Stay in and read
Books to enjoy while you’re stuck inside
The albatross hanging from every arts reporter’ neck is the stack of untouched books sitting on their desk, on a shelf, or shamefully hidden away in the closet farthest from them. Sent in from authors, agents and publishers it is the combined weight of all these unwritten about books that (I assume) will one day drag my soul to the depth of the River Styx.
I’m not saying it’s a silver lining, far from it, but with the coronavirus forcing most events to shut down or cancel, we are all now going to have a lot more time on our hands for literary pursuits. With no upcoming festivals or performances to profile, now is the perfect time to let readers know what is on the reading agenda for the next week, or month or longer interval before society as we know it returns to some semblance of normalcy.
Some of these books I’ve read most or all of, others I haven’t read at all. But none of them have been covered in depth by the Press-Citizen heretofore.
‘Afterlife’ by Julia Alvarez
Genre: Fiction
Length: ~250 pages
From the author of “In the Time of Butterflies” is a new novel for adults. “Afterlife” is a novel about immigrant and English teacher Antonia Vega who is hit with a trio of problems at once. Her husband dies, her sister goes missing and an undocumented and pregnant teenager appears at her doorstep.
This is the kind of book I’d love to cover, but Alvarez’s scheduled tour dates and tours sent with the book will not bring her through Iowa City. The book, a roughly 250-page affair, is scheduled for release on April 7, 2020.
‘All the Flowers in Paris’ by Sarah Jio
Genre: Fiction
Length: ~ 300 pages
A novel that switches between a pair of perspectives, one of which is Caroline, who wakes up with no memory in a Paris hospital in 2009. The other is Celine, a woman in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943. The story follows both women as they try to make sense of their respective situations: Caroline who gradually pieces together who she is and Celine who needs to try to
Not necessarily the kind of book I myself would be on the edge of my seat to read, but I can think of a half dozen friends I’d recommend this to by description alone. Plus, an aspect of Caroline’s character is discovering she’s had a “reclusive life in a sprawling apartment on the rue Cler,” which — at this moment —sounds like the exact situation I’d like to be living in (at least for the next few weeks).
‘An American Bum in China’ by Tom Carter
Genre: Biography
Length: ~125 pages
A brief biography following five years with Muscatine native Matthew Evans as he finds himself in China in 2014 as the Hong Kong protests were just beginning. Evans’ tale is told by Tom Carter who previously published “Unsavory Elements: Stories of Foreigners on the Loose in China.”
Initially, I’d planned to run a review of the book back in December that didn’t end up finding its way to print. It was a topical read at the time with the Hong Kong protests in the news cycle and — while Hong Kong hasn’t been the focus of recent coverage — China’s arguably in the news cycle even more now than it was then.
‘Bedlam’ by Kenneth Paul Rosenberg, MD
Genre: Nonfiction
Length: ~200 pages
The full title of the text is “Bedlam: An Intimate Journey Into America’s Mental Health Crisis.” Rosenberg’s book is intended to give readers an inside look at the American mental health system and its failings. After seven years of interviews, the book uses those accounts to shine a light on the criminalization of individuals with mental health issues among other topics.
This book and the author behind it are the exact kinds of things I love to cover. When it was first delivered to our office I showed it to everyone in the newsroom. The only reason why it’s not pending on my personal reading list is I’m not sure I have the emotional fortitude to read about institutional, systemic failure, especially at this particular moment.
‘Bloody Genius’ by John Sanford
Genre: Mystery
Length: ~375 pages
This is the most recent Virgil Flowers novel from New York Times bestselling author John Sanford, marking the 12th novel in a series that started in 2007 with “Dark of the Moon.” In this particular book, a culture war on a state campus between the science and medical departments is interrupted when a scholar turns up dead. Enter the series investigator Virgil Flowers, tasked with finding the killer.
While this title was briefly alluded to in my write-up on the 2019 Iowa City Book Festival, it didn’t end up receiving full coverage, even though Sanford is a Cedar Rapids native and University of Iowa grad. This fell by the wayside for me at the time partly because of my own ignorance of Sanford being a local name and the sheer volume of events surrounding the book festival.
‘Deacon King Kong’ by James McBride
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: ~375 pages
Set in September of 1969, “Deacon King Kong” starts with the deacon of Five Ends Baptist Church shooting a 19year-old-drug dealer in the face in South Brooklyn. The release that came with the book touts it as being infused with “humor and compassion” as it explores the lives of the fictional characters around this incident.
I’ve had a copy of this book so long and I’ve wanted to read it so bad! As if to taunt me Penguin Random House sent me a second copy which I also have not read.
I’m positive I’ll get around to this once I work through my personal pending backlog of unread books, but like Entertainment Weekly and The New York Times, this book is high on my toread list and can make it to yours too since it was released on March 3.
‘The Dearly Beloved’ by Cara Wall
Genre: Fiction
Length: ~350 pages
The story of this novel spent 15 years coming into focus for its author, Iowa Writers’ Workshop graduate Cara Wall, who first conceived of the novel during her 2004 pregnancy. The book focuses on a pair of couples, each of which includes an individual drawn to the Christian faith and another who is skeptical of it.
This is another novel I had planned to write a review of. First, before it’s Aug. 13, 2019 publication and then before Wall’s Sept. 23 visit to Prairie Lights. Though outside my general area of interest, it’s one I feel strangely drawn to and would like to pick up and finish someday.
‘Everywhere You Don’t Belong’ by Gabriel Bump
Genre: Fiction
Length: ~250 pages
This is the first novel from the Chicago originating author Gabriel Bump, an experience explored in this novel through the character of Claude McKay, a young black man growing up on the South Side.
This is another book on my personal reading list and comes recommended by numerous other publications. it represents yet another instance of not enough local connections for me to cover.
‘Hey Grandude!’ by Paul McCartney, Illustrated by Kathryn Durst
Genre: Picture Book
Length: ~ 30 pages
I think there are only two reasons I haven’t read or reviewed this book: First, world-renowned singer/songwriter Paul McCartney has not had a book tour through Iowa City promoting it. Second, I don’t know that I could justify a picture book review to my editor as the 4- to 6-year-old age range does not make up a huge amount of our readership.
But now I can, so here’s my oneparagraph review:
As a book about a bunch of kids stuck inside who turn to their grandude to entertain them, I think this book will resonate with kids in this very specific moment in time. While the plot is somewhat aimless, it’s a fun read with pretty illustrations that takes its characters to the beach, to the American West and to the mountainside. All through the aid of a magic compass.