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

Now in Paperback

State of Wonder

by 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

The Lady of the Rivers

by Philippa Gregory

“I was riveted from the beginning of this amazing novel, when Jaquetta, a powerful, passionate woman born in tumultuous times, is introduced to Joan of Arc. From Jaquetta's marriage at a young age to a much older duke, and how she negotiates their relationship and her place in court, to her falling in love with a brave knight, Jacquetta's story will keep you transfixed. A riveting read for lovers of historical fiction and fans of Philippa Gregory. You won't be disappointed!”

Kym Havens, Wellesley Booksmith, Wellesley, MA

Caleb's Crossing

by Geraldine Brooks

“Caleb's Crossing reveals how early pioneers and native inhabitants of what is now Martha's Vineyard were capable of intense friendship and a sharing of spiritual beliefs despite dissimilar backgrounds. Employing the language of the time, Brooks once again proves her prowess in this story of the education of the first Native American to graduate from Harvard College. Caleb, the son of a chieftain, faces criticism from his own people as well as from white society. The narrator, Bethia Mayfield, desires the same education as Caleb but is denied due to her sex. The two become lifelong friends and their story is an emotional and evocative look at a crossing of cultures.”

Karen Briggs, Great Northern Books and Hobbies, Oscoda, MI 

The Language of Flowers

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

“During the Victorian era, flowers conveyed expressions of love and were often used as a form of communication. Victoria Jones, an abandoned child who has been evicted from many group homes, learns this language, and upon her emancipation at age 18, eventually finds a job with a caring florist. A chance meeting at a flower market forces her to confront her past and learn to love and trust someone again. Diffenbaugh's extraordinary debut brings forth in elegant prose the emotions of anger and mistrust, love and loss, and the possibilities for a second chance at happiness.”

Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT

The Last Werewolf

by Glen Duncan

“With this novel, Duncan has reinvented a genre. Jake Marlowe is literally the last werewolf in existence, and after 200 years he has resigned himself to a date with his executioner at the next full moon. That is, until everything changes. Duncan's razor-sharp writing combines all the gory raunchiness of classic horror with the elegance of top literary fiction, while also managing to include a considerable amount of hip pop culture. This is a smart and engaging thriller that is not to be missed.”

Katherine Osborne, Kennebooks, Kennebunk, ME