"The Great American Read" has picked a winner
The Thread's Must-Read
"The Witch Elm"by Tana French
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I've never read Tana French, despite being told over and over that I should. I tried "The Likeness," but couldn't buy into the premise that the detective at the center of the tale was an exact doppelganger for a murder. Sometimes, I cannot suspend disbelief.
"The Witch Elm" converted me.
French's main character, PR wunderkind Toby Hennessy, has good looks, close mates, a loving girlfriend and a comfortable life in Dublin subsidized by his parents. He breezes through a vapid life without noticing his unearned advantages, until his family discovers a human skull in the garden of their ancestral home. The thrill of this 500-page tome is not just Toby discovering whodunit — which is worth the long wait — but also Toby discovering Toby.
-Stephanie Curtis
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"Mockingbird" chosen as America's best-loved novel in vote The other top-five finishers in order of votes were Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series about a time-spanning love; J.K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" boy wizard tales; Jane Austen's romance "Pride and Prejudice"; and J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" fantasy saga.
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Getting too old for Narnia "The Light Between Worlds" by Laura E. Weymouth
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Laura Weymouth's new novel follows two sisters struggling with the aftermath of their adventures in a magic land. That struggle is the vivid heart of the book, but its Narnia-lite doesn't quite work.
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Fierce and spiky, these short stories pack a big punch "Friday Black" by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
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Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's intellectually hefty debut works through ideas about racism, about classism and capitalism, about the apocalypse, and, most of all, about the corrosive power of belief.
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Here are the winners of the 2018 Kirkus Prizes Ling Ma's debut, "Severance," won for fiction. "Crown" earned Derrick Barnes and Gordon James the young readers' prize. And Rebecca Solnit's essays, "Call Them by Their True Names," won nonfiction laurels.
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Parkland survivors present a blueprint for launching social change "Glimmer of Hope" by March For Our Lives founders
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With a new collection of essays, the 25 founders of March For Our Lives return the subject of the Parkland shooting and gun violence to national consciousness just in time for midterms elections.
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The Beastie Boys on their hip-hop journey and missing Adam Yauch "Beastie Boys Book"
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Adam Horovitz (aka Ad-Rock) and Mike Diamond (Mike D) of the hip-hop group Beastie Boys talk about their new book, which is largely a love letter to their late band mate, Adam "MCA" Yauch. Plus they reflect on growing up in 1980s New York City and how they gained respect in hip-hop.
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A chronicle of friendship, loss and life on the road "The Travelling Cat Chronicles" by Hiro Arikawa
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You don't have to be a cat lover to enjoy Hiro Arikawa's novel about a man and his cat, traveling across Japan to visit old friends. And you may find yourself tearing up by the end.
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You might learn a "Little" about Madame Tussaud in new novel based on her life "Little" by Edward Carey
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Edward Carey's new novel "Little," which he also illustrated, is based on the mysterious life of Madame Tussaud and the origins of her famous wax museum.
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Twitter star Jonny Sun draws "positive, hopeful things" into being "Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You," written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, illustrated by Jonny Sun
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The comedian and illustrator joined forces with Lin-Manuel Miranda for "Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You." Sun says he filled the book's 100+ drawings with peace and quiet optimism.
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Poet Tony Hoagland dies at 64 Tony Hoagland, known for his barbed wit, was published by Graywolf Press in Minneapolis.
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Jill Soloway gets transparent about their life and work "She Wants It: Desire, Power and Toppling the Patriarchy" by Jill Soloway
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The creator of the hit show about a trans woman and her family says patriarchy and white supremacy have a hold on storytelling in Hollywood — and other people want a chance to speak.
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Futuristic dreams turn to nightmare "The Electric State" by Simon Stålenhag
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In his latest book, Swedish artist Simon Stalenhag uses his ghostly photorealism to create an alternate America overcome by an addiction to technology, by drought, by war and loss and loneliness.
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