Kate’s 2¢: “Sunrise on the reaping: Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

“Sunrise on the reaping: Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Jefferson White did a good job of narrating this disturbing story. I thought reading about the gladiators fighting each other and the lions eating Christians  was bad enough, but this is even worse – children slaughtering children. Ugh!

   I could, however, appreciate the very innovative drones of flesh-eating squirrels, bats, geese, and even evil butterflies. The technology and innovations that went into developing the arena and tagging chip each ‘tribute’ to track them was amazing.

   I can understand the fascination young adult readers would have with the gore and guts of the hunt, but would they come away with the bigger picture?

 A few take-aways:

–Ma wastes nothing.

–The law demands that we atone when we take things we do not own, but leaves the Lords and Ladies fine, who take things that are yours and mine.

–First avoid the slaughter,  get weapons, look for water find food and where to sleep, fire and friends can keep; get away from the cornucopia.

–Sometimes the only thing you can control is your attitude to a situation.

–We never really recover. Just move on as best we can.

–A horn of plenty for the few; desperation for many.  Destruction for all.

–Their lack of discernment transformed the re-cap, validating it as truth…Propaganda.

–I love you like all fire!

From the web:

Suzanne Collins is an acclaimed American author best known for her bestselling young adult series, “The Hunger Games,” which has had a significant impact on contemporary literature.

Biography

Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, in Hartford, Connecticut. She is the youngest of four children in a military family, which led her to move frequently during her childhood, spending time in both the United States and Europe. Collins graduated from the Alabama School of Fine Arts and later earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Indiana University in 1985, followed by a Master of Fine Arts in dramatic writing from New York University in 1989. View source at wikipedia.org

Career Highlights

Collins began her career in television, writing for various children’s shows, including “Clarissa Explains It All” and “Clifford’s Puppy Days.” Her experience in television writing influenced her storytelling style, which is evident in her novels. View source at britannica.com

She gained widespread recognition with her “The Hunger Games” trilogy, which includes:

•

The Hunger Games (2008)

•

Catching Fire (2009)

•

Mockingjay (2010)

The series is set in a dystopian future and follows the story of Katniss Everdeen, who becomes a symbol of rebellion against an oppressive regime. The books have been adapted into a successful film series, further increasing their popularity. View source at wikipedia.org

In addition to “The Hunger Games,” Collins wrote “The Underland Chronicles,” a children’s fantasy series that includes “Gregor the Overlander” (2003) and its sequels, which explore themes of adventure and survival in a subterranean world. View source at wikipedia.org

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Sunrise on the reaping DB127954

Collins, Suzanne. Reading time: 12 hours, 52 minutes.

Read by White, Jefferson.

Science Fiction

Adventure

Young Adult

“When you’ve been set upto lose everything you love,what is there left to fight for? As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. Back in District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying not to think too hard about his chances. All he cares about is making it through the day and being with the girl he loves. When Haymitch’s name is called, he can feel all his dreams break. He’s torn from his family and his love, shuttled to the Capitol with the three other District 12 tributes: a young friend who’s nearly a sister to him, a compulsive oddsmaker, and the most stuck-up girl in town. As the Games begin, Haymitch understands he’s been set up to fail. But there’s something in him that wants to fight…and have that fight reverberate far beyond the deadly arena.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. For senior high and older readers.

Downloaded: May 11, 2025

Download Sunrise on the reaping

Kate’s 2¢: “The wide, wide sea: imperial ambition, first contact, and the fateful, final voyage

 “The wide, wide sea: imperial ambition, first contact, and the fateful, final voyage

   of Captain James Cook” by Hampton Sides

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Peter Noble  did a good job of narrating this lengthy historic novel.

AI Overview

Hampton Sides is a non-fiction writer and journalist known for his narrative histories, including “Ghost Soldiers”, “Blood and Thunder”, and “Hellhound on His Trail”. He is also an editor-at-large for Outside magazine and has written for publications like National Geographic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wade Hampton Sides (born 1962) is an American historian, author and journalist. He is the author of Hellhound on His Trail, Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, On Desperate Ground, and other bestselling works of narrative history and literary non-fiction.

