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
“Repetition”
By Vigdis Hjorth; translated by Charlotte Barslund
Verso, $19.95, Paperback, 144 pages
This slim, atmospheric novel is framed as a lengthy reminiscence, by a middle-aged writer, of the winter she turned 16,
a pivotal moment in her understanding of family, secrets and sex. The plot is simple, but Hjorth’s precision of observation is anything but.
“My Year in Paris with Gertrude Stein: A Fiction”
By Deborah Levy
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, $27 Hardcover, 240 pages
Our narrator is in Paris writing an essay about Gertrude Stein, but struggling. Meanwhile, she’s concerned about her friend Eva’s missing cat (and also missing husband?), and her friend Fanny’s many and various love affairs.
Nonfiction
“The Fourth Branch: How State Governments Can Save Our Union”
By Daniel Squadron
Zando, $28.95 Hardcover, 304 pages
A political book that brims with agency and optimism. The premise is in the title — state legislatures are accessible, localized engines of potential change, and we need to pay more attention to their work.
“How Flowers Made Our World: The Story of Nature’s Revolutionaries”
By David George Haskell
Viking, $32 Hardcover, 352 pages
In this genuinely surprising and beautifully written book, David George Haskell argues that flowers are central to the story of evolution, and gestures forward to show how their creative adaptation can model resilience in the face of environmental change.
Children
“Crouton: One Cat’s Adoption Tale”
By Kristine A. Lombardi
Random House Books for Young Readers, $18.99, Hardcover Picture Book, 40 pages
A charmingly illustrated book from the perspective of a shelter cat waiting for her perfect match. Spoiler alert: She finds her!
“When You Reach Me”
By Rebecca Stead
Yearling, $8.99, Paperback, 240 pages (middle grade)
An older book that we’ve recently fallen back in love with, this is the story of Miranda, a sixth grader in a fight with her best friend. When she starts receiving mysterious notes, in which the writer seems to know the future, things get complicated.
Enjoy some live music this fall, with a range of performances from The Ultimate Prince Tribute to Journey, classical and more.
For Aja Cohen, founder and chief creative officer of Transcendent Active, a modest activewear brand, the company is a reflection of her entire journey -- fashion, faith, movement, motherhood and identity.
Marc Terrill talks with Ken Muskat, President for Scenic Group USA and Latin America, about the evolution of the cruise industry, why curated cruise and yacht experiences have become the fastest growing segment of the leisure market, and more.
The story is now coming out about three Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany who built Iceland’s classical music scene from scratch.