Michael appeared on Noon Edition LIVE on WFIU & WTIU News from Viewpoint Books: Chapter Two to recommend books. You can see the whole show below, and here are Michael’s suggestions:
THE BACKYARD BIRD CHRONICLES by Amy Tan
Her illustrations are gorgeous. The text is gorgeous. I think it’s just a really nice gift book.
THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING and HIDDEN PICTURES by Jason Rekulak
Jason’s a wonderful writer. ‘Hidden Pictures,’ make sure to buy that one in hard copy. The pictures, the drawings, are actually very crucial. It’s a nice, spooky read that you kind of dip into, and then three hours go by and you just can’t put it down.
THE ANTHROPOCENE REVIEWED and upcoming EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS by John Green
At next year’s Oct. 24 Bloomington Book Festival, we have John Green coming down from Indianapolis. John is just an incredibly gifted writer. He’s probably best known for his young adult novels that have sold millions of copies — ‘The Fault in Our Stars,’ ‘Looking for Alaska,’ ‘Paper Towns.’ Just a brilliant guy.
Author James Alexander Thom
I think it’s important to remember writers who are no longer with us. Back in his day, when he would drop an 800-page historical epic, those were publishing events. He was both a really kind, wonderful person and an incredible writer, so I would urge people to go back and find him.
THE BROTHERS VONNEGUT: SCIENCE AND FICTION IN THE HOUSE OF MAGIC by Ginger Strand
While researching the book that I’m working on under the Scott Carson name, I ended up doing a lot of research about Kurt Vonnegut. I didn’t even realize he had a brother. I found (this book) completely fascinating. So if you’re a Hoosier and into nonfiction, I recommend that one.
THE PLOT and THE SEQUEL: A NOVEL by Jean Hanff Korelitz
It’s a satire of the publishing industry, but it’s also a great mystery. The sequel follows those events, and at one point there’s a murderer who’s thinking about a town where she could disappear. She thinks, ‘What is that little town in Indiana that’s famous for its beautiful architecture?’ I love that reference to Columbus.
Bunnicula series by James and Deborah Howe
Some of my favorite books as a kid. I thought those books were just so funny. I gave them to my niece a few years ago. She loved them. They hold up across time.
WHEN THE NIGHT COMES FALLING: A REQUIEM FOR THE IDAHO STUDENT MURDERS by Howard Blum
If you’re a true crime person, he’s writing very elegantly and well about those terrible murders in Moscow, Idaho.
Author Megan Abbott
People are aware of her now, but the more people read her, they’re going to end up being immediately impressed.
Author Ross Gay
We’re really excited to have Ross Gay involved (with the Bloomington Book Festival.) A wonderful writer, essayist, poet, just a wonderful person.
LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry
In terms of quick, deft character development, nobody ever did it better than Larry McMurtry. I reread ‘Lonesome Dove’ this year, and it is this big, sprawling epic with so many characters, so many points of view. He could come into a scene late, and so quickly you understood the dynamics through dialog and choices. That’s how you hold a reader.
Author John McPhee
He is just a wonderful journalist, and he gets down in the weeds. Everything he does is fascinating.
COMEDY COMEDY COMEDY DRAMA: A MEMOIR by Bob Odenkirk
He had such a bizarre career, starting as a writer for a Saturday Night Live, and then becoming the star of Better Call Saul, doing a lot of different things along the way.
THE RIGHT STUFF by Tom Wolfe
LIVE FROM NEW YORK: THE COMPLETE, UNCENSORED HISTORY OF SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller
It’s really quick, it’s funny, but it’s also it shows the drama and tension and the crazy stress of (that show.) And the film adaptation is coming out here shortly, so I’m excited to see that.