Southern Oregon readers looking for a summer book have plenty to choose from, whether they want a comforting story, a provocative social satire or a mystery to puzzle over.
Kristin Anderson of Jackson County Library Services and Megan Isser, owner of Bloomsbury Books in Ashland, shared some of the books drawing readers this summer — along with a few older titles worth picking up.
Cozy escapes and connections
For readers looking for something gentler, Anderson and Isser recommended several novels centered on kindness, relationships and community.
Told through letters and other written correspondence, the novel follows Sybil Van Antwerp, a woman in her 70s whose exchanges with family, friends and others gradually reveal more about her life.
“Epistolary is the big fancy word for books that are written exclusively in letters," Anderson said. "It can sometimes be extended to, like, journal entries and, in modern texts, Slack and all sorts of other formats."
Isser said the novel has been an easy sell at Bloomsbury Books — although perhaps not the best choice for generating arguments at a book club.
“Everyone just liked the book, and then they go back to their cocktails,” Isser said.
An older man arrives in the fictional Southern town of Golden and begins forming connections with people in the community.
Levi initially self-published the novel, but its growing popularity eventually caught the attention of a traditional publisher.
Isser said copies continue to move quickly at Bloomsbury.
“It’s like a pack of gum,” Isser said. “People buy this book daily, multiple times a day.”
An unlikely friendship between a widow and a giant Pacific octopus named Marcellus anchors this novel, which Anderson said has been a popular checkout at the library.
Isser said it also remains a strong seller at the bookstore.
“It's a great option if you're looking for something that is heartwarming," she said.
Books that get people talking
Other recommendations are more likely to provoke debate.
The novel tests what happens when an online fantasy of traditional domestic life collides with the real thing.
“The main character is a tradwife influencer in our modern era and then wakes up, and you've got a dual narrative where you've got the modern-day narration and this truly historical narrative,” Anderson said.
Isser said customers have had sharply different reactions to the novel.
“I hear people come in and say, ‘I couldn't put it down, but I hated it.’ Or, ‘I couldn't put it down. Oh my gosh, it was incredible.’”
Burden recounts the collapse of her 20-year marriage during the COVID-19 pandemic and her attempts to understand what happened.
The memoir has generated debate among readers over Burden's perspective on marriage, money and privilege.
Isser said whatever readers make of the book, it held her attention.
“I couldn't put this book down,” Isser said.
A struggling author steals a dead writer's unpublished manuscript and passes it off as her own in this satire of race, cultural appropriation and the publishing industry.
Isser recommended it to readers interested in some of the questions about identity and the internet raised in “Yesteryear.”
“This is the novel about how identity is performed and commodified online,” Isser said.
Mysteries and creative narratives
Anderson and Isser also offered several recommendations for readers interested in mysteries and unconventional storytelling.
Set around a British community theater group, this mystery unfolds largely through emails, text messages and other correspondence.
Readers must piece together what happened from the characters' competing accounts.
“Having to figure out what really happened based on first-person narration is part of the gimmick, and it's actually really effective,” Anderson said.
Retired Chicago police officer Cal Hooper has moved to a small Irish village, where he becomes entangled in the lives and crimes of the people around him.
Anderson said the rural setting distinguishes the series from French's Dublin Murder Squad novels.
“Dublin Murder Squad is really more big city, and this is set in a very small Irish town,” Anderson said. “This series is really about small towns and how they interact with crime.”
This highly popular mystery thriller is written by the acclaimed Canadian author Louise Penny and co-authored by Canadian journalist Melissa Fung. The book's success is heavily driven by Penny's dedicated fanbase. The guides agree.
"That one's been really popular because anything Louise Penny writes is super popular in this area," Anderson said. "Yeah, same same over here," Isser said. "Louise Penny's a number one for us, too."
High school teacher Arty Dam appears to have an ordinary, contented life until long-hidden parts of his past begin coming into view.
Isser described Strout's writing as “tender and twisty and beautiful, but also heartbreaking.”
“Sometimes there are things that aren't being said that are the biggest things in our lives,” Isser said. “And how can we ever really know that about one another?”
More Recommendations
- "The Land and Its People" by David Sedaris
- "The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change" by Rebecca Solnit
- "In the Woods" by Tana French
- "The Odyssey" translated by Emily Wilson
- "Where'd You Go, Bernadette" by Maria Semple
- "The Christmas Appeal" and "The Silent Appeal" by Janice Hallett
- "Margo's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe
- "The Anxious Generation" by Jonathan Haidt
- "We Need to Talk About Kevin" by Lionel Shriver
- "Breathe: A Letter to My Sons" by Imani Perry
- "Several People Are Typing" by Calvin Kasulke
Guests
- Kristin Anderson, librarian, Ashland Public Library and Bear Creek Area, Jackson County Library Services
- Megan Isser, owner, Bloomsbury Books
