Why am I passionate about this?

Since I was a young child, I have always craved tender and fierce stories more than food or drink or normal social life. Eavesdrop is the first word I remember learning. I grew up next door to a convent and the nuns in their black habits, would let me join them on their walks. Taking walks, whether in cities or in the woods, remains an important part of my life, for my sanity and my writing. Whether I’m writing a personal essay, a novel or a non-fiction book, strong and quirky voices are what pull me to the page.


I wrote

The Wright Sister

By Patty Dann,

Book cover of The Wright Sister

What is my book about?

When Katharine Wright, a spirited and strong-willed suffragette, got married at 52 in 1926, her brother, Orville, refused to speak…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of Fresh Water for Flowers

Patty Dann Why did I love this book?

I love books where I’m captivated by both the language and the characters, as I am in this startling novel told through the eyes of Violette Toussaint, the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Violette says there are two confessionals in the town, one in the church, the other in her cottage, and I am totally entranced by the stories she hears and what she divulges about her own surprising past. Perrin’s story is magical. 

By Valérie Perrin, Hildegarde Serle (translator),

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Fresh Water for Flowers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A WALL STREET JOURNAL BEST BOOK OF SUMMER 2021
A 2020 INDIES INTRODUCE & INDIE NEXT LIST PICK

A #1 international best-seller, Fresh Water for Flowers is an intimately told story about a woman who defiantly believes in happiness, despite it all.

Violette Toussaint is the caretaker at a cemetery in a small town in Bourgogne. Her life is lived to the predictable rhythms of the often funny, always moving confidences that casual mourners, regular visitors, and sundry colleagues share with her. Violette’s routine is disrupted one day by the arrival of Julien Sole—local police chief—who has come to scatter…


Book cover of The Girl with the Louding Voice

Patty Dann Why did I love this book?

The Girl With the Louding Voice is a triumphant novel, written with the compelling voice of a young Nigerian girl named Adunni. As she says, "I am not a wasted waste. I am Adunni. A person important enough because my tomorrow will be better than today."

Surviving what is often a violent and cruel life, I find myself cheering at the beauty of Adunni’s spirit.

By Abi Daré,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Girl with the Louding Voice as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The most uplifting debut of 2020

'Unforgettable' New York Times 'Impressive' Observer 'Remarkable' Independent 'Important' Guardian 'Captivating' Mirror 'Luminous' Daily Mail 'Sparkling' Harper's Bazaar 'Beautiful' Herald

THE NEW YORK TIMES AND TIMES TOP TEN BESTSELLER
SHORTLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE FOR FICTION
___________________________________________________

I don't just want to be having any kind voice . . .
I want a louding voice.

At fourteen, Adunni dreams of getting an education and giving her family a more comfortable home in her small Nigerian village. Instead, Adunni's father sells her off to become the third wife of an old man. When tragedy…


Book cover of On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

Patty Dann Why did I love this book?

This book is dazzling. It is true I have a weakness for epistolary novels, which this is, but as bold and unique as it is, I would recommend this book to everyone. It’s an exquisite love letter from a young man in Connecticut, nicknamed Little Dog by his family, to his Vietnamese mother.

This book takes my breath away, because we feel the raw anguish as the narrator grows up, dealing with his sexuality and longing and all that he and his family have endured.

By Ocean Vuong,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

An instant New York Times Bestseller!

Longlisted for the 2019 National Book Award for Fiction, the Carnegie Medal in Fiction, the 2019 Aspen Words Literacy Prize, and the PEN/Hemingway Debut Novel Award

Shortlisted for the 2019 Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

Winner of the 2019 New England Book Award for Fiction!

Named one of the most anticipated books of 2019 by Vulture, Entertainment Weekly, Buzzfeed, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Oprah.com, Huffington Post, The A.V. Club, Nylon, The Week, The Rumpus, The Millions, The Guardian, Publishers Weekly, and more.

