You’ve been promising yourself all year to take time to read, and what better time is there than the lazy, hazy days of sumer? This year, of course, you have your choice of format. You can do the format that has been with us for centuries, the printed book. Or you can do the electronic reader, like Kindle. Either way, a book, is a book. Here are a few recently published books that will help you while away the hours:
Noah’s Compass, By Anne Tyler
You’re always in good hands with the prolific and insightful Tyler. This is the Baltimore-centric author’s 18th book. You might recognize some of her other titles – The Accidental Tourist, The Amateur Marriage and Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant to name a few. Noah’s Compass revolves around Liam Pennywell, who has lost his teaching job at the age of 61. He then attempts to make some sense of the rest of his life.
Willie Mays:The Life, the Legend By James S. Hirsch
Willie Mays was a major player in the major leagues once upon a time, but even now is a major player on the great cultural mural of American life. He was an African-American ballplayer who started in the major leagues with the old New York Giants, and soon showed he excelled at just about everything a ballplayer could do. He was also seen, later, as a major black public figure who helped with racial assimilation during the 1960s, The book incorporates many interviews with Mays.
The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durro
This is the story of a biracial girl growing up in the 1980s in America, coming to terms with her own identity. Fittingly, it is written by a biracial woman, so even though this is a novel, Durrow clearly knows the territory. The central character of the book, Rachel, is the daughter of a black American soldier and a Danish mother, but is raised by her black grandmother. With blue eyes and light brown skin, she tries to cope with her own identity.
Innocent By Scott Turow
You read that correctly. This is not Turow’s 1987 hit book, “Presumed Innocent,” but a whole new novel that is nonetheless a sequel to his earlier work. Rusty Sabich, a central character in his ’87 book, is back, this time puzzling over the mysterious death of his wife.
Solar by Ian McEwan
The author has a long string of books behind him, dating back to 1975. The London resident has now written what has been called a satirical novel that has climate change at its center. The main character is physicist Michael Beard who has a history, but not much of a future. Despite the seriousness of those subjects, the book is funny. Quite a trick.
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