A Good Book

By Linda Berlin

There’s something about curling up with a good book that I find so alluring. I turn my phone off for the occasion and prefer a physical book to an IPad. I also listen to audiobooks, loving their portability. I don’t think of an audiobook as cheating. The fact that someone is reading a book to me is so pleasurable that I vow never to give it up.

I mostly read fiction, but sometimes, a nonfiction book can hold me hostage. What An Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman is one such book. Thanks to Ackerman’s review of multiple studies, I know a little bit more about these killer nocturnal hunters who thrive after sunset and can hunt by sound alone. Ackerman dives into an owl’s habits, haunts, mating proclivities, and preferred diets. I had no idea that successful owl mating can depend on a healthy population of lemmings.  

I gather book recommendations from an assortment of places: friends, family, the newspaper, my favorite magazines, a writing conference, a social media post.

Thanks to one of my closest friends, I received a signed copy of what I consider the best debut novel of the year, Go As a River by Shelley Read. It’s about a young woman who finds forbidden love on the western slope of Colorado. Victoria Nash falls for a drifter displaced from his tribal land. When an unspeakable act of violence causes a chasm in her family, Victoria is forced to make one of the most difficult decisions of her life. I couldn’t put this book down. 

Another good one, Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, is notable for its strong narrative voice. This is my favorite audiobook of the year. It is told from the point of view of a brilliant, but arrogant giant Pacific octopus, Marcellus, who wanders the aquarium after hours foraging for snacks. When the octopus gets tangled in some electrical wires and nearly dies, Tova, a grieving widow who cleans the aquarium, finds him and saves him. They strike up a most unusual friendship. Eventually, Marcellus helps Tova discover a secret that leads her to a more fulfilling life. 

I’m sometimes drawn to a book because of its setting. The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue is a good example of this, because it takes place in Cork, my favorite Irish town. During a global financial meltdown, Rachel graduates college and gets hired to work in a bookstore where she becomes friends with James, a co-worker. When he goads her into throwing a book party for a married professor whom she has a crush on, things take an unlikely turn. The book is one big hot mess. Love it.

In contrast, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, is a touching portrayal of what family is and can be. Lara’s three grown daughters return to Michigan to help with the cherry harvest during Covid and ask to hear the story of their mother’s summer stock days, when she dated a man who later became a famous actor. Lara dips into the tumultuous past, then retreats to the present day with such a masterful touch it demonstrates why Patchett is the queen of literary fiction. Interestingly enough, she wrote this entire book while walking on a treadmill.

And did you ever read Dear Edward? It was a little hard for me, as an airline pilot, to digest a fictional book about the sole survivor of an airplane crash, but I’m so glad I did because it led me to Hello Beautiful, Ann Napolitano’s next book. It celebrates the importance of family. Reclusive William Waters meets ambitious Julia Padavano, in college. William is estranged from his own family and instantly embraced by Julia’s three sisters, who are inseparable. When William’s past catches up with him, his relationship with Julia splits apart, and the Padavano sisters are suddenly, painfully divided as well.

Last, but certainly not least, my thirst for art on work trips has led me to a fascination for John Singer Sargent. In Paul Fisher’s new book, The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World, I learn that Sargent spent most of his childhood in Europe, where he developed a solid work habit, joining the Paris salons in his early twenties. As a good friend to Isabella Stewart Gardner, Sargent’s paintings pepper the walls of Gardner's famous museum in Boston, some of them were considered quite scandalous at the time. 

While it is hard to choose favorites, if you have a new book that you love, please share it with me because I’m always on the hunt for the next good read. I wish you a Happy New Year surrounded by friends, family, and lots of well-written books!