• River of the Gods by Candice Millard
• An Immense World by Ed Yong
• The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
• Joan is OK by Weike Wang
• Lucy by the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
• Underland by Robert Macfarlane
• Horse by Geraldine Brooks
• Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez
• The End of Drum-Time by Hanna Pylvainen

This work of non-fiction tells the story of the 1854 British expedition to locate the source of the Nile River. New York Times: "River of the Gods is a lean, fast-paced account of the almost absurdly dangerous quest by those two friends turned enemies, Richard Burton and John Speke, to solve the geographic riddle of their era." Wall Street Journal: "The centerpiece of Ms. Millard's book goes beyond harrowing and into the ghastly." Washington Post: "Perhaps as a corrective to the Anglocentrism of earlier accounts, she brings a third figure into the foreground: Sidi Mubarak Bombay, a formerly enslaved African who acted as guide and interpreter for Burton, Speke and several other explorers over the years."

A forty-two-minute interview with the author about this book at the Library of Congress.

Several reviews of the book.

The Wikipedia articles on Richard Burton, John Speke, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, and Isabel Burton.

In 1865, Richard Burton published Wit and Wisdom from West Africa: Or, A Book of Proverbial Philosophy, Idioms, Enigmas, and Laconisms. In 1885, he published his translation of the controversial The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, more often called The Arabian Nights.

In 1876, Isabel Burton published The Inner Life of Syria, Palestine, and the Holy Land.

A three-minute video about the massive Nile River basin.

Reviews of the book.

The Wikipedia article about the author.

The author's website.

A forty-eight-minute video interview with the author about this book.

A thirteen-minute video of a TED talk by Daniel Kish, a blind person who navigates the world by listening for the echo he generates by clicking with his tongue.

A five-minute video about treehoppers, insects that communicate by vibrating the plants they are standing on.

A six-minute BBC video about echolocation.

On page 215, the author says that kangaroo rats hear so well they can detect a rattlesnake in the process of striking. Here is a two-minute video from National Geographic that shows the resulting escapes.

This work of historical fiction centers on the 1909 free speech fight in Spokane, Washington as two orphaned brothers become involved with the radical Industrial Workers of the World. One brother is pressured to switch his loyalties to the local power broker in exchange for the other's release from prison. Many of the characters are based on real people.

The author's website features a must-see video of the author narrating "The Cold Millions - A Literary Tour". It explains a lot about old Spokane.

Several reviews of the novel.

The Wikipedia articles about the Spokane free speech fight, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn and the Industrial Workers of the World.

The National Endowment for the Arts made this novel part of their "Big Read" program. Their web page about the book includes a summary of its content, a biographical sketch of the author, and list of discussion questions.

A short interview with the author in the form of 21 questions ands answers.

A hour-long video of Jess Walter in discussion with Amor Towles, another author, about The Cold Millions.

Joan is a workaholic doctor who flies to Shanghai for her father's funeral and returns before the weekend is over so she won't miss any shifts. Her mother then travels to the U.S. just before the pandemic hits, despite the lack of a driver's license and a good command of English. New York Times: "Joan ... is solitary, literal-minded and extremely awkward - all of which contribute to the hilarity of this novel."

The Wikipedia article on the author.

The author's website.

Several reviews of the novel.

A one-hour video of an interview with the author. Fast forward to the five minute mark for the beginning of the interview.

Joan's brother had a huge home in Greenwich, Connecticut. Here is a collection of images of the mansions there.

As the covid lockdowns begin, Lucy Barton is taken by her ex-husband William, who is still her friend, from Manhattan to a little house in a little town in Maine, where they stay for several months and try to deal with their complex past lives. This is the fourth novel in which Strout features Lucy Barton. Irish Times: "If, like me, you find you're 'over Covid', to the extent that you've no interest in reading a fictional retelling, Lucy by the Sea will change your mind ... The strangeness of the pandemic is made fresh through the kind of considered detail and clarity of insight that is so often missing in the moment." The author won the Pulitzer Prize for a previous novel.

Several reviews of the book.

The Wikipedia article about the author.

The author's web site.

A forty-five minute video interview the author about this book. Fair warning: the sound fades in and out.

