One of the island’s beloved bookworms Tim Ehrenberg gives his required reading for Spring.
The Immortalists
By Chloe Benjamin
My reading this year started with January’s bestseller, The Immortalists, which is perfect for book clubs. Author Chloe Benjamin asks the question, “If you knew the date of your death, how would you live your life?” The book follows four siblings as they probe the line between destiny and choice from the 1970s to today.
An American Marriage
By Tayari Jones
This book snuck up on me in February. I didn’t expect to read it all in one sitting—but I did. It’s a complex, character-driven suspense story in which “nobody’s wrong and everybody’s wounded.” The book makes you examine injustice, betrayal, loyalty, racism and marriage. An American Marriage deserves all of the attention it has received from being Oprah’s Book Club pick this year.
Educated
By Tara Westover
This book is an inspirational memoir about a young girl who leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PHD from Cambridge University. It’s a powerful true story of self-invention by someone who was isolated from mainstream society in her youth and left everything she knew behind on her quest to be Educated.
Children of Blood and Bone
By Tomi Adeyemi
Praised as “the next big thing” and “a phenomenon” in young adult literature, Children of Blood and Bone is the first in the Orïsha Trilogy. It’s a story about a land where magic was wiped from existence by an evil monarch and about those who rise up to bring magic back. The author’s epic worldbuilding is steeped in African culture, history and tradition and includes everything that makes a fantasy series worth binge-reading.
Speak No Evil
By Uzodinma Iweala
This book, published in March, speaks to our immediate cultural reality as the country grapples with immigration, race, policing and sexual identity. Written by the author of Beasts of No Nation, Speak No Evil is a coming of age story told from an African perspective. The story will resonate with all people who experience the emotions that come with self-discovery, joy, sadness, love and fear.
The Female Persuasion
By Meg Wolitizer
April showers brought May flowers, bright colors and this anticipated release being hailed as “the perfect feminist blockbuster of our times!” It’s first and foremost a relatable story with memorable characters, but more than that it gives us a modern text to examine female ambition, mentorship, friendship and gender struggles.
All books available at Mitchell’s Book Corner & Nantucket Bookworks. Click title or book image to order online.
