September 2026
We’re getting to that time of year when we say good-bye to summer. Knowing that fall is around the corner, I’m over-indulging in Maine blueberries, raspberries, strawberries and corn. (Fall strawberries are a little different from early summer ones, but still really good.) I’m also trying to finish the books I set out to read this summer. On the subject of books, thank you to everyone who sent me recommendations, based on what you read this summer. In this newsletter I’m sharing your suggestions with everyone, along with a note about the person who made the recommendation. As far as I can tell, and not unsurprisingly, none of the books is a light “beach read.” They all have some heft and will make for great reading anytime of the year.
All Good, K: Along the way to victory in the Golden Globe Race 2022
Written by the South African sailor Kirsten Neuschaefer. This title was recommended by architect who is, notably, an intrepid sailor herself.
Death Comes for the Archbishop, by Willa Cather.
This recommendation comes from a woman who was formerly in the State Department including as an ambassador. She reads widely, including the classics, and describes this as a gentle tale about rough times in the 19th c. Southwest. “Cather describes landscapes like a dream.”
The Calamity Club, by Kathryn Stockett
This recommendation and the next come from a professor of literature and author of several books.
She also recommended Hamnet, by Maggie O’Farrell
About Hamnet, she said: I really appreciated the opening O’Farrell gave the book—completely different from the screenplay opening.
Seeing Red: Spies, Lies and My So-Called Life as a Diplomat, by Daniel Grossman
An art history professor recommended this book. She traveled to Moscow in 1991 for an academic conference, so has some experience with Russia. She comments that Grossman served in the American Consulate in St. Petersburg in the mid-1980s. “His perspective is fascinating,” she said.
The Wild Beneath, by Kelly Anderson
This is described as one of the most beautiful and mysterious books I’ve ever read. The ocean, at its heart. And the person who recommends it is a professional reviewer with her own book blog.
She also recommends Fellowship Point, by Alice Elliott Dark. It’s set in Maine, she tells me, and “is one of my favorite novels on women’s friendship, environmental stewardship, storytelling.”
Albert Sabin: The Life of a Polio Vaccine Pioneer, by Karen Torghele
The recommender of this book (and the next two) is a biographer and historian. She comments that Sabin’s story is especially poignant given the mistreatment of Dr. Fauci.
Paule Marshall: A Writer’s Life, by Mary Helen Washington
Elderhood, by Louise Aronson
The Need, by Helen Phillips
The woman who recommended this book was working as a dock hand at a yacht club where Andrew and I rented a mooring. We chatted about writing and books and she said she had just finished this one.
Isola, by Allegra Goodman
This recommendation comes from a professor of literature and a poet. It’s historical fiction about a 16 year old female abandoned, and surviving alone on an island in the St. Lawrence waterway in the 16th century.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki, by Haruki Murakami
The same person also recommends this which she describes as a fascinating take on friendship and its role in constituting and potentially destroying the self.
This is Happiness, by Niall Willams
To finish up, here is my recommendation. It’s a beautifully written story about life in an Irish village when telephones and electricity were novelties. The narrator, an old man relating events that occurred when he was young, adds insights full of wisdom developed over the course of a lifetime.
* * *
If you have a friend who would be interested in what I’m up to, please feel free to forward this newsletter. Anyone can subscribe to keep up with my latest news, bookish and otherwise, and to stay in touch. Just visit my website and sign up on the newsletter page. https://kathleencstone.com
