Pg. 99: Jeremy Brown's "June Fourth"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: June Fourth: The Tiananmen Protests and Beijing Massacre of 1989 by Jeremy Brown.

About the book, from the publisher:

The Tiananmen protests and Beijing massacre of 1989 were a major turning point in recent Chinese history. In this new analysis of 1989, Jeremy Brown tells the vivid stories of participants and victims, exploring the nationwide scope of the democracy movement and the brutal crackdown that crushed it. At each critical juncture in the spring of 1989, demonstrators and decision makers agonized over difficult choices and saw how events could have unfolded differently. The alternative paths that participants imagined confirm that bloodshed was neither inevitable nor necessary. Using a wide range of previously untapped sources and examining how ordinary citizens throughout China experienced the crackdown after the massacre, this ambitious social history sheds fresh light on events that continue to reverberate in China to this day.

Visit Jeremy Brown's website.

The Page 99 Test: City Versus Countryside in Mao's China.

The Page 99 Test: June Fourth.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Renée Rosen's "The Social Graces"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: The Social Graces by Renée Rosen.

About the book, from the publisher:

The author of Park Avenue Summer throws back the curtain on one of the most remarkable feuds in history: Alva Vanderbilt and the Mrs. Astor’s notorious battle for control of New York society during the Gilded Age.

1876. In the glittering world of Manhattan’s upper crust, women are valued by their pedigree, dowry, and, most importantly, connections. They have few rights and even less independence—what they do have is society. The more celebrated the hostess, the more powerful the woman. And none is more powerful than Caroline Astor—the Mrs. Astor.

But times are changing.

Alva Vanderbilt has recently married into one of America’s richest families. But what good is dizzying wealth when society refuses to acknowledge you? Alva, who knows what it is to have nothing, will do whatever it takes to have everything.

Sweeping three decades and based on true events, this is the mesmerizing story of two fascinating, complicated women going head to head, behaving badly, and discovering what’s truly at stake.

Visit Renée Rosen's website, blog, and Facebook page.

The Page 99 Test: Every Crooked Pot.

My Book, The Movie: Dollface.

The Page 69 Test: Dollface.

The Page 69 Test: What the Lady Wants.

My Book, The Movie: What the Lady Wants.

Writers Read: Renée Rosen (February 2017).

My Book, The Movie: Windy City Blues.

The Page 69 Test: Windy City Blues.

The Page 69 Test: The Social Graces.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven suspenseful novels that examine immigrant identity

Zhanna Slor was born in the former Soviet Union and moved to the Midwest in the early 1990s. She has been published in many literary magazines, including Ninth Letter, Another Chicago Magazine, and Michigan Quarterly Review, and she is a frequent contributor to The Forward. She and her husband, saxophonist for Jazz-Rock fusion band Marbin, recently relocated to Milwaukee, where they live with their young daughter.

Slor's new novel is At the End of the World, Turn Left.

At CrimeReads she tagged seven suspenseful titles that examine immigrant identity, including:

The Borrower by Rebecca Makkai

Full disclosure, I know Rebecca Makkai—but we were still strangers when I first fell in love with her debut novel, The Borrower, about a young librarian named Lucy who “kidnaps” her favorite young patron after he runs away from his overbearing mother, who intends to send him to conversion therapy. This spawns an epic and entertaining road-trip across the Midwest, which is another plus, as I love to read books set in unusual places—i.e. not New York. Along the way, Lucy must use the connections of her shady Russian father to escape persecution; the conversations between Lucy and her immigrant father are some of my favorite parts of the book, and add a good amount of levity to the writing (Rebecca’s father was Hungarian, so I imagine she knows all about the intricacies of this type of relationship). A great read for fans of immigrant literature, as well as road-trip literature, or quirky atypical protagonists. One of my favorite, most-relatable lines, was this: “For one thing, he’d bought it from a man named Uncle Nicolai, who was not my actual uncle and who had no discernible job other than doing favors for other Russians.” Yes! So many “uncles.”

Read about another entry on the list.

My Book, The Movie: The Borrower.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Ioan Grillo's "Blood Gun Money"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels by Ioan Grillo.

