Enjoy these four recommendations from our friends at Bookish, Fort Smith, Arkansas’s only independently owned bookstore.
The Bandit Queens
by Parini Shroff
Greeta’s husband disappeared. He walked out on her five years ago, but there is a rumor in her village that she killed him. However, it seems being a “self-made” widow has its perks: she has money, freedom, and no one messes with her, which starts to look good to other women in the village. This is a great anti-valentine read full of wry, witty women, and heart.
Dickens and Prince
by Nick Hornby
Dickens and Prince is the pop culture love story you didn’t know you needed. Most readers wouldn’t lump the Victorian author and 20th century pop icon in the same category, but author Nick Hornby does what he does best, and illustrates the ways in which our culture was shaped by their art, their tragedies, and their ridiculous ability to outwork everyone around them.
The Sun Walks Down
by Fiona McFarlane
Set in a small colonial Australian town, six-year-old Denny goes missing and the entire community is caught up in the search for him. Through McFarlane’s words, we hear their opinions, arguments, longings, and terrors. The beauty is in McFarlane’s narration, showing us the lives of schoolteachers, maids, farmers, mothers, and so many more vivid characters set against the background of the landscape they inhabit.
Really Good, Actually
by Monica Heisy
Maggie is a twenty-nine-year-old divorcee. She’s broke and her graduate thesis has hit a wall, but she’s totally fine. As she steamrolls through single life: dating, taking up new hobbies, and “getting back out there,” she quickly uncovers the perils of modern love. Wickedly funny and full of witty observations about love and friendship, makes Heisy’s work a really fun debut novel for February.