Sides is editor-at-large for Outside magazine and has written for such periodicals as National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Esquire, Men’s Journal, The American Scholar, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post. His magazine work, collected in numerous published anthologies, has been twice nominated for National Magazine Awards for feature writing.[4]

Early life[edit]

A native of Memphis, Sides attended PDS Memphis[2] and Memphis University School, and graduated from Yale with a BA in history. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Colorado College.[5] Sides lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife Anne Goodwin Sides, a journalist and former NPR editor.

Career[edit]

Sides is a past fellow of the Santa Fe Institute, Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Japan Society, and has been an Edwards Media Fellow at Stanford University.

He is a member of the Society of American Historians and serves on the boards of the Authors Guild and the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. Sides has guest-lectured at Columbia, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech, the Autry National Center of the American West, the American Embassy in Manila, the National World War II Museum, the Chautauqua Institution, the Explorers Club, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, and the Google campus, among other venues and institutions. He has appeared as a guest on such national broadcasts as the American Experience, the Today show, Book TV, the History Channel, Fresh Air, CNN, CBS Sunday Morning, The Colbert Report, and NPR’s All Things Considered.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Cook DB120831

Sides, Hampton Reading time: 15 hours, 46 minutes.

Peter Noble

Biography

Adventure

Travel

World History and Affairs

“From New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, an epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science–the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native people he encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment. Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook’s intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook’s overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter. At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration, THE WIDE WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Download The wide wide sea: imperial ambition, first contact and the fateful final voyage of Captain James Cook DB120831

  of Captain James Cook” by Hampton Sides

“The wide, wide sea: imperial ambition, first contact, and the fateful, final voyage

   of Captain James Cook” by Hampton Sides

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Peter Noble  did a good job of narrating this lengthy historic novel.

AI Overview

Hampton Sides is a non-fiction writer and journalist known for his narrative histories, including “Ghost Soldiers”, “Blood and Thunder”, and “Hellhound on His Trail”. He is also an editor-at-large for Outside magazine and has written for publications like National Geographic, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Wade Hampton Sides (born 1962) is an American historian, author and journalist. He is the author of Hellhound on His Trail, Ghost Soldiers, Blood and Thunder, On Desperate Ground, and other bestselling works of narrative history and literary non-fiction.

Sides is editor-at-large for Outside magazine and has written for such periodicals as National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The New Yorker, Esquire, Men’s Journal, The American Scholar, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post. His magazine work, collected in numerous published anthologies, has been twice nominated for National Magazine Awards for feature writing.[4]

Early life[edit]

A native of Memphis, Sides attended PDS Memphis[2] and Memphis University School, and graduated from Yale with a BA in history. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in humane letters from Colorado College.[5] Sides lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife Anne Goodwin Sides, a journalist and former NPR editor.

Career[edit]

Sides is a past fellow of the Santa Fe Institute, Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony, and the Japan Society, and has been an Edwards Media Fellow at Stanford University.

He is a member of the Society of American Historians and serves on the boards of the Authors Guild and the Mayborn Literary Nonfiction Conference. Sides has guest-lectured at Columbia, Yale, Stanford, Cal Tech, the Autry National Center of the American West, the American Embassy in Manila, the National World War II Museum, the Chautauqua Institution, the Explorers Club, the Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, and the Google campus, among other venues and institutions. He has appeared as a guest on such national broadcasts as the American Experience, the Today show, Book TV, the History Channel, Fresh Air, CNN, CBS Sunday Morning, The Colbert Report, and NPR’s All Things Considered.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Cook DB120831

Sides, Hampton Reading time: 15 hours, 46 minutes.

