Late Summer 2026 Book Marks
Fiction:
The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
I love Strout’s taut prose and stark new England settings. This book is a particularly prescient mediation on aging, loneliness, parenting and friendship in an increasingly fractured world. Artie Dam is a history teacher nearing the end of his career. He is beloved by his students, has a perfectly lovely wife and a somewhat estranged son, who earlier in his life has caused the family enormous pain. But Artie has been living a private life. Plagued by feelings of isolation from his own family, he is increasingly upset by the political landscape and the cruelty beginning to seep into his 11 th grade classroom. When he learns of a secret his wife has been keeping, his world turns upside down and he is forced to reconsider the relationships he hold dear. Strout deftly looks forward in times during the narrative, peeking her head up to tell us where something will end without blowing the story. She’s a delightful writer who can exhume the very mournful but realistic soul of a human being’s interior life.
Fiction:
Big Little Truths by Liane Moriarty
As the follow-up to the major hit “Big Little Lies,” Moriarty returns with a sequel of the same gang now grown into teenagers. Madeline, Celeste, Jane, Renata and Bonnie are now in high school and the minor hurts of not being invited somewhere have given way to bigger teen problems, from sex, drugs, alcohol and everything in between. Each of the women is at a pivotal point in their lives, examining the crossroads of their own parent’s potential dementia, cancer, and an uneasy sense of what comes next. When a human finger is mailed to the high school principal, everything is thrown into high gear, revealing something sinister happening underneath the tightly connected group of women. The truth will shock everyone and resonate with every parent as a deepest fear.
Fiction:
Audition by Katie Kitamura
An older woman and a man, young enough to be her son, are eating at an intimate restaurant. She’s an accomplished actress getting ready for a premiere and to onlookers, it’s unclear exactly how he fits into the picture. Who is this mystery man and how does he connect with her? In this creatively constructed novel, two different and opposing narratives occur, leaving it to the reader to decide what is real and what is imagined. The author’s terse yet descriptive writing style is hypnotic, and you can read this book in one sitting.
Fiction:
The Names by Florence Knapp
The construct of this novel took me a second to understand and once I did, I was all in. The books opens as Cora takes her 9-year-old daughter to town to register her son’s birth and officially record his name. Her husband, Gordon, a respected local doctor, expects that his son will carry his name as they have agreed. What she does next becomes the sliding door premise of this book. Gordon is violent with Cora, a serial abuser, and in this first chapter, in a moment of insurrection on Cora’s part, she gives her son a different name to free him from that legacy and heavy mantle. What follows is a fascinating look at three alternate versions of their lives that transpire in the wake of Cora’s moment of hesitation. Through the lens of the “what if’s,” the author presents the many possibilities that can flow from one single decision.
Fiction:
The Insomniacs by Allison Winn Scotch
New York is the city that never sleeps, but what if you’re unable to fall asleep…even if you want to? We all know the worst scenarios and blackest thoughts attack in the middle of the night. In this tale of four people, a lonely mom in middle age, a baseball pro with an injury, a retiree and a young waitress, we see a cross section of people looking for connection with unlikely friends. Within a short time, the group becomes a kind of family, connected by their inability to sleep. When one of them goes missing, the friends begin to piece together clues and look for answers that require them each to face tough questions about themselves.
Fiction:
The Good Parts by Evann Normandin
Landon planned to spend forever with Rose, but when he opens her letter, he learns she’s now living in Scotland and dating someone new. Moreover, she’s been through a radical treatment that will erase her memory and help her move on from her grief and her past. Refusing to lose the love of his life, Landon assumes that if she fell for him once, she can do it again. He reintroduces himself to her as a total stranger and their lives quickly entwine. But human nature and love can defy science and when Rose starts to exhibit strange symptoms as they grow closer, it’s clear their history has not vanished, it’s only been buried. Remembering could have an ugly cost.
Fiction:
Habits of the Sea by Shea Ernshaw
A violent storm strikes one night along the wild Scottish coast on the very night Clay Lockhart’s wife dies. Almost as if the land has solidarity in his grief, a chunk of land around the house tears off that night and is set adrift, never to be seen on the coast again. Ellie Mills, a twelve-year-old girl in Nova Scotia, discovers the island one night, floating off the coast and Clay invites her in to tend to an injury in the weatherworn farmhouse. Time inside the house has no meaning and Clay hasn’t aged a day, adrift in his own memories of the past. Decades later, with Ellie now in her 30’s, the island is spotted again and she decides to confront her past and solve the mystery in this haunting and romantic tale through time and memory.
Fiction:
The Refuge by Carly Hillman
Deep in the heart of the western wilds, ranger Johnny Hayward finds a traumatized young girl named Maeve. When the police arrive, she abruptly tells them that Johnny is her father, and in a split-second decision, they both become involved in a life-long cover up. Fast-forward decades and Maeve’s daughter Ava grows up at “The Refuge” as the tract of wilderness is called. She lives in the staff cabins with her mother and is training to be a ranger. When she starts to date a local boy, serious questions intrude. Why does her mother never leave the grounds, and why has her mother scared her so much about life outside The Refuge? Angry at the lack of answers. Ava follows a series of clues that lead to the mystery around Maeve’s arrival all those years ago.
Non-Fiction:
Dear Dealer by Nadia Bowers
This unflinching and honest book grew out of the tragedy of losing a sister to drug use. Actress Nadia Bowers learned that her sister Sasha, a social worker and Ivy League graduate, was found dead in her car from a fentanyl overdose. Swamped by grief in the wake of this news, she began to piece together what might have happened by looking at her sister’s cell phone to discover more about her sister’s shadow life. Just weeks away from giving birth to her first child, Nadia begins to imagine the dealer who sold her that fatal dose and begins to write letters to them, full of anger and anguish in her search for meaning and hope after such a senseless event. In a book that is part memoir, love letter, catharsis and a plea for answers, we see the whole of human relationship and the love of siblings as well as the chasm of grief that surrounds such profound loss.
Humorist Essays:
The Land and Its People by David Sedaris
David Sedaris makes me laugh out loud with his gimlet-eyed and saucy take on life. Whether he’s describing a coveted garment with four armholes, caregiving his beloved partner Hugh or crossing swords with his equally funny sister Amy, his view of the world provides a much needed exhale at a time when we are all taking things far too seriously.
Memoir:
Famesick by Lena Dunham
At 25 years of age, Lena Dunham splashed onto the scene and rose to fame with the HBO series “Girls” and its “in your face” look at youth, sex and culture in America. She was the writer, director and producer of the show, showing up at the Met gala and dating one of the most influential musicians and producers. Behind the scenes, the story was very different. Lena had always struggled with her body, which was rebelling against her with pain, immunological symptoms and a growing addition to painkillers to help her get through the day. This memoir is a raw and brutal look at illness and fame, power, sex and how we can be subjugated in service to a larger machine or power. She pulls no punches and is as brutal in her own self-assessment as she is, at times, of the people around her. Her acerbic wit and ability with prose make this book an interesting read.
Lee Woodruff Speaker-Author-Executive Media Trainer
Leewoodruff.com
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