Ann Patchett's Blog, page 25

Still Circling: An Interview With Stephanie Danler, Author of Stray

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Stephanie Danler’s debut novel Sweetbitter was a runaway bestseller and established her as an exciting new voice in fiction. For the follow-up, Danler has turned to memoir. Stray explores her volatile childhood and coming to terms with her past — perfectly describing the way addicts take over and change our lives, whether we give them permission to do so or not. Bookseller Sissy Gardner interviewed Danler via email.

Sissy Gardner: The structure of this memoir, the movement back and forth in time, was so perfectly suited to the search for self we all feel. Who we are presently is so entwined with the imperfect people who raised us, and our own imperfect past selves. How did you decide to craft that?

Stephanie Danler: I knew it would never be a “linear” memoir. Constructing stories like that is great for talking to a therapist, but I don’t feel it accurately reflects the way we remember, or how it feels to be haunted. From Proust, to Elizabeth Hardwick, to Jamaica Kincaid, there are so many examples of personal writing that uses the form to probe into how we often feel that we are in two places at once (our past and present) or that we’re two people at once. I wanted to create a memoir that had the feeling of circling certain events, because that’s how my mind works. I’m still circling my mother’s aneurysm, trying to understand it, even now.

SG: You’ve shifted from novel writing to memoir — I imagine this story made you feel especially exposed, but freed you at the same time. Could you tell me about the tension there?

SD: Exposed, yes, freed, not so much. Freedom to me is having total control over the story, as you do with fiction. Freedom to pivot, or embellish, or transform. Using facts felt very rigid to me. I believe Didion compared nonfiction writing to sculpting, where you have a certain amount of artistic license, but the material is set. And while I enjoy the challenge of different forms, be it memoir, essays, novels, or a script, I can’t say that I enjoyed writing this book. But that’s not memoir’s fault. It’s my own aversion to vulnerability.

[image error]Stephanie Danler. Photo by Emily Knecht.

SG: Here’s a question I could not have imagined asking you last winter: Many of your fans will feel a deep personal connection to this book as addiction and neglect are themes in so many of our lives. Since regular book touring is on hold for now (I guess?!?) are you able to plan any sort of connection with your readers? How do you feel about promotion during these strange times?

SD: I’m of two frames of mind these days: the first is that I miss the highs of touring. Of seeing friends, or a writer I know, in the crowd, of signing books, of getting to say, thank you, in person. There is something in those events that protects you from the nonstop cycle of judgement, criticism and praise that accompanies putting a book into the world. But at the same time, I’m active on social media. I spend a portion of the day saying thank you to strangers all over the world. I’m doing a half dozen virtual events, and will make myself as available as possible to questions. All of us writers are making the best of it — there has been a ton of camaraderie and cheerleading in my little corner of the writing world.

SG: Are you working on a project now, and if so, what type?

SD: I have a few scripts I’m working on, but before I went into quarantine (coincidentally when I started to do press for Stray as well), I was at work on a novel. I was in a very exciting stage of it (research and initial pages), but haven’t found myself able to focus on it since. A novel takes so much decision-making, and for me those decisions need to come from a grounded place. I don’t feel grounded right now. I feel like the world shifts under my feet every day. But I am looking forward to a time when I can be quiet with that book again.

SG: And finally, what’s your favorite thing about indie bookstores?

SD: Recommendations from booksellers and sitting on the floor in a corner with a huge stack of poetry, dipping in and out the books. That was something I used to do weekly (before I had kids), and I look forward to doing it again on the other side of this.

Llamas, Inventors, Hidden History and More: New Reads for the Young and Young at Heart

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The end of the school year is looking a lot different in 2020, but one thing that’s a constant no matter what: We all need books to read! Our booksellers have once again hand-selected a great new batch of books — everything from read-alongs to YA. And if you’ve got a new little in your life, don’t miss our new baby boxes! Choose it as an option on our book bundles — perfect for ages 0-12 months!

PICTURE BOOKS


Recommended by Rae Ann
What Do You Do If You Work at the Zoo?

By Steve Jenkins, Robin Page

Have you ever wished you could go behind the scenes at the zoo to see what it’s like to work there? This fun book shows you what zookeepers really do — from brushing a hippo’s teeth to shining a tortoise’s shell and more.


Recommended by Rae Ann

This Way, Charlie

By Caron Levis & Charles Santoso

A beautiful story about friendship, adjusting to a new normal, and finding peace where you are. Inspired by a real animal friendship.


Recommended by Jackie

The Boy and the Wild Blue Girl

By Keith Negley

This simple and sweet story was inspired by Poul la Cour, a Danish scientist and inventor. The boy likes the Wild Blue Girl, and thinks she means well, even though she often causes trouble. He figures he just needs to build something to show what she can do, and the result is one of the first wind turbines that generates electricity! This book would pair well with a pinwheel and a breezy spring day in the backyard.


Recommended by Chelsea

Llama Unleashes the Alpacalypse

By Jonathan Stutzman & Heather Fox

Llama is back! Llama loves baking, and cooking and eating, but Llama hates cleaning. Llama invites over Alpaca to help clean, but why stop with just one Alpaca? Soon, there are Alpacas all over! This is hilarious and a perfect read-aloud.


Recommended by Jackie

Rescuing the Declaration of Independence: How We Almost Lost the Words That Built America

By Anna Crowley Redding & Edwin Fotheringham

I love when authors unearth new stories from history. Have you heard of Stephen Pleasonton, a State Department clerk in the early 1800s? I hadn’t, but it turns out he is responsible for saving some of our country’s most important documents during the War of 1812!


Recommended by Becca

The Magical Yet

By Angela DiTerlizzi & Lorena Alvarez

If you’re feeling discouraged or maybe a little scared, allow the Magical Yet to remind you of your endless potential. With captivating illustrations and sweet (occasionally silly) rhymes, this book provides inspiration during unsure times. If you just keep trying, you’ll figure it out!


Recommended by Chelsea

Ocean! Waves for All

By Stacy McAnulty & David Litchfield

A beautifully illustrated picture book about the formation, history, and life within the oceans, told by Ocean himself! Informative and funny, it’s a worthy addition to the other Our Universe books.


INDEPENDENT READERS


Recommended by Ann

Peter Pan

By J. M. Barrie

I had never read Peter Pan before and it truly is a work of genius. It’s freakishly insightful, tender, and genuinely scary. Oh, poor Wendy! I don’t know if I would read it to a young child but surely people have been doing just that since 1904. I loved it.


