Editor's Note
Fall weather has arrived at last, and that means it’s finally time to settle in with a good book on a chilly evening. No doubt all the folks who were able to make it to the Southern Festival of Books over the weekend now have a tall TBR pile to get them through the long nights ahead. For everyone else, can we recommend a visit to your favorite Tennessee indie bookstore? Our list includes more than 70 Tennessee-based stores. Please let us know if you don’t see your favorite there. We’d be happy to add it!
Today at the site, Jessica Ciccarelli reviews But for Fortune, a novel by Erin Miller Reid. The author’s training as a physician informs this story of a young doctor who uncovers family secrets while confronting her own emotional struggles. Jessica writes that the novel’s “lyricism pulls the reader in and propels them forward. It also makes tangible the often intangible experience of mental and emotional deterioration. It allows light and beauty to reach what can often be such a lightless experience.”
Linda Gambill’s The Geography of Desire: A Memoir of West Africa recounts the author’s time as a Peace Corps volunteer in The Gambia. In her review of the book, Sarah Norris writes, “Gambill goes to Africa believing she might help other people. She discovers, gradually and sometimes painfully, that she is the one who needs to learn how to see the world differently.”
Abby N. Lewis’ essay “My First Encounter with Fanfiction” illustrates the power of the written word to unlock a deeper understanding of ourselves and our experience. Although she had long resisted the popular genre, Abby writes that “I felt an uncomfortable tug in my gut to explore this new realm of written content. One day, serendipitously, my finger tapped the PDF file, opening a fresh world.” The essay is a frank account of coming to terms with personal pain and trauma.
News Roundup
- Sheree Renée Thomas’ The Tongue I Dream In was reviewed in Reactor.
- Ann Patchett was interviewed for Tell It Slant.
- An excerpt from The Volcano Keeper and an interview with author Bradley Sides appeared in Cutleaf.
- David George Haskell discussed his book How Flowers Made Our World with Desert Botanical Garden.