Peter Noble

Biography

Adventure

Travel

World History and Affairs

“From New York Times bestselling author Hampton Sides, an epic account of the most momentous voyage of the Age of Exploration, which culminated in Captain James Cook’s death in Hawaii, and left a complex and controversial legacy still debated to this day. On July 12th, 1776, Captain James Cook, already lionized as the greatest explorer in British history, set off on his third voyage in his ship the HMS Resolution. Two-and-a-half years later, on a beach on the island of Hawaii, Cook was killed in a conflict with native Hawaiians. How did Cook, who was unique among captains for his respect for Indigenous peoples and cultures, come to that fatal moment? Hampton Sides’ bravura account of Cook’s last journey both wrestles with Cook’s legacy and provides a thrilling narrative of the titanic efforts and continual danger that characterized exploration in the 1700s. Cook was renowned for his peerless seamanship, his humane leadership, and his dedication to science–the famed naturalist Joseph Banks accompanied him on his first voyage, and Cook has been called one of the most important figures of the Age of Enlightenment. He was also deeply interested in the native people he encountered. In fact, his stated mission was to return a Tahitian man, Mai, who had become the toast of London, to his home islands. On previous expeditions, Cook mapped huge swaths of the Pacific, including the east coast of Australia, and initiated first European contact with numerous peoples. He treated his crew well, and endeavored to learn about the societies he encountered with curiosity and without judgment. Yet something was different on this last voyage. Cook became mercurial, resorting to the lash to enforce discipline, and led his two vessels into danger time and again. Uncharacteristically, he ordered violent retaliation for perceived theft on the part of native peoples. This may have had something to do with his secret orders, which were to chart and claim lands before Britain’s imperial rivals could, and to discover the fabled Northwest Passage. Whatever Cook’s intentions, his scientific efforts were the sharp edge of the colonial sword, and the ultimate effects of first contact were catastrophic for Indigenous people around the world. The tensions between Cook’s overt and covert missions came to a head on the shores of Hawaii. His first landing there was harmonious, but when Cook returned after mapping the coast of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, his exploitative treatment of the Hawaiians led to the fatal encounter. At once a ferociously-paced story of adventure on the high seas and a searching examination of the complexities and consequences of the Age of Exploration, THE WIDE WIDE SEA is a major work from one of our finest narrative nonfiction writers”– Provided by publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Download The wide wide sea: imperial ambition, first contact and the fateful final voyage of Captain James Cook DB120831

Kate’s 2¢: “The Midnight Feast” A Novel” by Lucy Foley

“The Midnight Feast” A Novel” by Lucy Foley

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   The multiple readers did a great job of narrating this very interesting, yet disturbing novel. Foley’s technique of slices of time interspersed with each other moved the narrative along and kept me reading. I like the fast pace at the ending of the story and the conclusion.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lucy Foley (born 16 August 1986 in Sussex, England) is a British author of contemporary, historical fiction and mystery novels. Her novels The Paris Apartment and The Guest List are New York Times best sellers.[1]

Education[edit]

Foley studied English literature at University College London and Durham University.[2]

Career[edit]

Foley worked as an editor at Headline Publishing Group and Hodder & Stoughton before writing full-time.

The Guest List (2020)[edit]

The Guest List is a thriller novel published on 2 June 2020 by William Morrow. The book is a New York Times[1] and Washington Post best-seller.[3]

The Guest List received a starred review from Library Journal,[4] as well as positive reviews from Booklist,[5] The New York Times Book Review,[1] Good Housekeeping,[6] Marie Claire,[7] The Washington Post,[8] Buzzfeed,[9] Harper’s Bazaar,[10] Shelf Awareness,[10] and PopSugar.[11] Publishers Weekly[12] provided a mixed review.

The book also received the following accolades:

• New York Times Best Thrillers of 2020[13]

• Goodreads Choice Award for Mystery & Thriller (2020)[14]

• CWA Gold Dagger Award Longlist (2020)[15]

The Paris Apartment (2022)[edit]

The Paris Apartment was published on 22 February 2022. It is a mystery/thriller novel. The book was named one of the most anticipated books of the year by Goodreads[16] and Good Housekeeping.[17]

Bibliography[edit]

• The Book of Lost and Found (2015)

• The Invitation (2016)

• Last Letter from Istanbul (2018)

• The Hunting Party (2019)[18]

• The Guest List (2020)[19]

• The Paris Apartment (2022)

• The Midnight Feast (2024)[20]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

The midnight feast: a novel DB122574

Foley, Lucy, (Novelist) Reading time: 10 hours, 24 minutes.

