Every month, the Writer’s Bone crew reviews or previews books we've read or want to read. This series may or may not also serve as a confessional for guilty pleasures and hipster novels only the brave would attempt. Feel free to share your own suggestions in the comments section or tweet us @WritersBone.
Why We Can't Sleep by Ada Calhoun
Daniel Ford: Ada Calhoun’s latest book focuses on the issues Gen X women are facing now and have faced throughout their lives. I know I’m far from the target demographic, but I found Why We Can’t Sleep remarkable and illuminating. One of the things we really value about Calhoun’s work is how she’s able to take all of her interviews, a ton of data, and her own personal narrative and weave it into prose that’s hard to put down. It very much feels like a conversation and not a history or civics lesson. She never fails to make us think differently and more think more empathetically. We’re sure this book will lead to some women sleeping a little better knowing they’re not alone.
The Blaze by Chad Dundas
Daniel: We’ve been fans of Chad Dundas’ writing ever since we cracked open his first novel Champion of the World and read, “The clowns came to get him when it was time for the hanging.” The Blaze sucked us in from the first pages as well, and didn’t let us go. Dundas set up more than a few emotional and physical obstacles for his main characters Matthew Rose and Georgie Porter and it was a real joy spending time with them as they found ways to vault over them. In addition to being a suspenseful story, The Blaze touches on so many timely and timeless themes. Don’t miss this book.
Ain't Nobody Nobody by Heather Harper Ellett
Daniel: Feral hogs! Broken, schlubby ex-lawmen! A bumbling drug plan Elmore Leonard would love!
If you need more than that (I can’t imagine how), there’s a really distinct voice at work in Heather Harper Ellett’s debut. Her characters really shine through on every page, even the nefarious ones. She fits right in at Polis Books.
And did I mention the hogs?!
In Pieces by Sally Field
Daniel: Sally Field has been one of my favorite actresses since I was a kid, so it was thrilling to discover she's also an incredible writer. Her memoir In Pieces is lyrical, gripping, soul-crushing and soul-affirming, and bravely honest. Someone should convince her to author a novel. Or a short story. Anything really. Quite the performance on the page.
Cottonmouths by Kelly J. Ford
Daniel: Family has to stick together, right?! (We haven’t found the actual Ford family connection…yet.)
Ford’s debut Cottonmouths arrived at Writer’s Bone HQ as I was in the middle of reading a handful of other books (what else is new). Of course I opened it up to read the first couple pages. Of course I kept reading, ignoring my other literary responsibilities. Of course I loved every word.
The book was also featured recently in “52 Books in 52 Weeks” in the Los Angeles Times, which means we’ve got to get Ford into the studio ASAP!
Lost Hills by Lee Goldberg
Daniel: A new Lee Goldberg series starring a young, female homicide detective?! Sign us up!
(Side note: What a cover!)
Cleanness by Garth Greenwell
Daniel: The word masterpiece gets thrown around when discussing Garth Greenwell’s debut What Belongs to You and the same thing is happening for Cleanness, out now from Farrar, Straus and Giroux. There’s a good reason for that: Both books are masterpieces.
During a recent podcast chat, Greenwell said he’s fascinated by the longing for purity and the desire for filth. I’d argue neither concept has been as expertly depicted as what we find in Cleanness’ prose and characters. I also appreciate how he doesn’t think in terms of novels vs. fiction and how he got the blessing from his publisher to put Cleanness out into the world as a book of fiction. That’s a really beautiful thought, one that is sure to wrinkle my brain in the best possible way throughout 2020.
Becoming Dr. Seuss: Theodor Geisel and the Making of an American Imagination by Brian Jay Jones
Phoef Sutton: Brian Jay Jones has written fine biographies of everyone from Steven Spielberg to Washington Irving. His bio of Jim Henson from 2016 is especially good. This book on Theodor Geisel is remarkable. The journey of Geisel from peripatetic advertising man to accidental “brat book” author and into a dedicated children’s advocate and environmental progressive is brilliantly conveyed. Along the way, Geisel single-minded dedication to his work wreaks havoc with his personal life. A heroic and tragic journey. Oh, the places you’ll go!
