“Call me… call me whatever you like. I’ve had many names over the years. Did you think I was going to say Ishmael? Or actually tell you my real name? Not today. Maybe not tomorrow, either. I bet you’re wondering how a cat knows about Moby-Dick. Especially the tortoiseshell cat sealed in the box inContinue reading “CAT LOVE – Tomás Q. Morín”
Author Archives: Tommi Powell
BLACK BAG – Luke Kennard
“I’m sure this comes up somewhere in Revelation.” “You try not to become a full-blown alcoholic,” she says. “Fetishize small pleasures. A good water bottle. A first edition of a novel you like. A really good cup of coffee. The crack as a needle hits the record.” “I have measured out my life in coffeesContinue reading “BLACK BAG – Luke Kennard”
THE PALM HOUSE – Gwendoline Riley
“As long as it’s not boring. That’s our motto now.” Set in London in 2017, The Palm House by Gwendoline Riley is my least favorite Booker read to date. I’ve never read Riley before, but I have seen some comparisons drawn between her and Rachel Cusk. That tracks. I don’t like either. It’s a writingContinue reading “THE PALM HOUSE – Gwendoline Riley”
THE GREAT WHEREVER – Shannon Sanders
“Because who wants to be known as some kind of ho-bag haunt.” Shannon Sanders’s debut novel The Great Wherever (Henry Holt 2026) might be my favorite ghost story of the year – it certainly has a couple of my favorite ghosts. The novel opens with Aubrey Lamb getting dumped. She was already floundering a bit,Continue reading “THE GREAT WHEREVER – Shannon Sanders”
SOME PEOPLE – Parini Shroff
“We’re all just people, trying. We’re all eggshells, walking around trying not to bump into shit that will break us.” I really enjoyed Parini Shroff’s The Bandit Queens, so I was eager to read the follow-up novel, Some People (Ballantine Books 2026). While it is a very different book from The Bandit Queens, the writingContinue reading “SOME PEOPLE – Parini Shroff”
THE DAFFODIL DAYS – Helen Bain
Helen Bain’s debut novel, The Daffodil Days (Scribner 2026), would have been on my Booker Longlist predictions had I read it earlier. (It would likely have replaced A Beautiful Loan.) And while it’s too late for me to change those predictions, I will stand ten toes down behind this novel. Edgar Lee Masters’ Spoon RiverContinue reading “THE DAFFODIL DAYS – Helen Bain”
The Pōhaku – Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes
“Death has been chasing this story for generations, trying to kill it.” The Pōhaku by Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes (HarperCollins 2026) has all the elements of the type of story I love: family saga, a storytelling tradition, and a bit of magic realism. Add the fact it is about the Hawaiian people and boasts a stunningContinue reading “The Pōhaku – Jasmin ‘Iolani Hakes”
NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED – Yu-Mei Balasingamchow
Love a true crime podcast / tiktok live cross over? You’ll enjoy Yu-Mei Balasingamchow’s Names Have Been Changed (Tiny Reparations Books 2026). The novel is set at the tail end of the Covid and told over the course of a little over a month as a “confessional podcast.” As indicated by the title, names haveContinue reading “NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED – Yu-Mei Balasingamchow”
WHISTLER – Ann Patchett
“Your mother and I both have a small shard of glass in our hearts where the other is concerned: her disappointment, my shame, her regret and my regret.” “Because in the book, I don’t die. In the book, we’re sitting on this bench, talking about a book about the two of us, and then theContinue reading “WHISTLER – Ann Patchett”
SHOULD THE WATERS TAKE US – Stephanie Soileau
I love a family saga, and when the publisher sent me Stephanie Soileau’s Should the Waters Take Us (Doubleday 2026 – thanks for the copy! I wish I’d gotten this out sooner – the book was released 7/14/2026!), I was thrilled. Family saga spanning centuries and set primarily in the Louisiana bayou? Yes, please. Let’sContinue reading “SHOULD THE WATERS TAKE US – Stephanie Soileau”
A Girl Named Tommi 