Seeking your next good read? Emma Snyder, owner of The Ivy Bookshop at 5928 Falls Road in Baltimore, offers recommendations for must-read titles for adults and children.
Fiction
“Leonard and Hungry Paul”
By Ronan Hession
Melville House Publishing, 256 pages, $17.99
A gentle novel that tells the story of Leonard and Hungry Paul, two mild-mannered friends in their 30s, who live with their parents, enjoy their hobbies, and get their work done. The novel’s tension comes from an essential question: How can we live meaningful lives in a loud, fast world?
“Build Your House Around My Body”
By Violet Kupersmith
Random House, 400 pages,$27
Spanning 50 years of Vietnamese history, this novel tells the parallel stories of two women who went missing decades apart. At once, puzzling, frightening and haunting, the book leaves readers haunted by the legacies of colonialism and war.
Nonfiction
“Larger Than Yourself”
By Thibault Manekin
New World Library, 304 pages; $17.95
Local entrepreneur Thibault Manekin believes deeply in the power of collective action and this book details how and why. He uses his own experiences — founding a nonprofit in South Africa, and Seawall Development in Baltimore — to frame an optimistic roadmap for ensuring that human connection is at the heart of urban problem-solving.
“Where Tomorrows Aren’t Promised”
By Carmelo Anthony
Gallery Books, 207 pages, $28
L.A. Lakers all-star Carmelo Anthony grew up amid violence and poverty in Brooklyn, N.Y. and West Baltimore before he was drafted into the NBA in 2003. This book tells his story — from an educational system that failed him, to the untimely deaths of loved ones, to the mentors who helped him nurture his gifts.
Co- written with local writer, D. Watkins.
Children
“The Beatryce Prophecy”
By Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick Press, 256 pages, $19.99
When a young girl is discovered at a monastery in a magical medieval land, she is ill, injured and holding fast to the ear of a goat. The monk who nurses her back to health discovers that she is the subject of a powerful prophecy. The book is a wonderfully illustrated adventure about the power of love and storytelling. (Middle grades)
“Change Sings: A Children’s Anthem”
By Amanda Gorman
Viking Press, 32 pages, $18.99
In this highly anticipated picture book by Amanda Gorman, a young girl uses her musical talents and her desire for change to inspire her community. An uplifting book that teaches its readers that everyone can have a positive effect on the world around them.
Rabbi David Wolpe looks at the recent interest in Hollywood productions about King David and why the story is resonating now.
Directed by Johanna Gruenhut, the production is based on of the 1998 novel and 2003 film of the same name.
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