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The Book Report: Washington Post critic Ron Charles (March 17)
By Washington Post book critic Ron Charles
This month’s books take us from pre-Civil War America to the modern-day politics, the rise of Silicon Valley, and the future of the planet.
Doubleday
For 140 years, people have been reading, praising and condemning “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.” Well, get ready to see Mark Twain’s classic in a strikingly different light.
Percival Everett, the author of “Erasure” (the novel that inspired the Academy Award-winning film “American Fiction”), has just published a new book called “James” (Doubleday).
It retells “Huckleberry Finn” from the perspective of Huck’s enslaved friend, Jim. And believe me, that one change changes everything.
With this comic, sometimes terrifying story, Everett delivers a sharp satire of racism, and more than one shocking surprise.
READ AN EXCERPT: “James” by Percival Everett
“James” by Percival Everett (Doubleday), in Hardcover, Large Print Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Also by Percival Everett: “Dr. No” (Book excerpt)
Hogarth Books
“Great Expectations” – no, not that one – is a new novel by Vinson Cunningham, a theater critic for The New Yorker. Inspired by his own experiences, it tells the story of a young man who gets a job as a fundraiser for the presidential campaign of a Black senator from Illinois. Now, the candidate is never named, but you’ll figure it out from Cunningham’s pitch-perfect descriptions.
The real subject, though, is this thoughtful narrator, raised in a Pentecostal church, looking at the candidate and his wealthy donors, and trying to figure out what kind of man he’ll become in a nation woven from money and faith.
READ AN EXCERPT: “Great Expectations” by Vinson Cunningham
“Great Expectations” by Vinson Cunningham (Hogarth), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Vinson Cunningham at The New Yorker
Random House
Téa Obreht has written magical tales involving tigers in the Balkans and camels in the Arizona Territory. Her new novel, “The Morningside” (Random House), is set in a future ravaged by climate change.
An 11-year-old girl named Silvia has immigrated with her mother to an island city that will remind you of New York. There they live with Silvia’s aunt who’s in charge of a once-grand high-rise apartment building.
But unable to go to school, Silvia turns her curious mind to her strange neighbors – particularly one woman who owns three unusual dogs that may turn into men during the day.
READ AN EXCERPT: “The Morningside” by Téa Obreht
“The Morningside” by Téa Obreht (Random House), in Hardcover, Large Print Trade Paperback, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Simon & Schuster
Kara Swisher has been chronicling the wonders and shenanigans of Silicon Valley since people were dialing up AOL to hear “You’ve got mail.”
Now, in her new memoir, “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story” (Simon & Schuster), Swisher takes us through her journey as a reporter who not only covered the rise of the Web, but became one of its leading voices – even as she became increasingly disillusioned with the arrogance of Internet billionaires and their reckless empires.
All the usual suspects are here – Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk and others – along with Swisher’s signature bravado and insightful criticism.
READ AN EXCERPT: “Burn Book: A Tech Love Story” by Kara Swisher
“Burn Book: A Tech Love Story” by Kara Swisher (Simon & Schuster), in Hardcover, eBook and Audio formats, available via Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Bookshop.org
Kara Swisher, host of the podcast On with Kara Swisher and co-host of Pivot
For more suggestions on what to read, contact your librarian or local bookseller.
That’s it for the Book Report. I’m Ron Charles. Until next time, read on!
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For more reading recommendations, check out these previous Book Report features from Ron Charles:
Produced by Robin Sanders and Roman Feeser.
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In Hollywood, a land known for marquees and famous signs, there’s probably no sign that’s more on the nose than the store Just Food For Dogs. There, four-legged customers sample today’s offerings, while their owners stock up on the food.
Sarah Rector and her French bulldog, Lulu, are buying her regular order, including beef with russet potato, and venison with squash. Rector says she feels better buying the store’s food for Lulu rather than commercial dog food: “I just know that she’s getting the best possible, like, ingredients and health and overall wellness.”
She and her husband don’t have children, yet, but they have another French bulldog, “so I feel like we have kids.”
It’s tempting to write this off as a trendy L.A. fad, but Just Food For Dogs president Carey Tischler says this store is here because of a permanent shift in the roughly $50 billion U.S. pet food industry. “The last year of research shows that 82% of families think of pets as family, or as children, and that’s up significantly,” he said.
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Joe Ovalle is Just Food’s guest experience manager. He says all of their pet food is approved by the USDA for human consumption. “It is human-grade food, something you and I could eat,” he said.
He sampled one of their recipes, for fish and sweet potato. “Oh my God, it’s like ceviche,” he smiled.
It may seem a bit indulgent, and can cost double the price of Kibbles, but some say that feeding our dogs natural food is what we should have been doing all along – and making it yourself can cost the same as buying food from the store.
“It’s about going back to what is biologically appropriate, that they ate for tens of thousands of years,” said pet nutritionist Christine Filardi. “They ate prey animals and table scraps. So, I’m just educating people on how to go back to what they ate for tens of thousands of years prior to commercial pet food.”
Stewart, Tabori & Chang
Filardi is author of “Home Cooking For Your Dog,” a cookbook offering recipes with what she says are the three necessities: animal protein, a carb, and a veggie, as well as a few extravagant treats, like her bacon and cream cheese muffins.
Filardi says whether it’s store-bought or home-cooked fresh food, the results are the same: well-fed animals live longer, have cheaper vet bills, and are happier … which makes the owners happy, too.
“They take such good care of us,” she said. “We should take good care of them.”
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Hearty Hamburgers
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Friday Playdate Pizza
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Bacon and Cream Cheese Muffins
RECIPE (FOR DOGS): Ground Turkey, Quinoa, and Carrots
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Story produced by John Goodwin. Editor: Joseph Frandino.
“Sunday Morning” 2024 “Food Issue” recipe index
Delicious menu suggestions from top chefs, cookbook authors, food writers, restaurateurs, and the editors of Food & Wine magazine.
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