The most recommended books about Virginia

A work of science writing might be a surprising addition to this list of storytellers, artists, and designers, but surely the life of the African American woman, mother, and cancer sufferer whose cell tissue became one of the most widely used biological lab media in contemporary medical research epitomizes creation and creativity.

Lacks’s history is a terrible story of racial anonymity and exploitation, which Skloot tells with extraordinary sensitivity. Always being sure to keep Lacks and her descendants at the forefront, Skloot both details the atrocities that sometimes underlie civilization’s progress and restores Lacks’s long overdue credit for making possible some of the most important medical advances of the twentieth century.

This book achieves the highest level of nuanced, deeply human storytelling. To me, it is one of the finest works of nonfiction ever. 

Originally published in 1977, this book has inspired four, maybe five, generations of archaeologists and enthusiasts of early American history. It is a model for how to write elegant stories based on groundbreaking research. And it has yet to be surpassed. I count myself a "granddaughter" of Jim Deetz, a founding figure of historical archaeology – that hybrid of history and archaeology focused on the "modern" world, from the invention of the printing press to the present. If you are curious about what everyday life was like in colonial America for regular people, start here. In Small Things offers a tangible history of human experiences that would otherwise be forgotten.

I’m always very character-driven love for books and this one had it in spades. I certainly didn’t want to say goodbye to the characters and so much so ended up reading the next two in the series. 

Written from the heart, but in a real raw way that made you gunning for the main characters in this romantic suspense series, what reached my heart was how afraid we can be to love, yet without love we hide ourselves from the light.

If you like your scary stories mixed with a dash of science fiction, Stephen King’s The Tommyknockers is highly recommended. Set in fictional Haven, ME, the book revolves around the discovery of a spaceship buried in the woods. As Bobbi Anderson, a local writer, uncovers the ship, both she and the rest of the townspeople are physically and mentally transformed by it. Not all of the changes are welcome – Bobbi loses interest in food and starts losing hair and teeth, but in turn becomes part of a shared consciousness that makes her capable of the most amazing inventions, including a telepathic typewriter. Only Jim Gardner is immune due to a steel plate in his head, and it is up to him to stop the hypnotic spell of The Tommyknockers.

This novel is a classic private eye novel and I love the classic PI’s.

We have the loner tough guy who has limited social skills, though Parker gets by. He works with not just one, but two shady sidekicks. Parker is a recovering alcoholic. He falls in love but pushes the woman away, so it doesn’t last. He has a love/hate relationship with the local authorities. He blurs the lines between legality and criminal behavior in the name of solving the case. All the tropes I’d expect of a PI novel.

Connolly writes poetically. Some of his descriptions jump off the page and immerse the reader in the scene.

Connolly gives us deep backstory on many characters. We also get deep backstory on New Orleans and many of the locations in the city. The setting becomes a character and immersed me in the life and culture.

The book is really… show more.

As the domestic slave trade became more expansive alongside the growth of the cotton economy, it attracted the increased ire of antislavery activists in the United States and England alike. Using sketches and paintings of the slave trade made by British artist Eyre Crowe in the 1850s as an entry point, Maurie McInnis explores the landscape of the slave trade in major American cities such as Richmond and New Orleans. In the process, she also opens a fresh window onto the world of transatlantic abolitionism.

This book grabbed my heart and is still holding on. I have never read a hero more committed to what is right and willing to pursue it at all costs, in spite of his imperfections. His compassion and level of sacrifice are unmatched. Both he and the heroine are wounded, yet in different ways. Her journey to trust is one that touched me deeply. Bischof knows how to write the heart and paint the power of redemption. 

I dip into my well-thumbed edition of this inspiring book every so often, but in 2003, I was reading from it daily as it led me by the hand through the ups and downs of my own creations as I tackled a new novel.

I matched the months and seasons in which I was writing with hers and found it exhilarating to discover what she was thinking on the same day as me, even if removed by years. Virginia is like a wise aunt who has seen it all and knows it all and imparts honest and perceptive insights into the world of literature and creativity. It is a book I could not be without.

Who doesn’t love a cookbook that includes A Thermos of Hot Virginia Country-Style Beef Consommé as the first item on a picnic list?

The Taste of Country Cooking is a cookbook and narrative of life in Freetown, Virginia where Lewis grew up. I feel comforted and assured reading Lewis’ stories and recipes. Here is an expert relating a way of life where eating is seasonal, healthful, and communal.

Recipes are directions on how to prepare and serve food, sure, they’re also medicinal formulas (lemonade is technically medicinal!), ethnobotanical records, and historical documents intimately tied to how humans all over the world live lives. I am a sucker for cookbooks tied to seasons, foodways, and history.

Lewis’ recipes are presented seasonally and organized into menus linked to events: Emancipation Day Dinner, A Cool Evening Supper, Morning-After-Hog-Butchering Breakfast. Food is what we eat but also who we are.

The main character, Yarni, is living proof that all that glitters isn't gold, including love. But that sometimes all it takes is a little spit and shine to make it appear platinum. New York Times Bestselling Author, Nikki Turner, debuts into the literary industry with this title, one of her bestselling urban love stories to date.