A New Novel So Good I Bought It Twice
“I wonder if the new Ann Patchett book is out. . . “ I was thinking out loud about books and bookshop visits while riding to Portland last Saturday with the hubs. We were on our way to see the Collect show art exhibit featuring our son’s work (proud art parents of an art school senior furniture maker that we are), and to pick up the mouth-wateringly good Aragosta Maine-inspired cookbook we pre-ordered a few months back ⤵
I had been seeing loads of interviews from Ann Patchett all over the internet in recent weeks, so I knew the release of her new novel Whistler was happening in June. But I wasn’t keeping a close watch on it because my TBR stacks are already so tall I was thinking maybe I could wait a while and read it later.
But I saw it on the shelf and picked it up to learn that it’s a story about booklovers, writers, readers, and grown women with missing parent childhood wounds, and I had to have it. So, I happily paid my $30 and brought it home.
Then, of course, I saw the other books waiting for me at home and realized I’d have to read one of the new ones on audio. So I used one of my Libro.fm credits for the audio version of Whistler (ready by Ann herself!) and started it right away.
As of this morning, I’m about one-third of the way in and it’s SO GOOD I’ve decided to take it as slow as I can so it lasts :)
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I first fell in love with Ann Patchett when I read the magical story in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic about how she came to write the masterpiece that is State of Wonder (still my #1 favorite Patchett). Since then, I’ve loved several of her other books, both fiction and nonfiction: This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage, Truth & Beauty, These Precious Days, and of course, Tom Lake.
In recent years, I’ve grown to love her more and more for the way she champions and highlights the incredible value of local independent bookstores through her work at the bookshop she opened and helps run, Parnassus Books in Nashville, TN.
Whistler is a nostalgia-inducing read so far, one that makes me want to call up my sister, chat about our childhood memories, and maybe even write down a few things I forgot to remember. I can’t wait to see how it turns out — especially because Ann Patchett is so good at endings!
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Speaking of endings, I just finished I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney, and let me tell you something — it made an impact. It’s a story about an obituary writer who needs to work through some painful realities in order to start living.
I’ve never read anything like it. And although I almost abandoned the story half-way through (and truthfully only stayed because the narrator of the audio version is so good), I’m so glad I stuck with it. Because the bit at the end about where the author got the idea for this story is the best part. (Yes, you should always read acknowledgements ~ sometimes there’s gold there!)
I highly recommend I See You’ve Called in Dead, even if you wonder if you think about death a little too much—and especially if you avoid thinking about death, well, ever. Read more about it here and here.
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Now I’m off to find more potting supplies because summer has finally fully made her way to Maine and our garden and greenhouse are EXPLODING! We’re eating so much fresh lettuce we might just turn into bunnies, my second and third round of seedlings are overrunning their containers, we’ll have tomatoes, squash, and zucchinis very soon for loads of ratatouille, and even the carrots and potatoes have started sprouting!
Wherever you are this weekend, I hope this message gives you loads of ideas about good books to read and maybe makes you smile a little, too — & should you want to chat, I’m around :)
✌🏼️💓 🪴📚
Celeste
