[title subtitle=”RECOMMENDATIONS courtesy Sara Putnam, Owner – Bookish”][/title]
Enjoy these must-read books from our friends at Bookish, Fort Smith, Arkansas’s only independently-owned bookstore. Shop hours: Monday 11am-4pm, Tuesday – Friday 10am-6pm and Saturday 10am-4pm. Need curbside delivery? Call 479.434.2917 or email orders@bookishfs.com.
The Pull of the Stars
by Emma Donoghue
Donoghue’s newest book takes place during the height of the Great Flu in a maternity ward in Dublin. Nurse Julia Power works in an understaffed hospital where expectant mothers come to quarantine. Readers are rushed through the next three days with Julia as she overcomes one obstacle after another, and we meet two side characters: Dr. Kathleen Lynn (a rebel on the run) and Birdie Sweeney. Donoghue’s pacing is like an Aaron Sorkin film where the dialogue and action move together to reveal our characters. Through it all, Julia remains calm and steadfast illuminating a sense of peace and hope in a world that seems very dark.
Intimations
by Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith is a voice we need to hear right now. Through her six essays written during the early weeks of the pandemic, she touches on everything from suffering and isolation to how our responses highlight the world that was before us. It is a small book with big ideas about race, poverty, privilege, and identity. It is the perfect mixture of reflection and action and if you’re having a difficult time focusing on longer works right now, Smith’s essays will help get you back on track.
The Exiles
by Christina Baker Kline
In the newest book by the author of The Orphan Train, we are shown this monumental moment in history through the eyes of three women: Evangeline, Hazel, and Mathinna. Evangeline is seduced while working as a governess and in a whirlwind of events finds herself pregnant and on the repurposed slave ship, the Madea, and on her way to Australia. Through fiction, Kline exposes all of the ugliness of the penal system while celebrating the rich culture steeped in Australia before the British arrived. Immersed in courage and grace, the bonds of female friendship hold the thread of this historical novel together.
Before She Was Helen
by Caroline B. Cooney
Cooney’s newest book is another world-class thriller with an older female protagonist who is trying desperately to keep her past hidden. However, when she finds a work of art at her grumpy neighbor’s house and snaps a picture, the internet goes wild. Unfortunately, the neighbor ends up dead, and guess who was the last person in the house? Fast-paced and clever, fans of smart mysteries and thrillers will enjoy starting the fall season with this twisty whodunit.
