Monday, May 28, 2012

Summer '12 Reading Suggestions from the Indie Next List

Each summer, Indie Bound puts together a list of book suggestions for reading groups. Many people read from this list all year long... I'm including the top five picks from the list here. For the full list and more details, stop by Hattie's Books in downtown Brunswick! It's a great time to read.

The Tiger's Wife
A Novel, by Téa Obreht

“Very rarely does a first novel announce a major new talent, but so it is with The Tiger's Wife. Brilliantly using myth and legend from the Balkans, Tea Obreht tells the story of a young doctor, her grandfather, and their shared history against the backdrop of the area's decades of turmoil and sorrow. This brilliant effort evokes echoes of Borges and Garcia Marquez, and is certain to mesmerize the reader.”
-- Bill Cusumano, Nicola's Books, Ann Arbor, MI



The Art of Fielding: A Novel
Chad Harbach
“Every now and then, a life-affirming novel comes along that gets everybody talking and The Art of Fielding is such a book. It is an accomplished first novel sure to raise the bar for every debut in the near future. Building from the loaded bases of a Wisconsin college baseball field, Harbach's team is like family; we cheer their victories, feel their losses, and grow up a little more with every lesson learned. Anyone claiming to be a reader cannot miss this grand slam of a book.”
—Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books, Wichita, KS

The Art of Hearing Heartbeats: A Novel
Jan-Philipp Sendker
“This is one of the most beautiful love stories I've ever read. Two people, doomed to a life of misery, find pure happiness in sharing their love even when time, distance, and family keep them apart. While you are reading this wonderful novel, your life might actually change; you will notice things you never did before, and your senses will be heightened and sharpened whether hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling, or even seeing. Read this book -- you will neither regret nor forget it.”
—Jean-Paul Adriaansen, Water Street Books, Exeter, NH
Turn of Mind
Alice LaPlante
“This is an emotionally intense story of a 64-year-old hand surgeon, Jennifer White, as she experiences the unyielding onslaught of dementia. On any given day she is lucid, catatonic, violent, or very, very sly. Does she feel any remorse for her less-than-stellar parenting of her two children? Did she kill her friend Amanda and amputate her fingers? LaPlante's exceptional skill with words puts readers inside this brilliant woman's mind so that we might experience her anger, frustration, and increasing confusion. This is a remarkable, heart-wrenching, and utterly compelling debut novel.”                        —Susan Wasson, Bookworks, Albuquerque, NM

State of Wonder: A Novel
Ann Patchett
“When Marina Singh receives a note that her office mate, Anders Eckman, has died in the Amazon while investigating scientific work on female fertility, she is persuaded to follow him into the jungle in search of the doctor with whom he worked -- who has also exerted a crucial influence on Marina's life - and to retrieve Anders' personal effects. This spellbinding, richly atmospheric novel raises ethical questions about scientific research and discovery, loyalty, honesty, and love. Not to be missed!”         —Tova Beiser, Brown University Bookstore, Providence, RI



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