Recommended by Rae Ann

On the Horizon

By Lois Lowry & Kenard Pak

Two-time Newbery medalist Lois Lowry looks back at her childhood in Hawaii and Japan in this new book. It is a moving autobiography in verse highlighting perspectives and how lives intersect in surprising ways.


Recommended by Kay

Rick

By Alex Gino

Rick is a kid entering middle school with many questions. What do you do when your best friend turns out to be a bad person? Why is he not as girl- (or boy-) obsessed as most of his peers? And how can he open up to his family about all his questions? This story is great for kids starting to question what the LGBTQIA+ community means to different people, how they might fit into it, and how to stand up to bullying.


GRAPHIC NOVELS


Recommended by Rae Ann

Baloney and Friends

By Greg Pizzoli

This new graphic novel series for early readers is laugh-out-loud funny! I can’t wait for you to meet a pig named Baloney and his gaggle of friends.


Recommended by Kay

Stepping Stones

By Lucy Knisley

Jen’s world is turned upside down when her mother moves her from New York City to a tiny farm in the country. Between missing her father, struggling with her farm chores, and butting heads with her new sort-of-stepfamily, her new life seems miserable. Yet there are exciting and beautiful things waiting to be discovered in the country, and within Jen herself, if she can just open herself up to finding them.


YOUNG ADULT


Recommended by Chelsea

Incendiary

By Zoraida Cordova

An epic fantasy set in a world inspired by the Spanish Inquisition, Incendiary tells the story of Renata, a girl out to avenge her lost family and country. When given her chance at vengence, Renata finds out there is more to her background than she thought. This is the perfect twisty adventure to lose yourself in!


Recommended by Kay

Felix Ever After

By Kacen Callender

Felix Ever After radiates all the complex emotions that come with being a queer teen on the uncertain edge of adulthood. Felix is an artist in desperate need of a focus for his portfolio if he hopes to get into his dream college. Yet when he’s faced with an anonymous transphobic classmate, a revenge plan gone awry, and new realizations about his identity, Felix is left stuck between his busy thoughts and a blank canvas.


Recommended by Chelsea

Dancing at the Pity Party

By Tyler Feder

As a dedicated follower of Tyler’s on Instagram, I am inspired by her bravery in opening up about the loss of her mother. She has created a beautiful graphic novel memoir that emotionally and practically explores death and grief.


Recommended by Kay

Wicked Saints

By Emily A. Duncan

With book two on shelves and book one now in paperback, this is the perfect time to catch up on this brilliantly dark epic fantasy. If vengeful gods, blood magic, and monstrous love interests are your thing, this series was unapologetically written for you.






ParnassusNext — Our May Selection
Kent State

By Deborah Wiles

The May ParnassusNext selection is Kent State by two-time National Book Award finalist Deborah Wiles. The National Guard was called in to confront protestors on the campus of Kent State University. Shots rang out, and four students were dead. The different voices of the participants written in free-verse tell the details of the days leading up to May 4, 1970.

Early buzz for the novel includes:

“This hard-hitting historical novel provides valuable perspective on unrest and violence, both timely and timeless.” —Publishers Weekly starred review

“A well-researched and deeply moving portrait of an iconic moment in U.S. history.” —Kirkus starred review

ParnassusNext is the book subscription box for YA lovers. Every member of ParnassusNext receives a first edition hardcover of each month’s selected book, signed by the author. There is no membership fee to join — and no line to stand in for the autograph. Not only will you have one of the best YA books of the month when it comes out, you’ll have it straight from the author’s hands, with an original, authentic signature! Set up a subscription for yourself or buy a gift membership for your favorite YA reader for 3, 6, or 12 months.

May the Books Be With You: Great New Reads for Quarantine and Beyond

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Here’s hoping that, in spite of everything, you’re finding time and safe space to read. It still feels weird not being able to open our doors to the public, but some things haven’t changed. Our booksellers are still reading — and still searching out new favorites to recommend! So without further ado, here is this month’s batch, including our 100th (!) First Editions Club pick and much more. Enjoy!

FICTION


Recommended by Ann
All Adults Here

By Emma Straub

This is the book you want to read now — warm, comforting, funny, charming, insightful. It’s smart without being stressful. This is Emma’s very best. I wish I had a dozen more like it.

(This is our First Editions Club selection this month. See below, and check out Ann’s interview with Emma Straub!)


Recommended by Cat

Sea Wife

By Amity Gaige

Juliet’s husband informs her that he wants to put their life on hold, buy a sailboat, and sail in the Carribbean for a year along with her and their two children. What starts out as a jolt to revive her from her everyday struggles turns into an experience with a horrific outcome. I loved the intense dynamic that Gaige built between Juliet and her husband, and the gorgeous images of life at sea.


Recommended by Sissy

The Knockout Queen

By Rufi Thorpe

Imagine Scout and Dill as high school students in California. Racial tension is not Thorpe’s focus, though; she questions what is masculine, what is feminine, what it strength, and what is weakness.


Recommended by Ben

The Mountains Sing

By Que Mai Phan Nguyen

This vivid, sweeping, multigenerational novel about the bonds of family, scars of war, and power of forgiveness pours from the pen of this acclaimed Vietnamese poet. Alternating between the time periods and points of view of Dieu Lan and her granddaughter, Huong, she brings to life the unique traditions and trials of Vietnam’s agonizing 20th century, and portrays the universality of human struggle and hope.


Recommended by Kathy

A Thousand Moons

By Sebastian Barry

My favorite read of 2020 so far, set in Paris Tennessee post-Civil War. A young Lakota girl being raised by her white fathers and a pair of former slaves is involved in a brutal crime and its retribution. A beautiful story of love in this unusual family that put me in mind of “News of the World.”


Recommended by Ben

Simon the Fiddler

By Paulette Jiles

He survived the Civil War, but can quick-witted, hot-tempered, love-struck fiddler Simon Boudlin make it back to Doris Dillon, the Irish governess with whom he is smitten? As he and his scratch band travel around South Texas, Jiles’ prose is evocative of the sprawling landscape, with lyrical passages about music and skillful dialogue. Full of brawls and storms, jigs and reels, love letters and laughter, this is an adventure to get swept up in.


Recommended by Marcia

The Love Story of Missy Carmichael

By Beth Morrey

If you want to shut out headlines and lose yourself in a warm story, invite this book in! Missy Carmichael has lost her spouse, her children are distant — one lives in another country with Missy’s only grandchild, the other is estranged — and she is becoming successful at living like a recluse. An outing to watch fish being shocked turns Missy’s life upside down. Complete with a loaner dog who captures her love!


