Prince Lestat by Anne Rice (Vampire Chronicles #11)
Lestat de Lioncourt, arguably the world’s most famous fictional vampire, deals with turmoil among his kindred in Prince Lestat, the eleventh entry into Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles. Because of her death last year, it’s a sentimental choice for me. Rice centers the...Sara Gruen — At the Water’s Edge (Book Review)
At the Water’s Edge by Sara Gruen is tepid historical fiction with unlikable characters in this fish out of water novel. Three feckless and privileged young Americans travel to a village in the Scottish Highlands to find the Loch Ness monster. Because of the journey,...Kali Fajardo-Anstine — Woman of Light (Book Review)
Kali Fajardo-Anstine delivers a portrait of womanhood in Colorado in her debut novel, Woman of Light. She tells the story of multiple women across three generations of an indigenous and mixed-race family. Moving back and forth across time, Fajardo-Anstine connects the...Naomi Hirahara — Clark and Division (Book Review)
Naomi Hirahara offers historical fiction and intrigue in her 2021 book Clark and Division. The time is the middle 1940s, which means that the story begins in Manzanar, one of the many World War II Japanese internment camps. As the Ito family considers leaving the camp...Ruth Ware — The Woman in Cabin 10 (Book Review)
Ruth Ware set her mystery, The Woman in Cabin 10, primarily aboard a small luxury cruise ship traveling into the fjords of Norway. Our main character is Lo Blacklock, a socially awkward London-based journalist. She scored a trip on the ship’s inaugural journey from...Larry Kramer — The Normal Heart and The Destiny of Me (Review)
Larry Kramer created seminal works of gay rights and AIDS epidemic history in his deeply personal plays, The Normal Heart and The Destiny of Me. Both plays revolve around Ned Weeks, a gay man living and working in New York City in the 1980s. They are heartbreaking and...Elsewhere by Alexis Schaitkin (Book Review)
Elsewhere from Alexis Schaitkin is a melancholy, unsettling book. The setting is an imaginary town, high in the mountains. It’s so near the mountaintop that the clouds settle in there during the evenings. And some mornings, the townspeople wake up to a terrible event....Alan Drew — The Recruit (Book Review)
Alan Drew creates a thoughtful mystery with multiple viewpoints in The Recruit. It’s set in 1987 and happens around a small city in Orange County, California. Drew uses a smart approach to his suspenseful story. He’s unafraid to confront the big issues of the day,...Genealogy — Personal, Societal, and Professional Perspectives
I recently read a few books that examine our individual and collective fascination with genealogy. At our house, we talk often about our ancestors and what we know or don’t know. Our son decided yesterday to start filming his dad when these discussions happen. Because...The Dragon Republic by R.F. Kuang (The Poppy War #2) — Book Review
The Dragon Republic is R. F. Kuang’s second book in her Poppy War trilogy. We follow the young shaman and soldier named Rin, along with her various friends and enemies. As expected, this book deals with the military and political fallout of book one (The Poppy War)....R.F. Kuang — The Poppy War (Book Review)
R. F. Kuang deftly combines history and fantasy in her epic The Poppy War, set in an alternative Asia. Based primarily in the China-inspired country of Nikan, it follows the ascendance of young military student Fang Runin, known as Rin. She’s an orphan living in a...Vaddey Ratner — In the Shadow of the Banyan (Book Review)
In the Shadow of the Banyan by Vaddey Ratner is about a gentle girl in a brutal country. While the book is fictional, its roots exist in the author’s own life. This enhances the intimacy of the tale. Young Raami is only seven when civil war overwhelms Cambodia. As a...Jonathan M. Metzl — Dying of Whiteness (Book Review)
Jonathan M. Metzl began researching his 2019 book Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America’s Heartland after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) passed. As a physician, he wondered why people who benefited from the insurance and health...Marc Petitjean — The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris (Book Review)
Marc Petitjean separates fact from family legend in his biography, The Heart: Frida Kahlo in Paris. He explores the veracity of the family stories about his father’s affair with Kahlo in 1939. She gave the elder Petitjean, Michel, a painting she titled The Heart as a...Bakari Sellers — My Vanishing Country (Book Review)
Bakari Sellers addresses a few themes in his memoir, My Vanishing Country. Primarily, he talks about being a young black man in rural South Carolina. But his family is also intricately tied to the Civil Rights movement, so this connection influences him daily. He also...Bookshop.Org Affiliate
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