Seeking your next good read? Emma Snyder, owner of The Ivy Bookshop at 6080 Falls Road in Mount Washington, offers recommendations for must-read titles for adults and children.
FICTION
“Fleishman Is In Trouble” (Hardcover)
By Taffy Brodesser- Akner, Random House, 384 pages, $27
Alma’s Best Jewish Novel of the Year, Fleishman Is in Trouble is a searing, utterly unvarnished debut by one of the most exciting writers working today. A finely observed, timely exploration of marriage, divorce, and the bewildering dynamics of ambition for fans of Jonathan Franzen, Lauren Groff, and Tom Perrotta.
“My Sister, The Serial Killer” (Paperback)
By Oyinkan Braithwaite, Anchor, 240 pages, $14.95
“Campy and delightfully naughty…A taut and darkly funny contemporary noir that moves at lightning speed, it’s the wittiest and most fun murder party you’ve ever been invited to.” — Sam Irby, Marie Claire
NONFICTION
“Make It Scream, Make It Burn” (Hardcover)
By Leslie Jamison, Little, Brown & Company, 272 pages, $28
With the virtuosic synthesis of memoir, criticism, and journalism for which Leslie Jamison has been so widely acclaimed, the 14 essays in “Make It Scream, Make It Burn” explore the oceanic depths of longing and the reverberations of obsession. (“Song for a Whale,” a children’s recommendation this month, transforms the aquatic theme of Jamison’s opening essay into a fictional story for middle readers.)
“Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant” (Hardcover)
By Anne Gardiner Perkins, Sourcebooks, 384 pages, $25.99
An unflinching account of the young women who fought against the backward-leaning traditions of a centuries-old institution and created the opportunities that would carry them into the future. An inspiring story of strength, resilience, and courage that resonates today.
CHILDREN’S
“Thurgood” (Hardcover)
By Jonah Winter, Illustrated by Bryan Collier, Schwartz & Wade, 40 pages, $17.99
A Baltimore native, Thurgood fought for a just and equitable society from the classroom to Brown v. Board of Education, culminating with his appointment to the Supreme Court. Told in anecdotes and substantiated with pages headed in bold with the word “Fact,” his legacy resonates through the pages of this book. (ages 3-6)
“Song for a Whale” (Hardcover)
By Lynne Kelly, Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 320 pages, $16.99
Iris,12, is deaf and struggling to communicate with all the hearing kids in her class. When Iris discovers a documentary about Blue 55, a whale who swims alone rather than in a pod and sings at a frequency unintelligible to other whales, she understands his solitude and vows to use her skills to help. This is a moving novel that speaks to our innate desire for belonging and the power of communication. (ages 10-13)
The BCO, founded in 1984, will perform the works of Frank Zappa, Beethoven, Mason Bates and Karena Ingram.
Led by local Israel-American cellist Amit Peled, the Mount Vernon Virtuosi aims to inspire people beyond musical enjoyment.
Container vegetable gardening is a terrific option for people with limited space and/or time. Rebecca Brown and Norman Cohen share some tips.
Filmmaker Justin Schein looks at wealth and inequality through the very real story of his late father.