I thought I had possibly read enough novels about World War II. I stand corrected. One of my book clubs selected The Director, by Daniel Kehlmann – originally published in German in 2023, and in English translation in 2025 –…
Fiction
Seems like everyone I know is buzzing about Theo of Golden by Allen Levi or The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. They’re on my list! But today, I’d love to tell you about a stirring novel I recently read with a…
We don’t really know anyone else’s heart or mind. Or what they might be capable of. We know this – right? – if we’ve lived long enough. Ian McEwan’s new novel What We Can Know conveys this truth. The joy…
The language is not hard to understand – not difficult at all – the ground says I will catch you if you – when you – fall. The language is not hard to understand – not difficult at all –…
“Oh, Mary!” begins at a fever pitch – loud, over the top, brassy – and stays that way. Imagine Mary Todd Lincoln as a frustrated cabaret dancer and her husband as a frustrated gay man, each part played to comic…
I’ll be talking with Bruce Holsinger about his latest novel, Culpability (an Oprah pick) at the Southern Festival of Books on Saturday, October 18th, at 2:00. Please come join the conversation! Culpability begins with a family of 5 in a…
I wish you cozy time by a fireplace today, book in hand, as the snow falls. You might consider settling in with The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman, a retelling of the legend of King Arthur that received rave reviews when…
Lately I’ve been preoccupied with the question of what constitutes a good and useful life. Or, as Barbie would ask, what was I made for? It was a relief to have a deadline from StyleBlueprint for my Top 10 Reads…
From Parnassus Books: Summer’s over – it’s back to Book Club! Does your club need some new suggestions for the upcoming year? Join us for a night of book club fun as we welcome JENNIFER PURYEAR, contributor at StyleBlueprint, and…