Happy Holidays! It’s been a while since I’ve written about the books I’ve been reading, so that’s what I want to do today.
As program coordinator for my local library, I organize author talks, host lectures and workshops, and lead two book clubs—one for fiction and one for science and nature. Several of the books below were either connected to an author talk I hosted or selections for one of these two book clubs. (I choose the books for the fiction book club, while the members of the science and nature book club decide what to read by group consensus.) Also as part of my job, I recently had the pleasure of helping to coordinate a series of literary lectures about Nobel prizewinner Toni Morrison, which inspired me to read Beloved, a book I’d somehow never read.
To keep up with all this reading, I typically “read” a combination of both print and audio. In the process, I’ve learned that some audiobooks are exceptionally well done, while others can ruin a perfectly good book. When listening to an audiobook, I almost always want to look through the print version at least once to understand the layout of the chapters, the use of white space, and the way that certain names and phrases are written. Occasionally, I also want to reread the print version of a chapter I’ve already listened to in order to make sure I fully understood what I heard. Other times, I’ll go back and forth between the two according to what I’m doing at the time. (I usually listen to audiobooks while walking or driving.) So I’ll also touch on the quality of the audiobook, where relevant.
Fiction
Beloved: A Novel by Toni Morrison (Knopf, 2019 edition [first published 1987]), audiobook narrated by Toni Morrison
Winner of the 1987 Pulitzer Prize, Beloved is about the desperate lengths a mother will go to to protect her children from suffering. Set in the US in the 1870s, the novel follows a family of former slaves haunted both by the horrors of slavery and by the ghost of a baby daughter killed years earlier. Although the subject matter is something few of us have experienced, the humanity of these characters immediately reels you in, making the story feel universal. Slipping in and out of time and point of view, this literary masterpiece requires a bit of work at first but is well worth the effort. If you haven’t yet read Beloved, or read it decades ago, do yourself a favor and (re)read it. The audiobook, narrated by Toni Morrison herself, is truly superb. Given the complexity of the book, however, I found it helpful to be able to read/reread some of the chapters in print.
Sipsworth: A Novel by Simon Van Booy (David R. Godine publisher, 2024)
After 60 years abroad, 83-year-old Helen Cartwright returns to the English village where she was raised, reliving memories from her life as she waits, somewhat impatiently, for death to come. Her Australian husband and son died years ago, and she has no other friends or relatives, so what’s the point of living? When a mouse appears in her midst, she is forced out of her solitary routine, interacting with a range of different people who bring new meaning to her life. This is a beautiful novel, both entertaining and uplifting. It’s pretty short, too, so you can read it in couple days. Highly recommended!
The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride (Riverhead Books, 2023), audiobook narrated by Dominic Hoffman
This is a novel about love, community, and the healing power of human relationships. The grocery store that lends its name to the book’s title forms the heart of the ramshackle neighborhood of Chicken Hill, home to both an immigrant Jewish community and a Black community. As the two communities struggle to make a life in 1930s America, each marginalized in their own way by the white, Christian majority of Pottstown, Pennsylvania, it’s the relationships with each other that sustain them. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store is by no means a perfect novel. A large cast of characters is introduced before we get into the story, and there are multiple plot digressions, but the ending made my heart soar. This is a book that will restore your faith in humanity. Given the number of characters and subplots, I found the combination of listening to the audiobook and reading/rereading the print version to work well.
Swift River: A Novel by Essie Chambers (Simon & Schuster, 2024), audiobook narrated by Shayna Small, Janina Edward, and Robin Miles
Our book club had an interesting discussion about this multi-layered novel—made even more special when the author dropped into our book club via Zoom for the last 20 minutes of our discussion!! Diamond Newberry is having a tough time. As the only person of color in the small Massachusetts mill town of Swift River, she feels isolated and alone. Her white mother is too wrapped up in her own problems to help, and her black father disappeared without a trace seven years earlier. A thoughtful and tender coming of age tale, the novel is set in 1987, with frequent flashbacks to 1980, the year Diamond’s father disappeared. As readers, we’re also privy to two sets of letters Diamond that receives from/via a long-lost cousin of her father, which help to fill in gaps about her father’s family history. I disliked the voices of the audio narrators so much that I couldn’t bear to listen to the audiobook. Fortunately, the print version is much better!
Nonfiction
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert (Riverhead Books, 2015), audiobook narrated by Elizabeth Gilbert
This inspirational book, recommended by a writer friend, is a call to action for artists of any kind, but especially writers of fiction and creative nonfiction. With chapters on Courage, Enchantment, Permission, Persistence, Trust, and Divinity, Gilbert argues that we all have the creative treasures hidden within us; what we too often lack is the courage to bring them forth into the world. She views inspiration as an external force that we need to open ourselves up to by living a creative life and letting story flow through us. One of my favorite pieces of advice is to treat artistic projects like illicit affairs that you will do whatever it takes to make time for! She also offers some practical advice, like don’t give up your day job. While I didn’t agree with everything the author puts forth (she’s anti-MFA, for example), there are some real gems here. I listened exclusively to the audiobook and thought it was well done.
The Combat Zone: Murder, Race, and Boston's Struggle for Justice by Jan Brogan (Bright Leaf, 2021)
This captivating book explores the context and impact of the 1976 murder of a white Harvard football player named Andrew Puopolo during a night out in Boston’s infamous redlight district. Through extensive research, including interviews with the family and friends of both the victim and the accused, Brogan details the chain of events that led to the murder and subsequent indictment of three black men for the crime, as well as the two trials that followed. Well written and thoughtfully constructed, The Combat Zone reveals the role that race, class, and politics played in this well-known case that made headlines around the world. Having grown up outside of Boston during this same period, I found this book fascinating.
Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Shaped the World by Mark Kurlansky (Turtleback Books, 1998), audiobook narrated by Richard M. Davidson
As the title suggests, this unexpected book looks at the role of codfish in shaping world history. From the Vikings to the discovery of America to the turn of the 20th century, the book demonstrates how the zealous pursuit of cod not only changed our eating habits but also impacted trade routes and national alliances. I like books like this that examine history through the lens of a single commodity. It reminds us how interconnected the world is, and how unseen forces can influence seemingly unconnected events. Fascinating and well-written. I mostly listened to the audiobook, which was quite good.
The Control of Nature by John McPhee (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1989)
The Control of Nature examines three case studies in which humankind has gone to great lengths to control nature: the ongoing structural attempts to control the flow of the Mississippi River; the 1973 effort to protect the Icelandic region of Heimaey from a massive volcanic eruption; and the continuous struggle against erosion of the San Gabriel mountains outside Los Angeles. I was struck by the stubborn arrogance that leads humans to bend nature to our will. Well written and engaging. Audiobook not available.
That’s it for this month. Happy 2025 and happy reading to all!
💕Liz