Reading Recommendations from the staff of the American Writers Museum.
We can’t recommend these books highly enough! Check back every month for more reading recommendations, from classics that we reread over and over to new favorites. If you’re looking for your next book, you came to the right place.
Our April staff picks are also available on Bookshop.org, which benefits independent bookstores. We also strongly encourage you to support your local bookstore by visiting them in person or ordering online through them directly.
The Bone Forest by Robert Holdstock
Wondrous beings inhabit these woods—creatures born of mythic fable and the mortal subconscious: a snow woman beckons; a scientist succumbs to an age-old madness, tale-tellers weave extraordinary yarns of terrifying primal power. Explore a dark and secret place where daemons roam, where conjurers work their awesome pagan magic in eight stunning short stories of exhilarating imagination by the acclaimed author of Lavondyss and the World Fantasy Award-winning classic Mythago Wood.
—Cassidy, Guest Services/Operations Assistant
A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn
From the publisher: “London, 1887. After burying her spinster aunt, orphaned Veronica Speedwell is free to resume her world travels in pursuit of scientific inquiry—and the occasional romantic dalliance. As familiar with hunting butterflies as with fending off admirers, Veronica intends to embark upon the journey of a lifetime. But fate has other plans when Veronica thwarts her own attempted abduction with the help of an enigmatic German baron, who offers her sanctuary in the care of his friend Stoker, a reclusive and bad-tempered natural historian. But before the baron can reveal what he knows of the plot against her, he is found murdered—leaving Veronica and Stoker on the run from an elusive assailant as wary partners in search of the villainous truth.”
—Cristina P., Storyteller
Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors by Gordon Greenberg and Steve Rosen
From the publisher: “Ever wondered what would happen if you took Bram Stoker’s legendary vampire tale and put it into a blender with Mel Brooks, Monty Python, and The 39 Steps? That’s just what happens in this lightning-fast, laugh-out-loud, 90-minute, gender-bending romp. When her sister Mina falls ill with a mysterious disease of the blood, Lucy Westfeldt and her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, enlist the help of famed female vampire hunter Doctor Jean Van Helsing. Their hunt for the dangerous and sexy Count Dracula abounds with clever wordplay and quick-change antics. Five actors play over a dozen roles in this bloodcurdlingly hilarious send-up of the literary classic.”
—Matt, Community Engagement Manager
The Essential W. S. Merwin, edited by Michael Wiegers
From the publisher: “The Essential W.S. Merwin traces a poetic legacy that has changed the landscape of American letters: seven decades of audacity, rigor, and candor distilled into one definite volume curated to represent the very best works from a vast oeuvre, from his 1952 debut, A Mask for Janus, to 2016’s Garden Time…Across the decades, beyond headlines, policies, and trends, W.S. Merwin’s poems point to the lessons that hide in the shadows of sentience.”
I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Sonnet Kekilia Coggins, Executive Director of the Merwin Conservancy, for the next episode of our podcast Nation of Writers about Merwin. We discussed Merwin’s poetry and legacy, and how he worked tirelessly to protect and conserve the natural world. The episode will air later this month, so subscribe to Nation of Writers wherever you listen to podcasts to be notified when it is released. Also, I highly recommend “Place” to start with, one of my favorite poems by Merwin!
—Christopher, Director of Operations
Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillan, with Johnny Donahue
From the publisher: “You’re six years old. Mum’s in hospital. Dad says she’s ‘done something stupid.’ She finds it hard to be happy. So you start to make a list of everything that’s brilliant about the world. Everything that’s worth living for.
1. Ice Cream
2. Kung Fu Movies
3. Burning Things
4. Laughing so hard you shoot milk out your nose
5. Construction cranes
6. Me
You leave it on her pillow. You know she’s read it because she’s corrected your spelling. Soon, the list will take on a life of its own. A new play about depression and the lengths we will go to for those we love.”
—Matt, Community Engagement Manager
Far Sector by N.K. Jemison, art by Jamal Campbell
I do not like Green Lantern as a general rule. I DO, however, love N.K. Jemisin, so I gave this story a shot. Let me tell you, I think she may have converted me to liking Green Lantern. This story subverts what I hate about most Green Lanterns (the idea that blind courage equals “willpower” bothers me deeply), and instead focuses on a character that fights with the constant fear that she will never see her efforts rewarded with change. The story is a sci-fi murder mystery set on the far edges of the universe. Lantern Sojourner Mullein is the only human, and only person legally allowed to feel emotions, in The City Enduring and must use her unique perspective to solve the crime.
—Ari, Assistant Director, Operations & Exhibits
Go Tell It on the Mountain by James Baldwin
From the publisher: “In one of the greatest American classics, Baldwin chronicles a fourteen-year-old boy’s discovery of the terms of his identity…Baldwin’s rendering of his protagonist’s spiritual, sexual, and moral struggle of self-invention opened new possibilities in the American language and in the way Americans understand themselves. With lyrical precision, psychological directness, resonating symbolic power, and a rage that is at once unrelenting and compassionate, Baldwin tells the story of the stepson of the minister of a storefront Pentecostal church in Harlem one Saturday in March of 1935. Originally published in 1953, Baldwin said of his first novel, ‘Mountain is the book I had to write if I was ever going to write anything else.'”
