Hello, and welcome to another edition of the newsletter from A Good Book. It's sunny outside as we—no, wait, the wind shifted and leaves are running and—okay, now it is hailing. Whatever. This weather makes you want to stay inside and read, doesn't it? It's okay. The crocuses can grow unsupervised for another day or two. Let's curl up with a book!
 

Here is Sarah Pinborough's Insomnia, a story about a woman who can't sleep. Is it because she's worried that she's about to come unhinged like her mother did at this same point in her life? Is it because she's the target of some creepy individual who is trying to destroy her life? Is it because—heck, we're not entirely sure, but we do know that Pinborough can twist us into all sorts of knots with her plotting and page-turning tension. Sign us up for an all-nighter! 
 

And speaking of seeing things that may not be there, here is Annie Hartnett's Unlikely Animals, the story of a young woman who is adrift in life and who finds her family is equally bereft of focus. She tries to piece things back together (both in her life and in her community), and the journey of both self-discovery and familial reconnection is a tale told with a marvelously tender touch. 
 

And speaking of complex characters playing out their drama on the page, here is Amanda Bestor-Siegal's The Caretakers. It's the story of a dead child, an au pair who might be a killer, and a group of other au pairs who come together to aid their accused friend. It's not the French Babysitters Murder Club—well, okay, a little bit, but Bestor-Siegal's deft hand with characterization and lyrical writing elevate this one quite a bit. 
 

And speaking of being elevated, here is Donut: The Unicorn Who Wants to Fly. Written by Laura Gehl and so marvelously illustrated by Andrea Zuill, Donut is the story of a unicorn who has a problem. She's a bit earth-bound, and no matter how hard she tries, she can't quite achieve lift. <sad face>

Fortunately, Donut's community comes together and turns that frown upside down! Donut's tale reminds us of Stephen Cosgrove's and Robin James's work (Serendipity!) We dig Donut. The little ones in your life will dig Donut too. Get a copy!
 

And speaking of things we dig really hard, Chris Whitaker's We Begin at the End is out this week in paperback. It's a small town crime drama, filled with well-intentioned characters who make all sorts of bad decisions, and the cavalcade of ruination that follows. It's gorgeously written, and we will stack Duchess Day Radley up against any young protagonist in any book ever, including that perennial American classic. Highest recommendation. 
 

Meanwhile, Robert Kaplan has been traveling. Adriatic: A Concert of Civilizations at the End of the Modern Age is an engrossing and engaging tour of Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, and Albania. It's a bit Byzantine (in the truest sense), a bit Hapbsurgian, and a bit Ottomanian. It's sounds delightful, and surely the weather is better than what we're having here this week. 
 

Still, if you're going to stay inside, perhaps you should get started on that big project you've been putting off. Where to begin? Well, fortunately, we have Jessie Kwak's From Big Idea to Book: Create  A Writing Process That Brings You Joy. We devoured Kwak's previous book, From Chaos to Creativity, and this time around, she's got a bunch of useful questions and guides to help you figure out how to actually get the work done. Because, as you know, the work doesn't work itself. Stupid work. 
 

Oh, and if you're not sure you're reading for the big project, here's Anne Quindlen's Write for Your Life, which is all the encouragement and permission you need to actually start writing. Good luck! Work those pencils down to nubs!
 

And speaking of writers who worked their pencils down, here is The Science of Middle-earth: A New Understanding of Tolkien and His World. With contributions by astrophysicists, paleontologists, botanists, and volcanologists, The Science of Middle-earth is a deep dive into the scientific underpinnings of Tolkien's world. In case you haven't deep-dived enough. 
 

And speaking of deep dives, here is Ben Browder's Freezing Order: A True Story of Money Laundering, Murder, and Surviving Vladimir Putin's Wrath. That subtitle says it all, doesn't it? Browder first caught Putin's attention in the early part of the twenty-first century (which he chronicled in Red Notice), and Freezing Order is a follow-up of sorts. Browder follows the money and attempts to connect dots so concretely that everyone will know how the money is being stolen, where it is being laundered, and who ultimately stands to benefit from it. True Crime Financial Shenanigans!
 

And finally, here is Big and Small and In-Between by Carter Higgins and Daniel Miyares. It's a book about the little things, the not so little things, and those things that sometimes we forget to notice. It's an interactive book for young minds and tiny hands, but there's a great deal of big thinking that went into this book. It's artfully designed, delightfully illustrated, and marvelously winsome. Recommended.