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Do you finish books you don't like? |
Kerri Miller's Must-Read |
| "The Couple Next Door" by Shari LaPena Buy this book Ever stroll by your neighbor’s house and wonder what goes on behind that front door? We might have a nodding acquaintance with the people who dwell in our neighborhoods, but a 2015 Knight Foundation-funded study reported that one-third of all Americans have never even interacted with their neighbors. And when the Pew Research Center asked last year whether we trust our neighbors, 48 percent of us said we only trusted some — or none. Things might have turned out better if Anne and Marco Conti, the young couple in Shari LaPena’s book, hadn’t trusted theirs. Anne is still grappling with postpartum depression when their neighbors invite them over for a birthday dinner. She's reluctant to leave the baby with a sitter, but Cynthia and Graham insist. Aware that her husband is impatient with her “baby blues,” Anne finally agrees — and that sets a twisty kidnapping plot in motion. LaPena unwinds the story of what happens next from different points of view, and she drew me in almost instantly with her unreliable narrators. The novel is written in the present tense, which makes it an even trickier feat to pull off. Anne's fragile state of mind is so convincing, there’s a moment when you start to wonder if everything you think you know about her is wrong. One caveat: I got the sense that LaPena couldn’t decide whether to make this a police procedural or a flat-out thriller. But in the end, I didn’t care. I was along for the ride. -K.M. |
| This Week on The Thread |
| A post-election reading list The election has left people with a lot of questions. This reading list is aimed at sharing perspectives, offering insight and building understanding. More |
| 2016 National Book Award Winners Colson Whitehead's reimagining of the Underground Railroad took home the award for fiction. Rep. John Lewis, who collaborated on a graphic novel about his work with the Civil Rights movement, won in the Young People's Literature category. More |
| The term 'graphic novel' has had a good run. We don't need it anymore Coined in an era when comics were considered "junk" culture, "graphic novel" is a hoary, meaningless, and often completely inaccurate term. Comics are comics; stop apologizing for them. More |
| Zadie Smith's back with a new novel "Swing Time" by Zadie Smith Buy this book The narrator of Zadie Smith's new novel is never named — fitting, for a book about the illusions of identity and the ways people try and fail to know and define themselves. More |
| Do you finish books you don't like? If you don't love a book, do you finish reading it anyway? Or do you move on and get another? Take our poll. More |
| Why do so many books have "girl" in the title? "Gone Girl." "The Girl on the Train." "The Girls." "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo." What's behind all the "girl" titles? More |
| Astronauts, octopuses, intrigue: A grab bag reading list From kidnapping to reincarnation, and cadavers to the Opium Wars, this reading list will take you down some strange, delightful and terrifying rabbit holes. More |
| Bob Dylan will not pick up his Nobel Prize for Literature in person The Academy says Dylan told them that "he wishes he could receive the prize personally, but other commitments make it unfortunately impossible." More |
| The story you didn't know you wanted about Dr. Seuss and taxidermy Decades before he became a beloved children's book author, Theodor Geisel (better known as Dr. Seuss) created a series of whimsical sculptures he called "Unorthodox Taxidermy." More |
| Golden age of television? More like "Platinum" "The Platinum Age of Television" by David Bianculli Buy this book Longtime Fresh Air TV critic David Bianculli's new book lays out what he calls the "Key Evolutionary Stages" in the development of the medium — and the constant conversation we're having with it. More |
| Predictions from 1996: The e-book "Imagine that you're reading a book by holding just one thin, paper-like screen — a computer, really." That was a grand new idea back in 1996, when MPR News reporter Mary Stucky looked into the future of publishing. More |
| What book do you wish had a sequel? The last page of your favorite book can be a heartbreak. What story do you wish had continued? What literary world do you wish you could revisit? More |
| Megyn Kelly on standing up to Trump and Ailes "Settle for More" by Megyn Kelly Buy this book In her book, the Fox anchor shares scary and empowering moments covering the 2016 campaign. But Kelly says she doesn't regret not going up against Roger Ailes earlier. More |
| One of the most raved-about books of fall "The Mothers" by Brit Bennett Buy this book In crafting her novel, Brit Bennett said she wanted to trace "how girls become women without mothers to guide them through that transformation." More |
| One way to bridge the political divide: Read the book that's not for you "We all need to be reading across the lines we've drawn in our lives," says the National Book Foundation's Lisa Lucas. She recommends two books to help readers do just that. More |
| The business of trying to become a parent "The Art of Waiting" by Belle Boggs Buy this book Belle Boggs spent five difficult and painful years trying to get pregnant. In her new book, she shares what she learned about the longing and the business of trying to become a parent. More |
| "Arrival" author's approach to science fiction? Slow, steady and successful The new film is based on a short story by Ted Chiang — a 49-year-old technical writer based in Seattle. "Fiction writing is very hard for me," he explains — and so Chiang takes his time. More |
| Melding comics, hip-hop and Shakespeare "Prince of Cats" by Ronald Wimberly Buy this book Ron Wimberly's energetic re-working of Romeo and Juliet focuses on Tybalt, the "Prince of Cats." It mashes up wildly diverse elements into a fresh creation, the visual equivalent of a DJ's mix. More |
| Ask a bookseller: Rediscovered Books in Boise "The Forgetting" by Sharon Cameron Buy this book Bruce Delaney gave up his career as a physicist to open the bookstore. He normally reads a lot of history and science fiction, but a new YA book has caught his attention. More |
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