The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading two more brand-new (to be published tomorrow!) books, Out Front the Following Sea (a title that I admit I keep misremembering) by Leah Angstman and Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long, as well as Jo Ann Beard's book of essays and short stories, Festival Days.
What are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms?
01 Out Front the Following Sea by Leah Angstman
In Out Front the Following Sea, upcoming historical fiction by Leah Angstman, it's 1689 and King William's War is in full force between the French and English settlers in Ruth Miner's New England town.
Ruth is an independent thinker, which is a dangerous thing in this time and place. When Ruth is accused of witchcraft and of killing her parents, she flees the rigid rules of the stifling town she's always known. She stows away on a ship where her longtime, trusted friend Owen has secured a job.
But tensions on board the ship soon come to a head, and Ruth may have to choose between her loyalty to Owen and her own safety.
I received an advance digital edition of this book--which comes out tomorrow--courtesy of NetGalley and Regal House Publishing.
02 Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves by Meg Long
In Meg Long's debut young adult novel Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, young Sena has lost both of her mothers to the brutal sled races on her frozen planet. She's had to be tough to survive since then.
When she angers a local warlord and must escape her world, she's relieved to secure promises of transport out--but those who would help her have one condition. She must first be willing to use her trusted fighting wolf, Iska, to help her win the planet's most infamous sled race.
In Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves, Long offers a story about survival, loyalty, friendship, and overcoming danger.
I received a prepublication electronic copy of this book--which will be published tomorrow--courtesy of Wednesday Books and NetGalley.
03 Festival Days by Jo Ann Beard
In the nine essays and short stories that make up Festival Days, Jo Ann Beard explores the tiny moments that make up a day and ultimately make up a life, as well as enormously important moments of life-and-death balance that can define everything.
Festival Days is not light reading: "Cheri" delves into the last days of a woman who is terminally ill with cancer; "Last Night" relates the final moments of the author's beloved dog's life; and the backbone of the collection is the title piece, "Festival Days," which centers around a trip through India that explores mortality and love.
But Beard's writing feels like long-form poetry in a way--evocative and anchored in wonderfully wrought detail--and despite the sometimes difficult subject matter, she injects humor and beauty into the disparate scenes and situations she relates.
Beard is also the author of In Zanesville as well as a collection of autobiographical essays, The Boys of My Youth.