A TRUE ACCOUNT by Katherine Howe

I have been a true and devoted fan of Katherine Howe from the very beginning with her first novel, The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane. It’s my favorite fictional tome on the Salem Witch Trials, a subject that has intrigued me since I was a = young lad. Most recently Katherine has blessed our bookshelves with A True Account: Hannah Masury’s Sojourn Amongst the Pyrates, Written by Herself. What a title! What a story! This is the swashbuckling lady pirate adventure you didn’t know you were looking for of two women in two different worlds, Hannah Masury during the Golden Age of Piracy in 1726 and Professor Marian Beresford in 1930. This dual timeline combines themes of identity, class and culture in a centuries-old mystery set in academia that is truly one for the books. Don’t miss Katherine’s nonfiction exposés co-written with Anderson Cooper, Astor and Vanderbilt.

Hear about all of Katherine’s literary adventures as we talk together on Thursday, June 13, at 3:00 p.m. at the Nantucket Atheneum.

THE DEMON OF UNREST by Erik Larson

I sat down to read The Demon of Unrest on Nantucket Island in April and didn’t realize I was going to be time-traveling. Within two sentences, I was transported to the year 1860 and placed into “a saga of hubris, heartbreak, and

heroism at the dawn of the Civil War.” In my opinion, the very best historians write their historical subject matter as if it’s a thrilling novel with characters to love and hate, featuring plot twists and turns and themes to reflect and discuss. Erik Larson is an absolute master of narrative nonfiction, and this is never more apparent than with his newest book. My favorite part? The parallels of the divided nation of 1860 with today’s political climate. I also highly recommend an earlier work, The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America.

Don’t miss Erik Larson on Friday, June 14, at 9:00 a.m. at the Methodist Church.

THE GUNCLE ABROAD by Steven Rowley

Pack your bags, get those passports ready, and let’s set sail for Italy and another laugh-out-loud adventure featuring GUP, or gay uncle Patrick. You will be traveling with all the beloved characters from The Guncle (winner of the 22nd Thurber Prize for American Humor) in this much-anticipated sequel, The Guncle Abroad. All the ingredients you have come to expect from a Steven Rowley novel are here (and elevated!). This story on the complicated bond of family is infused with so much heart and humor that it will have you cracking up with laughter on one page and wiping a tear away on the next. Reading a Steven Rowley novel always makes me appreciate being alive with the urge to call up my friends and family and say, “I love you!”

Get ready to laugh and cry with Steven Rowley and me as we discuss his novels of heart and humor on Friday, June 14, at 1:00 p.m. at the Methodist Church.

THE BLIND ASSASSIN by Margaret Atwood

I am still in shock with the news that Margaret Atwood will be gracing our Nantucket shores with her literary brilliance for the Nantucket Book Festival this year. I remember reading The Handmaid’s Tale for the first time in college and then rereading it not so long ago when the sequel The Testaments was released. What a magician of words and talented storyteller for our times! My favorite Margaret Atwood novel is without a doubt The Blind Assassin, winner of the Booker Prize. It’s one of those stories that has it all and can’t be quantified or placed in any one genre. It weaves together strands of gothic suspense, romance, science fiction, mystery, a book within a book (a literary trope I love), a killer first sentence and a final twist to remember!

You can witness the magic of Margaret Atwood together with Heather Reisman on Friday, June 14, at 6:30 p.m. at the Unitarian Church.

BROTHER. DO. YOU. LOVE. ME. by Manni Coe and Rueben Coe

A massive bestseller in the UK, a Waterstones Book of the Month and shortlisted for Book of the Year at the British Book Awards, brother. do. you. love. me. is perhaps one of the most touching family stories I have ever had the privilege of reading. The book is the very definition of the phrase “brotherly love” and tugs on every heartstring you have. Here is the story of two brothers, one with Down syndrome (who would like to see this label changed to “Up syndrome”?), and their journey of hope and resilience in difficult times. Manni’s eloquent language and Reuben’s powerful illustrations combine to create a book that is at the very essence of the Nantucket Book Foundation’s mission: to celebrate the transformative power of words to inspire, illuminate and connect us to each other through our shared humanity.

Celebrate the power of storytelling and brotherly love with Manni and Reuben Coe on Saturday, June 15, at 10:00 a.m. at the Methodist Church.

THE MANY LIVES OF MAMA LOVE: A MEMOIR OF LYING, STEALING, WRITING, AND HEALING by Lara Love Hardin

In selecting The Many Lives of Mama Love as an Oprah’s Book Club Selection earlier this year, Oprah said, “Once you start reading, be prepared, because you won’t want to stop,” and I never doubt Lady O. This is one of those stranger-than fiction stories, written beautifully, that starts with a bang and doesn’t let up. It recounts Lara’s slide from soccer mom to opioid addict to jailhouse shot caller and her unlikely comeback as a highly successful ghostwriter and bestselling author.

It’s both hilarious and heartbreaking and has a lot to say about suffering, redemption, forgiveness and human connection. I am telling everyone and their mama that I truly loved this one! Carve out a day to sit down and meet Mama Love!

Join me and Mama Love herself, Lara Love Hardin, as we discuss this heartrending memoir on Saturday, June 15, at 3:00 p.m. at the Methodist Church.

HOW TO SAY BABYLON by Safiya Sinclair

Safiya Sinclair has written a moving and engaging memoir that reads like an epic poem. I first read this book in January 2023. Since then, it has won more awards and received more accolades than I could ever possibly fit and mention in this magazine. Comparisons can be made to other popular coming-of-age memoirs, but this is a lyrical story all its own, tracing Safiya’s struggle to break free of her strict Rastafarian upbringing. Reading one paragraph of this autobiography leaves you breathless from the beauty of the language and the author’s ultimate reckoning over her repressive upbringing in Jamaica. I dare anyone to close the book and not be changed and moved by the story and the voice in its pages.



Get ready to be entranced by Safiya Sinclair on Sunday, June 16, at 12:00 p.m. at the Nantucket Dreamland.