Greetings, friends. We may have cold and rain and the occasional hurricane, but think of Rhode Island in spring as it bursts into vivid color — the crocuses and tulips, the forsythia, then the peonies, roses, and hydrangeas — and you, like me, will feel lucky indeed. Spring signals renewal in the natural world, and brings new book releases that offer a breath of fresh air.
On April 1, Maria Shriver publishes a deeply personal collection, I Am Maria: My Reflections and Poems on Heartbreak, Healing, and Finding Your Way Home. The book is an attempt to make sense of the darkest days we all have. I am always inspired by Shriver’s newsletter, The Sunday Paper. It beautifully balances daily concerns with loftier spiritual concepts. This collection is a wonderful continuation of Shriver’s uplifting expression of the search for meaning we all engage in.
If April 15 has you in a tax-time funk, escape with Abigail Dean’s The Death of Us. Psychological suspense meets crime drama in this story of a couple broken apart by a violent encounter with a serial killer, an event that exposed the hairline fractures that already existed under their marriage’s surface. Years later, they meet when the criminal is finally brought to trial, revealing the profoundly different effects the trauma has had on each of them.
The delightful Marie Bostwick releases The Book Club for Troublesome Women on April 22. In 1960s suburban Virginia, Margaret Ryan is a woman who seemingly has it all. When a mysterious woman arrives in town, Margaret invites her to a contrived book club gathering and the results surprise everyone. Eventually calling themselves the Bettys, after Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique, the women connect in deeper ways than they had ever imagined possible.
Personal trivia: I used to be an actress in film and television, then a story editor at Miramax. Back then, I knew Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas well. While I left that world years ago, Goldsmith-Thomas has been wildly successful in it. On April 29, she adds novelist to her list of credits with the release of Climbing in Heels, a sexy, fun romp about three secretaries at the hottest agency in 1980s Hollywood who climb the corporate ladder – in heels no less!
On May 13, Ocean Vuong returns with The Emperor of Gladness, a deeply moving novel about a chosen family, unexpected friendship, and self-understanding. In East Gladness, a post-industrial Connecticut town, a teenage boy meets an elderly widow when she interrupts his intended suicide. The two connect with a life-altering bond that saves the boy and makes him a caregiver. A brave epic that delves into history, memory, and time, the novel reckons with the wounds that haunt our collective soul.
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club by Martha Hall Kelly comes out on May 27 and it promises to be loads of fun. Inspired by true events, the novel follows a modern-day woman who travels to the island to grieve the loss of her mother. From a famous painting teacher, she learns the tale of two sisters who lived there during World War II and found hope in the power of storytelling when they started a wartime book club for women.
Deborah Goodrich Royce’s Reef Road, a national bestseller, was named one of the best books of 2023 by Kirkus Reviews and an Indie Next pick by the ABA. With fellow authors, Luanne Rice and Amy Scheibe, she created the Deer Mountain Writers’ Retreat in the Catskills. Royce holds a bachelor’s degree and two honorary doctorates from both Lake Erie College and the University of Rhode Island. With her husband, Chuck, the Royces have restored the Avon Theatre, Ocean House, Deer Mountain Inn, United Theatre, Martin House Books, and numerous Main Street revitalization projects in RI and the Catskills; additionally, she serves on multiple governing and advisory boards. Royce began as an actress on All My Children and in multiple films, before transitioning to the role of story editor at Miramax Films, developing Emma and early versions of Chicago and A Wrinkle in Time. Royce contributes quarterly to “Rhody Reads.”
In partnership with Martin House Books and WCRI-FM, the Ocean House brings world-class authors like Sarah Ferguson, Chris Bohjalian, and Katie Couric, to Watch Hill. A slate of salon-style conversations is in the works for the upcoming season; for now, save the date for May 21 and join Fiona Davis when she discusses her newest, The Stolen Queen with Royce. Learn more at OceanHouseRI.com.
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