National Read a Book Day is September 6th! We’ll be celebrating all month long with book recommendations from the Books on the Common team. Here are Ellen Burns’ top picks.
Adult Fiction
What Are You Going Through by Sigrid Nunez
The New York Times-bestselling, National Book Award-winning author of The Friend brings her singular voice to a story about the meaning of life and death, and the value of companionship. Nunez brings wisdom, humor, and insight to a novel about human connection and the changing nature of relationships in our times. A surprising story about empathy and the unusual ways one person can help another through hardship, her book offers a moving and provocative portrait of the way we live now.
Adult Non-Fiction
Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson
In this brilliant book, Pulitzer prize winner Isabel Wilkerson gives us a masterful portrait of an unseen phenomenon in America as she explores, through an immersive, deeply researched narrative and stories about real people, how America today and throughout its history has been shaped by a hidden caste system, a rigid hierarchy of human rankings. Dwight Garner of the NYTimes called it “an instant American classic.”
Children’s books: Picture Books
The Barnabus Project by the Fan Brothers
In a world built for Perfect Pets, Barnabus is a Failed Project, half mouse, half elephant, kept out of sight until his dreams of freedom lead him and his misfit friends on a perilous adventure. A stunning picture book from international bestsellers The Fan Brothers, joined by their brother Devin Fan.
Middle Readers (ages 8 to 12)
A Tale Magnolious by Suzanne Nelson
With a touch of magic and a harvest of hope, a young orphan and her exceptional elephant set out to change the destiny of a dying town, devastated by a decade of dust storms, proving that from the smallest seeds grow the greatest friendships. A warm-hearted story from Ridgefield’s own Suzanne Nelson.
Young Adult Fiction
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
In a novel-in-verse that brims with grief and love, National Book Award-winning and New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Acevedo writes about the devastation of loss, the difficulty of forgiveness, and the bittersweet bonds that shape our lives.
Young Adult Non-Fiction
Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi
A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism–and antiracism–in America, highly recommended for young adults (as well as those not-so-young). Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas–and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.
Visit the Ridgefield bookstore at 404 Main Street, call them at (203) 431-9100, or send them an email at info@BooksontheCommon.com. Happy reading!