Recommended by Kay

The Book of Koli

By M. R. Carey

This is the first in a new post-apocalyptic science fiction trilogy set in a future where genetic modification has made even the plant life into predators. The well-written suspense and detailed world building left me eager for the sequel, and with book two set for release in September, it looks like we luckily won’t have long to wait.


Recommended by Chelsea

The Happy Ever After Playlist

By Abby Jimenez

Sloan is literally stopped in her tracks by lost dog Tucker. When his owner Jason (both attractive and charming) shows back up to reclaim his dog, Sloan is swept off her feet. This is more than a romance — it’s a heartfelt story about choosing happiness and being true to who you really are. Plus it comes with a built-in playlist!


NONFICTION


Recommended by Kathy

Rebel Cinderella: From Rags to Riches to Radical, the Epic Journey of Rose Pastor Stokes

By Adam Hochschild

The forgotten true story of a poor Jewish immigrant factory worker who became a charismatic radical union organizer, and her storybook marriage into one of America’s richest families. Written by one of the best historians writing today, well-documented, yet a fascinating and easy read.


Recommended by Erin

Empires of the Sky: Zeppelins, Airplanes, and Two Men’s Epic Duel to Rule the World

By Alexander Rose

If you’ve seen footage of the Hindenburg crash, it’s hard to imagine a time when anyone thought those giant balloons of hydrogen were a good idea. But for decades, they were the much safer and more comfortable alternative to their deathtrap cousin, the airplane. The race for air travel supremacy between Zeppelin and Pan Am Airways makes for fascinating history; this is a read that flies.


Recommended by Jordan

There I Am: The Journey from Hopelessness to Healing—A Memoir

By Ruthie Lindsey

This moving and heartfelt memoir gracefully tells the story of pain, joy, hope, and redemption. It holds elements of relatability for everyone as well as shocking twists that will keep you turning the pages. I can not get over how well-written and inspiring this treasure of a story is. You will immediately feel like Ruthie Lindsey is your dear friend. Bonus: She lives here in Nashville!


POETRY


Recommended by Steve

Ledger: Poems

By Jane Hirshfield

If you find yourself turning to poetry in these truly weird times, Jane Hirshfield’s new collection is no less than a balm: smart, rigorous, compassionate. Return to “Spell to Be Said Against Hatred” as many times as you need.






First Editions Club: May Selection

In this moment, I could not be happier to be sending you Emma Straub’s All Adults Here. What better to read right now than something that, though it looks seriously and deeply at family dynamics, manages to bring so much humor, light and warmth?

As we all cope with the constant change and uncertainty around us, I found it immensely reassuring to dive into the fictional lives of the Strick family. Astrid, the matriarch, has a bit of a life-altering moment when she witnesses a bus crash that kills an acquaintance. In the aftermath, we meet her adult children and teenage granddaughter, and follow them as they reckon with both their changing relationships over time and their own individual struggles. To anyone spending a lot of time with family these days, thinking about loved ones, or trying to put together group Zoom calls with siblings, the relationships Emma Straub brings to life feel so very poignant.

So, set aside your own long-building family drama for a bit and let Emma Straub take you within one of her own making. And then take another walk around the block.

Yours in reading,

Catherine Bock

Inventory Manager

Notes From Ann: An Interview With Emma Straub

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While all of us at Parnassus are sorry that the magnificent Emma Straub won’t be in the store to celebrate the publication of her new novel All Adults Here, we’re glad she’s safe at home in Brooklyn with her family. The fact that she is both a novelist and a bookseller makes her my double-sister, and the fact that I love her new novel All Adults Here to the point of distraction just makes me happy. When we picked it as our May First Editions Club selection back in January, we had no idea just how much we’d be needing a comforting book right about now.

Ann Patchett: I want to give All Adults Here to everyone I know. I felt completely taken over by it. This is a book that makes me want to say to people, Get out of here! Leave me alone. I’m reading. I felt like I was cuddling with your novel. It enveloped me. I felt that way about Writers & Lovers by Lily King, too. It’s not that hard things don’t happen, but you set life out in a way that feels very recognizable to me. Was it your goal to write a warm and welcoming novel, or is it just an extension of who you are as a person? (Because now that I think about it, that is the way you are.)

Emma Straub: Oh, Ann, you flatter me. I am warm, and want to be warm, but I’m also a human person who loves to sit around and gossip with my friends. Like, when I had a sleepover at your house, we had a glorious private morning and talked about all the books we didn’t like, and man, the room could have caught fire with my joy! I know that some writers also love to write reviews and otherwise publicly criticize other writers, but that ain’t me. I would rather die than write a bad review. There are professionals for that. I’m a bookseller. I want to tell people the books I loved, not the books I hated.

I do want my books to be warm and welcoming — especially now. The world is so dark and uncertain and terrifying. My books don’t need to be. I think that there are people — like my dad, Peter Straub — whose books do need to be all of those things, because that’s what makes him happy as a writer, but I like a sense of completion, and yes, even, as a hokey as it sounds, happiness. I don’t want to leave my characters on the brink–maybe one or two, if they deserve it, but for at least some of them, I want church bells, or trumpets, or the Rocky theme song.

[image error]AP: Going on the theory that people in families divide up responsibilities – one child is angry so the other child doesn’t need to be — is it possible that growing up with a famous horror writer made you feel like, OK, horror is covered. I can work on something else. I wonder if it gave you the freedom to be really loving and warm. (I’m not sure that’s actually a question.)

ES: First of all, Ann, do you have a camera in my house? Can you see my children taking turns attacking each other? And me? Whew. But to answer your question, no — I don’t think so. It was never my thing, scary stuff. When I was in high school, one of my friends and I tried to write a screenplay for a horror movie, but even then, I was more interested in rom-coms. The heart wants what it wants. And (very) luckily for me, when I got old enough to understand what I wanted, and what I was good at, someone paid me money to do it.

AP: So what books, recent or semi-recent, have given you the kind of comfort you give other people? I just finished the new Anne Tyler, Redhead by the Side of the Road. It’s small book, both in length and scope, and even though it wasn’t my favorite Anne Tyler, I felt so enormously comforted by it. You couldn’t have pried it out of my hands. (And yes, for the record, I do have a camera planted in your house. It makes me feel close to you and your family.)

ES: I loved Lily King’s Writers & Lovers — that book felt, to me, like taking a drug. A glorious drug. I loved the story, but I really just loved the characters and the sentences — man, I would have followed those sentences anywhere. I know we’ve talked about this before, but the last book I read totally blind, without knowing anything about it, was Kevin Wilson’s most recent masterpiece, Nothing to See Here, which just made me weep with recognition — about what? About bursting into flame? About being the sudden guardian of two weird kids? All of it, every second, felt real to me. If I awarded a big fancy prize, I would give it to Kevin.

