Hiya Genius, Get Your Super Tuesday Reads!
Russell Banks sums up the national mood.
Dear Wags,
By the time you read this, I’ll have spent a few days in a balmy climate with college friends. My liver will be pickled from cocktails, my fingers will be pruney from a hot tub, and my nose will peel like an onion from sun damage. But enough produce analogies: Point is, I won’t have a laptop for five days. I’ll bring a notebook and pen, but I’m not doing work.
An Episcopal priest once gave me great creative advice: Get away every six weeks. I didn’t have to fly to Fiji; I just needed to escape somewhere for a weekend or an afternoon. Anything to shake up the routine and allow in fresh air and ideas.
When writing, one must apply what novelist Elizabeth George calls bum glue. But staying affixed to a desk chair is hell on physical and mental health. I haven’t always heeded the vicar’s counsel, but I started the year off right. After taking an overdue vacation in January, I hit the six-week mark around the time of this getaway. Copy my regime, and your brain will thank you.
In April, I’m headed to the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to promote my memoir, Life B: Overcoming Double Depression, coming out in paperback in May. I hope to see some of you there. Where I’ll escape to six weeks after that, I’m not sure. It may only be a short ride away on the D.C. Metro, but it will be worth it.
A shift in location changes perspective. Reading does the same thing. If you pick up a mystery set someplace sunny, it’s nearly as good as joining me for a poolside tipple. And let me assure you, nothing is as rollicking as that.
Each week, I select five of the week’s best books. I’m intentional about serving up as much variety possible, because I want you and your hardworking brain to roam all sorts of places. You deserve to escape to someplace wonderful, even if it’s only for a precious hour or two. Speaking of, here’s what I threw in my getaway tote:
– The Berlin Letters by Katherine Reay
– The Tree Doctor by Marie Mutsuki Mockett
– The Safekeep by Yael Van Der Wouden
Happy reading,
BKP
Ghost Dogs by Andre Dubus III
Like his celebrated father, Andre Dubus, Dubus III has mined family history to produce memorable books (Townie, his memoir about growing up with his absentee dad, is a must read). Among other things, the essays collected here grapple with financial hardship, gun ownership, and stifling notions of masculinity. What interests me most is how a famous parent cast a shadow over a gifted child. Somehow, the younger Dubus found love, parenthood, and an identity all his own. It's a rewarding journey.
The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez
