A multitude of kaleidoscopic reads

Plus a complicated modern classic and the best reviewed books of July

Hey, readers!

I have gotten so many lovely requests for book recommendations and reading conundrums. Today, I’m thrilled to be sharing a book list in response to a question that really spoke to my own reading taste, and one that I think a lot of readers may relate too.

Alicia asks: I recently had an epiphany about my reading taste: anything described as KALEIDOSCOPIC is bookish catnip to me! Many of the books that I have loved which are described this way are often structured as novels with alternating POVs (The Murmur of Bees by Sofia Segovia, Sharks in the Time of Saviors by Kawai Strong Washburn), or interconnected short stories (The Tsar of Love & Techno by Anthony Mara, Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich, Mecca by Susan Straight). I’d love to find more books that have this kaleidoscopic feel— like a multi-faceted gem that keeps getting turned over and sparkling in a new way.

I was so happy to see this question come in! First, I feel exactly the same way about the term “kaleidoscopic” and have been meaning to share some recommendations of my favorites for months now! Second, there are already so many great recommendations in this question, I had to be sure to share it with all of you readers!

I’ve divided my recommendations into the two categories you mentioned, although in some places that distinction feels a little murky. Every single one of these is a book I’ve read and loved, and putting this together was a reminder that I should be seeking these out more in my own reading!

Kaleidoscopic novels told from multiple perspectives:

• A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza*

• The Arsonist’s City by Hana Alyan*

• A Burning by Megha Majumdar

• Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff*

• French Braid by Anne Tyler

• Loot by Tania James

• Maps of Our Spectacular Bodies by Maddie Mortimer

• The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo

• The Old Drift by Namwali Serpell

• This Other Eden by Paul Harding*

• Signal Fires by Dani Shapiro*

• Wandering Souls by Cecile Pin

Kaleidoscopic interconnected short stories:

• Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout

• Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah*

• Crooked Hallelujah by Kelli Jo Ford*

• Disappearing Earth by Julia Phillips

• Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine Evaristo*

• The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

• If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

• Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout

• There, There by Tommy Orange

• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

• The Women of Brewster Place by Gloria Naylor

*Because I know the Alicia’s taste fairly well, I starred the books I think she should start with.

Have a reading dilemma or need a book recommendation? Use this form to tell me your current reading mood, share a book you love that you want a readalike for, or pose a reading life dilemma you need help solving. I’ll select requests for responses in the regular Sunday newsletter while I’m previewing books for my fall reading guide.

This week in books.

This week I read…

• Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The FictionMatters Book Club read this for our July book, and I’m not sure I have the capacity to review it. García Márquez is undeniably a master of his craft. The sentences that fill this book are exquisite and the way he weaves a story together is breathtaking—it completely draws in the reader and casts an inescapable transporting spell. At the same time, the protagonist Florentino is despicable and his behavior goes from bad to worse throughout the novel, verging into the gratuitous. I am always extremely hesitant to condemn or even dislike a book because of a character’s moral failings. In fact, I think it is mistake to think that books need to be morally upstanding to be worth our time or to conflate a character’s beliefs and ethics with those of the author. But what I struggled with here was determining whether the book wants to be an epic love story and, therefore, is rooting at least in part for Florentino. Or if García Márquez is in the know here and therefore the book is actually a brilliant and manipulative work of social and literary commentary. I’m also continuing to ask myself if that even matters. Regardless, I was blown away by the writing, storytelling, and many of the themes within this book, but it’s also hard to say I enjoyed it and I would be more than a little hesitant to recommend it. Discussing this with the ever insightful, always nuanced FictionMatters crew, however, has been one more affirmation that this is truly the best group of readers on the internet. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff. Oh how I loved this book. I don’t want to say too much because part of the joy in reading it was being surprised by the direction Groff took the story in, but I’ll give you a little here and perhaps more in my fall guide if it stays a favorite. The story begins with a girl running through the forest—you know she is fleeing something, you know she’s being pursued. Over the course of the 250 pages that follow, Groff fills in this girl’s story and—more importantly—her singular, vivid, all-encompassing interior life. This is unconventional historical fiction, but as Groff tells us in the author’s not, it’s very much in conversation with survival stories that have come before. The way she bends and twists this style of narrative to explore big questions about faith, community, colonization, and the natural world is truly something special. This one’s out on September 12th, so preorder now to get your copy as soon as possible. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

• The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny, and Murder by David Grann. My husband read this earlier in the year and now cites it as one of his favorite books of all time. I decided to listen to the audio (narrated by my favorite Dion Graham!) as a way to mix up my literary fiction reading in preparation for my fall guide. The story is extremely compelling and Grann’s ability to craft engaging narrative nonfiction remains incomparable. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

If you are an international reader or just prefer UK covers, you can also order books through my Blackwell’s affiliate page!

Links I love.

Lit Hub rounded up the best reviewed fiction, nonfiction, and audiobooks of July.

If you’re not following the lovely @deedireads on Instagram, now is the time to start! Deedi hosts the “Booker of the Month” readalong and will be gearing up for the 2023 Booker season after the long list is announced on Tuesday.

Writer and director Great Gerwig shared her 10 favorite books with Vulture.

Seven novels featuring power duos.

This is a great episode of Code Switch featuring beach reads that explore race.

10 epic, generational sci-fi novels.

End notes.

This week in views, listens, eats, and moments of joy.

• I know it’s trite, but as wonderful as travel is, coming home is simply the best.

• I came home to a staggering amount of great book mail. I have been reaching out to smaller presses requesting advance copies of fall books to vet for my guide and I have been blown away by the response. It’s been one of my goals this year to read more and feature more from indie presses. I haven’t been doing that as much as I would like but I’m making it a priority for this year’s fall guide.

• We finally got a basement couch and it’s really made for some lovely evenings. There’s something about going into the basement to watch TV after Lou’s bedtime that feels like a welcome retreat.

• Speaking of TV, we’ve been watching Silo. I’m not convinced it’s good but it’s fun to have something to get invested it.

• Louise has been saying some seriously hilarious things recently. One of my favorites was when she randomly turned to my husband and asked, “Hey, Miles, find any cake?”

• This is the best everyday maxi dress—and some colors are on sale.

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Happy reading!

Sara