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Is it a heartwarming story about a horse and his friend? A murder mystery? An animalcentric Homeric epic? A critique of the modern prison system? According to our First Impressions readers, Christina Lynch's wildly inventive novel Pony Confidential could be any or all of these.
For Editor's Choice, we spotlight Ta-Nehisi Coates' brilliant latest work of nonfiction The Message, an exploration of the stories we tell ourselves and how they shape our perceptions.
In a "beyond the book" article relating to Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Sequel, follow-up to 2021's The Plot, we go behind the scenes with book tours and the benefits and challenges they present for authors.
Plus, we've compiled a list of our most anticipated books for the coming year — enjoy!
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With best wishes,
The BookBrowse Team
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Each month, we share books with BookBrowse members to read and review. Here are their opinions on one recently released title. | |
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Pony Confidential
by Christina Lynch
"A pony that can communicate via telepathy, travel alone across a continent and solve mysteries? Come on! That was my first thought when given the opportunity to read and review Pony Confidential. Now, having read the book, I can say it's one of my favorite books ever! The characters, human and otherwise, cover the gamut. There are scoundrels and upstanding examples of both people and animals. I laughed and cried and cheered for a pony trying to find and help his best friend and former owner. This clever story will become a bestseller." —Jennifer B. (Oviedo, FL)
"Lynch created something strongly heartwarming and easy to like, even for readers who normally prefer deep, serious mysteries." —Caroline (Baltimore, MD)
"Pony Confidential is a thoughtful, touching, suspenseful murder mystery which uses laugh-out-loud humor in describing fantastical animal adventures, and the often harsh realities of human behavior...If you enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt, or Perestroika in Paris by Jane Smiley, you will want to read this book." —Kathleen C. (Cockeysville, MD)
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This issue of The BookBrowse Review contains reviews and "beyond the book" articles for 14 titles, including The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Book of George by Kate Greathead, and Absolution by Jeff VanderMeer.
We also bring you our latest author interviews, book club recommendations, previews of upcoming releases, and more.
Not Yet a Member? Do you love to spend your reading hours immersed in captivating storytelling and intriguing ideas?
Then a BookBrowse membership is for you! What you see on BookBrowse for free and in this newsletter is just a small part of what is available to members—for just $3.75/month! Join Today!
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The Message
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
It does not surprise me that Ta-Nehisi Coates' The Message is one of the most important books I've read this year. What does surprise me is that I can already feel how it has fundamentally shifted something in me as a writer, scholar, and person — and now I am inspired to go out into the world exactly as Coates implores his audience to do at the end: with a hunger for learning about unsung perspectives.
Initially intended to be an open-hearted letter to young writers, The Message is about the stories all of us tell — or don't. How do these stories shape or distort our perception of the past, present, and future? How is language one of the most formidable weapons we have in those stories, and how do we wield it? This is an incredible responsibility that Coates insists is a writer's to bear. In fact, it goes a step further: young writers should be tasked with saving the world. ... continued
Review by Lisa Ahima
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Book Tours Behind the Scenes
In The Sequel by Jean Hanff Korelitz, readers get a taste of what authors go through in the rite of publishing passage known as "the book tour." For new or established authors, a book tour usually includes an (often hectic) travel schedule to bookstores, schools, and writing conferences; book signings; and readings from their work. For readers and book buyers who attend these events, it can seem like a sweet deal. But what is it like on the other side for the author? A lot of work, it turns out.
Science fiction writer John Scalzi revealed the inside skinny on a typical book tour in a 2017 Los Angeles Times article. The first thing he mentions is the sheer amount of disorientation an author may feel with so much travel. For Scalzi, one tour included travel to 24 cities over five weeks, leading to what he calls "time slippage," where it is hard to keep track of not only what city you're in but also what day it is. ... continued
Article by Peggy Kurkowski
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Most Anticipated Books of 2025 | |
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It's never too early to start getting excited about next year's books. So why not plan your reading alongside our most anticipated books for 2025? Our selections range from work by famous and beloved authors to promising debuts, and can give you a sneak peek of titles we may cover at BookBrowse — including some appearing in our First Impressions program or book club. We hope you discover future favorites on this list and join us next year as we continue to bring you the best new books. ... continued
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Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a one-year membership to BookBrowse!
"X M T S"
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The answer to the last Wordplay: H I O the G
"Heard It On the Grapevine"
Meaning: Also "Heard it through the grapevine." The idiom means to hear something through gossip or by word of mouth rather than through official channels.
It's impossible to hear the phrase, "I heard it through the grapevine" without the 1966 Motown hit coming to mind. Recorded by The Miracles, Gladys Knight and the Pips, and Marvin Gaye, among others, it's one of the most well-known songs in the United States. The Marvin Gaye version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. But the idiom is actually much older, dating back to the 19th century. ... continued
Wordplay by Kim Kovacs
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With so many new books published every month, it's difficult to find the standouts, the ones that are really worth your time. This is why hundreds of thousands of readers rely on BookBrowse to do the hard work of sifting through the multitude of titles to find the most promising new books, with a focus on books that entertain, engage, and enlighten. | |
BookBrowse Highlights is just one of our free newsletters. We also offer Publishing This Week every Sunday, and Book Club News and Librarian News monthly. We send out Genre Specific Emails occasionally. | | | | |