Tuppence Middleton; Laurence Dobiesz; Roly Botha; Sarah Slimani; Joe Eyre

Suspense Fiction

Mystery and Detective Stories

Psychological Fiction

Bestsellers

“It’s the opening night of The Manor, and no expense, small or large, has been spared. The infinity pool sparkles; crystal pouches for guests’ healing have been placed in the Seaside Cottages and Woodland Hutches; the “Manor Mule” cocktail (grapefruit, ginger, vodka, and a dash of CBD oil) is being poured with a heavy hand. Everyone is wearing linen. And yet, outside The Manor’s immaculately kept grounds, and ancient forest bristles with secrets. The local community resents what they see as the Manor’s intrusion into the local woods and attempts to privatize the beach, and small skirmishes have erupted on the edges of the property between locals and the staff. And the whispers keep coming, about an old piece of pagan folklore–it must be folklore–the Night Birds, an avenging force that can be called upon to make right wrongs that elude the law. Though surely everything at the Manor has been done aboveboard. On the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called. There’s been a fire. A body’s been discovered. Something’s not right with the guests. What happened on the grounds of the Manor the past 36 hours? And who–or what–is the cause? Everyone has an agenda. Everyone has a past. But not everyone will survive…The Midnight Feast.”– From publisher. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. Bestseller.

Kate’s 2¢: “Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen

“Hatchet” by Gary Paulsen

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   I down-loaded this book from Bookshare® and Benetech.

 The digital recording had several word and phrase repetitions I thought odd, but maybe it was just the way of the recording and not what the author actually wrote.

I will be down-loading the NLS/BARD.LOC version of this story, read by Gary Tipton  to compare the presentations.

   Overall, I enjoyed the story. There are other books related to Brian’s adventure.

AI Overview

Gary Paulsen (1939-2021) was a prolific and award-winning American author known for his children’s and young adult fiction, particularly his wilderness survival stories. He wrote over 200 books and was recognized for his contribution to young adult literature with the Margaret Edwards Award in 1997. 

Gary James Paulsen (May 17, 1939 – October 13, 2021) was an American writer of children’s and young adult fiction, best known for coming-of-age stories about the wilderness. He was the author of more than 200 books and wrote more than 200 magazine articles and short stories, and several plays, all primarily for teenagers. He won the Margaret Edwards Award from the American Library Association in 1997 for his lifetime contribution in writing for teens.[1]

Early life[edit]

Gary Paulsen was born on May 17, 1939, in Minneapolis to Oscar Paulsen and Eunice Paulsen, née Moen.[2] His father was a career army officer who departed soon after Gary’s birth to join General Patton’s staff. Gary next saw his father at age 7 when he and his mother sailed to the Philippines to join him at his army base. He and his mother lived in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.[3] When Gary was 4, his mother took him to live in Chicago. Before World War II ended, she sent him to live with relatives on a farm for a year.[4]

He wrote some fragmented autobiographical works describing his early life, such as Eastern Sun, Winter Moon: An Autobiographical Odyssey. The book, which is written in the first person, begins when he was seven, living in Chicago with his mother. Paulsen described several traumatic occurrences that transpired during the three years that are chronicled by the book. For example, one day while his mother was napping, Gary sneaked outside to play. There a vagrant snatched him and attempted to molest him, but his mother suddenly appeared on the scene and beat the man.[5] Paulsen reported an affair his mother had in Eastern Sun. He also wrote about his mother’s alcoholism.[6]

