Four sports books that aren’t really about sports

S.L. Price, a Senior Writer at Sports Illustrated from 1994-2019, has written five books—including the newly released The American Game: History and Hope in the Country of Lacrosse, a wide-ranging examination of the continent’s oldest and most representative sport.

At Lit Hub the author tagged four top "sports books that aren’t really about sports." One title on the list:

A Fan’s Notes by Frederick Exley

Diner may be my favorite film, not least because the sports-centric screenplay—Barry Levinson originally had it culminating at the 1959 NFL championship with its Baltimore Colts-obsessed protagonists hanging victoriously from the goal posts—got completely hijacked by the subtext of desperate male friendship. Exley’s 1968 novel was one of the first to blow up the sports book, make the faceless mass in the stands the story; his main character’s stalking of his own white whale, Giants running back Frank Gifford, is actually a picaresque and merciless meditation on ambition, booze, fading youth, male ego, and the gut-dropping moment when fandom becomes fate. It’s painful how beautiful it is, and vice-versa.

(See also: Among the Thugs by Bill Buford and Jimmy Connors Saved My Life by Joel Drucker)

Read about the other entries on the list.

A Fan's Notes is among Bruce DeSilva's six favorite books about sports, Laura Kipnis's six favorite books about wounded masculinity, and Dan Barden's six top stories of addiction.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven thrillers about murder in paradise

Katy Hays is the New York Times bestselling author of The Cloisters. She is an art history adjunct professor and holds an MA in art history from Williams College and pursued her PhD at UC Berkeley. Having previously worked at major art institutions, including the Clark Art Institute and SFMOMA, she now lives with her husband and their dog in Olympic Valley, California.

Hays's new novel is Saltwater.

At Electric Lit the author tagged seven thrillers about murder in holiday settings. One title on the list:

Morocco:
Who is Maud Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews

If you haven’t read Who is Maud Dixon? stop everything, grab a copy, and thank me later. The story of a young woman who takes a job as an assistant to a critically acclaimed and commercially successful writer—Maud Dixon—and discovers the pseudonymous author is not who she seems, Who is Maud Dixon? takes a dark turn when the two women travel to a Moroccan riad so that Maud can finish her next (overdue) novel. But Maud has bigger plans than writing and research. Luckily, so, too, does her assistant. Come for the publishing inside baseball, stay for the coasts of Morocco.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five notable novels set in hotels

Lucy Foley studied English literature at Durham University and University College London and worked for several years as a fiction editor in the publishing industry.

Her novels include The Paris Apartment, The Guest List, and The Midnight Feast. She lives in London.

All hotels are worlds unto themselves, [Foley writes at the Waterstones blog] tiny universes that follow their own rules and logic. In a murder mystery setting, practically speaking, a hotel ringfences the characters and provides a stage upon which the drama can play out, slightly elevated and separate from the ordinary world. Hotels also provide a modern formulation of the upstairs/ downstairs dynamic so beloved of the whodunnit, a forum in which class tensions can be put under the microscope. And yet they’re also, in another sense, oddly democratic: anyone can stay in a hotel (so long as they can afford the price of a stay!) and become a different or improved version of themselves, freed from the baggage of ordinary life.

One of Foley's five top novels set in a hotel:

The Maid by Nita Prose

Apparently Florence Pugh will soon be bringing Molly the maid to our screens, but I’d definitely recommend reading the wonderful book first. It’s set in the fictional Regency Grand Hotel, peopled by a colourful cast of characters of which many (guests and staff alike) are keeping secrets. The action starts with the discovery that a wealthy guest has been murdered in one of the most luxurious suites, and the neurodivergent Molly becomes both lead suspect and detective in this absorbing mystery. The sequel, The Mystery Guest, is top of my TBR pile.

Read about the other entries at the Waterstones blog.

The Maid is among S.K. Golden's six top mystery novels set in hotels and Amanda Craig's top ten books about cleaners.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five of the most realistic thrillers ever written

Ryan Pote is a twelve-year veteran Navy helicopter pilot who was part of a joint interagency special operations task force, deployed throughout Central and South America conducting counter narcotics. Before the Navy, he was a scuba diving instructor in Hawaii and a lab tech conducting algae-biofuels research. He holds a Masters degree in History from Ashland University. He lives with his wife and children in New England.

Pote's new novel is Blood and Treasure.

