Three Books I'm Reading Now, 4/21/25 Edition

The Books I'm Reading Now

I'm reading comedian Zarna Garg's upcoming memoir, This American Woman; I'm reading Annie Hartnett's upcoming novel The Road to Tender Hearts; and I'm reading John Green's nonfiction book Everything Is Tuberculosis.

What are you reading, bookworms?

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01 This American Woman: A One-in-a-Billion Memoir by Zarna Garg

Zarna Garg avoided an unwanted arranged marriage at age 14 in India; she fled from her father to the streets of Mumbai, homeless; then she started a dramatically different new life in Akron, Ohio--only to reimagine her future again in midlife and become a comedian.

But first she was an Indian matchmaker, a stay-at-home mom, and a prizewinning screenwriter. Then, on a dare, she hopped onto an open mic stage, spouted off comedic takes on her life, and the rest was history.

Garg offers an honest, funny account of overcoming sobering challenges and determining your own destiny.

I received a prepublication edition of this title, to be published April 29, courtesy of Ballantine Books and NetGalley.

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02 The Road to Tender Hearts by Annie Hartnett

PJ Halliday is 63 and just won the million-dollar lottery. Now he's about to set off on a cross-country road trip to track down his high-school sweetheart following the death of his former nemesis and rival.

But not everything in his life has been luck and adventure. PJ has weathered terrible tragedies in his life. His oldest daughter died, and the grief destroyed his marriage. After that, he spent years drowning his sorrows in drink, and now that he's had three heart attacks, he realizes his time may be almost up.

Before he can set out for Arizona to try to win back his young love, his estranged brother dies, and PJ becomes the guardian for his brother's grandchildren. So he simply packs them into the car, enlists his grown daughter to babysit, and hits the road. What could go wrong?

I received a prepublication edition of The Road to Tender Hearts, scheduled for publication April 29, courtesy of Ballantine Books and NetGalley.

Annie Hartnett is also the author of the wonderful novel Unlikely Animals, which was one of my Bossy Favorite Fiction Reads of the Year when I read it, as well as the novel Rabbit Cake.

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03 Everything Is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green

In John Green's nonfiction book Everything Is Tuberculosis, he tells his story of befriending a young man, Henry, who was suffering from tuberculosis and living in a hospital in Sierra Leone.

Green uses his tender eye and piercing analysis to explore the health care inequalities that allow the world's poorest citizens to disproportionally contract the incurable disease tuberculosis and to advocate for greater access to quality care and a search for a cure.

John Green is also the author of the nonfiction collection of essays The Anthropocene Reviewed (which was one of my six favorite nonfiction reads the year I read it) as well as the young adult novels An Abundance of Katherines, Turtles All the Way Down, The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, and Paper Towns.