When World War II ended, Gary’s father sent for him and his mother to come to join him in the Philippines, where he was stationed. A great part of the book Eastern Sun, Winter Moon is dedicated to the voyage by naval vessels (liberty ships) to the Philippines. During the trip, Gary witnessed a plane crash. He, his mother, and the people who were also being transported on this liberty ship looked on as many of the airplane’s passengers were killed or maimed by the sharks that would follow the ship consuming waste. His mother, the only woman aboard, helped the ship’s corpsman care for the surviving victims. After arriving in Hawaii, according to Paulsen, his mother began an affair with the corpsman.[7]

In elementary school, he was quite deficient at literacy class and struggled with it. The accounts in Eastern Sun ended when Gary and his mother left Manila.

Bits and pieces of Gary’s adolescence can be cobbled together in Guts: The True Stories Behind Hatchet and the Brian Books. In that book, Paulsen discusses how he survived between the ages of twelve and fourteen back in Minnesota. He barely mentions his parents except to say that they were too busy being drunk to stock the refrigerator. He worked several jobs during this time, including setting pins at a bowling alley, delivering newspapers, and working as a farmhand. He bought his own school supplies and a .22 single-shot rifle, which he used to hunt for sustenance. Eventually, he gave up the rifle and manufactured his own bow and arrows, which he used to hunt deer.[8]

Paulsen graduated from Lincoln High School in Thief River Falls, Minnesota.[9] He attended Bemidji State University, but dropped out. He served in the U.S. Army between 1959 and 1962, attaining the rank of sergeant while working with missiles. His army service brought him to New Mexico for a while, a place in which he later chose to settle.[2]

From BOOKSHARE:

Synopsis

When a 13 year old city boy crash lands in the Canadian wilderness all he is left with is a hatchet – and the need to survive. From then on he learns everything the hard way…

Copyright:1991

Book Details

Book Quality: Publisher Quality

Book Size: 160 Pages

ISBN-13:

9780330310451

Publisher: London : Piper

Date of Addition: 08/31/19

Copyrighted By: London : Piper

Adult content: No

Language: English

Has Image Descriptions: No

Categories: Teens, Literature and Fiction

Grade Levels: Year 5 – KS2, Year 6 – KS2, Year 7 – 1st Form – KS3, Year 8 – 2nd Form – KS3, Year 9 – 3rd Form – KS3

Reading Age: 13–17

Submitted By: Bookshare Staff

Usage Restrictions: This is a copyrighted book.

 Reviews No Rating Yet

Contact Us

Bookshare® and Benetech® are registered trademarks of Beneficent Technology, Inc. This website is © Copyright 2002-2025, Beneficent Technology, Inc.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Hatchet DB30535

Paulsen, Gary Reading time: 4 hours, 17 minutes.

Gary Tipton A production of the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, Library of Congress.

Adventure

Brian, thirteen and troubled by his parent’s divorce, is flying in a single-engine plane to visit his father. As Brian is the only passenger, the pilot casually shows him how to fly the plane. When the pilot has a heart attack and dies, Brian must take control. After the plane crashes in the Canadian wilderness, Brian has only the hatchet attached to his belt to help him survive. For grades 6-9 and older readers.

Kate’s 2¢: “State of paradise: a novel” by Laura Van den Berg

“State of paradise: a novel” by Laura Van den Berg

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

    Megan Tusing Did a good job of narrating this weird, but interesting tale of reality and a parallel universe. NLS sent this to me on a cartridge of seven books.

AI Overview

Laura van den Berg is a fiction author, short story writer, and professor known for her works exploring themes of memory, identity, and place. She is the author of five works of fiction, including the novel The Third Hotel and the short story collection I Hold a Wolf by the Ears. Van den Berg lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband, Paul Yoon, and their dog, Oscar, and is a Senior Lecturer on Fiction at Harvard University. 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

lauravandenberg.com

Laura van den Berg (born May 31, 1983) is an American fiction writer.[1] She is the author of five works of fiction. Her first two collections of short stories were each shortlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, in 2010 and 2014. In 2021, she was awarded the Strauss Livings Award from the American Academy of Arts & Letters and a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Biography[edit]

Laura van den Berg was born and raised in Florida. She has a BA from Rollins College (2005) and an M.F.A. from Emerson College. Her stories have been published in The Paris Review, McSweeney’s, BOMB, Virginia Quarterly Review, Conjunctions, American Short Fiction, Ploughshares, Glimmer Train and One Story.