Unspeakable Things by Jess Lourey
Daniel: I read this book compulsively while also fervently praying the book’s main character and narrator made it out unscathed (both emotionally and physically). Inspired by a chilling true story from the author’s hometown, Unspeakable Things is told from the point of view of Cassie McDowell, a young girl on the brink of becoming a teenager. By all appearances, her small-town life in 1980s Minnesota is as normal as an episode of “Family Ties.” Of course, readers learn rather quickly that’s not the case, and while the police track down a mysterious figure kidnapping and abusing young boys, Cassie is left to figure out all of the shadows in her life on her own. An utterly haunting coming-of-age story.
How Did Lubitsch Do It? by Joseph McBride
Phoef: Joseph McBride has written fine biographies of Orson Welles, Frank Capra, John Ford, and Steven Spielberg. His newest book, a portrait of the great filmmaker Ernst Lubitsch, may be his best. Unjustly neglected now, Lubitsch is perhaps the greatest director of comedy films. McBride carefully examines how this German immigrant was able to master the vernacular of American cinema and make it totally his own. The incomparable Billy Wilder used to have a sign on the wall of his office saying, “How would Lubitsch do it?” It’s a question any modern director should ask himself. “Nintochka,” “To Be or Not to Be,” “Trouble in Paradise,” “The Merry Widow,” “Design for Living,” “The Shop Around the Corner;” these are only some of Lubitsch’s masterworks. McBride beautifully relates both the origins of these movies and why they remain classics. Most of all, he puts the lie to that old saw that “audiences are more sophisticated now.” Sophistication is the hallmark of The Lubitsch Touch.
Listen to Phoef Sutton and Mark Jordan Legan discuss Lubitsch’s career during Film Freaks Forever! Episode 18: A Film Freaks Christmas!
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Daniel: Liz Moore’s The Unseen World is one of my favorite novels from the last decade. My father and I still talk about it on occasion and we never fail to utter, “Wow, how freakin’ good is that book?!” Needless to say, I’m excited to dig into her new one, Long Bright River, a thriller featuring two sisters divided by the opioid crisis. One sister, the addict, goes missing around the same time as several murders occur. The other sister, a beat cop, goes on the hunt. Why, yes Daniel, you should brew a pot of coffee and stay up all night reading this book.
The Wild One by Nick Petrie
Daniel: I read Peter Ash’s first appearance in this book without taking a breath. We find our hero on an airplane of all things, really struggling with his PTSD, on his way to Iceland to investigate a case.
And everything goes fine, the end.
Just kidding! Nick Petrie puts Ash through his paces in this novel, but also gives him such beautifully heartbreaking insights into who he might be without his wartime trauma. Another strong outing from one of our favorite thriller authors.
Holding Smoke by Steph Post
Daniel: Steph Post publishes a book; she ends up on this list. Those are the rules. We can't wait to get our hands on the final Judah Cannon book (out Jan. 28 from Polis Books).
"Judah Cannon. Sister Tulah. It all comes down to this."
*pours more coffee* *settles in for midnight reading*
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Daniel: I’ll admit, a book with trees as the main characters may be a tough sell for some people, but there is some really beautiful writing in this novel (which won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction). It will also make you think more deeply about the natural world, which we could all do a better job of currently.
A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum
Daniel: If you’re looking for quality fiction depicting immigrant life in America, you’d be wise to pick up Etaf Rum’s A Woman Is No Man. Rum’s characterization of several generations of Palestinian-American woman is heartbreaking, honest, fraught, and illuminating. There are no easy answers for any of the characters we meet in this book. They’re all constrained by family obligation, cultural and political suspicion, and, of course, eking out an existence in a foreign country. Rum bounces back and forth in these women’s timelines, which makes the events that unfold even more wrenching. Word to the wise, eat before you sit down to read this book. Rum uses food to bind her characters together, which is a terrific narrative device, but will make your mouth water uncontrollably.
As an added bonus, the author runs the Instagram handle “@booksandbeans,” which is billed as a “a gathering place for lovers of books and coffee.” Obviously, we’re big fans of all of the above.
A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
Daniel: We love nonlinear storytelling here at Writer’s Bone and Ruchika Tomar has set the bar even higher. A Prayer for Travelers not only garnered a ton of praise in 2019, but it was also longlisted for the Pen/Hemingway Award for Debut Fiction. Fair warning, her characters are going to stick in your head for a good long while.
Author's Corner
Heather Harper Ellet, author of Ain’t Nobody Nobody, stopped by the podcast recently and gave us a ton of great recommendations, so you should add them all to your reading list and pick them up at your local bookstore.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
Milkman by Anna Burns
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