For The Book Obsessed
[ad_1] As coronavirus locked down cities across the country and work from home orders liberated office workers from daily commutes, many people suddenly found themselves returning, either temporarily or permanently, to the suburbs so many of them had fled. Jason Diamond’s new book, The Sprawl: Reconsidering the Weird American Suburbs, arrives just in time to … Read more
[ad_1] Like many of his generation, which he identifies as younger Gen Xers and older millennials, Jason Diamond grew up in the suburbs but chose to settle as an adult in a large city, reversing the movement of his parents and grandparents from the cities to the suburbs. For Diamond, questions about the geography of … Read more
[ad_1] Winter Counts opens on Virgil Wounded Horse in a parked car outside a bar biding his time before he beats the hell out of local predatory rapist. Virgil is Rosebud Reservation’s local enforcer, the only one willing to put his body on the line to make sure his community is protected and sees justice, … Read more
[ad_1] Poetry has a way of bringing people together. When we connect with words on a page, we feel seen. When other people connect with those same words, we feel that we’re not alone. It’s a really remarkable thing to experience and to watch. I would argue that maybe more than any other form of … Read more
[ad_1] Great historical fiction reaches beyond the era it explores to tell truths about our current moment. Kathleen Rooney achieves this in just the opening sentence of her new novel, Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey, as she writes “monuments matter most to pigeons and soldiers.” Her story follows Charles Whittlesey and homing pigeon Cher Ami, … Read more
[ad_1] As a girl, Maggie dreamed of joining the Sisters, a group of women who enjoy the status and attention afforded by their beautiful wings. Now, years later, she has wings of her own. But an encounter in the woods forces her to reckon with her past—and the painful price her wings demanded. Content warning … Read more
[ad_1] Climate change may be a planet-wide problem, but novels about the subject can be deeply personal. Case in point: Australian author Charlotte McConaghy’s transporting debut, Migrations. It tells the story of Franny Stone, who seeks out the last flock of Arctic terns in Greenland and then follows them on what might be their final … Read more
[ad_1] As tropical storms rain down and heat waves keep coming, we hope you can take a break from the chaotic August weather to sit down with a book or two. Our favorites this month are as eclectic as ever, encompassing biographies, like that of Civil Rights leader Representative John Lewis; memoirs, like Vicki Laveau-Harvie’s … Read more
[ad_1] Last week I saw the groundhog for the first time. He lumbered across the patch of lawn at the bottom of our garden, looking much like a muskrat or a beaver but for his tail—the muskrat has a tail, unsurprisingly, like a rat; the beaver of course has his paddle; whereas the muskrat’s tail … Read more
[ad_1] It’s been said before, but let’s say it again: books connect us. During a year of anxiety, stress, and grief, books have provided an outlet and escape that’s unattainable anywhere else. They introduce us to new people, they take us to new places, they teach us about the world, and most importantly, they bring … Read more