The Books I'm Reading Now
I'm reading The Fire and the Ore, the newest historical fiction novel (to be published tomorrow!) from Olivia Hawker; I'm listening to I'm Glad My Mom Died, the memoir from actress Jennette McCurdy about being raised by a manipulative, emotionally unstable mother; and I'm reading The Other Side of Night (also to be published tomorrow!), Adam Hamdy's twisty mystery about interconnected characters.
What are you reading these days, bookworms?
01 The Fire and the Ore by Olivia Hawker
In this newest Western-set story by Olivia Hawker, she tells the tale of the interconnected lives of three women in Utah Territory in 1857.
When the US Army invades, these former strangers, linked by their connection to one man, must flee into the unforgiving desert.
I received a prepublication edition of this book, scheduled for publication tomorrow, courtesy of Lake Union Publishing and NetGalley.
Hawker is also the author of The Ragged Edge of Night, which I mentioned in Six Historical Fiction Books I Loved Over the Past Year.
Hawker also wrote One for the Blackbird, One for the Crow, which I listed in the Greedy Reading List Six Great Historical Fiction Stories Set in the American West.
02 I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
I wasn't familiar with McCurdy when I began listening to her memoir, I'm Glad My Mom Died, although I have a vague recollection of the existence of the TV show she was on, iCarly.
Jennette became a child actress at 6 in order to please her mother, pushing down her own anxiety and disinclination to be the center of attention--and eventually committing to her mother's idea of "calorie restriction," beginning decades of struggling with food and eating disorders.
Her mother's volatile emotions; upsetting and controlling manner; pushy actions; mental, emotional, and physical abuse; and disturbing codependence with her young daughter make for an uncomfortable read. But McCurdy is witty, often funny, and candid.
03 The Other Side of Night by Adam Hamdy
In Adam Hamdy's The Other Side of Night, the lives of a popular author, a respectable citizen, and a disgraced police officer are intertwined through connections to a series of mysterious deaths.
A novel written to explore real-life tragedies, an enigmatic note written in a copy of the novel, a seeming suicide, and inexplicable circumstances tie together the characters of David Asha, Harriet Kealty, and Ben Elmys.
But one of them may be a murderer.
The Other Side of Night twists and turns its way to a surprising ending.
I received a prepublication copy of this book (to be published tomorrow) courtesy of Atria Books and NetGalley.
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