Staff members at the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning have put together a list of some of their favorite books to help us through the cold winter months. Some (but not all) of this month’s selections are by Kentucky authors, or otherwise have Kentucky ties, but together they represent vast and varied selection of styles and genres. We hope you’ll find something worth picking up from your favorite local bookshop or library to cozy up with in the weeks ahead!
“Dead Man Blues” by S.D. House
When a series of related murders occurs in a small Kentucky town in the 1950s, Dave Hendricks, the disgraced former mayor and former sheriff, is deputized by the current sheriff, Dave’s former his best friend, who stole his wife, to help find the murderer before another life is taken. But when you live in a small town and everyone is connected to everyone and aware of each other’s pasts, how do you determine who’s guilty? Who holds the biggest grudge? Author S.D. House (pseudonym for Lexington author Silas House) keeps you guessing until the very end in his debut mystery novel.
– Reviewed by Jennifer Hester Mattox, Executive Director
“All These Ghosts” by Silas House
I have read many of House’s novels and was eager to dive into this book of poetry. House is a gifted writer, no matter the genre. This collection does not disappoint. It is nostalgic, heartbreaking and encouraging, revealing his boyhood days and his love of the natural world, his family and music. I have always found poetry is more beautiful if read out loud. Treat yourself to this gift of “All These Ghosts.”
– Reviewed by Carol Jordan, Development and Finance Associate
“Shadow Ticket” by Thomas Pynchon
In Pynchon’s ninth, and possibly final, novel, 1930’s private investigator Hicks McTaggart encounters anarchist bombings, a Wisconsin Nazi bowling league, the ugliest lamp in the world, a vampire motorcycle gang and multiple dairy industry conspiracies as he tries to find and return the daughter of “The Al Capone of Cheese” to her family and fiancé. “Shadow Ticket” continues Pynchon’s career-long fascination with transitional periods of history and using seemingly silly stories to make deeply insightful comment on current events without ever mentioning them directly.
– Reviewed by Logan Lay, Marketing Associate and Web Layout
“Sorry I Keep Crying During Sex” by Jesse James Rose
This raw, experimental, funny-sad memoir of a nonbinary trans girl’s sexuality and experiences drew me in from the beginning. By the end of it, I was completely undone. Gorgeous prose and a sharp sense of humor both lighten and deepen Rose’s exploration of the heavy topics they cover — grief, sexual assault, the relationship between oneself and one’s trauma, queer identity and gender expression, among others — and I was especially surprised by the political commentary woven throughout, including an imagined conversation between Rose and Osama Bin Laden (which was much more heartwarming than it sounds). There’s even a surprise connection to Kentucky that I didn’t know before I started reading. Overall, this book isn’t for the faint of heart or prudish reader, but it’s one I will never forget. I especially recommend the audiobook, which is skillfully narrated by the author.
– Reviewed by Maggie Garnett, Program & Registrar Associate
“Legends & Lattes” by Travis Baldree
This novel made popular by “BookTok,” is best categorized as a slice-of-life book, though it could also fall into the category of fantasy or cozy adventure. In any case, it is just the right thing for a cold winter’s morning with a warm cup of coffee.
The heroine of the book is Viv, an orc barbarian, who has spent a lifetime as a warrior for hire — that is, until coffee came into her life. After becoming enamored by the beverage, she found a small town in which to open a coffee shop of her own. Not all goes smoothly, and you’ll be swept along by the adventure as she fights against the evil forces who hope to quell her dream.
– Reviewed by Sarabeth Brownrobie, Marketing & Communications Director
“All This Could Be Yours”
By Hank Phillippi Ryan
Tessa Calloway’s book tour for her bestselling debut novel seems to be a dream come true until she realizes her devoted fans aren’t the only attendees at her sold-out events. Someone has uncovered her childhood secrets. Penetrating personal questions about Tessa’s hometown and break-ins to her hotel rooms make her fear for her career and her safety. With people tormenting her as she travels from city to city on her publicly promoted book tour, the pressure builds as she worries for her young family back home and considers the nosy new neighbors she’s not yet met. Tessa must unravel how everything is connected and who is out to get her before her life and her family’s is completely torn apart.
– Reviewed by Jennifer Hester Mattox, Executive Director
“Trigger Warning” by Jacinda Townsend
Ruth could have used a trigger warning before the tragedies in her life. Her little brother became sick from a childhood disease, the grief killed her mother, and her father was shot and killed by the police in front of their house. Ruth stuffed the pain inside and went on with her life. She changes her name, marries, has a child, and it looks like she’s living large, but something doesn’t feel right. She wishes she had a trigger warning before her marriage ended and house burned down. Then she learns that her sister, estranged from her for years, has MS. After this news she returns to her home state, California, to face the heartbreaking things she buried within. This book is a deeply moving, often funny lesson in doing hard things. Jacinda Townsend, an incredible Black Kentucky writer once again leaves me wanting to keep reading. I can’t recommend “Trigger Warning” highly enough.
– Reviewed by Claudia Love Mair, Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative Director
“My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry” by Fredrik Backman
If you’re looking for a well-told story that has all the “good parts” in books you read as a child, this is it. In a novel described as “‘Lord of the Flies’ meets ‘The Chronicles of Narnia,’” Louisville author Meg Shaffer’s enchanting story transports adult readers to the land of “what if?” I was instantly drawn in by former lost boys Rafe and Jeremy, now men, and Emilie, a woman seeking her own lost sister. The three enter the kingdom of Shenandoah, where they must remember the past and face the enemy in order to forge their futures.
– Reviewed by Sarabeth Brownrobie. Marketing & Communications Director