01 Pride of Eden
Taylor Brown is also the author of The Gods of Howl Mountain, which I loved and thought was a dark, brooding, beautiful book.
Pride of Eden just might be the literary fiction version of what I think Tiger King sounds like: exotic animal rescue, a wildlife sanctuary, and settings ranging from an island off Georgia to Africa to Baghdad to the Okefenokee Swamp. Brown crafts colorful characters without resorting to caricature. I can't wait to see what the heck this book is all about.
02 Rodham
Curtis Sittenfeld offered a fictionalized version of a first lady's personal history in An American Wife, which I loved, and I thought her short story collection You Think It, I'll Say It was a #fivestarbookreview. Sittenfeld has a fascinating way of turning situations on their heads.
In Rodham, Sittenfeld imagines the trail HRC might have blazed if she'd broken up with Bill and forged ahead solo, led by her iron determination and unfailing ambition.
03 We Are Called to Be a Movement
I don't have any excuse for not having already read this short (it's 96 pages) sermon by Reverend William J. Barber except that, as usual, everything is due back to the library at once, and I'm plowing through the books I don't own.
In We Are Called to Be a Movement, Barber makes an impassioned case for change and a "moral revival," and emphasizes that we are all called to be part of the movement.
04 A Witch in Time
From the publisher: "A young woman in Belle Epoque France is cursed to relive a doomed love affair through many lifetimes, as both troubled muse and frustrated artist."
In A Witch in Time, Constance Sayers is offering us historical fiction, witches, and repeated reincarnation.
Yes to all of this. If I don't like this book, then I just won't know what to believe anymore. Plus, just look at the beautiful, spooky cover.
05 The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
This prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy follows Coriolanus Snow through the tenth Hunger Games as he's tasked with the humiliation of mentoring the tribute from District 12.
I'll read anything Hunger Games-related, but I admit I'm apprehensive about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Can Collins make loyal Hunger Games readers feel anything besides fury and contempt for anyone named Snow?
06 My Best Friend's Exorcism
I've had this on my wish list for a while and decided to perk up my personal pandemic times by owning it. Grady Hendrix is also the author of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires, which I really liked.
You should really know up front that this 1980s gem of a cover has amazing fake scratches and wear marks on it as though My Best Friend's Exorcism has already passed lovingly hand to hand through your entire grade at school.
What have been your favorite pandemic-era book buys?
Having an excess of books to read makes me feel safe in a somewhat irrational but cozy-at-home way. I didn't actually need to add books to the multi-layered bookshelf supply over here to achieve "excess of books" status, but I love having these new-to-me titles ready for my reading.
Consider visiting Bookshop.org to support independent booksellers if you're adding to your pandemic-era book hoard by buying online. And please let me know what you're reading!