At The Strand Magazine the author tagged "five of the most realistic thrillers ever written..., each earning its stripes through authenticity, technical precision, and unflinching humanity." One title on the list:

American Assassin by Vince Flynn

Vince Flynn’s origin story for CIA operative Mitch Rapp is a visceral dive into the world of counterterrorism. The novel’s depiction of Rapp’s grueling selection process—physical endurance, psychological stress, and moral dilemmas—rings true to the real-world gauntlet faced by elite operatives. Flynn’s attention to tradecraft, from surveillance to “wet work,”, is spot-on, and his portrayal of the bureaucratic tensions within the intelligence community feels ripped from my own debriefs. A high-ranking CIA official reportedly once told staff to read Flynn’s books to think about how to more effectively wage the war on terror, suggesting they were valued for their strategic insights or mindset rather than as formal training manuals. What elevates American Assassin is its focus on the toll of violence: Rapp’s rage and loss mirror the hidden scars many operators carry. This is a thriller that respects the cost of the fight.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight titles that feature wine

Rochelle Dowden-Lord is a writer from south London.

Lush is her first novel.

At Lit Hub the author tagged eight "books that I read for the purpose of writing Lush, and others are simply favorites with wine as a theme or delight within the pages." One title on Dowden-Lord's list:

Bianca Bosker, Cork Dork

This was one of the first books that I read when writing Lush. If you know nothing about sommeliers, this book is the perfect place to start. Bianca Bosker is a wine newbie who throws herself palate-first into the wine industry. We learn about wine with her as she comes to comprehend tasting notes, wine etiquette and the strange and booze-soaked brains of the titular “cork dorks”—oenophiles who are obsessed with not only the taste of wine, but the ceremony of it.

It’s funny and fast-paced, sexy in the way that bottles and bottles of wine facilitate, but also shows snippets of the wine industries dark underbelly, the casual or not-so casual harassment, the danger of a group of people (no matter how wealthy or well-put together) indulging in what is essentially and literally, a drug.

Read about the other entries on the list at Lit Hub.

Also see Jay McInerney's eight top novels for the literate oenophile, John Mullan's ten best wines in literature, and Jamie Ivey's top 10 books about wine.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven novels narrated by sociopaths

Paula Bomer is the author of the new novel The Stalker, which received a starred Publishers Weekly review, calling it “dark and twisted fun.” She is also the author of Tante Eva and Nine Months, the story collections Inside Madeleine and Baby and other Stories, and the essay collection, Mystery and Mortality. Her work has appeared in Bomb Magazine, The Mississippi Review, Fiction Magazine, Los Angeles Review of Books, Green Mountain Review, The Cut, Volume 1 Brooklyn, and elsewhere. Her novels have been translated in Germany, Argentina and Hungary. She grew up in South Bend, Indiana and has lived for over 30 years in Brooklyn.

[Writers Read: Paula Bomer (October 2012); The Page 69 Test: The Stalker]

At Electric Lit Bomer tagged seven "novels that inspired The Stalker and some new titles that are narrated from the point of view of a psychopath." One title on the list:

Ripley’s Game by Patricia Highsmith

I worship Patricia Highsmith’s novels and short stories, her diaries and notebooks. I saw Loving Highsmith, a series of interviews with her lovers, at Film Forum. I can’t get enough of her. Ripley’s Game, focuses on Tom Ripley at a time in his life when he should be content. He is wealthy, married to a woman he adores, and yet when he overhears someone referring to him as having “no taste”, calling him a “philistine” at a party, it sets off his uncanny ability to create a massive storm of terror. The demonization of homosexuality formed Highsmith and informs the character of Ripley. But class is no less salient an issue in the novels by the young woman from Texas who came to New York and garnered great success worldwide. Does a person ever get respect from those in power, if they are not born from it? Will Ripley’s violence ever lead to satisfaction or peace? There are no clear answers, but I love the excruciating pain of reading her novels.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven historical novels that explore the underbelly of the art world

Laura Leffler is a writer and art historian who builds stories within the gorgeous, strange, and sometimes terrifying art world. After receiving a master’s degree in post-war and contemporary art, she spent more than a decade working in commercial galleries, doing everything from art fair sales to condition reporting and logistics. Along the way, she witnessed more of that glittering world’s dark underbelly than she thought possible. Leffler currently lives in Colorado with her family.

Tell Them You Lied is her first novel.

