Unlike Isola with its mysterious Italian title, How to Survive a Bear Attack has its main thesis right up front. This niche little Canadian book totally won me over, despite not being interested in either bears or living an outdoorsy life. 

As a novel, Mad Mabel satisfies in a completely original way.  Told from Mabel’s 81-year-old perspective, the readers come to realize that her outward-facing cantankerous demeanor covers an inner self full of love for the people around her.

As devoted readers of L&L may know, I became a true Hibernophile after my trip to Ireland one year ago.  (Don’t worry, I had to google it too. It means someone who loves all things Irish.) So, when I saw that Ariel Lawhon, author of The Frozen River (read review here), had written a new novel about Grace O’Malley, the pirate queen of Ireland, I couldn’t wait to read it. And it did not disappoint.

It had been a while since I started a book knowing almost nothing about it, and I had forgotten what a joyful and emotional ride that can be. Isola was on my list because of Reece Witherspoon’s book club, and it became available from my library just as I left on a trip with my husband without our kids. I always find I enjoy a book more when I can devour it in long sittings, and that’s exactly what I did.

Shark Heart is one of the strangest books, both in form and content, that I have read in a very long time. Yet somehow, I find myself thinking about it often, even weeks after finishing it. 

Absolution is another novel I heard highly recommended by an author in a podcast. Published in 2023, perhaps you missed this gem like I did. It turns out I had read one previous book by McDermott, Charming Billy published in 1998. And, I am so taken with her writing after Absolution, I plan to binge her other seven novels.