It's hard to read, and harder to put down
The Thread's Must-Reads
"The End We Start From”by Megan Hunter
Buy this book
Summer is at an end, but you still have time to finish another book if you choose a quick read. Here are two books you can finish in a weekend — even in just a day.
In "The End We Start From," a new mother balances raising her newborn son with struggling to survive a environmental disaster that has turned all of England into refugees. It's deeply moving and it's not dystopic fiction; it's a realistic look at how people would react and survive if waters started rising across an entire first world country.
At a time when Americans are facing this exact situation, it's a powerful read. Author Megan Hunter is a poet, and that's on display: She writes her novella in snippets of impressionistic prose. You can read it in a few hours.
"Fierce Kingdom”by Gin Phillips
Buy this book
"Fierce Kingdom" by Gin Phillips also happens to be about a mother and son fighting for survival. This time the boy, Lincoln, is a preschooler and a joyful kid who loves Iron Man, pretending to be a turtle and talking talking talking. His chatterbox nature becomes a liability when gun men take over the zoo while he is visiting with his mom, Joan. Can she keep them hidden and keep him quiet while an unknown number of assailants stalk and kill visitors? This literary thriller is as much about human nature as it is about what happens next. And you won't want to put it down. I read it in a day.
-Stephanie Curtis
A book that's hard to read, harder to put down "My Absolute Darling" by Gabriel Tallent
Buy this book
"My Absolute Darling" is Gabriel Tallent's first novel, and no less than Stephen King has called it a "masterpiece" to rank with "To Kill A Mockingbird" and "Catch-22."
More
What "science gone wrong" can teach us "Pandora's Lab: Seven Stories of Science Gone Wrong" by Paul A. Offit
Buy this book
"Pandora's Lab" stresses that for science to work, it needs to base claims on data, studies need to be replicable, and scientists must be more attached to science than to their own ideas, says Alva Noe.
More
For "Jaws" fans, a look at what it's really like to hunt a shark "Shark Drunk" by Morten Stroksnes
Buy this book
Bookseller Molly Coogan works not far from where "Jaws" was filmed. Her reading recommendation is right on theme, "even if you missed Shark Week."
More
The brief, tumultuous reign of an erstwhile best-seller For a while Thursday, Lani Sarem's debut, "Handbook for Mortals," stood as the reigning best-seller in young adult literature. Within hours, it had been removed from the list entirely. What happened?
More
The lives of those within "The Force" "The Force" by Don Winslow
Buy this book
The cops of the Manhattan North Special Force in Don Winslow's new novel are "detective kings" — earning respect, playing the system and edging ever closer to the line. Listen to MPR's Kerri Miller interview Winslow.
More
Take a walk on the wilder side of death “Reincarnation Blues" by Michael Poore
Buy this book
Michael Poore's new novel is surprisingly goofy for a book about dying. It's the story fishing guide Milo, who's just been eaten by a shark. Oh, and he's in love with Death, who's also named Suzie.
More
Writing Mississippi: Jesmyn Ward salvages stories of the silenced "Sing, Unburied, Sing" by Jesmyn Ward
Buy this book
The author's books are set in the poor, black Mississippi community where she grew up, a place where, she says, "the past bears very heavily on the present."
More
A botanist's guide to Tolkien's Middle Earth “The Flora of Middle-Earth" by Walter S. Judd and Graham A. Judd
Buy this book
Botanist Walter Judd has created a book that tests the limits of "The Lord of the Rings" fandom. It's an examination of the many plants and trees that J.R.R. Tolkien used in his novels.
More
Taking on all the "Girl" stories “The Burning Girl" by Claire Messud
Buy this book
Edgar Allan Poe once wrote that the death of a beautiful woman is "unquestionably, the most poetical topic in the world." In her new book, Claire Messud responds: Not to us women.
More
Don't miss Talking Volumes 2017 Get tickets to see Sherman Alexie, Jacqueline Woodson, Amy Tan, Ron Chernow and Dan Brown at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul this fall.
Get tickets
