We talk with readers, writers and book lovers to hear their recommendations for the best and overlooked books of the year. We’ll cover a range of genres—and we invite our listeners to suggest titles and authors to read or give as gifts this season.
Panelists:
Lily King, best-selling author of five novels, including Writers & Lovers and Euphoria; her newest book, Five Tuesdays in Winter, is a collection of short stories
Gibson Fay-LeBlanc, poet, writer, teacher; executive director, Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance; his latest book of poems is Deke Dangle Dive
Melissa Orth, adjunct instructor of Teen Services at the University of Maine at Augusta; former teen librarian at Curtis Library in Brunswick,; currently working with students at Bowdoin College Library
VIP Callers:
Heidi Carter, owner, Bogan Books in Fort Kent
Christopher Packard, author, Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend and Folklore
BEST & OVERLOOKED BOOKS 2021
MENTIONED ON THE SHOW (in order of mention):
Five Tuesdays in Winter by Lily King
Deke Dangle Dive by Gibson Fay-LeBlanc
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Landslide by Susan Conley
Oh William! by Elizabeth Stout
The Lowering Days by Gregory Brown
Hazards of Nature: Stories by Brandon Dudley
North by Northeast 2: New Short Fiction by Maine Writers (collection)
Mythical Creatures of Maine: Fantastic Beasts from Legend and Folklore by Christopher Packard
The Winter House: A Season of Sharing by Joan MacCracken
A Cuban Girl's Guide to Tea and Tomorrow by Laura Taylor Namey
Black Heroes of the Wild West: Featuring Stagecoach Mary, Bass Reeves and Bob Lemmons: A Toon Graphic by James Otis Smith
Children’s books by Maine writers – Cindy Ward, Maria Padian, Kate Egan, Charlotte Agell
Magic Like That by Samara Cole Doyon and Geneva Bowers
The First Blade of Sweetgrass by Suzanne Greenlaw, Gabriel Frey, Nancy Baker
Skywatcher by Jamie Hogan
On Corruption in America—And What Is At Stake by Sarah Chayes
Notes on a Lost Flute: A Field Guide to the Wabanaki by Kerry Hardy
What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism by Dan Rather
Fault Lines in the Constitution: The Framers, Their Fights, and the Flaws that Affect Us Today by Cynthia Levinson & Sanford Levinson
The Fight for Free Speech: Ten Cases That Define Our First Amendment Freedoms by Ian Rosenberg
Cold War Correspondent: A Korean War Tale Book 11 of Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales by Nathan Hale
Hard Landings: Looking Into the Future for a Child With Autism by Cammie McGovern
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
White Magic by Elissa Washuta
Who’s Your Daddy by Arisa White
7 Days by Deborah Colby
Twig and Turtle: Big Move to a Tiny House by Jennifer Richard Jacobson
Unbound: The Life and Art of Judith Scott by Joyce Scott, Brie Spangler, Melissa Sweet
Twenty-Five Cups of Coffee: Mastering On-Line Dating by Julianna Acheson
Turtle in a Tree by Neesha Hudson
Concrete Rose by Angie Thomas
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Fossil Men: The Quest for the Oldest Skeleton and the Origins of Humankind by Kermit Pattison
Hustle & Mime: And Other Really Good Short Stories by Nathan Oliver
Dirty Birds by Morgan Murray
The Carrying: Poems by Ada Limón
Be Holding: A Poem by Ross Gay
Things Seemed to be Breaking by Stuart Kestenbaum
Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by Carl Safina
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach
Love for a Ghost by Deborah Bechtel
Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain by Shankar Vedantam
“Just One” – a board game
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Books by Jane Austen (“comfort” reading, suggested by Lily King)
Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, and the Fight to Fit In by Phuc Tran
Maybe Tomorrow? by Charlotte Agell and Ana Ramírez González
SUGGESTIONS FROM HEIDI CARTER, OWNER OF BOGAN BOOKS
True North: Finding the Essence of Aroostook by Kathryn Olmstead—a collection of stories from interviews and articles Kathryn wrote while editor-in-chief at Echoes magazine as well as her time writing for the Bangor Daily News
Popular books:
Landslide by Susan Conley
Dead by Dawn by Paul Doiron
The Lost Kitchen by Erin French
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
Go Tell the Bees That I am Gone by Diana Gabaldon
And with the movie coming out, the Dune series has had re-engaged interest
Rabbits by Terry Miles is a clever gaming sci-fi /fantasy read with parallel world building and complex character relationships.
