hastybooklist..
J.A. Adams
I’m a spy novel buff. Silverview, an intricate spy novel told as only a former MI5 and MI6 agent like John le Carré could tell it, doesn’t disappoint. The reader must decipher myriad clues during parallel plots replete with spies and aliases. We meet innocent and somewhat gullible Julian Lawndsley, erstwhile London businessman turned owner of a small village bookstore. We also meet unassuming Polish émigré Edward Avon, AKA Florian, AKA Faustus, not so unassuming after all. And then there’s Stewart Proctor, protagonist of the parallel plot whom we eventually discover is investigating Edward for espionage. Deborah Avon, Edward’s wife, is MI6’s “Star Middle Eastern analyst” targeting Muslims from her secure, bomb-proof bedroom, off-limits to her husband. Edward Avon, formerly a Communist, is also a former MI6 agent called back to service briefly in Bosnia during the Yugoslav breakup.
Deborah becomes aware that her husband hacked her computer and informs Proctor of the leak. As Proctor pursues Edward, Edward’s daughter Lily inches into Julian’s life and eventually becomes his lover. After Deborah’s death from cancer, Edward escapes Proctor and certain arrest with help from Salma, widow of a family of Jordanians, whose husband and son had been killed by the Serb militia while Edward was in Bosnia. We learn that Salma has been his secret true love and clandestine correspondent since he rescued her from the Serbs. Following Edward’s escape from Proctor, Lily tells Julian, and presumably the reader, “[Proctor] won’t find him…He’s gone to find his Salma. And that’s the last secret I’ll keep from you.”
Sometimes abstruse, the novel might not be for those who want a quick read; however, those who like to dig deep and decipher random clues will find a close read or reread rewarding. As a spy novel author myself and the author of Bomb Cyclone, I can well appreciate the intricacies of le Carré’s works.
Sarah McCraw Crow
Two books I've really enjoyed this year are Emilia Hart's debut novel WEYWARD (St. Martin's, March '23) and Katherine May's essay collection ENCHANTMENT (Riverhead, Feb. '23).
WEYWARD, set in Cumbria, England, is a multiple-timeline story of three women: Kate, who in 2019 is trying to leave an abusive husband; Violet, who in 1942 is a lonely teenager, isolated on her father's estate; and Altha, who in 1619 is tried for witchcraft. The novel slowly reveals how the three characters find their way, and how they're linked.
And ENCHANTMENT is Katherine May's follow-up to WINTERING. In this meditative, often lyrical book, May searches for ways to incorporate more wonder in her life, like cold-water swimming and visiting ancient healing sites. It's a lucid, restful book.
Linda Joy Myers
A Gentleman in Moscow was a satisfying, old fashioned novel, rich with layers of lives lived in a place I don't know, and in a time I can never visit except through the lens of this vibrant novel. People have said, well, it's a guy imprisoned in a hotel room for many years. That's the thing--his mind, his true inner life is not imprisoned. He is more alive than most of us, and we learn from him about freedom. Rich relationships evolve over the years, and intimacies, delicately presented, take place. Deep friendships, and of course, he has a window over the cultural and political shifts in Moscow. I was immersed by brilliant language and metaphors that made me laugh out loud. The novel is a delight, and one that I might even read again, which is saying something since I ready so many books each year. To immerse ourselves in a rich and layered book is one of the gifts of being an avid reader--so I recommend you read A Gentleman in Moscow at your earliest opportunity.
Mary Camarillo
My favorite book so far this year is Stacy Russo's "Beyond 70 The Lives of Creative Women." Stacy interviewed 21 creative women age 70 through 98 and affirms that life in the "third act" is a period of vitality, growth, courage, new possibilities, and re-awakenings. I can affirm this as well, as a novelist publishing her second book this year at age 71. What I particularly love about "Beyond 70" is the beautiful color renditions of the paintings, photography, mixed media, collage and sculptures. And of course, the personal narratives. As prose writer Sandra Gail Lambert says, "Every decade has been better than the last."
Stacy Russo is also a force. She's an artist, a poet, a novelist, a punk rock historian, a baker, a publisher, a librarian and a dog whisperer. She is not in her 70's but I can't wait to see what happens as her decades unfold.
Tracey Buchanan
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano is fabulous. The prose is spot-on, the characters are complex and believable, the setting is alive, and the emotion is powerful. I ached and cheered for the family and their loved ones. I grieved with them in their failings, losses, and misunderstandings and rejoiced with them for their victories. It's one of those rare gems that is both heartrending and life-affirming.
Farhad J. Dadyburjor
The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis kept me turning the pages late at night. Returning after 13 years with a book, BEE is a true stylist of the page. No one compares when bringing out the numb vacuity of the rich, coupled with truly grotesque violence. It’s an art that the author has perfected as seen in his classic American Psycho.