Her first collection of short stories, What the World Will Look Like When All the Water Leaves Us, was published in 2009, and her second collection, The Isle of Youth, was published in 2013.[2][3] A third short story collection, I Hold a Wolf by the Ears, was published in 2020.[4]

Her other books include two novels, Find Me (2015) and The Third Hotel (2018),[5] which was a finalist for the Young Lions Fiction Award. Van den Berg has also published a chapbook of flash fiction, There Will Be No More Good Nights Without Good Nights (2012).[6]

Van den Berg lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts with her husband, Paul Yoon.[7][8]

She is currently a senior lecturer at Harvard University in the English Department.[9]

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

State of paradise: a novel DB122955

Van den Berg, Laura Reading time: 5 hours, 37 minutes.

Megan Tusing

Suspense Fiction

General

“It’s another summer in a small Florida town. After an illness that vanishes as mysteriously as it arrived, everything appears to be getting back to normal: soul-crushing heat, torrential downpours, sinkholes swallowing the earth, ominous cats, a world-bending virtual reality device being handed out by a company called ELECTRA, and an increasing number of posters dotting the streets with the faces of missing citizens. Living in her mother’s home, a ghostwriter for a famous thriller author tracks the eerie changes. On top of everything else, she’s contending with family secrets, spotty memories of her troubled youth, a burgeoning cult in the living room, and the alarming expansion of her own belly button. Then, during a violent rainstorm, her sister goes missing. She returns a few days later, sprawled on their mother’s lawn and speaking of another dimension. Now the ghostwriter must investigate not only what happened to her sister and the other missing people but also the uncanny connections between ELECTRA, the famous author she works for, and reality itself. A sticky, rain-soaked reckoning with the elusive nature of selfhood and storytelling, Laura van den Berg’s State of Paradise is an intricate and page-turning whirlwind. With inimitable control and thrilling style, van den Berg reaches deep into the void and returns with a story far stranger than either reality or fiction.”– Amazon.com. Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Kate’s 2¢: “Silk: a world history” BY Aarathi Prasad

“Silk: a world history” BY Aarathi Prasad

NOTE: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as, describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ shares her thoughts about what she’s read. In her opinion…

   Hannah Curtis  did a great job of narrating this book. NLS sent this to me on a cartridge of seven books. I read the title and thought: ho hum. Another boring history text.

   I found the style of writing engaging and the subjects of domestic silkworms, Wild Butterfly silk, sea silk, spider threads, and usage of other animal fibers kept my interest. I enjoyed meeting the extraordinary people and where their life-time passions took them. Fascinating!

   This was not another boring history text…If only a new silk blouse didn’t cost so much.

From the web:

Aarathi Prasad is a writer, broadcaster, and researcher. Born in London to an Indian mother who wore only silk saris and a Caribbean father who loved the natural world, Aarathi was educated in the West Indies and the UK.

from www.bookpage.com

Biologist Aarathi Prasad spins a fascinating history of a familiar fabric. Driven by obsession, Prasad records what silk can teach us about medicine, culture  and so much more.

From NLS/BARD/LOC:

Silk: a world history DB122831

Prasad, Aarathi Reading time: 11 hours, 47 minutes.

Hannah Curtis

Science and Technology

Animals and Wildlife

World History and Affairs

“In a gorgeous history that spans continents and millennia, Aarathi Prasad weaves together the complex story of the queen of fabrics. Through the scientists who have studied silk, and the biology of the animals from which it has been drawn, Prasad explores the global, natural, and cultural history (and future) of a unique material that has fascinated the world for thousands of years”– Provided by publisher Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Download Silk: a world history DB122831