Toward the end of the book (page 277), Lucy and her two daughters meet at the duck pond in Central Park in Manhatten.

An article in the New Yorker called "Elizbeth Strout's Long Homecoming" that discusses her rural, small-town roots.

In this work of non-fiction, the author explores a variety of subterranean landscapes. His thrilling and sometimes dangerous journies are accompanied by philosopical reflections on the places he visits. The Guardian: "There is throughout a transcendent beauty to Macfarlane's prose, and occasional moments of epiphany and even ecstasy ... One of the most ambitious works of narrative non-fiction of our age." The Guardian named it one of "100 Best Books of the 21st Century."

The Wikipedia article about the author and this this book.

Several reviews of the book.

Eight-minute BBC video interview with Merlin Sheldrake (page 91) about fungi.

Detailed map of the Paris catacombs (page 129). Click on it, twice if necessary, for an astonishingly detailed view.

On page 161, the author mentions a 38-minute film about undercity explorers called "Crack the Surface".

The Wikipedia article on the Skocjan Caves, with photos (page 186).

On page 280, the author talks about the prehistoric wall paintings in a cave in France.

On page 404, the author talks about the Kalevala, a Finnish epic poem, which partly takes place in the underland. This half-hour video presents a small portion of the poem. Unfortunately it does not include the part about the underland, but it does provide a good sample of how the poem would have been performed in ancient times.

MacFarlane's first book, Mountains of the Mind, a history of the human fascination with mountains, has been made into a full-length movie. It is available for free on YouTube, but it has lots of ads.

One of McFarland's tasks was to deeply bury an object created carried by sculptor Steve Dilworth. Here are some of his works.

This novel centers on a painting of a famous racehorse and the imagined life of his groom, an African American held in slavery in Kentucky before the Civil War. Part of the story takes place in the mid-1800s, part in the 1950s and part in the present day.

Here is "Richard Singleton with Viley's Harry, Charles and Lew by Edward Troye, the painting mentioned on pages 36 and 56. It seems to me that the author confused some of its details in her description of the painting on page 56.

This review of the book includes another painting of Lexington by Troye.

Reviews of the book.

The Wikipedia article on Lexington includes another painting of him by Troye. It also includes a photo that is probably the one discussed on page 86.

The Wikipedia article on Geraldine Brooks.

This article in Smithsonian magazine explains how the skeleton of Lexington came to be overlooked in the museum's vast archives. It also shows a painting of Lexington by Scott.

The article on the Metairie Race Course includes a painting of its impressive stadium.

A seven-minute PBS video interview of the author about this book. If you want one with more detail, this one lasts 48 minutes. The interview itself begins at about the five minute mark.

During this month, we traditionally discuss the book chosen by Writers & Books for their "Rochester Reads" program. This year's selection is Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez.

The Writers & Books website has information about the author and this year's programs. Here is their description of this novel: "Set in New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, Gonzalez's novel explores the event's intersection with other storms we weather: familial strife, political corruption, and reaching for the elusive American dream.

Reviews of the book.

Wikipedia has articles about the author and this novel.

A one-minute video and a one-hour video of the author discussing her book.

Both of Olga's parents had been members of the Young Lords.

The Wikipedia articles on Puerto Rico, "stateside" Puerto Ricans (those who live in one of the fifty states), Hurricane Maria, and the Puerto Rico Status Act, which is proposed federal legislation to settle the status of Puerto Rico.

"Mad Lasse" Laestadius, the preacher, was a real person. The author herself was raised in a conservative sect called called Laestadianism, which is based on his teachings.

Wikipedia articles about the author and the book.

Reviews of the book.

A very helpful 52-minute video discussion of this book with Hanna Pylvainen and Julia Phillips, the author of Disappearing Earth, which LAVA read in 2020. The interview begins at the five minute mark.

Wikipedia articles on the Sami peoples, siida, lavvu and noaidi.

A three-minute BBC video about herding raindeer.

On their way to the sea, the raindeer herders passed by Saana mountain.

The Sami museum in northern Sweden.

The five best things do in Sami country, according to National Geographic.

A short article about the revitalization of yoiking in recent years. Here two modern yoiks, the Yoik of the Wind and Daniels Jojk.

In 1986, the Sami people agreed on a Sami anthem.