Our First Impressions feature this week is a unique story of friendship and change that may just leave you longing for a countryside boat trip: The Narrowboat Summer by Anne Youngson follows three women who explore the canals of England as well as new phases of their lives.
Our latest Editor's Choice review delves into David Yoon's Super Fake Love Song, a coming-of-age young adult romance that explores different facets of identity and is sure to charm readers of all ages.
We also invite you to explore our latest book club discussion of Melinda Gates' The Moment of Lift, which examines gender from a broad point of view and focuses on improving the lives of girls and women on a global scale; and if you've read it, please do join us.
Also, be sure to check out our upcoming discussions, and try your hand at a new Wordplay!
Very best,
Davina
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Each month we give away books to BookBrowse members who live in the U.S. to read and review. Members who choose to participate receive a free book about every 3-4 months. Here are their opinions on one recently released title. |
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The Narrowboat Summer
by Anne Youngson
"Sally has left her husband and her home to seek some fulfillment in her life; Eve has lost her high-level job and is wondering how she will cope. They are both walking along when they encounter a gruff old woman with a problem. Anastasia lives on a narrowboat and travels the canals of England, but has been advised that she must have major surgery and is thus not going to be able to continue her lifestyle on the canals. Taking two rank amateurs under her wing to show them how to operate her narrowboat through the locks on the canals is a bit of a challenge. But Eve and Sally take to life on the narrowboat well and find they really love the drastic change in their lifestyles. I found this to be a very enjoyable, different sort of story, full of interesting characters." - Dorinne D. (Wickenburg, AZ)
"I fell in love with this book the more I read. I have something in common with two of the women - I am older and I was disenchanted with my job and recently retired. I also fell in love with the English countryside as it is described in the book. It takes place mostly on the canals of England and made me want to take a boat trip of my own. The story is interesting and I loved seeing the women grow and develop as they traveled... I think this book will be excellent for book clubs with enough variety of characters for everyone to find a favorite." - Carol N. (Indian Springs Village, AL)
"The main characters are well developed, and the friendships that form during the journey are deep and abiding. I especially appreciated the largely drama-free interactions between Sally and Eve as they thoughtfully navigate their new friendship — it is a refreshing change from the stereotypical rivalry-type female relationships that are often depicted in novels. But my favorite character in the book is the canals themselves — the lyrical descriptions of canal life made me long for my own narrowboat summer. This novel would appeal to those who enjoy books by Helen Simonson, Phaedra Patrick, Rachel Joyce and Fredrik Backman, as well as anyone who yearns to make a change in their seemingly settled life." - Terri O. (Chapel Hill, NC)
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Flatiron Books. Novel. 336 pages. Published Jan 26, 2021
Number of Reader Reviews: 16, Readers' Consensus: 3.9/5.0
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The Moment of Lift
by Melinda Gates
From the Jacket
How can we summon a moment of lift for human beings―and especially for women? Because when you lift up women, you lift up humanity.
Writing with emotion, candor, and grace, Melinda Gates introduces us to remarkable women and shows the power of connecting with one another.
From the Discussion
"I appreciated reading about the life Melinda Gates has undertaken to empower and 'lift' women all over the world. I was unaware of the many areas in the world that she has visited and given assistance. I liked reading about her willingness to hear from the women, to share their stories, and see the successes along the way. The stories about the women are my favorite parts of the book. Appreciation for the improvements to their lives kept me moving through the chapters. A well-written account of ambitious, positive change."
