Spend this holiday season curled up with good books
A long trip last month provided an abundance of reading time for me, so here is a profusion of books to choose from during the month of December.
Starting with nonfiction, “In Hoffa’s Shadow” by Jack Goldsmith is a detailed and revealing (chilling?) look at the Teamsters and organized crime. The author’s stepfather was Hoffa’s aide de camp. Goldsmith is a legal scholar and served in the White House. Karen Abbott meticulously documents the astounding story of George Remus, pharmacist turned millionaire bootlegger and ultimately murderer, in “The Ghosts of Eden Park.” Less dramatic, but well researched and humorously penned, is “The Body: A Guide for Occupants” by Bill Bryson. The well-known author sashays through all the body systems with impressive detail without getting bogged down. An enjoyable and educational read.
The next two books tell the story of a member of the Packhorse Librarians Project in Eastern Kentucky in the 1930s. “The Giver of Stars” by Jojo Moyes has already been optioned by Reese Witherspoon for a movie. “The Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek” by Kim Richardson covers the same agency, but with a second story line of the blue people who were classified as “colored” but actually had a blood disease causing their skin to appear blue. Both sagas will make you appreciate these fiercely strong women in a time when they were considered property in these rural enclaves.
Looking for murder, suspense? Try “A Dangerous Man,” an Elvis Cole and Joe Pike thriller by Robert Crais. “The Wolf Wants In” is a a dark tale of opioids, crime and family secrets in the backwoods of Kansas by Laura McHugh. In “Heaven, My Home” by Attica Locke, Texas Ranger Darren Mathews searches for a missing boy. Creepily engaging, “Curious Toys” by Elizabeth Hand takes place in 1915 Chicago and is reminiscent of “The Devil in the White City” by Erik Larsen.
Character driven novels I enjoyed include “A Single Thread” by Tracy Chevalier, the story of Violet Speedwell in the 1930s when women who lost their spouse in WWI were relegated to spinsterhood. Or not. If your book club has not read “The Dutch House” by Ann Patchett, please treat yourself. And then read “The Beneficiary” by Janny Scott, which is nonfiction but pairs well with Patchett’s story. “We Are All Good People Here” by Susan Rebecca White is a saga of Southern girls coming of age during civil rights awakening and clashing responses to injustice. “Red at the Bone” is a widely acclaimed work by Jacqueline Woodson. She packs a lot into less than 200 pages while raising issues of class, education and parenting.
A seasonal offering I thoroughly enjoyed is “Marley” by Jon Clinch, which is a masterful profile of Scrooge’s partner, Jacob Marley, before the events in the Dickens classic.
If you just want a breezy, easy read try “The Bookish Life of Nina Hill” by Abbi Waxman or “The Islanders” by Meg Mitchell Moore.
Looking to gift a book or just want to browse in person? Visit Buxton Books on King Street in downtown Charleston. I was impressed by the thoughtful selection of really good reads as well as coffee table and cookbooks.
Happy Reading to all in 2020!
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