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I just read The View from Saturday by E. L. Konigsburg in one big gulp. The cover—four cups of tea in a yellow window—is burned into my brain from childhood but I don’t think I’d ever actually read it. I’m glad I got to experience it for the first time as an adult. It’s a wise, subtle, intricately plotted book for middle-grade readers that I would recommend to anyone. (Jia Tolentino is a fan, too!)
Next on my list is Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman, about the lives of young black women in Philly and New York in the early twentieth century. The way Hartman manages to write around massive gaps in the archives feels magical. I got it from the library when it came out last year and just bought a copy now that it’s in paperback. Worth it for the last chapter alone.
—Christine (Assistant Publishing Manager)
Like many members of the Hunger Games fandom, I eagerly anticipated the spring release of the series’ prequel, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Having stayed away from any reviews or synopses until after reading the book, I was horrified to discover that a young Coriolanus Snow is the novel’s leading character. But I should have had more faith in Collins. Songbirds and Snakes reveals the process for creating the Games as we know them, and President Snow’s behavior in the original trilogy is explained but not excused. Hunger Games fans should check out the latest addition to the series, even if it's just to embark on a 500-page Easter egg hunt.
Upon returning from Panem, I wasn’t prepared to enter another fictional world yet, so I turned to a memoir next: Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail. Orphaned and divorced before the age of 26, Cheryl Strayed tells the story of her healing process while backpacking alone for 100 days on the Pacific Crest Trail. As an experienced backpacker, I was able to reminisce about my own adventures, yet I was also constantly shocked by Cheryl’s unique trials. I will be adding more of Strayed’s work to my TBR list, but I don’t think she’s convinced me to hike the PCT.
—Dylan (Publishing Intern)
I’ve got some quarantine cross-country travel coming up and need book companions for a few different moods—some classic noir Americana with Library of America‘s Crime Novels: American Noir of the 1950s (The Killer Inside Me / The Talented Mr. Ripley / Pick-up / Down There / The Real Cool Killers); some broader perspective with Daniel Immerwahr’s How to Hide an Empire; and finally – finally! — I’m going to finish the Ferrante tetralogy.
—Nathan (Editor and Marketing Director)
I read The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett last weekend in one sitting. Short review: it’s great. I was a huge fan of her debut, The Mothers, and had it on my TBR list for some time. The novel is a multi-generational saga about twins in the Jim Crow South whose lives diverge when one disappears and decides to pass as white and the ramifications of that decision on both sisters and the next generation. Bennet is dealing with the big questions of self-identity, internalized and externalized racism, and generational trauma in an incredibly readable way. Highly recommended.
The other book I devoured was How Much of These Hills is Gold by C. Pam Zhang, which offers a needed corrective to the all-white mythos of the American gold rush. Beautifully written, this adventure story (again following two siblings) blends Chinese folklore into the traditional western epic in a way that feels refreshing. I’m still thinking about the ending a few weeks later — what more could you want from a book?
—Arielle (CFO)
I'm starting off the summer with a wild ride from Virginie Despentes: Vernon Subutex 1. Her no-holds-barred style is on point in the first installment of this trilogy (longlisted for the 2020 BTBA, and #2 is out soon!). If you haven’t taken the Despentes plunge yet, it’s time.
I’m balancing that out with The Aosawa Murders by Riku Onda—this gripping mystery had me hooked from the first chapter and hasn't let me go. Onda's documentary-style dive into a decades-old murder is a refreshing twist and has kept me guessing from the start.
Next on deck is Beyond Babylon by Igiaba Scego and, thanks to Verso Books, The End of Policing by Alex S. Vitale.
—Alison (Assistant Editor)