Proof of Heaven: A Neurosurgeon's Journey into the Afterlife by Dr. Eben Alexander. This book got many votes in 2013 when it appeared as a top non-fiction pick. It is about a brain surgeon’s near death experience. “This book had tremendous impact on me. Of course, Scientific American is discounting everything in it. I read it after a good friend died and shortly after the terrible tragedy in Connecticut occurred. As I watched the Rabbi, Priests, Ministers, etc., give their eulogies, it just was so clear to me that they were all praying to the same ‘person.’ Alexander's writing simplifies things in a way that gave me a language to explain these two events to myself and to my children. Highly recommend for anyone who is struggling or suffering from a loss.” “This book doesn't constitute ‘proof,’ but it's an interesting addition to the literature on this topic. The author makes his case from his perspective as a neurosurgeon who underwent a critical illness and had a near death experience.”
The Little Way of Ruthie Leming: A Southern Girl, a Small Town, and the Secret of a Good Life
By Rod Dreher. “It's a wonderful book--just released and debuted on the NYT bestseller list. A story of family, community, small town America, illness, and a meaningful life. Ruthie Leming – the author's sister and a non-smoker – is diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer in her early 40s. Little Way tells the tale of what happens in the wake of her diagnosis. The ways in which a community rallies around the Leming family and the ways in which it profoundly changes her brother Rod, the author. It's a beautiful book and I highly recommend it to you readers. I couldn't put it down and--despite crying several times during the book. I felt happy and uplifted after reading it. Little Way is a rare book and I hope you and the beach books list will give it a whirl.”
Where'd You Go, Bernadette?
by Maria Semple. The author, among other accomplishments, wrote for Arrested Development, which might give you some notion of what you’re in for. The book is about a Seattle mother who disappears just as the family is about to go on a trip to Antarctica. Her 15-year-old daughter takes on the task of finding her. It’s basically an epistolary novel, but entire chapters consist of things like medical reports, faxes and police reports. Lots of satirical humor about Seattle, but you don't need to be from Seattle to appreciate it. "So funny and wacky, Seattle humor." ... "Great beach book about an eighth grade girl whose mother has disappeared. Well written and funny with an interesting (but not off-putting) structure. I read it in three days." ... “Very funny, clever writing with several LOL moments. Will appeal to Moms in our ‘over achieving’ [DC] area."
The Twelve Tribes of Hattie
by Ayana Smith. This book, like many these days, hovers between short story and novel, with stories eventually woven together to form a whole, growing richer as it progresses. Readers learn about a mother, Hattie Shepherd, through the stories of her many children. "Yes, it felt like an Oprah book but still very good." ... "It's a novel in which each chapter tells the story of one the main character's children. So it's a bit like short stories that are woven together. It is easy to get into and it follows a large family from the segregated south who struggle to find their way out amid poverty and racism. It is compelling and well written and on Oprah's book list."
The Round House
by Louise Erdrich. Lots of positive comments: "Riveting and suspenseful, arguably the most accessible novel to date from the creator of Love Medicine, The Beet Queen, and The Bingo Palace, Erdrich’s The Round House is a page-turning masterpiece of literary fiction—at once a powerful coming-of-age story, a mystery, and a tender, moving novel of family, history, and culture." ... "Modern day version of To Kill a Mockingbird. Very interesting story about life on an Indian reservation in the Southwest."
Faithful Place
by Tana French. "How had I not heard of Tana French before last summer? In this, her third novel, an undercover Dublin cop is called back to his old neighborhood by his sister. He’s avoided the place since his girlfriend disappeared twenty-two years earlier, just before they were about to elope. Her suitcase has been found in an abandoned house, turning all his old assumptions upside down. He investigates (failing to mention to his higher-ups his personal involvement in the case). It’s a dark, compelling page-turner. French is a master of story and character and an exquisite writer. (NB: If you like Faithful Place, do not be tempted to think her earlier works must be even better. Unlike some writers who get lazy after one success, French’s work has only improved. It’s best to move on to the sequel, Broken Harbor)."
Brooklyn
by Coim Toibin. This was on the 2012 New Fiction list. It was bumped up this year on the strength of additional enthusiastic reviews. Eilis Lacey grew up in a small town in Ireland after World War II. When an Irish priest from Brooklyn offers to sponsor her in America, she decides she must go, leaving behind her fragile mother and vivacious sister. “I loved the tone and the voice of the narrator, the way the story was sparsely told and yet so full of life. Toibin shows us so much about the time and experience of Irish immigrants in the years after World War II without telling us explicitly." (Great interview with author here: BBC)
Beautiful Ruins
by Jess Walter. "A lovely novel set alternately in the Italian coast in the 1960s and Hollywood today ... transitions between a beautiful young cast member of the Cleopatra movie who was involved with Richard Burton, a young hotelier in Italy, an American writer who summers in Italy and an American film producer and his assistant."
