Good Reads & Views

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Fiction 

What it’s about: You’ll meet the fifteen members of the Turner family in this big story about a big Detroit family trying to decide what to do about their family home. While the story centers on a few of the thirteen Turner children, along with their parents, the author brings the secondary characters into clear focus.

Why you might like it: If you like compelling storytelling and moving stories about family relationships, this leisurely-paced novel will immerse you in the warm, messy, loving world of the Turner family.

Reviewers say: “Flournoy gets at the universal through the patient observation of one family’s particulars. In this assured and memorable novel, she provides the feeling of knowing a family from the inside out, as we would wish to know our own” (New York Times Book Review).

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Murder Book: A Graphic Memoir of a True Crime Obsession by Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell
Nonfiction

What it’s about: Like her mother and grandmother before her, New Yorker cartoonist Hilary Fitzgerald Campbell is obsessed with true crime. This memoir in graphic novel format explores the author’s fascination with the genre, her family’s intense interest in the topic, and our culture’s seemingly insatiable appetite for these horrifying true stories.

Why you might like it: If you, too, are a true crime reader who’s not exactly sure why you find it so compelling, this book is an engrossing exploration of the genre’s appeal. This graphic novel is an introspective, cleverly illustrated investigation of true crime reading habits.

Reviewers say: “Campbell uses a conversational tone and lots of humor to delve into the history of true crime and its various formats, including books, television, movies, and podcasts” (Booklist).

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Reclamation: Sally Hemings, Thomas Jefferson, and a Descendant's Search for Her Family's Lasting Legacy by Gayle Jessup White
Nonfiction

What it’s about: When Gayle Jessup White was a child growing up in Washington, DC, she heard murmurs about her family’s connection to Thomas Jefferson. As an adult, she learned via DNA and genealogical research that it was true: she is a descendant of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson.

What sets it apart: While there are other books about Jefferson and Hemings, this memoir is a captivating personal story written by one of their descendants. Full of revelations, this book describes Gayle Jessup White’s journey to become the Public Relations & Community Engagement Officer at Monticello. She writes movingly of the importance of giving voice to the previously voiceless enslaved people who worked at Monticello.

You might also like: The Other Madisons: The Lost History of a President’s Black Family by Bettye Kearse is also a thought-provoking memoir of a descendant of an enslaved woman and a president.

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I’d Give Anything by Marisa de los Santos
Fiction

What it’s about: As Ginny’s marriage dissolves amidst a scandal, she turns to her lifelong best friend for support. Then, when an old tragic event veiled in secrecy reemerges, it threatens to disrupt the lives of multiple families. Relationships are at the heart of this engaging, bittersweet novel—Ginny’s longstanding friendships, her close ties with her teenage daughter, and her reconnection with a lost friend from the past.

Why you might like it: Despite the difficult issues faced by the characters, the tone of this story is comforting and warm—and the writing is lovely and lyrical.

You might also like: Good Riddance by Elinor Lipman is another warm and witty novel about secrets from the past that turn people’s lives upside down years later.

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How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America by Clint Smith
Nonfiction

What it’s about: Clint Smith, a poet and journalist, visits slavery-related historical sites across America and analyzes the ways different sites and tour guides discuss slavery. Smith invites us to walk alongside him as he tours historic sites, interviews staff and visitors, and describes the experience of visiting places of great suffering.

Why you might like it: If you like books that blend sociology and history, this compelling book is a thought-provoking and moving look at both the present and the past.  

Reviewers say: Publishers Weekly says, “this is an essential consideration of how America's past informs its present.”

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These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
Nonfiction

What it’s about: In these warm and lyrical essays, bestselling novelist Ann Patchett writes about her three fathers, the independent bookstore she co-owns, her writing mentors, her love of dogs, and her relationship with knitting. When she writes about some of her most significant friendships, those are the essays that might break your heart (and you’ll count yourself lucky if you have such a friend).

What sets it apart: Because she’s Ann Patchett, the writing is beautiful and memorable and evocative. And because she’s Ann Patchett, her observations are heartfelt and honest.

You might also like: If you’re a reader of Ann Patchett’s novels, you’ll find the same warmth in her other nonfiction works: This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, an essay collection, and Truth and Beauty, a memoir.

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Texts from Jane Eyre by Mallory Ortberg
Nonfiction 

What it’s about: Imagine Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennet and Hamlet—all texting away on their smartphones. In this witty and whimsical book, you’ll get to spy on the text exchanges of famous literary characters. Reading some of literature’s most famous scenes played out via text message is both funny and thought-provoking. (Thank goodness they didn’t have smartphones back then!)

Why you might like it: If you enjoy books with quirky formats and razor-sharp humor, this book is for you. It’s also a great choice if you’re looking for a book you can dip into; read a short segment now, then pick it up later to read another literary character's texts.

What sets it apart: This book delightfully blends modern technology, classic literature, and humor. Since it satirizes (and celebrates) the classics, you get to feel smart for getting the jokes, even as you laugh out loud.

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The Guide by Peter Heller
Fiction

What it’s about: A remote fly fishing camp seems like the perfect destination during a worldwide pandemic. But in this atmospheric and menacing story, it slowly becomes apparent that the fishing camp is one of the most dangerous places to be. A fishing guide gradually realizes that the strange rules at his new job are hiding something terrible.

Why you might like it: This novel is a wonderful blend of lyrical writing, an intimate character study, and a slow-burn thriller with an intensifying pace.

You might also like: Also pick up The River by Peter Heller, the prequel to The Guide. While you can read each book on its own, they’re more powerful when read together. For a similar slow-build of the strangeness of a new home environment, read Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas—the story of a school with unusual and increasingly menacing rules.

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Mrs. Lincoln: A Life by Catherine Clinton
Nonfiction

What it’s about: We often refer to her as Mary Todd Lincoln, but she preferred to be called Mary Lincoln. And that’s just one of the corrections to the historical record that you’ll find in this eye-opening biography. Learning about the complexity of Mary Lincoln’s life before, during, and especially after the White House years reveals a fascinating, talented, flawed human being who struggled with the enormous challenges she faced.

Why you might like it: If you enjoy reading about controversial historical figures, you’ll appreciate this book’s evenhanded and detailed look at Mary Lincoln’s life. While history tends to focus on the tragic events of her life, this biography also describes her political interests and strengths.

What sets it apart: Catherine Clinton investigates several of the reasons why history has treated Mary Lincoln unkindly: her mental health struggles have been characterized without sensitivity, and some early Abraham Lincoln biographers set the mold by writing about her scathingly. By addressing these issues, Clinton provides a more nuanced view of this famous but misunderstood First Lady.

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Fiction

What it’s about: In this compelling, character-driven novel, family secrets and hidden desires hide just below the surface. Lydia Lee was a gifted high school student from a loving family, and when she died mysteriously, her family was shattered. As the story delves into each family member’s past, you learn of her father’s struggles as the son of Chinese immigrants, her mother’s pain at giving up her career, and Lydia’s own inner conflicts and secret life.

Why you might like it: If you like novels told from multiple perspectives, you’ll appreciate the gradual unfolding of this story as you read different viewpoints. Also, if you prefer a strong sense of place, you’ll enjoy the way Ng carefully constructs the 1970s Midwestern setting.

Reviewers say: “Ng constructs a mesmerizing narrative that shrinks enormous issues of race, prejudice, identity, and gender into the miniaturist dynamics of a single family. A breathtaking triumph..." (Library Journal).

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