Cover to cover – Essential summer reads chosen by three of the area’s most talented creative writers

The Mapmaker’s War
ronlyndomingue.com
“I’ve read everything Carolyn Turgeon has written. I received an advance reading copy of her next novel, The Fairest of Them All—due in August—and this one has the same hallmarks of whimsy, sensitivity, and imagination as her other works. She does a masterful job of entwining the stories of Rapunzel and Snow White in a fairy tale retelling that’s dark, sensual, and clever.”

Why the House is Made of Gingerbread
avahaymon.com
“I recently heard Jesse Lee Kercheval read from her short story collection The Alice Stories. I’ve ordered it already and can’t wait to read more. What Becomes You, by Hilda Raz and Aaron Raz Link, is unusual, important, fascinating, honest, and odd—all in one. A mother and a son, writing chapters back to back. I found that this book enlarged my heart and my concept of humanity. The book beside my bed these days is a John McPhee book called Annals of the Former World. It’s geology, and it’s not simple. But it’s clear and beautifully written, and has made me fall in love with our continent. It’s keeping me up late reading.”

The Prospect of Magic
mowalsh.com
“NowTrends is a great new book, a blast for any true fan of the short story. Written by Karl Taro Greenfeld and published by Hobart Press, it’s one of the most consistently engaging and well-wrought collections that I’ve come across in a long time. Although the stories do inventive things, they are not gimmicky or totally dependent on quirk like so many stories today. Many of them are long and straightforward and just rip your heart out. Others are funny. They all take you places and want things from you. What else can you ask for? This is a great book from a great small press that just verifies how alive and kicking American fiction is these days.”