One of the perks of my job at Literati Bookstore is having access to ARCs (Advance Reader Copies) of books being released in a few months. These are pre-published versions of books for early access to professional reviewers, book bloggers, bookstore reviewers, and libraries to start a buzz about books. The majority of what I've been reading this winter has been ARCs that are coming out later this year . . . and there's a few wonderful books I look forward to sharing with you! For now, here's a few titles available now for you to check out.
The Woman With the Cure - Lynn Cullen
Meet the woman you very likely have never heard of: the woman who made it possible for Jonas Salk and Albert Sabin to develop the polio vaccine. Dr. Dorothy Horstmann spent 10 years of her career trying tirelessly to get her male colleagues to hear her and to respect her discoveries. In this historical novel she is represented as having given up her personal life, and literally the love of her life, to stop the incessant spread of polio. Detailed research, along with Cullen's freedom to extrapolate on the interpersonal relationships within the teams of researchers, made this an eye-opening read.
Looking for Jane - Heather Marshall
With the 2022 end of Roe v. Wade, this book is a powerfully important reality check of what the world looks like for women who are unable to get safe, legal abortions. 'Looking for Jane' was the codeword women used to gain access to doctor-provided illegal abortions before abortion legalization. Marshall has painted a very clear picture of that world in this story about three women whose lives intersect due to unwanted pregnancies. We can only hope that women won't be forced to look for Jane as politicians and religious leaders yet again attempt to take away women's right to choose.
A Book of Days - Patti Smith
From her first Instagram posts in 2018, musician/artist/writer/photographer/counterculture icon Patti Smith has been documenting, with either her vintage Land 100 or a Land 250 Poloraid camera, the banal and the captivating in her everyday life. The book is some of these images with little notes associated to the photo or the stream-of-consciousness thought that came to her mind in relationship to the photo. "A Book of Days" is one year of Patti Smith's life, a window into her visionary mind and eye. "Each photograph is like a diary entry of my life." — Patti Smith
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