About the book, from the publisher:

“An eye-opening and riveting account of how guns make it into the black market and into the hands of criminals and drug lords.” –Adam Winkler

The gun control debate is revived with every mass shooting. But far more people die from gun deaths on the street corners of inner city America and across the border as Mexico's powerful cartels battle to control the drug trade. Guns and drugs aren't often connected in our heated discussions of gun control-but they should be. In Ioan Grillo's groundbreaking new work of investigative journalism, he shows us this connection by following the market for guns in the Americas and how it has made the continent the most murderous on earth.

Grillo travels to gun manufacturers, strolls the aisles of gun shows and gun shops, talks to FBI agents who have infiltrated biker gangs, hangs out on Baltimore street corners, and visits the ATF gun tracing center in West Virginia. Along the way, he details the many ways that legal guns can cross over into the black market and into the hands of criminals, fueling violence here and south of the border. Simple legislative measures would help close these loopholes, but America's powerful gun lobby is uncompromising in its defense of the hallowed Second Amendment. Perhaps, however, if guns were seen not as symbols of freedom, but as key accessories in our epidemics of addiction, the conversation would shift. Blood Gun Money is that conversation shifter.

Visit Ioan Grillo's website.

The Page 99 Test: Blood Gun Money.

--Marshal Zeringue

Q&A with Laura Maylene Walter

From my Q&A with Laura Maylene Walter, author of Body of Stars:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

© Eric Mull Photography

A few years ago, I made lists of potential titles to find a replacement for the working title I’d long been using for my in-progress novel. I scrawled ideas in my writing notebook early in the morning, jotted down more possibilities on my lunch break at work, and emailed my writing friends long strings of (mostly terrible) titles for their feedback. Throughout this process, Body of Stars eventually found its way onto one of those lists, but it took a few days to sink in as the perfect choice.

Now, I can’t imagine any other title for this novel, which is set in a world where the freckles, birthmarks, and moles on the bodies of women and girls predict the future. These markings are arranged into patterns or “constellations,” so celestial bodies serve as a metaphor in the novel. The protagonist, Celeste, views her own markings as both a privilege and a burden. When she discovers a catastrophic prediction about her older brother, she wishes she could erase her markings and live without the weight of knowing what is to come.

The title therefore has a dual meaning: it can refer to literal bodies of stars, but mostly, it speaks to the overarching depiction of...[read on]

Visit Laura Maylene Walter's website.

Q&A with Laura Maylene Walter.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top Earth Day titles

Green That Life founder Sara Goddard came up with ten Earth Day books that inspire and inform, including:

What We Know about Climate Change, by Kerry Emanuel

If you’re looking for answers to the basics of climate science, then add this book to your pile of Earth Day books. This recently updated edition of What We Know about Climate Change by Kerry Emanuel is a straightforward, honest account of how human actions have contributed to global warming and greenhouse gas emissions.

Emmanuel sticks to the facts of our changing planet, focusing on the rapid transformations that have occurred since the 1970s due to human activity. The updated edition includes the latest climate data, a discussion of the earth’s carbon cycle, the warming hiatus of the first decade of this century, the 2017 hurricanes, advanced energy options, and more.

Emmanuel also addresses the impediments to climate action and progress, calling out climate deniers, politicians, corporations, and the media for trivializing the climate crisis. John Platt at The Revelator writes that What We Know about Climate Change “offers a concise explanation about what’s going on with global warming and how we can turn the tide.”

Read about another entry on Sara Goddard's list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Séverine Autesserre's "The Frontlines of Peace"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider's Guide to Changing the World by Séverine Autesserre.

About the book, from the publisher:

At turns surprising, funny, and gut-wrenching, this is the hopeful story of the ordinary yet extraordinary people who have figured out how to build lasting peace in their communities

The word "peacebuilding" evokes a story we've all heard over and over: violence breaks out, foreign nations are scandalized, peacekeepers and million-dollar donors come rushing in, warring parties sign a peace agreement and, sadly, within months the situation is back to where it started--sometimes worse. But what strategies have worked to build lasting peace in conflict zones, particularly for ordinary citizens on the ground? And why should other ordinary citizens, thousands of miles away, care?

In The Frontlines of Peace, Severine Autesserre, award-winning researcher and peacebuilder, examines the well-intentioned but inherently flawed peace industry. With examples drawn from across the globe, she reveals that peace can grow in the most unlikely circumstances. Contrary to what most politicians preach, building peace doesn't require billions in aid or massive international interventions. Real, lasting peace requires giving power to local citizens.

