For so many readers, a good book is a chance to ditch the real world for another for a few hours. It's that and more for Donna Seaman, the editor-of-chief of Booklist.
"So many readers talk about escape, reading for escape. That's part of it, but also immersion, also a chance to really learn about other things and feel other feelings and see other places," Seaman told KCUR's Up To Date. "So it's intoxicating. It's liberating."
Seaman is also the author of "River of Books: A Life in Reading," an ode to the written word and the way books have shaped her life. The title, she says, reflects just how big a role they've played.
"I started picturing myself as being on the shore of a river of books, because books have been so crucial to me," she said. "They've been my my life rafts and my anchors."
Seaman joined KCUR's Up To Date to discuss the memoir ahead of a lecture at her alma mater, the Kansas City Art Institute, on April 3. Plus, Up To Date's book experts shared their recommendations for what to read right now.
Lucy Donnelly, Kansas City Public Library
"Mammoths at the Gates" by Nghi Vo
The Singing Hills Cycle series continues with an examination of grief and whose grief is allowed. Follow Cleric Chih as they are welcomed home to Singing Hills Abbey after their treasured mentor Cleric Thien has died. Vo masterfully crafts a compact, lived-in story that will guide the reader through various forms of grief and the magic of memory.
"Here One Moment" by Liane Moriarty
What if your death could be predicted? A flight to Sydney from Hobart began with a rocky start and ends with a turbulence that leaves all onboard questioning life choices. Moriarty brings the story to life with thought-provoking writing and a large cast of characters.
"Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder" by Salman Rushdie
A somber and reflective, superbly-written memoir that recounts Rushdie's near fatal stabbing in 2022. The audiobook is self-narrated — the listener gets to hear Rushdie, a renowned author, process the words he has written about his experiences.
"Shady Hollow" by Juneau Black
A cozy mystery set in a world of woodland creatures, Juneau Black captures a world of whimsy and delight in Shady Hollow. A local curmudgeon has been murdered and Vera Vixen, the local fox reporter, will stop at nothing to get the scoop. Who doesn't love a cute critter?
"A Merry Little Meet Cute" by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone
Bee Hobbes is not supposed to tell anyone that she is a porn star when she's brought onto the cast of a family-friendly Christmas movie. Nolan Shaw cannot have anything go wrong with his good boy rebrand. So what could go wrong when the two are cast as co-stars? Holiday romances are perfect reads for any time of the year, especially when they are full of well-crafted characters and hijinks.
"Onyx Storm" by Rebecca Yarros
Onyx Storm is a book of the moment, an adrenaline-filled fantasy full of dragons and the consequences of love. The third installment of the Empyrean series, Yarros keeps the stakes high — the ragtag group of heroes must uncover secrets before it is too late.
Mark Luce, The Barstow School
"Harlem Shuffle" and "Crook Manifesto" by Colson Whitehead
This pair of novels by Pulitzer-Prize winning author Colson Whitehead takes readers to Harlem in the late 1950s through the 1970s. Our tour guide Ray Carney is seemingly just a furniture salesman family man, but his side-hustle involves being a fence for the city’s vast criminal networks. Reminiscent of Updike’s "Rabbit" series, the results are as rollicking as they often are violent.
"Small Things Like These" and "Foster" by Claire Keegan
The Irish short story master gives us an unflinching pair of novellas that capture loneliness and responsibility in the face of long-time community silences. In "Small Things Like These," Bill Furlong, a coal merchant, juggles his large family and tough economic times as Christmas 1985 approaches. "Foster" follows a nameless young girl from a large family who is sent to stay with distant relatives for the summer. To say more on either book would rob them of their emotional power. Keegan writes with gorgeous restraint that contrasts the books’ devastating secrets.
"This Must Be the Place: Music, Community and Vanished Spaces in New York City" by Jesse Rifkin
Exhaustively researched and written with a knowing cheek, Rifkin takes us through venues and specific shows throughout New York's music history — from Greenwich Village coffee shops with Bob Dylan and friends, the jazz loft scene in SoHo in the early 1970s, the glamorous rooms of Max’s Kansas City and the raw punk power of CBGB. We meet New York's music pioneers as they work to create spaces for music and collaboration.
"The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Diety" by Kristoffer Diaz
A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, this play follows Macedonio Guerra, a pro wrestler who's always forced to lose to wrestling star Chad Diety. When he recruits a partner into the show, the pair must tackle racism and politics of the wrestling world.
The 2013 winner for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama, this play tells the story of a Pakistani American lawyer quickly moving up the ladder at work. Set at a dinner party, the play explores Islamophobia in the post-9/11 world.
Halley Vincent, Seven Stories bookstore
"Everything Is Tuberculosis" by John Green
A darkly humorous and thought provoking look at history, illness, and obsession. This just-released title explores how disease shapes the individual lives of people and communities at large, in a style reminiscent of John Green's "Crash Course" YouTube series.
"The Buffalo Hunter Hunter" by Stephen Graham Jones
A chilling historical horror novel set in 1912, a Blackfeet vampire seeks justice for the massacre of 217 tribal members. The story is told through transcribed interviews.
"We Can Do Hard Things" by Glennon Doyle, Abby Wambach and Amanda Doyle
Based on her popular podcast, Glennon Doyle shares honest and thoughtful reflections on life’s challenges. Full of warmth and humor, she reminds us that struggle is part of the journey and that we’re stronger than we think. This book is set to be released on May 6, 2025.
"Careless People" by Sarah Wynn-Williams
An explosive memoir that charts the author's career at Facebook. It's an account of the people who make the app, their decisions and the consequences that come as a result. At the heart, Wynn-Williams posits that the company's leaders favor power over social responsibility.
"Black Woods Blue Sky" by Eowyn Ivey
Set against the beauty of Alaska, this novel follows a father and daughter as they confront love, loss, and the changing landscape. Ivey’s lyrical prose depicts a moving story of reliance and how nature shapes our lives.
"Killers of a Certain Age" by Deanna Raybourn
Think "Golden Girls" but with decades of assassin training. When four retired killers discover they’re the next targets of their own organization, they’ll have to use their skills and dark humor to survive.
KCUR listener recommendations
- "The Sapling Cage" by Margaret Killjoy
- "Sky Full of Elephants" by Cebo Campbell
- "The Alice Network" by Kate Quinn
- "The Antidote" by Karen Russell
- "Isola" by Allegra Goodman
- "Theft" by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Guests
- Donna Seaman, author and editor-in-chief at Booklist
- Lucy Donnelly, reader services specialist at Kansas City Public Library
- Mark Luce, English department chair, The Barstow School
- Halley Vincent, owner, Seven Stories bookstore
