Who: Katherine Ann Rowlands (Publisher, Local News Matters)
Recommendation: “Fellowship Point” by Alice Elliott Dark
Why it’s a good read: This novel sparked a lively discussion in my book club about friendship, feminism, the lives of authors, and what it means to protect land and legacy. Most found it a fast read, although I listened to the audio version (19 hours unless you speed-listen).
Synopsis: Lifelong best friends Agnes Lee and Polly Garner own shares in Fellowship Point, a beautiful summer colony and bird sanctuary on the coast of Maine. As they turn 80, it’s time to make decisions about what will become of their legacy, a question that threatens to tear them apart. Inspired by the breadth and drama of 19th century novels, this tour de force book looks at the women’s lives, loves, families and work across the 20th century, finally rising to a shocking revelation that will lead to a surprising answer to the dilemma. Read more on Simon & Schuster’s website.
Check if the book is available to borrow from your local public library.
Who: Joe Dworetzky, Reporter
Recommendation: “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin
Why it’s a good read: “Tomorrow” is a fully imagined and satisfying story of the complex relationship between two game designers. A great story and deep nuanced characters.
Synopsis: On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn’t heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. They borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo: a game where players can escape the confines of a body and the betrayals of a heart, and where death means nothing more than a chance to restart and play again. This is the story of the perfect worlds Sam and Sadie build, the imperfect world they live in, and of everything that comes after success: Money. Fame. Duplicity. Tragedy. Read more on the author’s website.
Check if the book is available to borrow from your local public library.
Who: Prachi Singh, Bay City News intern
Recommendation: “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman
Why it’s a good read: Although predictable, it was a heart touching, simple tale.
Synopsis: Meet Ove. He’s a curmudgeon—the kind of man who points at people he dislikes as if they were burglars caught outside his bedroom window. He has staunch principles, strict routines, and a short fuse. People call him “the bitter neighbor from hell.” But must Ove be bitter just because he doesn’t walk around with a smile plastered to his face all the time?
Behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So when one November morning a chatty young couple with two chatty young daughters move in next door and accidentally flatten Ove’s mailbox, it is the lead-in to a comical and heartwarming tale of unkempt cats, unexpected friendship, and the ancient art of backing up a U-Haul. All of which will change one cranky old man and a local residents’ association to their very foundations.
Check if the book is available to borrow from your local public library.
Who: Georgia Rowe, freelance writer
Recommendation: “Playground” by Richard Powers
Why it’s a good read: “Playground” takes us into depths of the world’s oceans, even as it tells a story set in the early days of the tech revolution. Moving from Chicago to Makatea in French Polynesia, it centers on Todd and Rafi, two college friends whose divergent paths change themselves, each other, and the world. Powers is a master storyteller, and “Playground” may be his most engrossing novel to date.
Check if the book is available to borrow from your public library.