Non-fiction:
Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection by Brené Brown
Finding the Mother Tre: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and The Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The Gatherings: Reimagining Indigenous-Settler Relations by Shirley N Hagar & Mawopiyane (Mawopiyane is a name chosen to describe the full group of co-authors of the book. It means, in Passamaquoddy, “Let us sit together.” Not all co-authors are Indigenous.)
Poetry:
Just Us: An American Conversation by Claudia Rankine is an important collection of poetry essays and images discussing racial equality
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman (release date December 7, 2021)
Children’s books
Our Table by Peter H. Reynolds
Norman Didn’t Do It! (Yes He Did) by Maine author and illustrator Ryan Higgins (well known for the Mother Bruce series)
Middle readers
Pax, Journey Home by Sara Pennypacker (second book to PAX); illustrator Jon Klassen
Young Adult fiction has really taken off in our store
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Assembling Ella by Maine author Emma G Rose, which takes a unique look at the effects of suicide on the people left behind.
Other big hits include various titles by
Holly Jackson
Alan Gratz
Sharon Cameron
RECOMMENDATIONS FROM MAINE CALLING LISTENERS:
The Name She Gave Me by Betty Culley (coming June 21, 2022)
The Fresh Eggs Daily Cookbook: Over 100 Fabulous Recipes to Use Eggs in Unexpected Ways by Lisa Steele
Lucky: Little Guy, BIG Mission, by Eileen Doyon with Christy Gardner, illustrated by Susan Spellman. It is a true story about Christy Gardner from Lewiston, Maine, an Army Veteran, double amputee, her service dog Moxie and a special little puppy named Lucky. The book has so many life lessons in it and is for ages 2-92.
Faron Goss by Diane Lechleitner—a novel set on a semi-fictional Maine island
Paper Things, Twig and Turtle, Crashing in Love , The Dollar Kids—by Jennifer Jacobsen, who lives in Maine, a wonderful author of books for ages 6 up to early teens. The books are also enjoyed by adults.
Apples and the Art of Detection: Tracking Down and Identifying and Preserving Rare Apples by John Bunker—great gift and a great read for anyone interested in Maine apples and apple trees
The True Meaning of Myrrh: Christmas Day by John Manderino—wonderful Christmas story for adults
The Ghosts of Walter Crockett by Ed Crockett, a resident of Portland—an important story about growing up on Munjoy Hill in Portland in the ‘60s and ‘70s, and coming to terms with alcoholism
The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by Jennifer Robson—the book will take you back to the 1940s and the creation of Princess Elizabeth's wedding dress and the society at that time
Every Moment of a Fall: A Memoir of Recovery Through EMDR Therapy by Carol Miller— a 2016 non-fiction book from 2016, but reads like a book of fiction; it is the story of trauma and recovery. Carol lived in California when this book was written, but has recently moved to Maine.
Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler—written in 1993 these are prescient novels about the world we live in today.
Honeymoon With My Brother: A Memoir by Franz Wisner—a wedding put off and a trip taken and the life changes that occurred. Made me smile!
Cold Harbor by Linda Titus—takes place in a small lobstering village on the Maine coast in the 1960s
Freedom Farm by Jennifer Neves (March 2021)—non-fiction collection of essays about growing up in Freedom Maine on a bean farm. It also follows my journey back to the area with my four children to raise a family with the same wild and free life I remembered from my youth.
Hollow Kingdom & Feral Creatures by Kira Jane Buxton—animal and bird characters help humans to recover from global pandemic. Very funny and imaginative. Somewhat profane.
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk
Don’t Label Me: An Incredible Conversation for Divided Times by Irshad Manji—great book to help talk about our agonizing divisions
The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
Please Read to Me (children’s board book) by Pam Lee
Hustle & Mime and Other Really Short Stories by Nathan Oliver
Sonnets to Orpheus (Rainer Maria Rilke) – new book of translations by Maine-based scholar John Rosenwald