At CrimeReads Leffler tagged seven standout art historical crime novels, including:

The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis

As in all of Davis’s novels, The Magnolia Palace centers on a New York City landmark—this time it is the Frick Museum—and alternates between two timelines. In 1919, artists’ model Lillian Carter, a woman once lauded as the most beautiful in the world, is at an impasse. She is only 21, but her body has changed, ending her career. Her mother is dead and Lillian is alone and without means. She takes a job as a secretary to young Miss Frick, but soon gets accused of murder. Meanwhile, fifty years later, fashion model Veronica agrees to do a photo shoot at the museum, but a winter storm disrupts everything, leaving her stranded and following a trail of clues that will eventually solve the old murder.

Read about the other novels on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five notable books about cults

As a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, New York Times bestselling author Lisa Black analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, and blood as well as other forms of trace evidence. Now she is a Certified Crime Scene Analyst and Certified Latent Print Examiner and for the Cape Coral Police Department in Florida. Black is a member of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, the International Association for Identification, and the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts. She has testified in court as an expert witness and served as a consultant for CourtTV.

She is the author of the Locard Institute series and of the highly acclaimed Gardiner & Renner series, for which she was nominated for the Sue Grafton Memorial Award. Her books have been translated into six languages.

Black's latest title in the Locard Institute series is Not Who We Expected.

[The Page 69 Test: That Darkness; My Book, The Movie: Unpunished; The Page 69 Test: Unpunished; My Book, The Movie: Perish; The Page 69 Test: Perish; The Page 69 Test: Suffer the Children; Writers Read: Lisa Black (July 2020); The Page 69 Test: Every Kind of Wicked; Q&A with Lisa Black; My Book, The Movie: What Harms You; The Page 69 Test: What Harms You; My Book, The Movie: The Deepest Kill; My Book, The Movie: Not Who We Expected; The Page 69 Test: Not Who We Expected]

At The Strand Magazine Black tagged five books that made her want to write about a cult, including:

Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elissa Wall

This is also a story of someone raised from birth in a situation which gradually got worse as Warren Jeffs turned a religious outpost into his personal biosphere. Forced to marry a hated cousin at the age of fourteen, Elissa finally escaped four years later. The day to day details of life in Jeffs’ world are horridly fascinating and sometimes unexpected.

Read about the other entries on the list.

Also see Kate Robards's five essential books about cults, Janice Hallett's five top books on cults, Melanie Abrams's seven novels about crimes in communes, cults, & other alternative communities, Joanna Hershon's seven darkly fascinating books about cults, Claire McGlasson's top ten books about cults, and Sam Jordison's top ten books on cults and religious extremists.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven titles about girls doing crime

Darrow Farr is a Salvadoran American writer. She was a Stegner Fellow in Fiction at Stanford University from 2017 to 2019 and received an MFA in creative writing from the Michener Center at the University of Texas. She was born and raised outside Philadelphia, where she now lives with her husband and son.

The Bombshell is her debut novel.

At Electric Lit she tagged seven novels in which women "don’t resign themselves to injustice, desperation, inattention, or boredom—they change their circumstances. So what if their methods are technically illegal?" One title on the list:

A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar

The plot seems simple enough: Two friends, Penny and Cale. Penny goes missing, Cale looks for her. But this novel is a labyrinth, and as you wend your way through the out of order chapters, bumping into hangman’s puzzles and images of tarot cards and serpents, the book itself begins to feel like an occult object. The crimes committed are far from the most unsettling thing about this story; a sense of disquiet pervades even the most anodyne interactions, and you realize there is nothing simple about these girls’ friendship, their desert town, and the reasons someone might disappear from there.

As quiet, bookish Cale searches for Penny, she encounters the dark sides of the people in town, including Penny herself. However, coming into contact with that darkness doesn’t merely destabilize Cale—in a twisted complication of the coming-of-age narrative, it empowers her.

Read about the other entries on the list at Electric Lit.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five titles that grapple with visions of apocalypse

Martha Park is a writer and illustrator from Memphis, Tennessee. She received an MFA from the Jackson Center for Creative Writing at Hollins University, and was the Spring 2016 Philip Roth Writer-in-Residence at Bucknell University’s Stadler Center for Poetry. She has received fellowships and grants from the Religion & Environment Story Project, the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, and the Economic Hardship Reporting Project.

Her collaborative illustrated journalism has been recognized with an EPPY Award for Best use of Data/Infographics and was a finalist for the Institute for Nonprofit News’ Insight Award for Visual Journalism.

Park’s work has appeared in Orion, Oxford American, The Guardian, Grist, Guernica, The Bitter Southerner, ProPublica, and elsewhere.