AP: I agree on both counts. What about kids books? I’ve been preaching the comforts of Kate DiCamillo’s novels lately, and right now I’m reading Peter Pan for the first time which is mesmerizing and scary and funny and depressingly astute, but it’s also this beautifully constructed world that takes me out of my world.

[image error]ES: Oh, now we’re talking. I read to myself every day, but the number of pages and books I read to myself is absolutely dwarfed by the number of pages I read to my kids every day. There are such incredible picture books out. now — I absolutely love Colin Meloy’s Everyone’s Awake, which has the chaotic energy to match my children and subdue them into silence, I love Mac Barnett’s book The Important Thing About Margaret Wise Brown, which is one of my favorite biographies, full stop — I love his Mac B Kid Spy chapter books, too. For a while there, River and I were reading Harry Potter together, but we got to the fifth book and got a bit stuck, so we put it aside for now. Miles will read anything about unicorns. I could do this all day.

AP: All day works for me. I want to hit the comforting classics for a minute, like all of Jane Austen and a chunk of Charles Dickens. There is nothing more comforting than David Copperfield. The Nancy Mitford novels Love in a Cold Climate and In Pursuit of Love are so comforting that I feel like once you’ve finished them nothing is ever really the same. I also keep thinking I want to reread The Thornbirds. The last time I read it I was 13 and home from school with a bad cold. I remember those as being some of the happiest days of my life.

ES: Oh, the Mitfords. I could spend all day thinking about the Mitfords. But you know, I haven’t done that yet, returned to a beloved book in this moment. I think I should — it feels like such a time out of time that I could be forgiven for putting aside all the galleys and the blurb requests and just turning back to something that feels like a sweater you’ve borrowed from someone you love. Have you been selling tons of Middlemarch and War and Peace? People are really going for those classics they never read, but I don’t think I could do that right now — but Jane Austen, yes. Maybe a little Emma would be just the ticket.

AP: I was going to ask you a question about baking but now I’m not. You’ve given me the perfect ending to our interview. Maybe a little Emma would be just the ticket indeed.

Thanks, Emma.

Frances Cha Looks Back on a Babymoon Trip to Nashville

[image error]Frances Cha visiting Parnassus for her babymoon, seven months pregnant. Photo by illooz.

Today’s post is written by Frances Cha, author of the new novel If I Had Your Face.

Several years ago, when I was working out of CNN’s Asia headquarters in Hong Kong, I had the idea of pitching a story on beautiful bookstores around the world. This was inspired by Ann Patchett’s essay “The Bookstore Strikes Back,” about the birth of Parnassus, which I had just read in her book This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage.

In my day job at CNN, I wrote and edited several articles a day about travel and culture, but my passion had always been fiction. I had feverishly read all of Ann’s books after first discovering Bel Canto in my favorite bookstore in Korea, and so loved learning that she had opened her own, and what sounded like such a beautiful one, at that.

I had moved often as a child, and bookstores had been my lifeline in every city I had lived in, as a perpetual awkward new student in a new school in a new country. In Hong Kong, my mother had taken me by bus, then ferry, to get to my favorite bookstore that sold English books, and in Korea, we traveled by train for an hour and a half into the heart of Seoul a few times a year to buy a stack of books that would last me until the next trip.

And so, when my boss at CNN gave the OK, it was the one of the highlights of my news career to interview Ann by email about Parnassus. The subsequent article was viewed by millions of readers the day it went live.

After I had quit my job to try to continue my dream of writing a novel, I often reread Ann’s essay “The Getaway Car,” also collected in This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, about her writing life. It kept me going when I despaired of ever finishing my book. I had to purchase several copies of Happy Marriage because I kept spilling things on it, as I carried it with me everywhere. I’d remember Ann’s words about writing in her head as I served old classmates while waitressing at TGI Fridays — whenever people asked what I did for a living and looked at me with condescension (or pity) when I said I was writing a novel.

[image error]Frances Cha visiting Peggy. Photo by illooz.

After I had moved to New York for my husband’s job and got pregnant with my second child, I picked Nashville for my babymoon (a trip you take while pregnant with the understanding that you’ll never get to travel freely again!) just so I could visit Parnassus in person. It was our first time in Tennessee, and we built our itinerary around the Parnassus visit, for which I had blocked off a whole day for as the culmination of our trip. I had also started watching the TV show Nashville, and so my list of places to visit were solely comprised of places in the show (such as the Grand Ole Opry) and destinations Ann had recommended in the interviews I had read — including UAL and the Parthenon.

My visit to Parnassus was as magical as I had expected. I squealed to myself over the store dogs and bought an armful of merch that day — my toddlers have Parnassus T-shirts for every age until adulthood. And in a funny coincidence, I ran into a friend from boarding school who I hadn’t seen in 15 years. She had driven from Texas to visit a friend, and had been looking for a gift book for her host.

After we also stopped by to see the Parnassus Bookmobile in the park, my husband and I went to the Bluebird Café and listened in rapture to a singer songwriter who was performing there for the first time. My husband — a Korean American born and raised in New Jersey — had never listened to country music before, but was mesmerized by the scores of talented musicians we encountered at every venue in the city. And to top it all off, on the way back to New York, we met the Property Brothers on our flight, as they were filming their show in Nashville that season.

Looking back on it now, quarantined as we are and cut off from the world, the concept of a babymoon — taken with the premise that we wouldn’t travel freely again for awhile — is particularly poignant. In the middle of a pandemic during which physical bookstores are closed, I am afraid for the livelihoods of these guardians of dreams that kept me going all those years. The only thing I can do is hope that they will all survive, as best they can, so that we can seek them out and take comfort in them again in the aftermath, because we will need them more than ever before.

Lockdown, Marvel and Competent Nuns: An Interview With YA Author Monica Hesse

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Award-winning author and journalist Monica Hesse’s new YA novel They Went Left is a gripping work of historical fiction, set against the backdrop of World War II. After the rest of their family is sent left — to the gas chambers of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp — and they are sent right, Zofia promises her younger brother Abek that they will be together again after the war. After her release from Gross-Rosen concentration camp three years later, her search for her brother turns into a strange and harrowing journey.

They Went Left is the ParnassusNext selection for April. (Learn more about our YA subscription box here!) We had originally planned to host Hesse, whose previous books include The Girl in the Blue Coat and The War Outside, at the store this month to celebrate her book release, but that was postponed, and the new date is Monday, Oct. 5.

Get to know Hesse as she answers our Authors IRL questionnaire.

