Awe-inspiring reads all April long
Let the month of April bloom with a perfect balance of fiction and nonfiction reads to ponder.
“Mr. and Mrs. American Pie” by Juliet McDaniel. Social commentary in the form of a mad-cap comedy set in the 1970s. Zany, profane, but ultimately rewarding. Set to be a series on Apple TV+ with Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern.
“Still Life” by Sarah Winman. Stylistically, this is a 180 from American Pie, but ultimately it is about family, love, and loyalty. Winman portrays a group of people who become family in Italy and England. Her prose is soothing and detailed, with enormous attention to the beauty of art and architecture making for an atmospheric read.
“The Cartographers” by Peng Shepherd. A murder mystery centered on the map division of the New York Public Library. Revealing details of the book and map world when the director is found dead in his library office. His estranged daughter retrieves a portfolio with a “worthless” gas station map.
“Groundskeeping” by Lee Cole. Love affairs between young people set in and around Louisville, Kentucky, and how class, identity, and politics can tear us apart or force us to grapple with differences with those we love. A tenderly written story.
“The Fields” by Erin Young. Chief investigator Riley Fisher has some dead bodies to contend with in this Iowa-based thriller. If you have an intolerance for Big Ag and GMOs, you will love this book. Warning – descriptions of corpses are graphic, but you can skip those sentences if necessary.
“Rizzio” by Denise Minna. This is historical fiction – a novella actually. The gory details and backstory to the murder of David Rizzio, private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots. Fast, furious, and bloody as much of the political activity of that time was. A wicked read.
“Last Resort” by Andrew Lipstein. What happens when you steal an idea from someone and make a best-selling book from it? A twist on a similar theme from “The Plot,” but decidedly different. Enlightening view of book publishing politics and ethics.
For nonfiction readers:
“The Betrayal” by Robert Mazur. Undercover DEA agent Mazur tells the gripping, tense tale of his time with narcos and money launderers in Panama and South America. And yes, the corruption is everywhere – bankers, police, politicians. If you are a Don Winslow fan, as I am, you will love this.
“Free” by Lea Ypi. Memoir by the author who grew up in Communist Albania giving us a superb portrayal of living with constant oversight by The Party. Then suddenly Communism is overthrown and her family and country are “free.” But with freedom comes rampant financial dishonesty and upheaval.
“Indigo” by Padgett Powell. Short essays and stories by an award winning writer. Some are excellent, some not so much. But as I tell my husband about mushrooms, if you don’t like them, put them aside.
“The Unseen Body” by Jonathan Reisman. A simplistic description of human physiology. The author is amazed at his own skills as an urgent care provider. Skip this book and read Bill Bryson’s “The Body: A Guide for Occupants.” Far, far more instructive and hilarious to boot.
“Comedy, Comedy, Comedy, Drama” by Bob Odenkirk. Watching “Breaking Bad” introduced me to Odenkirk – I never would have guessed that he was at one time a writer for SNL and spent his career doing fringe comedy. Casting him as Saul Goodman was genius.
For more reads, visit beckysbookclub.com.