Good Reads & Views

The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves
Fiction

What’s it about: For fifty years a group of friends has met for reunions on the island where they all originally met during a school retreat. This time, one of them ends up hanged and DI Vera Stanhope and her team must find out what led up to the murder. Are secrets from the past to blame or are the motives for the murder of a more recent variety?

Reviewers say: "Cleeves crafts a clever central puzzle, then confers remarkable emotional complexity using her keenly drawn characters' advancing age, wistful nostalgia, and thorny shared history. A pinwheeling third-person narrative drives the pace, while Vera's candor tempers the plot's darker elements. Fair-play mystery fans will delight.” (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know:  The great Brenda Blethyn portrays the cantankerous but brilliant detective in a series of TV movies, available on dvd.

Marked Man by Archer Mayor
Fiction

What happens: A medical student working on a body that was donated to science discovers that the assumed “natural” death attributed to the cadaver might have actually been murder. Turns out the dead local philanthropist and millionaire wasn’t actually who he pretended to be and Joe Gunther and his team at the Vermont Bureau of Investigation look into the murder and others that follow.

Reviewers say: “it's been clear for quite awhile that Mayor's series--a perfect mix of character, setting, and story--is one of the best American police procedurals going” (Booklist Review); “Mayor matches vivid characters with clever plot twists. This is a perfect jumping-on point for newcomers” (Publishers Weekly).

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Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari 
Nonfiction

What’s it about: In this provocative and thought-provoking tome, Historian Harari (author of the international bestseller Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind) discusses achievements of the civilized world in the areas of disease, famine, and war, and speculates on humanity’s evolutionary goals for the future - immortality, happiness, and divinity.

Reviewers say: "Harari paints with a very broad brush throughout, but he raises stimulating questions about both the past and the future” (Publishers Weekly); “A relentlessly fascinating book” (Kirkus Reviews).

Want a taste?  “Every day millions of people decide to grant their smartphone a bit more control over their lives or try a new and more effective antidepressant drug. In pursuit of health, happiness and power, humans will gradually change first one of their features and then another, and another, until they will no longer be human.”

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Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen 
fiction

Starring: Caterer Claire, who works magic with food; Claire’s sister Sydney, who works magic with hair; and Sydney’s 5-year-old daughter Bay, who always knows exactly where everything belongs.

What happens: The Waverley sisters are long estranged, but when Sydney and her daughter are on the run from an abusive boyfriend, the one place Sydney knows they will be safe is her old childhood home.

Reviewers say: “... the blending of horticultural folklore, the supernatural and a big dollop of Southern flavor should find favor with a wide swath of readers” (Publishers Weekly); “Spellbindingly charming, Allen's impressively accomplished debut novel will bewitch fans of Alice Hoffman and Laura Esquivel” (Booklist).

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The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill
Fiction

What’s it about: DCI Serrailler has two murder cases to solve when torrential rainstorms unearth two bodies dating back 16 years. One was a missing girl, but who was the other and are their deaths connected? Quality-of-life issues also feature prominently in this sixth outing of the series.

Reviewers say: “Fully realized characters and efficient prose” (Publishers Weekly); "Fans and newcomers to Hill's series … will appreciate the characters' deep humanity” (Kirkus).

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Men in My Situation: A Novel by Per Petterson
Fiction

What it's about: After Arvid’s parents and two brothers perish in a ferry accident, his wife divorces him and takes their three daughters with her. For the next year, Arvid drinks, has many one-night stands, and often sleeps and drives around in his old Mazda, but fails to deal with his grief. Then the oldest daughter, Vigdis, reaches out to him for help and Arvid is finally forced to come to terms with the trajectory his life has taken.

Reviewers say: “Petterson has written a beautifully nuanced, deeply felt, and powerful story of survival” (Library Journal); “Petterson's bracing latest captures the rhythms and anomie of grief…” (Publishers Weekly).

Good to know: The narrative style here is almost stream of consciousness writing but with its often simple, yet elegant prose, it accentuates Arvid’s story instead of distracting from it. If you liked the author’s award winning Out Stealing Horses, you should also enjoy this portrait of a life going to pieces.

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Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
Nonfiction

What is it? A narrative history of humanity's creation and evolution that explores how biology and history have defined understandings of what it means to be human. The author uses three revolutions to explain how things came to be as they presently are: cognitive, agricultural, and scientific.

Reviewers say: “provocative and entertaining" (Publishers Weekly); "one of the exceptional works of nonfiction that is both highly intellectual and compulsively readable” (Library Journal); “The great debates of history aired out with satisfying vigor” (Kirkus Reviews).

An aside: This somewhat controversial international bestseller is an excellent choice to listen to on audio or enjoy in graphic novel format.

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The Blue Zones Kitchen: 100 Recipes to Live to 100 by Dan Buettner
Nonfiction

What is it? A cookbook that features culinary traditions of people who live in the Blue Zone regions of Sardinia, Okinawa, Nicoya, Ikaria, and Loma Linda; life expectancies are much higher there than anywhere else in the world. Each chapter features a specific region, the story of that region, the ingredients that may account for its unusual longevity, and simple recipes made with those same ingredients.

About the author: Buettner is the founder of Blue Zones, an organization that helps Americans live longer, healthier lives. His groundbreaking work on longevity led to his 2005 National Geographic cover story "Secrets of Living Longer" and a second, "The Search for Happiness," in 2017. He has authored several national bestsellers and is a National Geographic Explorer.

You might also like: The author’s Thrive: Finding Happiness the Blue Zones Way and his newest, The Blue Zones Challenge: A 4-Week Plan for a Longer, Better Life.

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Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Nonfiction

What it's about: Kimmerer is a trained scientist and uses her knowledge of botany and the stories of her ancestors to skillfully point out how we need to listen to the natural world. She covers the indigenous concepts of gift giving and gratitude and how plants and animals have much to teach us, if only we listened.

Reviewers say: “Anyone who enjoys reading about natural history, botany, protecting nature, or Native American culture will love this book” (Library Journal); “A smart, subtle overlay of different systems of thought that together teach us to be better citizens of Earth" (Kirkus Reviews).

Good to know: This is wonderful on audio. The author has a melodic and soothing voice and does an excellent job narrating. This also makes a good choice for nonfiction book groups.

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Bittman Bread: No-Knead Whole Grain Baking for Every Day by Mark Bittman and Kerri Conan
Nonfiction

What it’s about:  This simple approach to baking bread uses whole-grain flour in place of white, and a starter instead of commercial yeast. The “beginner loaf” came out so well we ate it all in one sitting. It was delicious!

Authors’ quote: “As it turns out, making the best bread mostly means two things: mastering natural starter—usually called ‘sourdough,’ though it’s not necessarily sour—and using real whole grains.”

Reviewers say: “After reading through the straightforward instructions and salivating at the recipes for crusty breads, pizzas, desserts, and more, readers will be excited to get started” (Booklist Review); “This hits the spot” (Publishers Weekly Review); “Another cookbook in which Bittman thoroughly learns a kitchen task, then deftly explains it to readers. Recommended for anyone interested in whole grains or easy, no-knead, naturally fermented bread” (Library Journal Review).

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