With the weather cooling off, we are now firmly into fall! Nothing is better on a nice fall day than curling up in a big sweater with your warm drink of choice and a good book. No matter if you’re in the mood to laugh, cry, learn, or some combination thereof, we have books for you!
If you loved Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld, read Chuckerman Makes a Movie by Francie Arenson Dickman
For those who love reading a story-within-a-story, Chuckerman Makes a Movie delivers – with a twist. The story inside the story is a movie script, based on Chuckerman’s childhood. The movie script offers wonderful insight to who he is today. This rom-com comedic coming-of-age story is sure to have you laughing the whole way through.
If you loved Seductive Poison by Deborah Layton, read Once You Go In: A Memoir of Radical Faith by Carly Gelsinger
Pine Canyon Assemblies of God may not be a cult as notorious as Jonestown, but the story is just as compelling. Desperate to belong, Gelsinger found herself speaking in tongues, slaying demons, and following her abusive pastor’s every word. This poignant memoir illuminates the beauty and danger of absolute faith.
If you loved Scared Selfless by Michelle Stevens, read Patchwork: A Memoir of Love and Loss by Mary Jo Doig
While Michelle Stevens has a photo of the moment her childhood was stolen from her, for Mary Jo Doig, it’s a bit more complicated. Long-repressed memories hold the key to understanding her insecurities, behavior and struggles with her relationships. A flashback on a starless night opens the floodgates, and she must piece it all together like a patchwork quilt.
If you loved Nourished by Lia Huber, read Sacred & Delicious by Lisa Joy Mitchell
Sacred & Delicious is part food memoir, part primer on Ayurvedic cooking (India’s traditional dietary approach to wellness), and part cookbook. With over 100 gluten-free and vegetarian (mostly vegan) recipes, this book celebrates the melding of ancient Ayurvedic wisdom with modern American palates and dietary needs.
If you love The Good Place, read The Afterlife of Kenzaburo Tsuruda by Elisabeth Wilkins Lombardo
Like Eleanor Shellstrop, Kenzaburo Tsuruda is dead. Both of their afterlives become dedicated to rectifying the mistakes of their lives and becoming better people. In The Afterlife of Kenzaburo Tsuruda, the Japanese beliefs about what happens when you die are correct, and Kenzaburo and his entire family are at risk of becoming Hungry Ghosts if he does not fix his mistakes.
If you loved Heartburn by Nora Ephron, read The Buddha at My Table: How I Found Peace in Betrayal and Divorce by Tammy Letherer
When her husband of twelve years announces that he never loved her and doesn’t believe in monogamy, Tammy Letherer is shocked. Letherer’s story of divorce and how she found peace in her ex-husband’s betrayal is honest, raw, and at times, painful. For anyone who’s been hurt, this book may help you find peace too.
If you loved Greetings from Utopia Park by Claire Hoffman, read The Burn Zone: A Memoir by Renee Linnell
As an adult, Renee Linnell accidentally joined a cult. After wandering into a meditation seminar, she needed more. She became further and further entrenched during the next seven years, at which point, she realized she was brainwashed. This memoir is an exploration of how we give up our power – and how to reclaim it.
If you loved The Buccaneer, read The Cards Don’t Lie by Sue Ingalls Finan
Like The Buccaneer, The Cards Don’t Lie takes place during the Battle of New Orleans in the war of 1812. However, The Cards Don’t Lie is inspired by the contributions of real-life women at the time. The lives and fates of a voodoo priestess, a plantation mistress, and a prostitute become intertwined as they join forces to defend their country.
If you loved A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Dorris, read The Same River by Lisa Reddick
Both of these multi-generational novels follow Native American women and their connection to water. Jessica Jensen has seen herself as the Nesika River’s protector since she was a child. When she discovers her boss is covering up her research that the hydro dam is threatening to destroy the river, she mysteriously connects with Piah, a Native American woman who lived near the river 200 years ago.
If you loved Enough Said, read Valeria Vose by Alice Bingham Gorman
Valeria “Mallie” Vose (née Malcolm) and her husband Larry have been having problems. She has discovered her husband has a mistress and is now dead. When Mallie and Larry go to a priest for counseling, Mallie’s relationship with the priest turns into an affair.
If you loved Somewhere Towards the End by Diana Athill, read Winter’s Graces: The Surprising Gifts of Later Life by Susan Avery Stewart, Ph.D.
Drawing on decades of experience, Stewart shows that the debilitating fragility often associated with aging is the exception, not the rule. In fact, there is plenty of unexpected good news about growing older. In Winter’s Graces, she highlights seven qualities that ripen with age. She weaves together research, anecdotes and user-friendly activities to strengthen these graces in the later stages of life.
Lots of great up and coming books, can’t wait to read some of them.