The Five is back with some recent faves.
1. Shalynne & Karl
My oldest daughter convinced our entire family to read Brandon Sanderson’s The Way of Kings this summer. 10 bazillion pages later, we’re all hooked. It was an incredibly fun summer of reading and discussing and predicting and fanning over all things Stormlight Archive. But the best part? Eveyone’s endless enjoyment of my inability to remember and correctly pronounce the names of the characters. After a while, my ladies just accepted my names for the primary characters. Kal became Karl or, when he became a big boy, Karladin. Shalan become Shay-lynne, an homage to my West Kentucky roots. (I knew a few Shay-lynnes back in the day.) Galinar and Dalinar became Gavin Lux and Davin Lux, obviously. And so on and so on.
2. The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C.S. Lewis & J.R.R. Tolkien by John Hendrix
Part biography. Part history and explanation of the fantasy genre. All parts joy. Hendrix seamlessly blends the history of JRR Tolkien and CS Lewis’ lives, books, faiths, and friendship - “these two tweedy middle-aged academics (who) just so happened to re-enchant the world” - with a very meta deep dive into all things fantasy. The result is an irresistible and endlessly charming graphic novel that left me weeping and desperately ready to return to Narnia and Middle Earth for the umpteenth times. Might very well be my most enjoyable read of the year.
3. Anne of Green Gables @ The Stratford Festival
The new adaptation of Anne of Green Gables playing at The Stratford Theater Festival through November is one of the best pieces of theater I’ve ever seen. If you loved the book (and why wouldn’t you?!), it’s worth the 5-hour drive to the tiny Canadian town of Stratford to see it. (It’s run was extended into November.) And while you’re there, please pick me up some Mint Smoothies at Rheo Thompson.
4. The Last Manager: How Earl Weaver Tricked, Tormented, and Reinvented Baseball by John W. Miller
My obligatory baseball recommendation for the Five is a new-ish biography of the legendary Orioles manager, Earl Weaver. Weaver retired before my fandom took off, so I only knew of him in anecdotes and videos. And while I heard reference to the man’s baseball acumen, most of the stories dealt with his personality and fiery character. Miller blends the two, humanizing the character, and gives Weaver the credit he’s due.
5. Run For the Hills – Kevin Wilson
Kevin Wilson is on the very, very short list of my absolute favorite writers. What’s interesting about Wilson is that he is a characters first writer and I’m traditionally a plot first reader. But I know Wilson’s characters. He and I grew up about an hour away from each other and the people and places in his books are the people and places of my hometown. And his story lines, well, I’ve more than once referred to his books as my own personal therapist.
