April 2024 — Small, But Mighty

Some may lament that the truncated communication style of our current social media age is wreaking havoc on attention spans—creating new generations that cannot endure writing consisting of more than a couple of lines. Proponents of the abbreviated might argue in response that longer works can be self-indulgent and tedious. Perhaps we can meet in the middle with shorter works that retain their power and lyricism while editing out long diversions (sorry, Moby Dick fans!), and purposeful obfuscations (sorry Finnegan’s Wake fans!).

For this month, I am listing some short books that can be read quickly, but still “get the job done.” All are complete works of less than 200 pages, and their brevity exemplifies how it is possible to make every word count without counting every word.

	*Red at the Bone* by Jacqueline Woodson "Two families from different social classes are joined together by an unexpected pregnancy and the child that it produces."
	*Dept. of Speculation* by Jenny Offill "A beguiling rumination on the mysteries of intimacy, trust, faith, knowledge, and the condition of universal shipwreck that unites us all."
	*Fever Dream* by Samanta Schweblin "Fever Dream is a nightmare come to life, a ghost story for the real world, a love story, and a cautionary tale."
	*The Swimmers* by Julie Otsuka "The Swimmers is a searing, intimate story of mothers and daughters, and the sorrows of implacable loss, written in spellbinding, incantatory prose."
	*The Last White Man* by Mohsin Hamid "Across the land, people are awakening in new incarnations, uncertain how their neighbors, friends, and family will greet them. A story of love, loss, and rediscovery in a time of unsettling change."
	*Convenience Store Woman* by Sayaka Murata "With some laugh-out-loud moments prompted by the disconnect between Keiko's thoughts and those of the people around her, she provides a sharp look at Japanese society and the pressure to conform, as well as penetrating insights into the female mind."
	*Assembly* by Natasha Brown "A story about the stories we live within--those of race and class, safety and freedom, winners and losers. And it is about one woman daring to take control of her own story, even at the cost of her life"
	*Goodbye, Vitamin* by Rachel Khong "Told in captivating glimpses and drawn from a deep well of insight, humor, and unexpected tenderness, Goodbye, Vitamin pilots through the loss, love, and absurdity of finding a one's footing in this life"
	*Mouth to Mouth* by Antoine Wilson "A novel in which a successful art dealer confesses the story of his rise to a former classmate in an airport bar--a story that begins with his rescue and resuscitation of a drowning man with whom he becomes inextricably and disturbingly linked."
	*Treasure Island!!!* by Sara Levine "When a college graduate reads Robert Louis Stevenson's novel, she is dumbstruck by the timid design of her life. ... Convinced that Stevenson's book is cosmically intended for her, she redesigns her life."
	*The Ballad of Black Tom* by Victor LaValle "LaValle cleverly subverts Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos by imbuing a black man with the power to summon the Old Ones, and creates genuine chills with his evocation of the monstrous Sleeping King,"
	*The Sense of an Ending* by Julian Barnes "This intense new novel follows a middle-aged man as he contends with a past he has never much thought about until his oldest friends return with a vengeance, one of them from the grave another maddeningly present."
	*Tinkers* by Paul Harding "An old man lies dying. As time collapses into memory, he travels deep into his past where he is reunited with his father and relives the wonder and pain of his impoverished New England youth."
	*We the Animals* by Justin Torres "From the intense familial unity felt by a child to the profound alienation he endures as he begins to see the world, this beautiful novel reinvents the coming-of-age story in a way that is sly and punch-in-the-stomach powerful."
	*Dear Committee Members* by Julie Schumacher "A series of hilarious letters of recommendation that a beleaguered professor is endlessly called upon by his students and colleagues to produce, each one of which is a small masterpiece of high dudgeon, low spirits, and passive-aggressive strategies.
	Summaries sourced from publishers' marketing materials

April's Featured Review

Nothing But Blackened Teeth - Cassandra Khaw

Hop on the Holds List

The Next Mrs. Parrish – Liv Constantine

A Talent for Murder – Peter Swanson

Eruption – Michael Crighton and James Patterson

Camino Ghosts – John Grisham

The Midnight Feast – Lucy Foley

Quote of the Month:

"Brevity is the Soul of Wit" - Hamlet (William Shakespeare)

Bookish News and Links:

Want personalized recommendations? Fill out a questionnaire to get a customized list sent directly to your email

Love Lists? Try these:

Bookshop.org lists some short classics that have retained their power.

How about Nonfiction that gets to the point? Bookriot offers 50 titles you may find interesting.

Adaptation News: Upcoming movies and shows based on books:

The Zone of Interest is an adaptation of Martin Amis' 2014 book of the same name and will stream on MAX beginning April 5.

Hulu will feature Under the Bridge, based on the true crime account of Rebecca Godfrey.

The Idea of You, the romance written by Robinne Lee will hit Prime Video on May 2.

Recent Reads

I have recently finished The Book of Love by Kelly Link and Twice Cursed, a follow-up anthology edited by Marie O'Regan and Paul Kane. I also just finished listening to Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll on Libby.

I am currently reading The Couple at Number 9 by Claire Douglas, and starting a reread of the next GPL Horror Book Group selection: The Return by Rachel Harrison. I am also listening to the audiobook of Erasure by Percival Everett.

Looking forward to the annual Spring publishing bonanza? What titles are you adding to your "must-read" list? Tell me all about it! : jnmegan@gpl.

Until next time: Be safe, be well, and be well-read!

Joelle

So, who am I, anyway? I am a resident of West Groton, with a husband, 3 children in college (and one at GDRHS) and a Samoyed that keeps my vacuum well-employed. I am currently working part time at the Groton Public Library and in a former life I was a Director or PR/Marketing at a high-tech consulting firm. My BA is in Psychology, but most of my time was spent in college earning a Concentration on the Novel. That is all to say that I make no claims at being an expert of any kind and my thoughts, opinions and mistakes are solely my own. I am just a person whose passion for books has continued to grow from the moment I was first able to grip and gnaw on them. I have been devouring them ever since.

Apr 01, 2024 / Joelle M Egan