A Novelist Reports ‘From the World of #FakeNews’
Amitava Kumar’s novel “A Time Outside This Time” is a crusade against misinformation amid global upheaval.
Book Review: ‘The Taking of Jemima Boone,’ by Matthew Pearl
“The Taking of Jemima Boone,” the first nonfiction book by the novelist Matthew Pearl, recounts a legendary abduction case that complicates our view of relations between settlers and Native Americans during westward expansion.
In Dave Eggers’s New Novel, the Problem With Big Tech Is Us
“The Every,” a follow-up to Eggers’s 2013 novel “The Circle,” is meant to scare us straight, sunk as we are in tech complacency.
Chibundu Onuzo: Colonialism and Liberation Are Not Black and White
In Onuzo’s new novel, “Sankofa,” a British woman discovers her long-lost father is the ex-dictator of a West African country.
When Friends Find Themselves on Opposite Sides of a Tragedy
In “We Are Not Like Them,” Christine Pride and Jo Piazza team up to create a fictional reckoning that channels too-true headlines.
The Ride of Her Life: The True Story of a Woman, Her Horse, and their Last-Chance Journey Across America
UnCovered review by Mandy Blasberg, ACLS Mays Landing Librarian
Ever wanted to just drop everything in your current life and
head off into the West to finally see, in person, the things you’ve only heard
of or read about? I believe it’s what we all want on occasion, but few
have the perseverance to seriously follow through.
When a doctor purported her days were numbered, Miss Annie Wilkins was motivated to reconsider how she would spend the rest of her limited time. She had always dreamed of seeing the sparkling blue Pacific Ocean her mother used to tell her about with reverie, after a difficult & labor-filled life of Maine farming with very little money. Having never ridden long-distance on a horse, and not even owning a horse, she decides she’s going to cross the country on horseback, taking only a few belongings and her best and dearest friend - her little dog Depeche Toi. Her first mission is to choose a horse.
This is the best underdog story I’ve read, and the time period
Annie Wilkins embarked on her adventurous ride was ideal for capturing
intriguing events & milestones occurring all through the country. The
beginning of the Civil rights movement was taking place with many changes in
transport, industry, and the American landscape as a result. Entertainment with
the advent of the television, technological inventions, and economic &
communication transformations were all underway.
Having lived through the great Depression and World War II, Annie had heard that there was a bigger world out there than she’d ever seen. The Ride if Her Life is a tale of fierce bravery, determination, and gusto, with small doses of heartache. Annie faces failures along the way, but she’s no stranger to living through disappointments & difficulties. The triumph of always getting back up on her horse prevails, assisted by many unexpected surprises and kind strangers to help her through every adversity.
Annie meets Andrew Wyeth, other celebrities, television personalities & journalists; she rides through places that no longer exist, sees iconic landmarks and hidden wonders–it’s a truly fantastic journey. You discover highways with fascinating points of interest and learn countless bits of trivia gold.
I guarantee the facts you discover along the way will excite
you! The author has meticulously researched every facet of Annie’s expedition,
and we are fortunate in the opportunity to revel in the cornucopia of emotions,
knowledge, discoveries, and friendships that flow out of the tale as a
result.
I cannot neglect to mention that animal lovers will be thrilled and fiercely connected to Annie and her fur-covered companions, as her whole endeavor relies on her animals’ welfare to successfully complete her mission to arrive safely and finally to see the great Pacific.
The doctor had given her a short time to live, but Annie Wilkins carried on. She was filled with a hearty second wind, because there is more to what keeps us going than just our physical condition. The spirit is strengthened when it is presented with hope, faith, and belief in possibilities that haven’t yet been seen through.
Thanks to Annie Wilkins for finding the courage to brave the
road yearned after but not often taken, and thanks to Elizabeth Letts for
documenting the explorations when the rest of us could not be there in person.
The spirit of Annie Wilkins definitely survives, and I will now always
carry Annie’s spirit in my saddlebag, to be reached for when I need courage to
do the things I haven’t yet been able to accomplish.
I hope you, too, will carry Annie’s spirit with you wherever life may take you.
Once again, Trump aide paints a picture of a White House wracked by chaos, infighting
Among Trump tell-all authors, Stephanie Grisham stands out because in a White House where turnover was constant, she managed to remained there for almost all of Trump's presidency.
(Image credit: Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Fiona Hill explores why it's tough to get ahead in 'There Is Nothing For You Here'
Fiona Hill had a star turn in front of Congress during Trump's first impeachment inquiry. Now she examines why opportunities are fleeting and how it affects the country's social and political fabric.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Joe Klein Explains How the History of Four Centuries Ago Still Shapes American Culture and Politics
David Hackett Fischer’s “Albion’s Seed,” published in 1989, describes today’s United States with stunning prescience.
Jocelyn Nicole Johnson Makes Virginia’s Past Present in ‘My Monticello.’
A debut fiction collection imagines Black characters reckoning with this country’s legacy — and present reality — of white violence.
In Praise of ‘Rationality’
In his new book, the Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker makes an argument for rational thinking and reminds us of how it’s done.
From Miriam Toews, a Tragicomedy About the Dysfunctional World of Adults
“Fight Night” is the story of three generations of women as told by the youngest of them.
In this creepy house, no one's who you think they are — not even the cat
As soon as you open Catriona Ward's new The Last House on Needless Street, you'll know something's very wrong — it's a great read for people who want a book to yank the rug right out from under them.
(Image credit: Tor Nightfire)
Wole Soyinka's long-awaited third novel isn't his best work
The great writer and playwright hasn't published a novel since 1973 — but fans who've been waiting may be disappointed by this dense, florid tale of murder and corruption in an imaginary Nigeria.
(Image credit: NPR)
Getting By With a Little Help From Her Friends
Jayne Allen’s debut novel, “Black Girls Must Die Exhausted,” introduces a Los Angeles reporter who is enduring more than her share of worries.
British Nuns, General Motors and Other Letters to the Editor
Readers respond to recent issues of the Sunday Book Review.
Richard Powers on ‘Bewilderment’
Powers talks about his new novel, and Honorée Fanonne Jeffers discusses “The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois.”
We All Have a Book In Us. Or Do We?
Liana Finck illustrates what it looks like when our best ideas are let loose upon the world.
All Screechers Great and Small: An Eco Fairy Tale
In Katherine Applegate’s “Willodeen,” an orphan girl in a land called Perchance learns that the fates of all of Earth’s creatures are intertwined.
Trail Blazer
In Jewell Parker Rhodes’s “Paradise on Fire,” a young mapmaker in a wilderness program for Black city kids fights fire with fire.
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