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by Christopher Morley
This charming novel was written in 1917 and has been in print since that time. It was the inspiration for our own Parnassus on Wheels bookmobile, not to mention the name of our store. The story is written from the point of view of Helen McGill, a spinster who chucks her lonely life in the country keeping house for her brother (a writer) to hit the road in a horse-drawn caravan selling books town to town. She manages to fall in love along the way. The witty dialogue in this book reminds me of something out of a Claudette Colbert movie. Read it, pass it on to a friend, and let’s keep this in print for another 100 years. – Karen Hayes
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by Matthew Desmond
It turns out rundown apartments rented by the very poor in dangerous neighborhoods cost as much as decent apartments in middle class neighborhoods. The difference is the rent can consume 90% of the income of the poor renter, and when they can’t pay they’re evicted. This book stands among the classics of social justice books. If you loved Behind the Beautiful Forevers, this is for you. – Ann Patchett |
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by Hope Jahren
I wasn’t sure about the title of this book or the cover, but all the pages inside are fantastic. Hope Jahren shows us what it means to be passionately committed to science. She would do anything to study trees. The writing is beautiful, the stories are both shocking and funny. This one is a jewel. – Ann Patchett
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by Edna O’Brien
This seems like a regular story about a sleepy little Irish town until the handsome stranger arrives. I don’t want to tell you more than that. Don’t read the reviews. They give too much away. Edna O’Brien is 87 years old and it is clear she is the master of her craft. – Ann Patchett
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by Cynthia D. Sweeney
Middle-aged siblings squabbling over their promised trust fund (the “nest”) that one has squandered with his wastrel ways… what’s not to like? Delicious satire, humor and the poignant ways of family interaction. THE novel of the spring season. – Kathy Schultenover
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by Rachel Cusk
Will someone please ask Rachel Cusk if she’s available to narrate my life and imbue it with as much graceful beauty as she has in Outline? That’d be great, thanks. – Lindsay Lynch
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by Sunjeev Sahota
Three young men from India come to England through very different means and one Sikh woman in England has her part to play. What plays out in the first year the men are in England is tense, heart-wrenching, and eventually hopeful. Immigration is tough. – Catherine Bock
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by Cecelia Ahern
In Celestine’s world, people who commit moral crimes are labeled Flawed and divided from society. Celestine is a perfect example of everything that is not flawed — right up until she makes a single, painful choice. A beautiful story about standing up against what’s wrong even when you have everything to lose. – Grace Wright
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by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Like any good sci-fi, Illuminae may be about planetary assaults, bio-engineered weapons, and one crazy AI, but what it is really about are the current issues we face every day: war, the refugee crises, fear-mongering, and — somehow, incredibly, in the middle of the madness — the love that makes us stand up and fight. – Grace Wright
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by J. K. Rowling
This is not the first time I’ve read Harry Potter. (I’m a proud Gryffindor!) It IS the first time I’ve read it since the wild popularity of books like The Hunger Games, though. Seeing how Rowling laid the groundwork for the success of the current wave of dystopic fiction is fascinating study in the growth of a genre. Bonus: You get to lose yourself in the world of Hogwarts again — what’s not to love?! – Niki Coffman
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by E. M. Forster
I picked this up because it’s one Zadie Smith loves. You can read the back of the book for details, but I love it now too for its exploration of the way generalization compromises more interesting truths; the shadow between the idea and the reality; and the ways even well-intentioned people miss each other. All this, with a wicked sense of humor: good, rare company. – Margy Roark
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by Helen Simonson
Same time and place as Downton Abbey, with similarly lovable characters and the issues they face. Helen Simonson beautifully renders the manners and mores of small town Britain in the story of schoolteacher Beatrice Nash and her challenges as an independent woman living under the “old ways,” while learning to love a man. Yeah, it’s really good! – Kathy Schultenover
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by Kimberly Williams-Paisley (foreword by Michael J. Fox)
Dementia is a grim subject, but Williams-Paisley is already a master storyteller. Her book pulled me in immediately. I cannot wait to read more of her work. – Sissy Gardner
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by Tom Bissell
Tom Bissell’s interests are a map with no edges — he’s written cogently on topics ranging from Werner Herzog to Grand Theft Auto to Tommy Wiseau to the creative process itself. In Apostle, his curiosity shifts to the lives and legends of Jesus’ most beloved followers. If you want a brilliant, secular exploration of these men from a respectful (and humorous) layman, this is the book for you. – Tristan Charles
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by Yunte Huang (editor)
Filled with both poetry and prose, this book is a literary testament to China’s century of crisis, as well as to the resurgence of creativity and current moment of promise. – Nathan Spoon
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by Ken Liu
I don’t have the words to do justice to Ken Liu’s beautiful story collection, so I’ll let NPR’s Amal El-Mohtar take the reins on this one: “I will be honest, and blunt, because this is a book that has scoured me of language and insight and left itself rattling around inside the shell of me. I have never been so moved by a collection of short fiction.” – Lindsay Lynch
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by Sara Moulton
When I was a brand-new adult, I turned on Sara Moulton’s “Cooking Live” every weeknight and watched this woman make a full dinner — mistakes and all — in 30 minutes on live TV. Other than my own mom and grandmother, this is the person who taught me to cook. I’d buy her book based on sentimental value alone, but it’s also full of brilliant, basic, useful cooking instruction. – Mary Laura Philpott
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by Ann Patchett
Now I know why people are breathless when they whisper, Bel Canto. If I were shipwrecked on a desert island with three books I hope this would be one of them. I would happily read and re-read for life. – River Jordan |
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by Nick Bantock
This intoxicating wonder celebrates 25 years. Must read, must gift, must have! – River Jordan |
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by Carmen Oliver, Jean Claude (illustrator)
Adelaide’s reading buddy sniffs out good books and has claws just right for turning pages. The joys of reading and friendship shine in this adorable picture book. – Rae Ann Parker
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by Kwame Alexander
Kwame Alexander scores a goal with Booked, the follow-up to his Newbery medal winning novel, The Crossover. This book is perfect for soccer players and anyone who likes books about sports, friendship, or family. – Rae Ann Parker
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by David Walliams, Tony Ross (illustrator)
I was a bit anxious about reading this book with my kids because I did not want to give them a reason to be afraid of the dentist. But we started reading it, and absolutely loved it! This is a hilarious book, reminiscent of Roald Dahl. – Ginger Nalley |
Parnassus on Wheels
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
Lab Girl
The Little Red Chairs
The Nest
Outline
The Year of the Runaways
Flawed
Illuminae
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
A Passage to India
The Summer Before the War
Where the Light Gets in: Losing My Mother Only to Find Her Again
Apostle: Travels Among the Tombs of the Twelve
The Big Red Book of Modern Chinese Literature: Writings from the Mainland in the Long Twentieth Century
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
Sara Moulton’s Home Cooking 101: How to Make Everything Taste Better
Bel Canto
The Pharos Gate: Griffin & Sabine’s Lost Correspondence
Bears Make the Best Reading Buddies
Booked
Spain in Our Hearts: Americans in the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939
When We Collided
April — The Color of Water by James McBride 
Want more? Catch our monthly Bookmark column in Nashville Arts Magazine each month.
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