Fredrik Backman's, My Friends, is a poignant, funny, beautiful story of art, youth, and the redemptive power of love. You will laugh, cry, and be glad you read it!

The Correspondent focuses on an older woman who has spent her life writing letters, dribbling out her story in missives to others, a lasting legacy of a complicated woman.

The story of Mary Magdalene in Magda Revealed by Ursula Werner is a decidedly, unapologetic, unabashed feminist retelling of what we know as the Jesus story. The language is lovely. The characters are strong. The tone is modern, and the conclusions made me squirm. Read it and decide for yourself whether it's a faith-strengthener or a faith-buster.

Try it and you might feel what I do: a haunting fear of what man can do to destroy our beautiful natural world.

Valerie Perrin's novel, Fresh Water for Flowers is a different kind of love story, a poignant look at grief, loss, and affairs of the heart.

Daniel Mason's North Woods is an inventive, mesmerizing, riveting romp through history and my pic to win the 2024 Pulitzer for fiction.

Ariel's Lahon's historical fiction, The Frozen River, is a remarkable retelling of the story of Martha Ballard, a real-life American midwife

James McBride's The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store, presents a mystery and a picture of a diverse community coming together to do good.

Don't let the title, A Gentleman in Moscow deter you. Not a political treatise nor a boring look at a hotel resident but a book about life.

Olivia Hawker's novel, The Ragged Edge of Night, presents a philosophical question for writers: Should authors share political views?

Abraham Verghese's novel, The Covenant of Water, enchants with mysticism, medicine, and the magic of India. Multi-generation and magnificent

To be a writer, you must write, but you also must read. Here are four of my favorite reads for writers, sure to energize your creative soul.