- TerryPark
"It is an eye-opening book. Both in the sense of Melinda Gates' strong religious background and career/life choices, and also the circumstances that so many women live in throughout the world. Melinda's privilege is acknowledged, but it also allows her to do what so many of us cannot do." - Shawna
"I appreciated the focus on explaining why the issues the Gates Foundation focuses on (e.g., educating girls) are important. The book didn't make me feel bad about my limited awareness/action, or act as propaganda for Melinda or the Foundation... It remained passionate but factual - an approach I felt worked really well." - kimk
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Flatiron Books. Current Affairs. 304 pages. Paperback published Jan 12, 2021 |
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Super Fake Love Song
by David Yoon
Sunny Dae has come to terms with his own nerdiness. He's fine with wearing the same unfashionable cargo shorts every day, he's happy to ride his deeply uncool bike around town. Even though he spent years being bullied, he's finally found a bubble of safety and camaraderie with his two best friends, Milo and Jamal, who also happen to be two of the only other students of color at his high school outside Los Angeles in ridiculously wealthy Rancho Ruby (a fictional town that, according to the endpaper map, bears a lot of resemblance to super-exclusive Rolling Hills, California). Thanks to his strong sense of self, Sunny no longer compares himself unfavorably to his handsome older brother Gray, who's been making music in Los Angeles as a member of various rock bands since graduating from high school a few years earlier.
But Sunny's comfort in his own skin evaporates quickly when the Sohs, his parents' old friends, move into Rancho Ruby, bringing their beautiful and effortlessly cool daughter Cirrus with them.
David Yoon's second novel (after Frankly in Love, 2019) continues his exploration of identity and first love. Super Fake Love Song is lighter in tone than Yoon's debut, though it still tackles challenging issues of privilege, ambition and race, among other themes... continued
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Beyond the Book:
Live-Action Role Playing (LARP)
Before Sunny Dae embarks on a rock 'n' roll career in Super Fake Love Song, he and his friends are minor celebrities in the world of LARPing, which stands for Live Action Role-Playing. If you're familiar with tabletop role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons or online role-playing games like EverQuest, LARPing is sort of like one of those games come to life, complete with characters, settings, props and plots.
Many childhood games of imagination could be loosely categorized as LARPs, as could some improv theater games, but when most people talk about LARPing, they are referring to a fantasy game largely for adults, with established rules and structure. LARPing began in the 1960s, but really took off in the mid-1970s, evolving from tabletop fantasy games such as Dungeons & Dragons. By the 1980s, many variations had sprung up in the United States and internationally, particularly in college and university settings... continued
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G.P. Putnam's Sons. Young Adults. 368 pages. Published Nov 17, 2020 |
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Current & Upcoming Book Discussions |
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Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win the book of your choice or a 6-month membership to BookBrowse.
"T M T C, T M T Stay T S"
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The answer to the last Wordplay: T T T Light F
"To trip the light fantastic"
Meaning: To dance, usually in the context of ballroom dancing
In these days of Covid-19, to go out ballroom dancing, that is to say "to trip the light fantastic," seems a distant fantasy (but for those of us born with two left feet, it always was a stretch).
The phrase has its origins in a relatively short 1645 poem by John Milton titled L'Allegro ("The Happy Man") about Euphrosyne, the Goddess of Mirth who Milton describes as dancing (triping) with footwork (toe) that is light and fantastic (fantastic has its roots in the Greek phantastikos meaning able to imagine or make visible) ... continued
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Webinars for Public Librarians |
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BookBrowse is currently offering two different webinars for public librarians:
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Building Community Through Book Clubs: We'll explore we actionable insights for librarians from our two recent research reports: The Inner Lives of Book Clubs (2019) and Book Clubs in Lockdown (Nov 2020). Next dates Feb 4 & Feb 15 (same content at both sessions).
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Join us for a free, 30 minute Guided Tour of BookBrowse for Libraries, an award-winning, curated readers' advisory tool for librarians and patrons. Next dates Feb 9 & Feb 19 (same content at both sessions).
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At BookBrowse, we believe that the very best books don't just entertain and engage, they also enlighten, wrapping us in their world, giving us a window into the lives of others or a mirror to reflect on ourselves. These are the books we seek out and feature on BookBrowse, both fiction and nonfiction. |
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Published every Thursday, BookBrowse Highlights is one of BookBrowse's four free newsletters. We also offer Publishing This Week every Sunday, and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly.
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