The Frontlines of Peace tells the stories of the ordinary yet extraordinary individuals and organizations that are confronting violence in their communities effectively. One thing is clear: successful examples of peacebuilding around the world, in countries at war or at peace, have involved innovative grassroots initiatives led by local people, at times supported by foreigners, often employing methods shunned by the international elite. By narrating success stories of this kind, Autesserre shows the radical changes we must take in our approach if we hope to build lasting peace around us--whether we live in Congo, the United States, or elsewhere.

Visit Séverine Autesserre's website.

The Page 99 Test: The Frontlines of Peace.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Ilona Bannister's "When I Ran Away"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: When I Ran Away: A Novel by Ilona Bannister.

About the book, from the publisher:

A rich, bighearted debut that takes us from working-class Staten Island in the wake of the September 11th attacks to moneyed London a decade later, revealing a story of loss, motherhood, and love.

As the Twin Towers collapse, Gigi Stanislawski flees her office building and escapes lower Manhattan on the Staten Island Ferry. Among the crying, ash-covered, and shoeless passengers, Gigi, unbelievably, finds someone she recognizes–Harry Harrison, a British man and a regular at her favorite coffee shop. Gigi brings Harry to her parents’ house, where they watch the television replay the planes crashing for hours, and she waits for the phone call that will never come: the call from Frankie, her younger brother.

Ten years later, Gigi, now a single mother consumed with bills and unfulfilled ambitions, meets Harry, again by chance, and they fall deeply, headlong in love. But their move to London and their new baby–which Gigi hoped would finally release her from the past–leave her feeling isolated, raw, and alone with her grief. As Gigi comes face-to-face with the anguish of her brother’s death and her rage at the unspoken pain of motherhood, she must somehow find the light amid all the darkness. Startlingly honest and shot through with unexpected humor, When I Ran Away is an unforgettable first novel about love–for our partners, our children, our mothers, and ourselves–pushed to its outer limits.

Follow Ilona Bannister on Twitter.

Q&A with Ilona Bannister.

The Page 69 Test: When I Ran Away.

--Marshal Zeringue

Nine top books about the sea

Emma Stonex is a novelist and The Lamplighters is her debut under her own name; she is the author of several books written under a pseudonym. Before becoming a writer, she worked as an editor at a major publishing house. She lives in Bristol with her husband and two young daughters.

[Q&A with Emma Stonex]

At the Guardian Stonex tagged her nine of her favorite books about the sea, including:

For action on the waves, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, with its brigands and buccaneers, takes the pot of gold. Survival at sea is elegantly judged in Charlotte Rogan’s The Lifeboat, in which the indifferent ocean plays witness to humanity’s struggle to balance compassion with self-preservation. In the tradition of nautical lore and sailors’ yarns, Life of Pi by Yann Martel uses the sea as a mysterious stage to a modern fable, presenting it as a magical, illusory, all-seeing pool from which dreams and nightmares spawn miracles.

Read about another entry on the list.

Treasure Island also appears on David McKee's six best books list, Kate Hamer's list of six notable novels with a strong evocation of atmosphere, David Robb's six best books list, Gillian Philip’s top ten list of islands in children's fiction, Robert Gore-Langton's top twelve list of the greatest children's books of all time, Emily St. John Mandel's list of the six books that influenced her most as a writer, David McCallum's six best books list, Bear Grylls's top ten list of adventure stories, Eoin Colfer's top 10 list of villains in fiction, Charlie Fletcher's top ten list of swashbuckling tales of derring-do, Robert McCrum's list of the ten best first lines in fiction, John Mullan's list of ten of the best pirates in fiction, and among Mal Peet's top ten books to read aloud, Philip Pullman's six best books, and Eoin Colfer's six favorite books.

Life of Pi is on Stonex's list of seven of the best mystery novels set by the sea, Lucy Clarke's top ten list of books about castaways, Katy Yocom's list of the ten best tigers in fiction, Jodi Picoult's recommended list, Martyn Ford's top ten list of fantastical pets in children's literature, Off the Shelf's list of eight great books told by child narrators, Janis MacKay's top ten list of books set on the ocean, Kathryn Williams's list of six notable novels set in just one place, Scott Greenstone's list of seven top allegorical novels, Sara Gruen's six favorite books list, the Barnes & Noble Review's list of five top books on castaways, and John Mullan's list of ten of the best zoos in literature.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: John Boyko's "The Devil's Trick"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: The Devil's Trick: How Canada Fought the Vietnam War by John Boyko.