Carol Van Den Hende
I fell in love with Gabrielle Zevin's "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow" (2022). I loved her game design characters Sadie and Sam, her beautiful use of language, and the creative span over decades and across the continent. Zevin's writing is nuanced, not cliched. Quirky details dot everyday activities, making even the passage of time intriguing. In my own work, one of my characters deals with limb loss, like Sam does, so I was moved by her use of a Clownerina statue whose foot can't move; and even used this as an example of "objective correlative" in a craft chapter on POV. Her endings aren't neatly wrapped, but rather messy like real life. Since finishing "Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow," I've now read two of her other novels too!
Kathleen Basi
I've loved everything Erin Bartels has ever written. Her new release, "Everything Is Just Beginning," is a tender, uplifting story about a young man who crashes a party to try to make a break for himself in the music business and ends up finding a family and love. Music, kindness, forgiveness, self-discovery... there's just so much to love in these pages. It's everything we need in the world right now.
On the opposite end of the spectrum of "uplifting" (Ha!) is Mindy McGinnis' "Heroine." This is a raw, exceptionally difficult book to read, but it's an important one, tackling how good kids get involved in opioids. Sobering and important for all of us to read.
Lisa Braxton
My favorite book so far this year is a novel called Sisters in Arms. Based on the true story of the 6888th Postal Battalion (the Six Triple Eight), Sisters in Arms explores the untold story of what life was like for the only all-Black, female U.S. battalion to be deployed overseas during World War II. I loved the themes explored through the lives of the two main characters, fearless woman who thrived in spite of racism, sexism, and the expectations of women during that era. As I read, I felt I was right there in the 1940s.
C.R. Rice
I have been devouring the Birth of the Fae series! The last is about to come out so I just reread Locked Out of Heaven by Danielle M Orsino. I find myself going back to this book and series not just because of the complete immersion that the author is able to create, but because it has the most beautiful entry into any book.
I love the wonder of what ifs and message of creating something new for oneself no matter the obstacles that are thrown into your path. And who doesn't love a snarky mermaid?
Delise Torres
Someone Else's Life by Lyn Liao Butler. This is a locked-room mystery set in the island of Kauai during a storm. A stranger needs shelter and our protagonist lets her in. But is she really a stranger? Most of the story takes place during a few hours, with the two women talking, but their conversation is so full of tension, I couldn't stop reading! I found it so unique. It's twisty and unpredictable while also exploring complex themes of motherhood and mental illness.
Celine Keating
Fellowship Point, by Alice Elliott Dark, tops my favorites so far this year. I love novels of place, and it centers on an area of coastal land and its future. I was swept up in Dark’s descriptions of Maine, its history and natural beauty. Even more compelling, the novel offers a marvelous exploration of women’s lives through the friendship between two older women. Dark renders the women with wisdom and depth and sheer heart, and I fell in love with both of them. Dark’s prose is glorious and yet accessible, her style leisurely. Her writing brought to mind the writing of authors I love, like Virginia Woolf and Edith Wharton.
Erica Bauermeister
Little Monsters by Adrienne Brodeur (coming out July, 2023)
I read an advance copy of Adrienne Brodeur’s Little Monsters in one glorious gulp. She nails the various points of view of this dysfunctional family in a way that manages to be both wicked sharp and poignant at the same time. Her depiction of the bi-polar patriarch at the center is just perfection.
Anne Leigh Parrish
Lucy by The Sea by Elizabeth Strout - an excellent story about pandemic life and how it changed us all
Rob Samborn
Silk Road by Colin Falconer
The first in Falconer's suitably titled "Epic Adventure" series, Silk Road is a character-driven epic set in the years 1260-1261, about ten years before Marco Polo set off on his famous adventures.
This was my first book by Colin Falconer and it definitely will not be my last. Impeccably researched, Silk Road is a sweeping tale that follows Josseran Sarrazini, a Templar Knight, who is charged with escorting an exasperating Catholic priest from the Holy Land to the seat of Kublai Khan's kingdom. While the priest hopes to convert the entire Mongol Empire to Christianity, Josseran has other more pragmatic goals in mind--and secrets.
But the journey is far longer, arduous and more dangerous than either could have either imagined. Ultimately, Silk Road is a tale of love, loss, friendship, loyalty, and the misguided extent to which people will go in the name of religion and power. With rich, vivid descriptions and deep characterizations, Falconer draws the reader in and doesn't let go. It makes one wonder if that's his real name.
While the action is intense and the settings make me want to travel to the region, what I enjoyed most about this book was 1) the philosophical conversations and conundrums that are the driving force; and 2) a love story that develops. I don't want to reveal more about the love story out of fear of ruining it for the reader.
Jennifer Cramer-Miller
Delia Ephron's Left on Tenth and Mary Laura Philpott's Bomb Shelter top my list. I love how they both weave life's darkest moments with hope and humor—and ultimately remind us to believe in miracles, love our people, and find joy.
Katie Graykowski
My favorite read this year is "A Tempest at Sea" by Sherry Thomas. It’s the latest book in her The Lady Sherlock Series. It’s a fast paced story that keeps you guessing until the end.