I’ve been listening to:

Right now? A lot of John Prine and Bill Withers — it’s rough to lose such beautiful songwriters in the same week, and “Angel from Montgomery” and “Grandma’s Hands” are two of my all-time favorites. Also, whenever I’m writing historical fiction, I like to listen to music that was popular in the year of my book, so I’ve got a lot of Andrews Sisters, Bing Crosby, and Doris Day on rotation.

I love to watch:

Police procedurals and detective shows are my favorite zone-out television. If I get trapped in a Law & Order: SVU marathon, you might not see me for days. And Call the Midwife. There’s something so reassuring about losing yourself in a world of competent nuns.

Something I saw online that made me laugh, cry, or think:

How can you not tear up at the videos of socially isolating neighbors singing with each other on their balconies?

Best meal I’ve had in the past month:

Since I’ve been in lockdown at home, I subscribed to an all-vegetarian meal kit delivery service. Normally my cooking is limited to “toast,” but I’ve been making some pretty banging meals lately. Last night was jerk sweet potatoes with coconut rice and mango salsa.

A creator who’s doing something I admire or envy:

I’m a journalist, so I’m especially grateful for my colleagues who are going into hospitals and other high-risk places to tell stories of coronavirus’s impact.

[image error]Monica Hesse. Photo by Cassidy DuHon.

A book I recently recommended to someone else:

Circe by Madeline Miller. I was never that into Greek mythology growing up, but this book is so melodic, retelling some of the most famous legends from the perspective of a minor, misunderstood character.

The last event I bought tickets to was:

I’m a Marvel fan, so I’d been excited for Black Widow’s release in May. Now it’s pushed back until November, but I’m holding it out as a beacon of hope: the world will get back to normal, and we’ll all be able to go to the movies.

Most meaningful recent travel destination:

Man, you’re making it hard for me when the furthest place I’ve traveled in a month is MY LIVING ROOM.

Seriously, as I’m typing this, I was supposed to be on a book tour to some of my favorite cities — including Nashville, to visit Parnassus. The tour was canceled, of course, and it turns out the only event I got to go to was the North Texas Teen Book Festival in Dallas. It’s an amazing festival, though, and I’m so grateful that I got at least one chance to meet with readers in person.

I wish I knew more about:

Literally everything? I think most journalists and writers become journalists and writers because they want to know more about the world. There’s nothing I’m not interested in. Except maybe Tiger King? I feel like we all know enough about Tiger King now.

My favorite thing about bookstores:

Not being able to step into bookstores in person has been really hard right now. I live in walking distance to two — Busboys & Poets, and My Dead Aunt’s Books — and I love the sense of discovery, and the anticipation of finding something you didn’t know you were looking for. But now that we’re all stuck at home, I think bookstores are actually even more important. Books are one of the few remaining ways we can all be together in the same place.

Notes From Ann: Running a Bookstore in a Pandemic

[image error]The front window looks a little different these days. Illustrations by Alethea Hall.

We closed Parnassus Books to the public on the same day all the stores around us closed. I can’t tell you when that was because I no longer have a relationship with my calendar. All the days are now officially the same. My business partner Karen and I talked to the staff and told them if they didn’t feel comfortable coming in that was fine. We would continue to pay them for as long as we could. But if they were OK to work in an empty bookstore, we were going to try and keep shipping books.

In the first week we did curbside delivery, which meant a customer could call the store and tell us what they wanted. We would take their credit card information over the phone and then run the books out to the parking lot and sling them into the open car window. Curbside delivery seemed like a good idea but the problem was so many people were calling that the staff wound up clustered around the cash registers, ringing up orders. No good. We reassessed and decided that all books would have to be mailed, even the books that were just going down the street.

We make our plans. We change our plans. We make other plans. This is the new world order.

Our bookstore is spacious and tidy, with rolling ladders to reach the highest shelves, a long leather sofa, a cheerful children’s section with a colorful mural featuring a frog telling a story to a rapt pack of assorted animals. The backroom of the bookstore is the polar opposite, a barely contained bedlam jammed with desks, towering flats of broken down boxes, boxes full of new releases, boxes of books to be returned. There are Christmas decorations, abandoned spinner displays, dog beds, day-old donuts. We are squashed in there together, forced to listen to one another’s private phone conversations and sniff one another’s perfume. It is not the landscape of social distancing.

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But in the absence of customers coming to browse, the backroom folks have moved to the capacious front of the store, setting up folding tables far away from each other to make our private spaces. We crank up the music. We pull books off the shelves. The floor is a sea of cardboard boxes — orders completed, orders still waiting on one more book. We make no attempt to straighten anything up before leaving at night. We have neither the impetuous nor the energy. There are bigger fish to fry. Orders are coming in as fast as we can fill them.

I think of how I used to talk in the pre-pandemic world, going on about the importance of reading and shopping local and supporting independent bookstores. These days I realize the extent to which it’s true — I understand now that we’re a part of our community as never before, and that our community is the world. When a friend of mine, stuck in his tiny New York apartment, told me he dreamed of being able to read the new Louise Erdrich book, I made that dream come true. I can solve nothing, I can save no one, but dammit, I can mail Patrick a copy of The Night Watchman.

At least for now. We’re part of a supply chain that relies on publishers to publish the books and distributors to ship the books and the postal service to pick up the boxes and take them away. We rely on our noble booksellers filling the boxes to stay healthy and stay away from each other. So far this fragile ecosystem is holding, though I understand that in the distance between my writing this piece and your reading it, it could fall apart. Today is what we’ve got, this quiet day in which finally there is time to read again. So go to our website, parnassusbooks.net, and we’ll send you some books. It turns out the community of readers and books is the community we needed in the good old days, and it’s the community we need in hard times, and it’s the community we’ll want to be there when this whole thing is over.

Home Pages: Great New Reads for the Young and Young at Heart

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Maybe you’re home-schooling, maybe you’re just at home. No matter how you’re spending your days, books always make a great companion! Our booksellers have gathered up another collection of great new reads for everyone from the littlest story-listeners to YA readers.

PICTURE BOOKS


Recommended by Becca
Goodnight, Veggies

By Diana Murray & Zachariah OHora

Veggies and sleep are two things that pretty much all of us could use more of in our lives. This is a classic sleep story (think Llama Llama or Goodnight Moon) that takes place in a rooftop community garden. With fun plays on words, captivating illustrations, and a charming earthworm guide (wearing a hat and shoe, Richard Scarry style), this book easily earns its spot in the bedtime reading rotation!


Recommended by Jackie

Summer Song

By Kevin Henkes & Laura Dronzek

Summer Song joins In the Middle of Fall, Winter Is Here, and When Spring Comes to complete the seasonal series. This lovely story is full of the joy of summer sounds and sights.