Her new book is World Without End: Essays on Apocalypse and After.

At Lit Hub Park tagged five "books that grapple with—and seek to undermine, complicate, and create new meanings from—visions of apocalypse." One title on the list:

The Undertow: Scenes from a Slow Civil War by Jeff Sharlet

The least optimistic book in the list, but the most clear-eyed and clarifying excavation of the Far Right and its spiritual deprivations, from the vacuity of “hipster Christendom” to the red-pilled, “great phallic oversoul” of the manosphere; the conspiratorial gnosticism of Trump devotees and the perverse prosperity gospel of Trump’s rallies where, Sharlet writes, it is as if “loss itself, the very concept of grief, had been disappeared.”

I read The Undertow a couple years ago and there are specific images I have never been able to shake: an emaciated moose covered in glistening ticks, a family cat lying amid a massive pile of guns, a three-year-old child lying on his belly, shooting an automatic rifle. The heaviness is punctuated by Sharlet’s photography, his hysterically funny observations, as well as painfully beautiful meditations on the prophetic imagination of Harry Belafonte and Occupy Wall Street protestors—who Sharlet describes as fools “in the holy tradition, the one that speaks not truth to power but imagination to things as they are.”

Sharlet writes from “the aftermath,” peering into the deepest darkest reaches of a world wrought by the entangled forces of white Christian nationalism, fascism, and authoritarianism. Still, Sharlet draws us forward: “We will need new songs if we are to make it through what is to come—what is already here. I am not the one to write them. My hope is less than that: only that this book may reveal fault lines within our fears, in which others will find better words our children may one day sing.”

Read about the other books on Park's list at Lit Hub.

--Marshal Zeringue

Six mysteries set in international destinations

Jaclyn Goldis is a graduate of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and NYU School of Law. She practiced estate planning law at a large Chicago firm for seven years before leaving her job to travel the world and write novels. After culling her possessions into only what would fit in a backpack, she traveled for over a year until settling in Tel Aviv, where she can often be found writing from cafés near the beach.

Goldis is the author of The Chateau, The Main Character, and The Safari.

At CrimeReads the author tagged six destination thrillers, including:

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie.

No roundup of international destination mysteries would be complete without at least one of the several epic, eligible Christies. Appointment with Death is one of the Queen of Mystery’s most atmospheric and exotic forays, set in both the Old City of Jerusalem and Petra, Jordan. Inspired by Christie’s real-life Middle Eastern expeditions with her archaeologist husband, the featured locales—with their historic and religious backdrops, awe-inspiring, red-rock ruins, warm hospitality, and remote desert landscapes—are infrequently portrayed in modern mysteries and thus all the more intriguing. Here, our favorite Belgian detective must solve the murder of the most detestable woman he’d ever met. Petra’s harsh beauty and remoteness heightens the claustrophobia and serves to exacerbate the characters’ emotional unraveling. Of course, twists and turns abound, while the murderer remains cleverly concealed until Poirot’s little gray cells perform their ingenious analysis of psychological motivations and catalyze a most astonishing unveiling.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight funny novels that satirize the writer’s plight

Ashley Whitaker is a writer from Texas. She received her MFA in Prose from the University of Michigan Helen Zell Writers' Program. Her work has appeared in Tin House, StoryQuarterly, and has received support from the Ragdale Foundation. She lives in Austin with her family.

Whitaker's first novel is Bitter Texas Honey.

At Electric Lit the author tagged eight novels that "satirize their main characters’ literary ambitions. Each ... features a writer main character at varying career stages, battling against their own ego." One title on the list:

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

In Greer’s charming novel, 49-year-old “minor” author Arthur Less accepts a stack of invitations he would usually decline. He jaunts around the globe, to New York, Mexico, Italy, Germany, Japan, and India, to avoid attending, or even being in the same time zone as, the wedding of his longtime ex-lover. Throughout his journey, we are reminded of poor Arthur’s career insecurities. His narrator describes Less early on as “an author too old to be fresh and too young to be rediscovered, one who never sits next to anyone on a plane who has heard of his books.” Despite his perceived worldly failures, it is hard not to fall in love with Arthur Less by the end of this tenderhearted novel.

Read about the other novels on the list.

Less is among Olivia Wolfgang-Smith’s eight contemporary novels with omniscient narrators and Gnesis Villar's seven novels about the struggle of being a writer and Sarah Skilton's six novel novels about novelists.

--Marshal Zeringue