(Photo used with permission of author)

• “A Magic Fierce & Bright,” is a new release from Hemant Nayak, an author (and E.R. doctor! OK, cool) from my very own Pacific Northwest. (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2024, ages middle grade and up, 374 pages, $19.99.) Imagine you are… 500 years in the future, living in the remote jungles of South India, and looking, and not yet finding, your sister. Bam. Now imagine you’re gifted at both technology (re-starting it, cuz it’s trashed) and magic. A technomancer, they call it. I’m liking this one. Just started it, and I think you should do the same. Then leave me a note, kk?
• There are several books, favorites that I re-read, every summer, or every few years, always during summertime. Other people must do this, too? It’s kind of funny, the associations books bring into our lives. One of these titles for me is Curtis Sittenfeld’s classic from 2008, “American Wife: A Novel.” (Random House, high school through adults, 558 pages.) This novel is about a smart, thoughtful girl, Alice Lindgren, who is expected to choose the life her parents want for her. Not surprisingly, she grows into a woman who aims to please, First Lady Alice Blackwell. (There is some speculation that Alice may be based on W’s wife, Laura.) This is a gripping, inventive read about money, class, and expectations. It’s an unusual book, one of a kind, and I find something new in it every time I read it. Highly recommend.
• Another summer read for me, for decades now, is Stephen King’s genius, gripping, crazy-ass, most prophetic book. You may know it already, you may love it, like millions of other readers. Or it may just scare the hell out of you and yes, I’m talking about 1978’s post-apocalyptic/sci-fi/horror fest, “The Stand.” (Penguin Books, 817 pages, but I had to get the long-play extended version for my Kindle. I think that one adds several hundred or possibly more pages.) Mother Abagail, the Walking Dude gah, Nick, Larry Underwood, Frannie and Stu, all my favorites, every year. Maybe not the entire book, every reading, but yes, I love the hell out of this one. I like a lot of King’s other stuff, too, duh. I’ve written love letters to him and his amazing writer/editor wife, Tabby, from time to time. He’s a great storyteller, and that’s what I’m in it for. But this one, and “Carrie,” were my top two picks out of the gate, when I first discovered him. I mark this one: Pick of the Week. And Summer.
• Finished Lucinda Williams’ stellar memoir, “Don’t Tell Anybody the Secrets I Told You” yesterday. (Crown/New York, 2023, 260 pages, $28.99.) One of those books that you read so quickly, a page turner, right? It was. But the last few chapters? You slow down noooo I want more. And you can’t stand for it to end. That’s this book. As promised by other readers, as I knew it would be — fantastic. Just raw and gorgeous and true, like my Lu. Go read it, and listen to the songs and albums she talks about throughout. When she wrote the songs, who/what they were about, what she thinks of the work she’s shared with us over the years. I love her.
• I’m also reading my two Book of the Month Club books. (Here’s a hell yes for a subscription. So worth it. Buy one for yourself, buy one for a friend, and thanks to my sister for the birthday gift.) The first, by Marjan Kamali, is “The Lion Women of Tehran” (Gallery Books, 2024, 327 pages, $29.99). The second is Liz Moore’s “The God of the Woods” (Riverhead Books, 2024, 478 pages, $30.00). Both excellent reads. Go read excerpts on Amazon or the library or wherever you find your excerpts.

Bon appetit! Disclaimer: All of the books reviewed today were sent to me free for review purposes. Disclaimer here. See you next time!

WM