About the book, from the publisher:

More than forty-five years after the fall of Saigon, John Boyko brings to light the little-known story of Canada’s involvement in the American War in Vietnam.

Through the lens of six remarkable people, some well-known, others obscure, bestselling historian John Boyko recounts Canada’s often-overlooked involvement in that conflict as peacemaker, combatant, and provider of weapons and sanctuary.

When Brigadier General Sherwood Lett arrived in Vietnam over a decade before American troops, he and the Canadians under his command risked their lives trying to enforce an unstable peace while questioning whether they were merely handmaidens to a new war. As American battleships steamed across the Pacific, Canadian diplomat Blair Seaborn was meeting secretly in Hanoi with North Vietnam’s prime minister; if American leaders accepted his roadmap to peace, those ships could be turned around before war began. Claire Culhane worked in a Canadian hospital in Vietnam and then returned home to implore Canadians to stop supporting what she deemed an immoral war. Joe Erickson was among 30,000 young Americans who changed Canada by evading the draft and heading north; Doug Carey was among 20,000 Canadians who enlisted with the American forces to serve in Vietnam. Rebecca Trinh and her family fled Saigon and joined the waves of desperate Indochinese refugees, thousands of whom forged new lives in Canada.

Through these wide-ranging and fascinating accounts, Boyko exposes what he calls the Devil’s wiliest trick: convincing leaders that war is desirable, the public that it’s acceptable and combatants that what they are doing and seeing is normal, or at least necessary. In uncovering Canada’s side of the story, he reveals the many secret and forgotten ways that Canada not only fought the war but was shaped by its lessons and lies.

Visit John Boyko's website.

The Page 99 Test: The Devil's Trick.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight top books about modern dating

Katherine Heiny is the author of Single, Carefree Mellow, a collection of short stories, and the novels Standard Deviation and Early Morning Riser.

At Lit Hub she tagged eight favorite books about modern dating, including:

Stephen McCauley, My Ex-Life

McCauley often writes about the complicated domestic (and emotional) arrangements of gay men and straight women, and his most recent book also includes college essay-writing, throw pillows, and a delightful amount of real estate. “It was one thing to hate someone for falling out of love with you, but another to attempt to turn it into an economic windfall,” thinks the main character. This novel is so charming and funny that it’s seriously addictive—I let out an animal howl of pain when it was over.

Read about another entry on the list.

My Ex-Life is among Andrea Peskind Katz's five fiction books that revolve around money.

The Page 69 Test: My Ex-Life.

My Book, The Movie: My Ex-Life.

--Marshal Zeringue

Q&A with Jennifer Adam

From my Q&A with Jennifer Adam, author of The Last Windwitch:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

Quite a bit, actually. The original title was Three Feathers to reflect the symbolic significance of feathers in the story, but when the book sold my agent remarked that they would likely want to change it. My editor pointed out that young readers like to know what to expect when choosing a book and the title is often the first key to unlocking their curiosity. She (and the marketing team) were afraid that my original title didn't give enough clues about what was inside. They sent me a list of suggestions, but while I agreed that a new title should hint at the magic and conflict within the book, none of the alternatives quite fit for me. We bounced ideas back and forth for a couple of months as we worked on edits, and then one morning The Last Windwitch just flew into my mind. Luckily everyone else loved it, too, and here we are!

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your novel?

Well, my teenage self...[read on]

Visit Jennifer Adam's website.

Q&A with Jennifer Adam.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five top female friendships in books

Lucy Jago is an award-winning writer of fiction and non-fiction, and a former documentary producer for Channel 4 and the BBC. Her first book, The Northern Lights, won the National Biography prize and has been translated into eight languages; her YA novel, Montacute House, met with critical acclaim in the US and the UK.

Jago's new novel is A Net for Small Fishes.

At the Guardian she tagged some favorite "books in which to immerse yourself in complex, occasionally wounding, but always irreplaceable female friendships." One title on the list:

This witnessing and acknowledging, that women do so well for each other, is at the heart of Bernardine Evaristo’s delicious verse novel, The Emperor’s Babe. Zuleika, a third-century, first-generation immigrant to Londinium, is spotted aged 11 in the Cheapside baths by a Roman nobleman thrice her age and girth to whom she is quickly married. His absences and unwelcome presences are made bearable by Alba, who encourages Zuleika to fulfil her dream of becoming a poet and experiencing love. As is often the case, in life as in art, such daring must be paid for.