—Linda, Director of Development
Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
A novel of sisterhood, sacrifice, and the transformative power of storytelling, blending historical fiction with myth in a captivating narrative that explores the resilience of women through generations. This book was the first in a long time to keep me up at night, touching my heart so deeply that I felt the urge to call my sisters right away.
—Noelle, Education Program Coordinator
The One Hand: Issue #1 by Ram V
From the publisher: “Neo Novena detective Ari Nasser is about to retire with an enviable record, until a brutal murder occurs, bearing all the hallmarks of the ‘One Hand Killer’…which should be impossible, since Ari already put him away not once, but twice in the years before. What follows is a deadly cat-and-mouse game as Ari pursues his quarry down the rain-soaked streets of Neo Novena. Ari will stop at nothing to unravel the secrets and ciphers of this case, but each revelation only leads further into the dark heart of his future-metropolis and Ari’s own beleaguered soul.
—Cassidy, Guest Services/Operations Assistant
The Palace at Dusk by Angela Terry
From the publisher: “After Jae spends years in love with a man who isn’t hers and jeopardizes her career in the process, a series of unexpected developments shake her awake and force her to confront the cost—and the future—of their affair. She needs to make a choice, but love stories are rarely black and white, and the right path isn’t so clear. With her head and her heart pulling her in opposite directions, Jae must somehow chart a course between them in order to find her happily ever after.”
I am excited to welcome Terry to the American Writers Museum on April 23 to discuss her new book with AWM members. This is a members-only event from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm with complimentary wine and cheese. Not a member? Join or upgrade today!
—Matt, Community Engagement Manager
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
From the publisher: “In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction of her home and family, and realized her vision of a peaceful community in northern California based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed. The fledgling community provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to ‘make America great again.’ In an increasingly divided and dangerous nation, Lauren’s subversive colony—a minority religious faction led by a young black woman—becomes a target for President Jarret’s reign of terror and oppression. Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew, Lauren Olamina. As she searches for answers about her own past, she also struggles to reconcile with the legacy of a mother caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future.”
—Christopher, Director of Operations
Pay Dirt by Sara Paretsky
From the publisher: “Legendary detective V.I. Warshawski, the ‘original female private detective,’ finds herself in Kansas where she uncovers a mystery with roots dating back to the American Civil War, plunging the reader into a conflict that is splitting today’s schools, libraries, and legislatures into warring camps: how do we address the history of race in the United States? This edge-of-your-seat thriller is the 23rd book in the V.I. Warshawski series from New York Times bestseller Sara Paretsky.”
We are thrilled to host Paretsky at the AWM on April 16 at 6:00 pm for the launch of Pay Dirt. Books will be available for purchase and Paretksy will sign them in person. Get your tickets to attend in person here, or register here for the livestream.
—Nate, Digital Content Associate
Sunshine Patriots by Bill Campbell
From the publisher: “Rebellion erupts on the ‘paradise’ planet of Elysia, plunging the colony into chaos. In response, the all-powerful United Earth dispatches its elite corps of cyborg soldiers, led by Aaron ‘The Berber’ Barber. For a hero celebrated galaxy-wide for his acts of bravery against alien hordes, a ragtag group of colonized miners with antiquated weapons should be no challenge. But Barber and his soldiers are unprepared to meet the most dangerous enemy yet—humans just like them. And on Elysia, the soldiers discover dangers that neither United Earth nor the Elysians themselves could have foreseen. The secrets Barber and his soldiers uncover lead them to question the true meaning of freedom in a world where nothing is what it seems.”
—Nate, Digital Content Associate
Tell About Night Flowers: Eudora Welty’s Gardening Letters, 1940-1949 by Julia Eichelberger
From the publisher: “Welty’s lyrical, witty, and poignant discussions of gardening and nature are delightful in themselves; they are also figurative expressions of Welty’s views of her writing and her friendships. Taken together with thirty-five illustrations, they form a poetic narrative of their own, chronicling artistic and psychic developments that were underway before Welty was fully conscious of them…it also reveals a brilliant and generous mind responding to the public events, people, art, and natural landscapes Welty encountered at home and on her travels during the 1940s.”
Speaking of writing and nature, join us for our next happy hour event on April 9 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Get Lit: Poetry in Bloom celebrates the harmony of writing and nature with an open mic, arts & crafts, a scavenger hunt, and of course refreshing beverages. We hope you can join us!
—Cristina C., Guest Services & Operations Supervisor
Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table by Ruth Reichl
From the publisher: “At an early age, Ruth Reichl discovered that ‘food could be a way of making sense of the world. If you watched people as they ate, you could find out who they were.’ Her deliciously crafted memoir Tender at the Bone is the story of a life defined, determined, and enhanced in equal measure by a passion for food, by unforgettable people, and by the love of tales well told… Spiced with Reichl’s infectious humor and sprinkled with her favorite recipes, Tender at the Bone is a witty and compelling chronicle of a culinary sensualist’s coming-of-age.”
—Cristina P., Storyteller
Visit our Reading Recommendations page for more book lists.