Good Reads & Views

The Lager Queen of Minnesota by J. Ryan Stradal
Fiction

What it’s about: Edith is as sweet as pie, and has a loving marriage, but she struggles to make ends meet. Her estranged sister Helen can be manipulative, inherited the family farm, and built her own brewing empire. When Edith’s pregnant granddaughter Diana runs into trouble starting a craft brewery, Edith brings in her cadre of grandmother friends to help, but it isn’t enough—can she reconcile with Helen, and rescue the brewery?

Why you might like it: Sharp writing and delightful characters (beer-making grannies!) combine for a heartwarming and witty portrayal of Midwestern persistence.

You might also like: Try The Recipe Box by Viola Shipman for another heartwarming story about Midwestern families helping each other. American Pop by Snowden Wright is another family saga about entrepreneurs and familial conflict.

Visit Laura’s My Librarian Page

The Whole Town’s Talking by Fannie Flagg
Fiction

What it’s about: When Swedish immigrant Lordor Nordstrom founded the Missouri town of Elmwood Springs, he set aside a beautiful parcel for the town cemetery. Over the course of more than a century, this novel tells the interconnected stories of Elmwood Springs’s inhabitants—later the inhabitants of the cemetery after they pass away.

Why you might like it: A book about the dead might sound macabre, but in Fannie Flagg’s capable hands it is endearing and funny: “I went to your funeral and sent you flowers.” “Thank you. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to reciprocate.”

Reviewers say: “Flagg does a clever job of tracking her clan of interconnected families through the decades...[She] doesn’t stray far from her winsome and winning formula: adorable town with a cute history, check. Quirky characters, check” (Kirkus).

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Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Fiction

What it’s about: Who wouldn’t want to be a nanny to children who spontaneously combust? In this irreverent, engaging story, Lillian’s old friend hires her to take care of her stepchildren—whose special talent needs to be kept under wraps while their father is being considered for a Cabinet post. The stakes are high, and the situation is really weird. Completely original and full of surprises.

Why you might like it: If you enjoy reading wry, first-person stories about unconventional characters, give this book a try.

You might also like: Be Frank with Me by Julia Claiborne Johnson is another quirky novel narrated by a nanny.

Visit Stacey’s My Librarian Page

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
Fiction

What it’s about: Queenie’s long-time boyfriend requests a break, and in her heartbreak she spins out of control, stumbling (literally) from one bad decision to the next as she tries to get over her breakup with Tom. As she navigates her newly single status, she makes choices that endanger her job, her friendships, and her self-worth. It sounds like typical chick lit—the book has been compared to Bridget Jones’ Diary—but Queenie is a frank yet funny examination of racial stereotypes and the female experience.

Why you might like it: The prose is vibrant, the situations are humorous but engender empathy, and you’ll fall in love with the characters—the disarming Queenie, her Jamaican-British family, and her friends, the Corgis (called so because they follow the Queen around).

You might also like: New People by Danzy Senna, Americanah by Chimamanda Adichie, and Bridget Jones’ Diary by Helen Fielding.

Visit Laura’s My Librarian Page

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Fiction

What it’s about: When Emira is unjustly accused of having kidnapped the child in her care, a video of the incident goes viral. The child’s mother is an online influencer with an urge to fix others’ problems (while disregarding her own). Then add an unexpected twist or two… In this captivating #ownvoices novel about race and power dynamics, it’s fascinating to consider the characters’ points of view and motives. 

Why you might like it: If you enjoy reading books that are both page turners and thoughtful explorations of characters’ motivations, this book is for you. 

You might also like: Literary page-turner Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng also thoughtfully explores issues of race and class.

Visit Stacey’s My Librarian Page

Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout
Fiction

What it’s about: Retired math teacher Olive is back, and like its predecessor, Pulitzer Prize winning Olive Kitteridge, the novel is told in interlinking stories. Olive is now older and dealing with various changes in her life. Has age mellowed her? You be the judge of that.

Want a taste? “But we’re both old enough to know things now, and that’s good.” “What things?” “When to shut up, mainly.”

Reviewers say: “Beautifully written and alive with compassion, at times almost unbearably poignant. A thrilling book in every way” (Kirkus Reviews); “Exquisite” (Library Journal).

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Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Fiction 

What it’s about: Pride and Prejudice has been transported to modern-day Cincinnati!  Liz Bennet is a magazine editor and Fitzwilliam Darcy is a neurosurgeon in this hilarious retelling of Jane Austen’s classic. Level-headed Liz and sweet-tempered Jane come home from New York City after Mr. Bennet has a heart attack and find the family’s finances are in terrible shape.  Mrs. Bennet’s solution? Getting her oldest daughter married to an ER doctor who had appeared on a reality TV dating show.

Is it for you?  If you like character-driven stories with bantering dialog and witty narration, this book will keep you smiling, if not laughing out loud, all the way through.

Reviewers say: Sittenfeld’s “charming retelling is a delightful romp for not only Austen devotees but lovers of romantic comedies and sly satire, as well” (Booklist); “Sittenfeld's inclusion of a Bachelor-like reality show is a brilliant parallel to the scrutiny placed on characters in the neighborhood balls of Jane Austen's novels” (Library Reads).

Visit Kristin’s My Librarian Page

 

 

Donna Has Left the Building by Susan Jane Gilman
Fiction

What it’s about: A married couple hits a midlife crisis when recovering alcoholic and suburban mom Donna stumbles on her husband in flagrante with his dominatrix. Donna sets off on a wild road trip to reclaim her lost self, touching back on some of her major life points along the way. Another family crisis changes the direction of Donna's trip, and she is forced to look at her own troubles from a world perspective.

Is it for you? It’s larger than life, outrageously bawdy, and over the top, but relatable. If you appreciate racy humor and characters that make bad decisions with the best of intentions, you’ll enjoy Donna’s crazy road trip.

For fans of: Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple and Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner.

Visit Laura’s My Librarian Page

The River by Peter Heller
Fiction

What it’s about: A late summer wilderness canoe trip challenges the friendship and survival skills of two college friends as they attempt to avoid white-water hazards and outrace a wildfire. And then they encounter a man alone, who says he lost his wife in the fog. When the friends find her, she is so severely injured she can’t explain what happened. Was it the husband, or something else? Part heart-pounding adventure story, part lyrical and elegant nature writing, this is taut storytelling that will grip you to the very end.

Reviewers say: “The real delight is the nature writing. The River is a fiction addition to the New Landscape writing of Robert Macfarlane and Rebecca Solnit, prose so vivid and engaging that a city-dwelling reviewer can feel the clammy cold of a fog over a river or the heat of subterranean tree roots burning underfoot in the aftermath of a fire.” Denise Mina, New York Times, 4-9-19

Want a taste? “Late August, a clear night becoming cold. There was no aurora borealis, just the dense sparks of the stars blown from their own ancient fire.” Or this, “And the eagles. They seemed to mark the canoe's progress from the gray spires of dead spruce, spaced downriver like watchmen on some lost frontier...”

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Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson
Fiction

What it’s about: Lyrical vignettes reveal the inner life of each family member in this #ownvoices novel about three generations of an African American family. Through subtle, impressionistic character portraits, the reader gets to participate in the knitting together of this story about family traditions, love of parents for their children, and dreams for the next generation.

Why you might like it: If you enjoy reading books written from multiple perspectives and reading between the lines, this book’s structure and nuances will prove satisfying. Also, if you appreciate books that are short but powerful, this book is for you.

Reviewers say: “Woodson channels deeply true-feeling characters, all of whom readers will empathize with in turn” (Booklist).

Visit Stacey’s My Librarian Page