Hello and welcome to ex libris (“from the library”), my occasional roundup of book discussion and recommendations. This work will be better with your contributions, so please feel free to chime in below if you’d like!
Titles I’ve Read Recently:
The Barn: Wright Thompson. The barn in question is the site of the murder of Emmett Till in the Mississippi Delta. This is a deep dive into the history of the land, history, and families involved in the Till murder and trial. Thompson’s family owns a piece of land not far away, so this book feels personal—in a good way. It is full of violence, grief, and gritty glory.
The Mythmakers: John Hendrix. We are unapologetic Hendrix fans here in this home; this book might be my new favorite of his. This graphic novel takes us through the lives of CS Lewis and JRR Tolkien, with special attention given to their unique friendship during the years they were at Oxford together. Along the way, the reader is introduced to some of the classic ideas from the pair about myth, story, and truth. This book is that rare combination of being deeply researched and deeply loved. I wanted to raise a pint to John Hendrix when it was over.
The Road: A Graphic Novel Adaptation: Cormac McCarthy (Author), Manu Larcenet (Illustrator). The Road is never an easy read, but its stark post-apocalyptic story of a father and son leaves the reader hopeful. This graphic novel version captures that exact juxtaposition.
What I Ate in One Year: Stanley Tucci. I loved Tucci’s first book, Taste, which recounted his family history with food as well as his battle with throat cancer. This book is exactly what it declares itself to be: a retelling of one year of eating with him. Early in the year, he was filming Conclave in Italy, so prepare yourself for that bit. You’ll want to hop on a plane immediately. One book subplot is his battle to get his kids to eat more like he and his wife do.
VanGogh Has a Broken Heart: Russ Ramsey. Like Russ’s first art book, Rembrandt is in the Wind, this title is a unique combination of biography, devotional, and art history. Ramsey has the ability to weave together the triumph or tragedy of an artist’s life, his works, and the truths they present to the reader. If you’d like an audio representation of one of these chapters, listen to one of my favorite Hutchmoot sessions: Pursuing Perfection.
[Our book club is reading War and Peace in 2025! I’m going to bore you with updates all year long. Since it will be my constant companion, it’s only right that it is passed on to you. Here is the translation we’re reading.]
War and Peace update: I’m off to a good start, and I’ve been surprised at how funny it is! Here are a few gems for you:
on a hostess’ introduction of a guest: “…the viscount was presented to the company in a most refined and advantageous light, like a roast beef on a hot platter sprinkled with herbs.”
“Because of the self-assurance with which he spoke, no one could make out whether what he had said was very clever or very stupid.”
We found at our first discussion meeting that people were either grasping the war scenes one hundred percent (not me) or not at all (me). Also, I didn’t realize that Napoleon actually shows up in this book, so that was a nice surprise. He even has lines!
…That is it for now. This roundup has a surprising amount of graphic novels (2) and nonfiction (almost all!).
A note on purchase links: I’m a happy supporter of independent bookshops, so the links I provide will almost always go to my affiliate link at bookshop.org. For my local readers, I heartily recommend you buy them through our favorite, Goldberry Books, but you might have a shop closer to you. Of course, you can always find these selections on That Big Website That Ships Quickly, But Not As Quickly as It Used To, and Remember How They Sucked Us All In By Being a Bookstore to Begin With? I’m also a big fan of saving money and patronizing your local library. Happy reading!
The roast beef comment has me 😂- glad you shared it because I definitely missed it on the first read!
Whoaaaaa, THE ROAD. That one might be on my list.