Recommended by Jackie

The Moon Keeper

By Zosienka

This enchanting story is about a bear named Emile who is chosen by the night creatures to be the new Moon Keeper. His job is to make sure the moon is able to shine its light. However, Emile starts noticing that the moon seems to be shrinking. He is quite concerned, until he meets a bird who tells him, “Things come and go — you’ll see.” This is a comforting story for anyone who is worried.


Recommended by Jackie

Love, Sophia on the Moon

By Anica Mrose Rissi, Mika Song (Illustrator), Mika Song (Cover design or artwork by)

First we see Sophia sitting in time out and her mom cleaning up a broken vase. Next we read a letter Sophia has written explaining that she is running away to the moon. The rest of the book is a series of letters between the two, and ends with a note from mom saying, “Even when you’re mad, I love you to the moon. And all the way back.” The letters back and forth are clever enough to make this fun for the adult reading it aloud.


INDEPENDENT READERS


Recommended by Rae Ann

Nat Enough

By Maria Scrivan

Nat is dealing with typical middle school problems of losing a best friend and finding your place. The intro of each chapter featuring Nat’s dog and cat makes a charming side story. Scrivan’s comic style showcases a fun story and Nat Enough shows readers how to “be more of who you are.”


Recommended by Rae Ann

Blue Skies

By Anne Bustard

Everyone in town is excited about the Merci train full of gifts rolling through from France as a thank you for America’s help in WWII. Glory Bea is expecting a special gift to arrive on the train: her father. No one can stop her from believing in this miracle, not her mom’s new boyfriend or the grownups who thwart her railroad scouting mission.


Recommended by Rae Ann

City Spies

By James Ponti

Sara is a computer hacker. When she gets caught, she is tapped by a secret MI5 agency to be a real live spy. This new series is a must read for fans of adventure stories that make you laugh.


Recommended by Chelsea

Bloom (The Overthrow #1)

By Kenneth Oppel

When strange plants pop up on an island in Canada, everyone isn’t too worried — that is, until the plants start to release toxic pollen. Three kids, all from different paths in life, seem immune to the plants. If horror is your thing, don’t miss this page-turner. The ending promises that the next book will be just as thrilling.


Recommended by Gavin, age 9

Wayside School Beneath the Cloud of Doom

By Louis Sachar & Tim Heitz

It’s weird and completely obnoxious, but in a good way. There are things in this book that couldn’t possibly be true, but wait — could they?? You will especially want to read about spaghetti and “feetballs”!


Recommended by Rae Ann

The Next President: The Unexpected Beginnings and Unwritten Future of America’s Presidents

By Kate Messner, Adam Rex

The Next President is a unique survey of presidential history. It poses the question, “Who could be a future president?” This book will appeal to readers who love facts and a fun story.


Recommended by Becca

You Call This Democracy?: How to Fix Our Government and Deliver Power to the People

By Elizabeth Rusch

This book is a perfect reminder that our system is, if not broken, perhaps a bit bent out of shape. Why does the person who got the most votes not win the election? Why is your district shaped like an ink blot test? Why are more than 4 million of our friends and neighbors permanently barred from participating in the democratic process? This book explains all that and more, with plenty of helpful infographics!


YOUNG ADULT


Recommended by Rae Ann

Dragon Hoops

By Gene Luen Yang

The history of basketball and the story of one high school’s pursuit of a championship, this new YA graphic memoir is for sports fans and any YA reader.


Recommended by Chelsea

Tigers, Not Daughters

By Samantha Mabry

I was instantly drawn into this story of sisterhood and survival. When the eldest sister mysteriously falls to her death, the already fraught lives of the Torres girls become that much harder. Marby’s strong command of varying narrative perspectives throughout the novel and the slightest hint of magic left me breathless as I raced to find out the sisters’ fates. This is one not to miss.


Recommended by Chelsea

Chain of Gold (The Last Hours #1)

By Cassandra Clare

This book is for you if you enjoy any of the following: historical fiction, Edwardian London, fighting demons and fantastic heroines. Clare doesn’t disappoint in her latest installment of the Shadowhunter world.


Recommended by Jordan

Most Likely

By Sarah Watson

Ava, CJ, Jordan and Martha have been best friends since kindergarten. Now, they are navigating the joys and challenges of life together as high school seniors. We know one thing from the beginning: One of these girls is destined to be the President of the United States one day. The mystery, of course, is who? Readers will be drawn to this supportive group of friends, much like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series (except with no traveling or pants).






ParnassusNext — Our April Selection
They Went Left

By Monica Hesse

The April ParnassusNext selection is They Went Left by award-winning YA author Monica Hesse. Zofia promised her younger brother, Abek that they would be together again after World War II. After her release from Gross-Rosen concentration camp, her search for her brother turns into a strange and harrowing journey.

Here is some early buzz for the novel:

“Well-researched historical fiction.” —Kirkus

“An oft-told story from a new angle.” —Publishers Weekly

Unfortunately, we had to cancel our planned author event with Monica Hesse, but look for an interview with her soon, right here on Musing!

ParnassusNext is the book subscription box for YA lovers. Every member of ParnassusNext receives a first edition hardcover of each month’s selected book, signed by the author. There is no membership fee to join — and no line to stand in for the autograph. Not only will you have one of the best YA books of the month when it comes out, you’ll have it straight from the author’s hands, with an original, authentic signature! Set up a subscription for yourself or buy a gift membership for your favorite YA reader for 3, 6, or 12 months.

Quarantine Reads: 22 New Books to Help You Hunker Down

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Hopefully you’re fortunate enough to have more time to read lately — even if it’s a little more time than you were thinking it would be. As we try to ride out this pandemic and flatten the curve, the Parnassus booksellers have reading, too, and April brings a brand-new batch of handpicked favorites that, if our doors were open, we’d love to put in your hand. But as always, we’d be just as happy to ship any of these your way!

FICTION


Recommended by Karen
The Everlasting

By Katy Simpson Smith

This ambitious book takes place during four time periods in Rome over two millennia. I love how she re-imagines life in these different centuries and the way she intertwines each story.


Recommended by Karen

Enter the Aardvark

By Jessica Anthony

Young, handsome, rich and riding high in polling, Congressman Alexander Paine (R) has everything going for him when a stuffed aardvark shows up on his doorstep. Not just any aardvark, but one taxidermied by highly respected Titus Downing in the late 19th century. The story alternates between these two men’s lives and the secret they share, giving readers a very entertaining ride.


