In Editor's Choice this week, we bring you coverage of Barbara Kingsolver's highly anticipated Demon Copperhead, a coming-of-age story set in contemporary Appalachia inspired by Charles Dickens' David Copperfield. Enjoy our review, an excerpt of Kingsolver's novel and a "beyond the book" article on Dickens' classic.

Supplement your reading plans with the Best Nonfiction for Book Clubs in 2023: Our list covers top nonfiction paperbacks available during the first half of the year.

We also have the latest news from the book world, and a new Wordplay!

With best wishes,

Davina Morgan-Witts

BookBrowse Publisher

If you've been considering becoming a BookBrowse member so as to have access to all our resources and content, now is a great time to do so because during our Fall membership sale, you can save 20% off our regular annual rate of $45.

This means you can become a member for a full year for just $36 (i.e. $3/mth), with a money back guarantee if you're not entirely satisfied. More information.

You can also save when renewing a lapsed membership or when giving a gift membership (buy now and we'll send on the day you choose).

Libraries can also save on subscriptions giving all patrons full access.

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Demon Copperhead is a captivating coming-of-age tale set in rural Virginia. Her protagonist, Damon Fields (aka Demon Copperhead for his fiery temperament and red hair), narrates his life’s story, beginning with his inauspicious birth in a mobile home. On the path to adulthood he encounters adversity as well as the occasional lucky break and more than a few surprises.

As you might have guessed, the novel is a contemporary retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield, spanning the late 1990s to the present day. Attempting to rewrite such a well-known, beloved work is either very brave or foolhardy, but Kingsolver achieves the impossible, creating a narrative that stands up to its source material and, by some measures, may even surpass it.

Although Kingsolver incorporates many clever nods to the original (Uriah Heap becomes Ryan “U-Haul” Pyle, Agnus is named Angus, etc.) readers need not be familiar with David Copperfield to fully appreciate Demon Copperhead. ... continued

Barbara Kingsolver’s novel Demon Copperhead is largely based on Charles Dickens' novel David Copperfield.

Charles Dickens (1812–1870) wrote 15 novels during his career, the eighth of which he ponderously dubbed The Personal History, Adventures, Experience and Observation of David Copperfield the Younger of Blunderstone Rookery (Which He Never Meant to Publish on Any Account). Known familiarly as David Copperfield, the novel actually began with Dickens’ attempts, between 1845 and 1848, to write an autobiography. ... continued

First, I got myself born. A decent crowd was on hand to watch, and they've always given me that much: the worst of the job was up to me, my mother being let's just say out of it.

On any other day they'd have seen her outside on the deck of her trailer home, good neighbors taking notice, pestering the tit of trouble as they will. All through the dog-breath air of late summer and fall, cast an eye up the mountain and there she'd be, little bleach-blonde smoking her Pall Malls, hanging on that railing like she's captain of her ship up there and now might be the hour it's going down. This is an eighteen-year-old girl we're discussing, all on her own and as pregnant as it gets. ... continued

In this issue, we review a dozen books, including Dr. No by Percival Everett and the American release of the international bestselling novella Foster by Irish author Claire Keegan. We also bring you our Best Nonfiction for Book Clubs in 2023, a new Wordplay and more.

This twice-monthly e-magazine is just one membership benefit. During our fall sale, we're offering savings on individual memberships and subscriptions for libraries, enabling all patrons to have full access to our premium content.

Reading nonfiction with your book club provides an opportunity to learn about new topics with the benefit of others' thoughts and perspectives. It can also be fascinating to discuss how authors have chosen to view and present certain aspects of nature, society, history or their own lives.

If you're looking to expand your group's nonfiction picks for next year, we have some suggestions! Here are half a dozen books covering a wide range of subjects that will be newly available in paperback during the first half of 2023, all of which come highly recommended by our reviewers. ... continued

Solve our Wordplay puzzle to reveal a well-known expression, and be entered to win a 6-month membership to BookBrowse!

The answer to the last Wordplay: T's N F Like A O F

Meaning: The foolish behavior of an older person seems especially so as they are expected to think and act more sensibly than a younger person.

Like so many modern-day proverbs, the oldest recorded reference is in John Heywood's 1546 book of proverbs, A Dialogue conteinyng the nomber in effect of all the Prouerbes in the Englishe tongue: There is no foole to the old foole.

Heywood was an English dramatist employed at the courts of Henry VIII and his daughter Mary I. He was important in the development of English comedy, specifically short comic dialogues known as interludes - but is now best remembered for his book of proverbs, which was a huge hit back in the 16th century... continued