If you're like me -- always looking for a great new read -- here are a few novels I consider sure-fire!
From the 10th Savannah Book Festival. On Saturday, 2/18, from 9:00 to 5:00, I heard talented authors speak in some of our historic city's most beautiful churches, museums and theaters. Dorothea Benton Frank delighted. Tess Gerritsen fascinated. Tama Janowitz endeared. Gerald Marzorati inspired. (So what if 60 isn't the new 40! It's a great time to find a new passion, work hard and improve!) Paulette Jiles made my fingers itch for my Kindle to finish News of the World. But far and away, the day belonged to Yaa Gyasi, who quietly held her audience in the palm of her hand. Like Colson Whitehead, who spoke Friday night, she spoke of the importance of history that is not manipulated but true, and how it should inform our lives and hearts today.
From Nancy Brandon. Nancy is a member of my writing group, the Savannah Scribes, and I had the pleasure of reading her novel as it was written. Set in Vidalia, Georgia in the early 1930s, Show Me a Kindness is rich in colorful, period details. As gentle, confused Marthanne Hendrix and Oma, her feisty second personality(!), lead a chorus of great characters through the story, you'll find it sings from start to finish. Show yourself a kindness and order this one today.
A New Favorite. My "Top Ten of All Time" list is always in flux, and Elizabeth Strout's My Name is Lucy Barton caused the latest shift. More? Here's my review.
From 2016. Belatedly, here are my hands-down favorites from last year. They include: Novels I thought I would love and did: Fates and Furies; The Goldfinch. Those that surprised and captivated me: Big Little Lies, The Mating Life. Novels that took my breath away: The Yellow Birds; Everything I Never Told You. Something charming: The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry. Something chilling: In Wilderness (on my Kindle, so not pictured). My choice for the year's best: Commonwealth.