Recommended by Kay

The City We Became

By N. K. Jemisin

If you’ve read Jemisin before, I probably don’t have to convince you to grab this exciting start to her new series. You know she’s incredible. For the newcomers: The City We Became is a unique modern fantasy in which the soul of New York takes the form of six human avatars to face an otherworldly threat. Jemisin’s knack for strong character voices and her vibrant descriptions of New York truly make the story sing.


Recommended by Nell

How Much of These Hills Is Gold

By C Pam Zhang

I think I was barely three pages into this debut novel when I first lapsed into profanities from how beautifully C Pam Zhang writes. Two siblings, Sam and Lucy, travel through the Western territory after their prospector father dies, and they search for the right place to bury him proper. Mythic, musical, fierce — this is a Western unlike any you’ve ever seen.


Recommended by Steve

New Waves

By Kevin Nguyen

Part mystery, part bildungsroman, part nostalgia cascade for a bygone era of the Internet full of pseudonymous file-swapping obsessives. Two friends, who happen to be the only people of color in a bro-ish startup culture, form a bond that’s broken by tragedy in this smart, observant book takes you through the weirdness of trying to be human in a world increasingly filled with invasive tech.


Recommended by Sissy

My Dark Vanessa

By Kate Elizabeth Russell

Russell delves into psychological and sexual abuse that leaves a victim wondering whether they wanted the contact or not, wondering if they were abused or not. Vanessa’s inner thoughts about the power dynamic at play are messy and human. I cried as I cheered her on. The perfect novel for those who love Nabokov’s Lolita and those who hate it.


Recommended by Sissy

The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

By Grady Hendrix

Hendrix perfectly renders a Southern mother who constantly questions her self-worth and purpose. As all hell breaks loose in 1990s Charleston, this delicate flower learns to stand up for herself and save those she loves, even if it costs her her life and everything else.


Recommended by Chelsea

If I Never Met You

By Mhairi McFarlane

When Laurie is dumped by her very long-term boyfriend, she hatches a plan with office hottie Jamie to get back at her ex. For Jamie, it shows that he’s mature enough to be considered for a huge promotion. Laurie is intelligent, fun, and nunapologetic about who she is; she is the perfect protagonist. This faux romance is the perfect read to distract you from everything that’s going on.


Recommended by Jordan

A Good Neighborhood

By Therese Anne Fowler

Valerie raises her biracial teenage son in Oak Hill, a tight-knit, “good” neighborhood. When the Whitmans, a “picture perfect” white family with money and status move in next door, worlds collide, secrets are revealed, and complicated relationships are formed. Fans of Little Fires Everywhere will love this emotionally complex novel, in which multiple characters’ stories are unraveled much like in Celeste Ng’s bestseller.


Recommended by Jordan

Cinderella and the Glass Ceiling: And Other Feminist Fairy Tales

By Laura Lane & Ellen Haun

We all need a laugh these days! Check out these classic fairy tales you loved as children with a feminist reality check.


Recommended by Erin

Code Name Hélène

By Ariel Lawhon

They say truth is stranger than fiction. In this novel about Nancy Wake, a socialite who became a leader of the French Resistance, it’s also more thrilling. Nashville author Ariel Lawhon honors one of the most decorated women in WWII with a propulsive, action-packed rendering that captures the courage, intelligence, and heart of a hero who should be a household name. I can’t stop thinking about this book.


Recommended by Erin

Then the Fish Swallowed Him

By Amir Ahmadi Arian

This novel sucks you in like a story that relative of yours would tell. An uncle, maybe, who doesn’t bother telling it exactly like it happened. Still, you can’t stop listening. And eventually, you realize the stories are about something else entirely. This book is like that, if your uncle is Iranian, tells stories like Joseph Heller, and has some harrowing things to say about the power of the state on the soul.


NONFICTION


Recommended by Kim

Untamed

By Glennon Doyle

Glennon’s signature brand of honesty, vulnerability and “you can also live this way” encouragement. There’s a reason all your friends are talking about this book. You’ll hold your head up a little higher after reading it. And you will buy copies for everyone you know.


Recommended by Kim

Wow, No Thank You.: Essays

By Samantha Irby

If the internet and Shrill (Sam wrote the episode with the infamous pool scene) have led you to Samantha Irby, welcome, we’ve been waiting for you. This is Sam’s third book and it’s my favorite. You’ll laugh out loud, you’ll read it twice, and you’ll buy it for all your friends.


Recommended by Kim

Recollections of My Nonexistence: A Memoir

By Rebecca Solnit

This book is a coming-of-age story, a love letter to San Francisco, a love letter to women, and an injection of hope and encouragement to anyone fighting to be heard. Regular readers of Solnit will know that she meanders a little in her writing, and she does that in this book, but she sticks the landing and the end of the book is a powerful, must-read for all women continuing to live through the #MeToo era.


Recommended by Heather

Hidden Valley Road: Inside the Mind of an American Family

By Robert Kolker

If you have ever been touched by anyone with mental illness you will be struck down by the overwhelming burdens the Galvin family faces. Woven in with stories of the family are insights in to the research and leading “causes” and treatments for schizophrenia over a period of more than fifty years. Honest, balanced, heartbreaking and hopeful.


Recommended by Kim

Nobody Will Tell You This But Me: A true (as told to me) story

By Bess Kalb

Do you have a favorite grandma? Do you like to laugh? Good news, this is the book for you! I laughed, I cried, I read it in one sitting.


Recommended by Kathy

Women Rowing North

By Mary Pipher

How to accept yourself, body, mind and spirit, as you navigate the challenges and joys of growing older


Recommended by Ben

One Long River of Song: Notes on Wonder

By Brian Doyle

These days, we could all use a reorientation toward wonder. This posthumous essay collection gleans revelation from tiny moments of beauty, childhood memories, human courage, and the glory within the everyday. Filled with kestrels and otters, brothers and fathers, hummingbirds and hearts — plus one huge sturgeon — his prose shines with humor, compassion, hard-won truths.


Recommended by Kim

Save Yourself

By Cameron Esposito

Laugh out loud funny. Fans of Cameron’s stand up comedy will love this book. Also, spoiler alert: great life advice at the end.


Recommended by Steve

Spirit Run: A 6,000-Mile Marathon Through North America’s Stolen Land

By Noé Álvarez

Álvarez takes on indigenous rights, immigrant experience, working-class grit, shame, family, masculinity — all wrapped up in the tale of an epic marathon down the Western edge of our continent. His writing is observant and tender, and in light of how we are waking up to the conditions of so-called “essential workers” — like Álvarez’s parents, who work to harvest our food — especially urgent.


