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| The Thread's Must-Read |
| "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman Buy this book Grown men wept when the Vikings were pummeled by the Eagles last Sunday. A hometown Super Bowl dream, and they wept. Typically, on seeing a display like this, I might’ve murmured something righteously snarky like, “Jeez. No one died. It’s only a game.” But I have been educated by Fredrik Backman’s wonderful novel, “Beartown.” See what terrific literature can do? The book is set in a small wooded Scandinavian town that eats, sleeps and breathes hockey. (Sound familiar, Minnesota?) The town has a grizzly-sized chip on its shoulder: Isolated on the edge of a forest, the town is seen as backwards and beaten-down. Its one shot at redemption rides on the outcome of a hockey championship. This novel is so much more than the predictable "underdogs restore a town’s honor" trope, though. I would’ve put that down in the first chapter. Backman’s character studies of the players, their parents, the students and the coaches are authentic and absorbing. His exploration of what a game really is propelled me deeper into this novel, and made me realize how one-dimensional my dismissal of sports outcomes has been. “It’s only a game,” Backman writes. “It only resolves tiny, insignificant things. Such as who gets validation. Who gets listened to. It allocates power and draws boundaries and turns some people into stars and others into spectators. That’s all.” Make no mistake, this book is about tragedy and friendship and violence and secrets and love and pain. But it’s also about the game. And it's brilliant. -Kerri Miller |
| This Week on The Thread |
| Ursula K. Le Guin, whose novels plucked truth from high fantasy, dies at 88 The novelist, best known for works such as the Earthsea series and "The Left Hand of Darkness," used her fantastic realms to grapple with difficult themes. And she kept working until her death. More |
| More: Sci-fi titan Le Guin wanted to "stand up and be counted" as a writer with children "Women who write, who have children, their work tends to get 'disappeared,'" Ursula K. Le Guin told Fresh Air in 1989. More |
| The far-out history of how hippie food spread across America "Hippie Food" by Jonathan Kauffman Buy this book Finding granola, hummus, organic produce and whole grains is easy now, but it wasn't always. Jonathan Kauffman's new book, "Hippie Food," explores the people and places that expanded America's palate. More |
| Take a little Hitchcock and a touch of "Gone Girl" "The Woman in the Window" by A.J. Finn Buy this book "The Woman in the Window" is one of the rare debut novels to hit No. 1 its first week on the market. More |
| National Book Critics Circle Award nominees announced Jesmyn Ward and Masha Gessen are among the nominees. Winners will be announced March 15. More |
| What does it really take to be a writer? "The Resurrection of Joan Ashby" by Cherise Wolas Buy this book When a bookstore owner calls a novel "one of the best books I've ever read," that's about the highest compliment you can get. More |
| Chef James Syhabout shares Laotian food he grew up with "Hawker Fare" by James Syhabout Buy this book When he started writing the cookbook, chef James Syhabout went to his ancestral homeland, Laos, to sample the food. Now, he hopes to introduce more people to the cuisine. More |
| No shaggy dog story "The Friend" by Sigrid Nunez Buy this book Sigrid Nunez's new novel follows a woman mourning the suicide of a close friend, mentor and fellow writer — and the upheaval after she reluctantly takes in his huge, bereft (and smelly) Great Dane. More |
| China seizes publisher of banned books again — just months after releasing him Gui Minhai, a Hong Kong-based bookseller with Swedish citizenship, was on a train to Beijing for medical treatment when police detained him. Now, Swedish authorities are demanding answers. More |
| Gorgeous colors and fraught feelings spill over "The Lie and How We Told It" by Tommi Parrish Buy this book Tommi Parrish's new graphic novel is about a seemingly inconsequential encounter — old, estranged friends spend a few hours talking and drinking — but it's bursting with style and emotion. More |
| Regency romance crashes into dragon-filled dystopia "The Sky is Yours" by Chandler Klang Smith Buy this book Chandler Klang Smith's novel, set in a crumbling far-future metropolis menaced by dragons, is a dizzying, delirious crash of wonders and grotesqueries, spiked with crackling dialogue and detail. More |
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