The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading Bill Browder's Red Notice, which is nonfiction about the author's uncovering of corruption in Russia and the significant repercussions of doing so; The Guide, a new book by one of my favorite authors, Peter Heller, which picks up after the events of his book The River as main character Jack serves as a fishing guide at an elite but eerie Colorado resort; and The Ex Talk, Rachel Lynn Solomon's debut light fiction, which incorporates a love of public radio, will-they/won't-they tensions, humor, heart, and some steamy scenes.
Which books are you reading and enjoying these days, bookworms?
01 Red Notice by Bill Browder
The subtitle of Browder's nonfiction book Red Notice is A True Story of High Finance, Murder, and One Man's Fight for Justice, and in it, Browder traces his path from Wall Street to the Soviet Union after its breakup--and the crimes, mysteries, and political machinations that he witnessed and uncovered.
As Browder began to expose corruption in Russia, he attracted the dangerous attention of Putin, which put Browder's life in jeopardy.
After Browder escaped Russia, he became determined to bring to justice those in the Putin regime who had tortured and put to death his trusted Russian associate and lawyer. His actions drew even more ire from Putin and those in his ranks, and Putin famously retaliated to Browder's attempts to identify those responsible for his friend's death by largely preventing Americans from adopting Russian children.
My book club is reading this one. If you like nonfiction books that read like fiction, you might try the books on the Greedy Reading List Six Compelling Nonfiction Books that Read Like Fiction.
02 The Guide by Peter Heller
A new Peter Heller book is out! A new Peter Heller book is out!
The Guide is a literary thriller by one of my favorite authors, in which Jack (from Heller's book The River) is a guide at an elite fishing lodge in Colorado. After suffering a great loss in The River, he's eager to lose himself in nature and meet the needs of the boutique resort's clients.
When he's set up as the guide for a famous musician, he baits her line, carries her gear, and sets her up for a successful fishing trip. But Jack is starting to realize that something dark and dangerous may be at work here, and that things are more complicated than they had seemed.
I hope you'll join me in my adoration of Peter Heller's varied books, including his thrilling, character-driven story The River, the meditative yet decisively action-oriented The Painter, and his post-apocalyptic story The Dog Stars, which was a five-star read for me.
I received an advance digital copy of this title courtesy of Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley.
03 The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
In Solomon's Ex Talk, Seattle public radio producer Shay Goldstein is in her late twenties, she's put in her time, and she thinks that her ideas deserve respect. So when young hotshot Dominic Yun shows up and, as a male, automatically has the ear of their misogynistic boss, Shay is beyond annoyed. The two find themselves driving everyone around them crazy with their constant bickering.
Meanwhile, Shay feels that she's following all of the typical steps of being a grown-up: she has the job, she bought a (currently empty-feeling) house, and she keeps trying to settle down. Her widowed mother and her longtime best friend are each in love with wonderful partners, and Shay's beginning to wonder if she's attempting to leap into commitment with the wrong people because she's still reeling from the loss of her dad.
When Dominic and Shay get talked into posing as exes in order to host a promising radio show about relationships, they're forced to get to know each other better in order to fake their past--but actually the door opens for a potential future for them instead.