We're starting a new weekly blog post here at Pandamoon called Bamboo Shoots: The Care and Feeding of Pandas. Each week, I'll give my Pandas a different question that some of them will answer. Expect the unexpected in both questions and answers. I'm doing this because I want you to know the Pandas like I know them. They're a talented bunch for sure, but they're also witty, charming, and goofy as all get out and I wouldn't have it any other way. Welcome to our crazy, wonderful world. Welcome to the Pandaverse.
Our inaugural question is a simple one. I asked our Pandas to share with you the book that they're reading right now that they love. Although they all have read and love our Pandamoon books, I wanted them to reach beyond what we publish here. Maybe you'll find your next great read on this list.
Dana Faletti, Author of Beautiful Secret and The Whisper Trilogy
I am reading Defending Jacob, by William Landay, whom I’ve never read before. I picked up the book from the bookshelf at the condo we just vacationed at in Florida. It’s a thriller, which is not what I generally write. I like the book, because it is suspenseful. It’s not my favorite book I’ve ever read, but I will definitely finish it.
I’m sucked in. Plot/pacing stands out in this book. It’s definitely plot-driven and fast paced. I’d recommend this book to anyone who likes murder mysteries or legal thrillers by authors like John Grisham.
Rachel Sharp Author of Phaethon
Babylon’s Ashes by James S.A. Corey. I’ve read every Expanse book so far (Thanks for the rec, Don Kramer!) and while they’re wildly different, I love them all equally. Bobbi the lady space marine is especially dear to my heart. So far, I’ve gotten three other people to start reading the series...tomorrow the world! Mwah-ha-ha--ha-ha.
Elgon Williams, Author of Fried Windows (In a Light White Sauce) and the Becoming Thuperman Trilogy
Despite having the To-Be Read list from...well, maybe it’s not quite that bad, but it is lengthy. I’ve had several authors outside of our Pandamoon community reach out to me with requests. I’ve added in some books that interested me. Next up in my queue is The American Sweeney Todd by Marilyn J. Bardsley. It’s Crime, Suspense, Thriller. No, it’s not in my creative wheelhouse as a writer. But I love the title, referring to a great play--and a maybe not so great film--based on that play. I can thank some of my fellow Pandas (Laura Ellen Scott, Penni Jones, Matt Coleman, Francis Sparks to name a few) for infecting me with a taste for the genre. I’ve also learned from reading some unknown authors that the best books in the past year are not so much hard sci-fi or fantasy, which is more aligned to my writing, but a blend of several genres that are not ordinarily combined. I find that trend exciting. New authors feel free to explore genre-bending plots as a testament to the impact of small publishers and self-publishing. There is open defiance of traditional publishers’ formulaic methods of producing new material which present more of the same and hinders innovation. Really, I’ve just started reading The American Sweeney Todd. So far it’s good. The author writes well and is telling the story in an intriguing way. Next up on my list, it’s back to covering the Pandas. I’m not neglecting anyone. I promise. It’s just there are so many great books that I need to read.
Susan Kuchinskas, Author of The Finder Series
I’m reading Those Who Walk in Darkness by John Ridley. It’s a brilliant spin on the current mania for superheros. His concept: those fights between superheros and villains can really wreck things. And, what if there were even more people with superpowers around? They’d be a menace, really. So, in his novel, they’re given 30 days to leave the country, and our protagonist, Soledad, is part of an elite team that hunts down any stragglers. Like my series, it’s set in the near future, so I’m enjoying the way Ridley extrapolates from pop culture and the news. He took one simple concept and built a believable alternate world. It’s also as much a crime thriller as it is science fiction. He’s excellent at writing action scenes, and I’m definitely going to analyze some of his to improve this in my own work. Some reviewers have complained that Soledad is unlikable, but I find her intriguing and worthy of compassion.
Laura Ellen Scott, Author of The Juliet and The New Royal Mysteries
I'm reading Hard Light, by Elizabeth Hand. It's the 3rd book in her crime series featuring middle aged, hard living, punk photographer Cass Neary. It's a hardback, signed by the author at last year's "Fall for the Book" festival, so in addition to being a brilliant, sex, drug, and rock-and-roll thriller, just having a big hunk o'book in hand helps me disconnect from an otherwise hectic semester of teaching and advising. Normally I read e-books, but this week I need an air gap. The Cass Neary novels are inspirational to my own writing in that they are dark and fearlessly character-driven. At Hand's reading for FFtB (which was awesome because she is very theatrical) a few of the students in the audience asked questions that showed they were struggling with the amorality of her MC, and that had me wondering—what's at risk when we write about so-called "unlikeable" characters, and does ageism/sexism play a role in how those characters are embraced? Of course, these questions are on my mind because Hand, like Catriona McPherson, are writing thrillers about women while so many of their peers are churning out "Girl" books.
Penni Jones, Author of On the Bricks and Kricket
I’m reading Lightwood by Steph Post. It’s the first time I’ve read this book, but I can already tell it will go into my repeated reads rotation. It is in the same genre I write: it’s a mystery/thriller set in the dirty South. It’s an amazing book with rich prose and larger-than-life characters. This novel is fast-paced while somehow maintaining the languid mood of southern life. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thrillers, literary fiction, or just reading in general.
