EXCLUSIVE: Best-Selling Authors Recommend Books for Your Fall Reading List
This year, one of the nation’s most highly anticipated literary events, the Authors Luncheon, is featuring six acclaimed authors: Adriana Trigiani, Daniel Pink, Chris Bohjalian, Candace Millard, Geraldine Brooks and Jack Carr. We have the scoop on what books they are currently reading and recommending.
Whether it’s a book recommended or written by these authors, it’s the perfect time of year to grab a cup of tea, find a cozy chair and get lost in a story.
Adriana Trigiani, author of “The Good Left Undone” and the emcee for Authors Luncheon 2022
Recommends: “SHY” by Mary Rodgers Guettel & Jesse Green
“For all of you who love Broadway, the great musicals of Rodgers and Hammerstein, and the story of a woman who had to figure out how to have six children, a husband, a career and a belief in her own talent, then “SHY” is the book for you. Told in Mary Rodger’s voice, written with pithy, informative and spectacular footnotes, this show business biography will surprise, delight and entertain you- as you listen to the American musical and its creation with new ears. A very personal story which will mean something to every woman who ever had to fight for her seat at the table.”
Daniel Pink, author of “The Power of Regret“
Recommends: “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality” by Kathryn Paige Harden
“I’m now two-thirds through Kathryn Paige Harden’s “The Genetic Lottery: Why DNA Matters for Social Equality” — and I can’t stop thinking about it. Harden, a University of Texas professor, deftly explains why genes matter for outcomes we care about, especially educational attainment, while simultaneously demolishing the idea that race and intelligence are linked or that biology is somehow destiny. It’s a nuanced book, sure to rile both political extremes, that uses science to argue for a just society. It’s also an excellent primer on genes and statistics, two areas where most political leaders are woefully ill-informed.”
Chris Bohjalian, author of “The Lioness“
Recommends: “Mercury Pictures Presents” by Anthony Marra
“Like most authors, much of what I read are galleys or manuscripts of forthcoming novels. Another stack, invariably, is research for my own next book. (Right now, I’m an expert on the lives of Las Vegas tribute performers and celebrity impersonators.) But, of course, there are always the novels I read for pleasure. This fall, that included Anthony’s Marra’s, “Mercury Pictures Presents.” Devastatingly good. Haunting one moment, hilarious the next. Hollywood and Italy in the years before and during the Second World War are brought vividly to life, and Marra has given us the studio executives, the Italian immigrants in La-La Land, and the actors – one of whom will break your heart. I devoured it and, speaking as a writer, Marra’s prestigious talents gave me one hell of an inferiority complex.”
Candace Millard, author of “River of Gods“
Recommends: “An Immense World” by Ed Yong
“As a former writer and editor at National Geographic magazine, and someone who has always been awed by the natural world, I spent all spring eagerly awaiting the release of Ed Yong’s new book, “An Immense World.” I had been dazzled by his earlier book, “I Contain Multitudes,” but if anything, I found this one even more irresistible. Essentially, it’s about life, in all of its rich, wondrous, glorious variety. What could be more thrilling?”
Geraldine Brooks, author of “Horse“
Recommends: “The Sun Walks Down” by Fiona McFarlane
“It’s the best novel I’ve encountered about 19th century Australia: its hardships, its beauty, its characters. Exquisitely written with a gripping plot involving the search for a lost child.”
Jack Carr, author of “In the Blood“
Recommends: “The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983” by Marc Ambinder
“I am reading multiple books as research for my upcoming novel, “Only the Dead.” The one currently on my nightstand is “The Brink: President Reagan and the Nuclear War Scare of 1983.” Most people remember the tensions surrounding the Cuban Missile Crisis but very few understand just how close the United States and the Soviet Union came to a nuclear exchange in a pivotal moment of the Cold War back in 1983.”
For more behind this Frontdoor, visit authorsluncheonaz.org
