The good news is, this soggy scorching summer will soon be over. The better news is that there are some hot best sellers for us to read now and in the autumn.
The book I’m most interested in reading in the next month or so is 1493: UNCOVERING THE NEW WORLD COLUMBUS CREATED. I loved Charles C. Mann’s “1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus.” Most of us know that potatoes are not native to Ireland; we’ve heard that syphilis was carried to Europe from South America; and we’ve seen Colin Farrell grow tobacco in Virginia for the Old World. European diseases like smallpox wiped out native American tribes. Mann brilliantly takes all this free floating knowledge to the next plateau. Incidentally, if you want to really get into the subject of globalization, pick up Laurie Garrett’s “The Coming Plague;” just don’t read it on a plane.
The book I probably need most is I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR, by Jill Martin and Dana Ravich. It is of some comfort to me that this self-helper wouldn’t have made the bestsellers list if plenty of other women didn’t feel exactly as I do. Martin, a fashion editor and “Today” show correspondent, quite rightly advises us that we don’t have too few choices, but too many. The recommended twelve step program is meant to be fun, but I’ll never part with my “lucky dress,” which I wore in L.A. during my starvation days; I can’t toss the ill-fitting beautiful navy blue pumps with embroidered orange beads which were hand stitched in Greece; and come on, I’ll never forsake my New York Working Woman’s all black everyday outfits. I mean, what are we, sheep herders?
Amor Towles has Manhattan mores down pat, even if the titled RULES OF CIVILITY do refer to the 1930’s. Ah for the days when “bracing wit and cool nerve” were enough to launch one into the upper echelons of society. And yet, with everything she has going for her, upwardly mobile Katy Kontent spends way too much of her time pining away for handsome banker Tinker Grey, he of the royal blue eyes.
How great it would be if all aspirational young women had the pluck of Esmeralda Santiago’s CONQUISTADORA. Ana Larragoity Cubilles has quite rightly been compared to her American counterpart, Scarlett O’Hara. She leaves her native Spain to embark on an adventure of fortune seeking far beyond that of her ancestor who sailed with Ponce de Leon. Santiago, who wrote the acclaimed memoir “When I Was Puerto Rican,” knows her home island well, and though the story is set in the 19th century, we can clearly hear the voices of both master and slave in this epic novel.
If you haven’t yet had a chance to read MAINE, by J. Courtney Sullivan, don’t make the mistake of categorizing this gripping work as just a summer novel. True, the setting is a vacation home in The Pine Tree State, but the Kellehers are an Irish family for all seasons. Matriarch Alice wishes she could undo the events of an evening long in the past; Maggie is struggling to find a time to tell her not-so-great boyfriend that she’s pregnant; and Ann Marie’s boredom and frustration are leading her down an ill-advised path.
Don’t forget fiction previously reviewed here, like THE MAGICIAN KING, by Lev Grossman and SMOKIN’ SEVENTEEN, by Janet Evanovich. They’re both still on the bestsellers list, with good reason.
Who better to write DRY ICE than ace weatherman Bill Evans? He and co-author Marianna Jameson have taken a whispered rumor and turned it into a suspense novel. What if the weather really could be controlled for personal gain or military advantage? And what if that control could be manipulated to produce catastrophic effects? With flooding in half of our country and searing drought in the other half, what once seemed totally impossible is now a question many are asking: what if we could control the weather?
Susan McBride’s LITTLE BLACK DRESS is the paperback I intend to take on my next trip. It’s a magical tale of family, missed opportunity, and a look into the past. This is a book women will read and then pass on to a friend or sister.
Author Lisa Tucker is a self-avowed member of the Children’s Rights Movement, and weaves her philosophy into her newly published novel THE WINTERS IN BLOOM. Tucker felt so strongly about this book, she delayed getting brain surgery for an aneurysm in order to finish it. Her passion comes through clearly in this tale of a family in crisis over the disappearance of a beloved son.
I love New York, so Beverly Swerling’s books are right up my alley. CITY OF PROMISE continues her Big Apple saga. It’s 1864; the South is about to surrender; Vanderbilt’s new Grand Central Depot is a wonder to behold; and Joshua Turner is returning home with only one leg, but high hopes.
I’m always happy for the arrival of autumn. Leaves turn color, then crunch under foot; there are jolly pumpkins and fresh apple cider; the sun is so much kinder; and there are plenty of good books for us to read.
To purchase any of the featured books on Amazon click on the title.
Michall Jeffers is an accomplished Cultural Journalist and an avowed bibliophile. She writes extensively, both in print and online. Her eponymous cable TV show is syndicated throughout the tri-state area, and features celebrity interviews, reviews, and commentary. Michall is a voting member of National Book Critics Circle. www.michalljeffers.com