Francis Sparks, Author of Made Safe
I just finished reading Nathan Hill’s The Nix. It is Nathan’s debut novel that he spent over ten years writing. It isn’t in the same genre that I have published in (yet). It is considered literary/humor and well over 800 pages in length which is a far cry from my much shorter debut novel in the crime fiction category but the way he mixes humor and tragedy into everyday events is something I plan to steal for my own writing. Nathan was born in Iowa and he is a friend of a friend so I knew I would read his novel before he came to Des Moines (5/12/2017) for an author event hosted by the Des Moines Public Library but I wasn’t prepared for how emotionally engaged I would become in the narrative. The story grabbed me from the beginning with the way Nathan Hill managed to perfectly capture the atmosphere and experience of the era he and I grew up in (Midwest in the 80’s). In addition he mixes in current day societal realities with flashbacks to the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago in a brilliant parallel storyline. Oh yeah AND he put a mother/son story in there that hit a little too close to home. I can’t recommend The Nix enough but I’m definitely not alone. Meryl Streep will star in the TV mini-series adaptation and J.J. Abrams is producing.
Matt Coleman, Author of Juggling Kittens
I am currently reading Kill the Father, by Sandrone Dazieri. Interestingly enough, I only picked this one up because Don Kramer posted somewhere (Facebook, maybe Glip…or, as my mom would say, “One of the Facebooks”) about how awesome the cover is. And it is. It is a testimony to how important a great cover is, because it drew me in and got me to read the description. Which led me to buy a copy. It’s a crime thriller, the first North American publication (and first in a series) by a prolific Italian crime writer. I obviously have not read anything by him previous to this, but I have thoroughly enjoyed it. It reads like an absolute clinic for crime writers. The characterization is effortless and complete, but he never breaks pace. Not for a page. I would describe the plotting of the book as a breakneck pace. And about a quarter of the way through, there is a description of an explosion that has definitely redefined the way I will forever think about writing anything of the sort. Brilliant stuff. I would recommend it to any readers of crime fiction, but ESPECIALLY writers of crime fiction.
Sarah K. Stephens, Author of A Flash of Red and Dear Heart
I’m currently reading The Home That Was Our Country: A Memoir of Syria by Alia Malek. I started reading Malek’s memoir as part of the research I’m conducting for my next novel, which is partially set in Syria. It is a gorgeous memoir, made even more striking by Malek’s own unique history. Born in America to Syrian immigrants, she spent many of her childhood summers in Syria and went on to live in Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria as a young professional. Her own experiences with the Syrian diaspora allow her to swivel between offering readers an inside look at her family’s country and recognizing her feeling as an outsider looking in on her cultural heritage. As a result, readers are able to experience Malek’s own grief as she watches her family’s beloved homeland descend into civil war, an outcome that does not surprise her but that she is nonetheless powerless to prevent. I highly recommend this exquisite memoir to all readers, and especially those wanting to understand the beauty and devastation that embodies Syria in today’s political landscape.
An Tran, Co-Author of The Bath Salts Series
I usually have 3-4 books on the go. Though I’m a fiction author, generally I don’t read fiction! Currently, I am reading Carthago, a graphic novel by Christophe Bec, Isabella of Castile: The First Renaissance Queen, a Spanish history book by Nancy Rubin Stuart, and Syria: Medieval Citadels Between East and West, a book of essays about Medieval forts and citadels in Syria and edited by Stefano Bianca. While Isabella is a reread, the other 2 are entirely new.
I was watching a Spanish TV series about her, and I picked out so many historical inaccuracies that I doubted my own knowledge, and had to check references to confirm. As a Spanish historian, I enjoy rereading Isabella as it is one of the most accurate English biographies of this Castilian queen. Here is a woman whose birth was not even accurately recorded because she was one of the most undesirable commodities of the time (a female child), and yet she is arguably one of the most important figures in European and American history. A quote that I am likely mangling stands out to me: “So little attention was paid to the birth of Isabella, that historians are not entirely sure when or where it occurred. Thus the queen who united two kingdoms, conquered the Moorish kingdom of Granada, ended the corruption of the government of favourites, sent Christopher Columbus on his journey to the Americas, and so much more, was received coldly into the world.”
Carthago was recommended to me, and it’s a graphic novel translated from the original French. It’s about megalodons. They were the prehistoric precursors to today’s Great White sharks, and a million times nastier. They are thought to be the greatest carnivores who have ever existed. A series of underwater cave networks is discovered, filled with prehistoric oceanic lifeforms. It’s believed that megalodons might still exist in the caves. Teams of scientists, all for different reasons, set out to find, and maybe capture, a living megalodon, no matter the cost. And in the wings is a young girl who has an uncanny connection to the ocean, and the creatures who live in the caves. I find the science to be interesting, and also highly probable. I also love reading about Lazarus taxa, and if a megalodon is found, it would be huge for the world, and for oceanic conservation. I would highly recommend this, if you’re interested in speculative fiction, the oceans, prehistoric creatures… It’s really a highly fascinating read so far. I also love the art, and the cover, which shows a young girl in the ocean facing a megalodon, is just awesome.
Syria is a difficult read, since as the whole world watching the horrors in Syria, the destruction of the country’s heritage is a small but devastating fragment. The essays talk about the historical origins and evolution of three citadels in Syria. Conservation efforts at the three sites are also documented. The book is from 2007, and it’s very sad to read about the history and the enthusiastic conservation efforts only to know that very little remains now after years of civil war. I might be interested to incorporate the architectural ideals in my own works, since these forts were built to withstand constant sieges. But I read it to keep that piece of history alive in my own mind, so that even if the sites have disappeared physically, humanity can still claim memory of these sites.
I hope you've enjoyed this glimpse into what inspires or ignites passion in some of our Pandas. I'd love to hear from you what you're reading that does the same. Feel free to post a comment below about that; let's start a dialogue.