Once the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, we go into our own kind of hibernation, where all we want to do is curl up under blankets with a good book. But what to read? We asked DeLauné Michel, producer of the celebrated Spoken Interludes reading series, to share with us what’s on her to-read list this winter.
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The Marriage Plot
By Jeffrey Eugenides
“I am endlessly captivated by Jeffrey Eugenides,” Michel says, “so his latest novel will be the perfect book to start off my new year of reading. Centered on three characters, all of whom graduated from Brown in 1982, the book promises to be the stunning and erudite ride that only Eugenides can take us on, transforming the coming-of-age novel into something fresh and surprising.”
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Stay Awake
By Dan Chaon
The next book on Michel’s list is not a novel, but a short-story collection. “With his novel, Await Your Reply, Chaon proved to be a master of haunting fiction, with an understanding of the human condition rivaled by Raymond Carver and Richard Yates,” she says. “Reading his return to short fiction will, no doubt, be very rewarding.”
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Death Comes to Pemberley
By P.D. James
“P.D. James has now turned her formidable talent to a tête-à-tête with Jane Austen, taking the characters of Pride and Prejudice and moving them into the kind of brilliantly crafted murder story that only she can deliver. If there is a God, Baroness James will stay here on earth, if only to write more of her delicious novels.”
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One Girl Cookies: Recipes for Cakes, Cupcakes, Whoopie Pies, and Cookies from Brooklyn’s Beloved Bakery
By Dawn Casale and David Crofton
“One of the best presents I ever got was a box of goodies from One Girl Cookies,” Michel says. “It helps to know the baker’s mother!
Happily for us all, Westchester-native Dawn Casale and her husband David Crofton are sharing their secrets in this book.”
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DeLauné Michel is a novelist and the producer of the Spoken Interludes reading series. Visit spokeninterludes.com for more information.