POETRY


Recommended by Ben

To Make Room for the Sea

By Adam Clay

These poems trace the transience of experience and memory, the limits and necessity of language, all while balancing the weight of loneliness and loss with the inertia of hope and awe. Clay has a knack for deft phrasing, for exploring inner vastness, for crafting last lines that stay with you long after the poems end.






First Editions Club: April Selection
Valentine: A Novel

By Elizabeth Wetmore

Sometimes the aftermath of a crime is nearly as devastating as the crime itself. Valentine looks at how an entire town is divided by a single act of violence, and does so with such compassion it took my breath away. This is small town Texas in 1976, decades before the concept of #MeToo had been imagined. This is a world in which a girl is always suspect, especially a Mexican girl. This is a world in which women must decide if they are going to stand with another woman or turn against her in order to preserve the peace of their homes.

Elizabeth Wetmore’s deft narrative takes us through the divisions and alliances that surprise everyone involved. She reminds us of the implications of both silence and speaking up. With writing that that is fresh and extraordinarily beautiful, she reminds us that there is no such thing as an easy answer.

Into this uncertain time comes a novel that reminds us of the power of empathy and justice. It is riveting and important. We’ll all be talking about Valentine for a long time to come.

Yours in reading,

Catherine Bock

Inventory Manager

More about our First Editions Club: Every member receives a first edition of the selected book of the month, signed by the author. Books are carefully chosen by our staff of readers, and our picks have gone on to earn major recognition including the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, and the PEN/Faulkner Award. Plus, there’s no membership fee or premium charge for these books. Build a treasured library of signed first editions and always have something great to read! Makes a FABULOUS gift, too.


Book Club is on hold for now, at least the in-person version. Book Club Manager Kathy Schultenover has been practicing her Zoom skills, so stay tuned.

Notes From Ann: The Life-Changing Magic of Kate DiCamillo

[image error]Ann Patchett and Kate DiCamillo at Parnassus, during a less socially distant time.

I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about reading all of Kate DiCamillo’s books ever since I read them almost a year and a half ago. I have a little bit more time these days, and so last week I sat down and did just that. I wrote it quickly, which tends to be the case when I’ve been thinking about something for a long time, and when I finished and read it through I thought, Wait a minute. I’d really like a LOT of people to read this. A deep dive into DiCamillo is just about the most comforting thing I can think of for these troubled times. So I sent the piece to an editor I know at the New York Times Book Review, and she came back right away and said yes.

This will run in the Times on April 14. I recommend reading as much DiCamillo as you can before then so you’ll be in the know. Special thanks to the folks at the Book Review for letting us put this on the website.

Here’s how it happened: In early November 2018, Kate DiCamillo came to Nashville while she was on tour for her novel Louisiana’s Way Home. It’s the middle book of a trilogy that started with Raymie Nightingale and ended last year with Beverly, Right Here.

Kate and I had crossed paths a few times over the years and had a kind of, “Hey, hi, how are you?” relationship, which is to say we had met but didn’t know each other. She was doing her event for Louisiana’s Way Home at an elementary school in town; I picked up lunch for her and her publicist and drove it out there. I did it because Niki, our events manager at Parnassus Books, asked me to. She told me Kate was a big fan of mine. Niki very rarely tells me what to do, but when she does I listen because she’s always right.

Kate and her publicist and I sat in tiny chairs at a tiny table in the school library and ate our salads. They made a big fuss over how nice I was to bring them lunch. The whole encounter lasted less than 30 minutes. Then Kate gave a talk in an auditorium packed with kids and their parents. I hadn’t meant to stay, but then I did. She talked about her mother’s vacuum cleaner. She was great.

That would have been the end of the story, were it not for the fact that the very next day I got an email from Nell Freudenberger, a terrific novelist whose books I love. Nell asked me if I knew Kate DiCamillo.

“Strange you should ask,” I said. “We had lunch yesterday.”

Nell went on to tell me that she had just finished reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane to her son, and that it had cracked them open and made them better people. “You have to tell her that for me,” Nell said. “Will you do that?”

I didn’t have Kate DiCamillo’s email address, but I was pretty sure I could find her, except that I didn’t want to find her. I had never read any of her work. I don’t have children and frankly it never occurred to me to read middle-grade novels. I was a jerk. Instead of going to look for the author, I went to Parnassus to look for the book.

[image error]Kate DiCamillo and Sparky.

That night I read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane and, well, it changed my life. I couldn’t remember when I had read such a perfect novel. I didn’t care what age it was written for. The book defied categorization. I felt as if I had just stepped through a magic portal, and all I had to do to pass through was believe that I wasn’t too big to fit. This beautiful world had been available to me all along but I had never bothered to pick up the keys to the kingdom.

And so I started to read more of Kate’s books, until in the end I had read every single one of them. There are a lot, but most have pictures. It was one of the most satisfying literary adventures of my life. It was also incredibly calming, which is why I mention it now. There’s something about being able to read an entire book in one sitting that’s emotionally very satisfying. Not only are the books beautifully written, the stories have gorgeous arcs. They twist in ways you never see coming and do not shy away from despair or joy or strangeness. They are, each one, sui generis, each one extraordinary.

So maybe you don’t have children, or they’re not small or not in the house. It doesn’t matter. Read them anyway. Maybe you do have children and you can read these books together as a family. My point is this: Don’t miss out. Do not make the mistake I nearly made and fail to read them because you are under the misconception that they are not for you. They are for you.

The novelist Yiyun Li is hosting a War and Peace book club called Tolstoy Together on the website of the literary magazine A Public Space. You’re asked to read 12 pages a day. It’s a great idea. But my very different idea is also great, and it might make you feel better.

You can read Kate’s books in any order you like. I break the novels into two categories: the realistic books of childhood (of which the Raymie Nightingale trilogy and Because of Winn-Dixie are prime examples) and the magic animal books (The Magician’s Elephant, The Tale of Despereaux and, of course, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane; there are more). I lean toward magical animals but that’s just my thing. I loved them all.

There are also the chapter books of Deckawoo Drive for younger readers, and of those I urge you not to miss Where Are You Going, Baby Lincoln? and Eugenia Lincoln and the Unexpected Package. For even younger readers there is the Mercy Watson series about a well-meaning pig who likes hot buttered toast. Who doesn’t like hot buttered toast? There are also picture books.

Believe me when I say I started out intending to read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, just that one book. I couldn’t stop. In the end I read them all because I wanted to keep the genius of Kate DiCamillo in my head. Somewhere in this epic adventure I tracked Kate down. I delivered Nell Freudenberger’s message. I delivered my own message: These books that you’ve written, these books that I love? They’ve made my world a better place. They changed my life.