"A lyrical work of self-discovery that's shockingly intimate and insistently…


Book cover of The Bird Artist

Patty Dann Why did I love this book?

 I confess I have read Howard Norman's The Bird Artist, set in 1911, five times.  The narrator is Fabian Vas, who draws and paints the birds of Witless Bay, Newfoundland a wild and remote coastal village. 

At the start of the book, we learn that Fabian has murdered the village lighthouse keeper, Botho August. The story pulls the reader along as we follow the tantalizing story of romance, passion and betrayal in this remote and wondrous place.

By Howard Norman,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Bird Artist as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The story of Fabian Vas, who lives in Witless Bay, Newfoundland and who earns his living as a bird artist. However, it also emerges that he has murdered the lighthouse keeper, Botho August.


Book cover of Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

Patty Dann Why did I love this book?

I cannot stop thinking about Eleanor Oliphant! She’s one of those characters that remain constant in my life. And contrary to the title, she is not completely fine at all, and yet, she is one of the most charming characters I’ve ever met. She lives a small and obsessive life, working in an office, trying to overcome her cruel childhood. But after she meets the unique young man Raymond, somehow, throughout the intense sorrow, there is a great and transcendent joy.

By Gail Honeyman,

Why should I read it?

27 authors picked Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

A Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

"Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner whose life beautifully unfolds after a chance encounter with a stranger; I think you will fall in love, too!" -Reese Witherspoon

No one's ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.

Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of…


Explore my book 😀

The Wright Sister

By Patty Dann,

Book cover of The Wright Sister

What is my book about?

When Katharine Wright, a spirited and strong-willed suffragette, got married at 52 in 1926, her brother, Orville, refused to speak to her ever again! That is a fact. This short novel is an imagined story from Katharine’s point of view.

The book is a blend of two forms- letters Katharine writes to Orville when she moves 600 miles away to live with her journalist husband in Kansas City, and a marriage diary, where she writes about her passionate yet anguished life, late at night, often in the empty bathtub.

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My Year of Casual Acquaintances

By Ruth F. Stevens,

Book cover of My Year of Casual Acquaintances

Ruth F. Stevens Author Of My Year of Casual Acquaintances

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

From the time I was a girl, I’ve loved stories that put a lump in my throat even as I’m laughing. As a fiction writer, that funny-sad tone is the one I go for in my own work. I gravitate toward female protagonists of all ages who break the mold—women who are intelligent and strong but who also have unconventional, quirky personalities. Women who can be hilarious, infuriating, and heartbreaking—sometimes all at once. Because they are complex and unique, these women tend to struggle with life’s challenges more than their contemporaries. That’s what makes their stories so interesting, and why I have chosen the books on this list. 

Ruth's book list on smart, quirky women facing personal struggles

What is my book about?

When Mar’s husband divorces her, she reacts by abandoning everything in her past: her home, her friends, even her name. Though it's not easy starting over, she’s ready for new adventures—as long as she can keep things casual. Each month, Mar goes from one acquaintance to the next: a fellow gym member down on her luck, a flirty hip-hop instructor, a bossy but comical consultant. . . and a handsome novelist who wants more than she can give. Mar learns from each encounter. But can she open herself up to true connection?

Surrounded by quirky, endearing characters, Mar navigates her…

My Year of Casual Acquaintances

By Ruth F. Stevens,

What is this book about?

"A fun, entertaining novel! I can't imagine anyone who wouldn't enjoy this book as much as I did." -Leslie A. Rasmussen, award-winning author

When Mar Meyer's husband divorces her for another woman, she reacts by abandoning everything in her past: her home, her friends, even her name. Though it's not easy to start over, Mar is young-looking, fit, and ready for new adventures-as long as she can keep things casual.

With each passing month, Mar goes from one acquaintance to the next. Among them: a fellow gym member down on her luck, a flirty hip-hop instructor, a bossy but comical…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Nigeria, isolation, and loss?

Nigeria 67 books
Isolation 21 books
Loss 117 books