Read about another entry on the list.

The Emperor’s Babe is among J.R. Ramakrishnan's top seven novels that celebrates the 40% of Londoners who aren't white.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Karla FC Holloway's "Gone Missing in Harlem"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: Gone Missing in Harlem: A Novel by Karla FC Holloway.

About the book, from the publisher:

In her anticipated second novel, Karla Holloway evokes the resilience of a family whose journey traces the river of America’s early twentieth century. The Mosby family, like other thousands, migrate from the loblolly-scented Carolinas north to the Harlem of their aspirations—with its promise of freedom and opportunities, sunlit boulevards, and elegant societies.

The family arrives as Harlem staggers under the flu pandemic that follows the First World War. DeLilah Mosby and her daughter, Selma, meet difficulties with backbone and resolve to make a home for themselves in the city, and Selma has a baby, Chloe. As the Great Depression creeps across the world at the close of the twenties, however, the farsighted see hard times coming.

The panic of the early thirties is embodied in the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of the nation’s dashing young aviator, Charles Lindbergh. A transfixed public follows the manhunt in the press and on the radio. Then Chloe goes missing—but her disappearance does not draw the same attention. Wry and perceptive Weldon Haynie Thomas, the city’s first “colored” policeman, takes the case.

The urgent investigation tests Thomas’s abilities to draw out the secrets Harlem harbors, untangling the color-coded connections and relationships that keep company with greed, ghosts, and grief. With nuanced characters, lush historical detail, and a lyrical voice, Gone Missing in Harlem affirms the restoring powers of home and family.

Visit Karla FC Holloway's website.

Q&A with Karla FC Holloway.

The Page 69 Test: Gone Missing in Harlem.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Kevin J. Weddle's "The Compleat Victory"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution by Kevin J. Weddle.

About the book, from the publisher:

In the late summer and fall of 1777, after two years of indecisive fighting on both sides, the outcome of the American War of Independence hung in the balance. Having successfully expelled the Americans from Canada in 1776, the British were determined to end the rebellion the following year and devised what they believed a war-winning strategy, sending General John Burgoyne south to rout the Americans and take Albany. When British forces captured Fort Ticonderoga with unexpected ease in July of 1777, it looked as if it was a matter of time before they would break the rebellion in the North. Less than three and a half months later, however, a combination of the Continental Army and Militia forces, commanded by Major General Horatio Gates and inspired by the heroics of Benedict Arnold, forced Burgoyne to surrender his entire army. The American victory stunned the world and changed the course of the war.

Kevin J. Weddle offers the most authoritative history of the Battle of Saratoga to date, explaining with verve and clarity why events unfolded the way they did. In the end, British plans were undone by a combination of distance, geography, logistics, and an underestimation of American leadership and fighting ability. Taking Ticonderoga had misled Burgoyne and his army into thinking victory was assured. Saratoga, which began as a British foraging expedition, turned into a rout. The outcome forced the British to rethink their strategy, inflamed public opinion in England against the war, boosted Patriot morale, and, perhaps most critical of all, led directly to the Franco-American alliance. Weddle unravels the web of contingencies and the play of personalities that ultimately led to what one American general called "the Compleat Victory."

Learn more about The Compleat Victory at the Oxford University Press website.

The Page 99 Test: The Compleat Victory.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five psychological thrillers featuring twisted sisters

Sally Hepworth is the bestselling author of The Secrets of Midwives, The Things We Keep, The Mother's Promise, The Family Next Door, and The Mother-in-Law.

[The Page 69 Test: The Secrets of Midwives; My Book, The Movie: The Secrets of Midwives; The Page 69 Test: The Things We Keep; My Book, The Movie: The Things We Keep; Writers Read: Sally Hepworth (February 2016)]

Her new novel is The Good Sister.

At CrimeReads Hepworth tagged five of her favorite novels about twisted sisters, including:

The Inheritance of Secrets, by Sonya Bates

The estranged sisters in Sonya Bates’ debut novel, The Inheritance of Secrets, come together in a time of crisis. One is a successful writer, the other is a recovering addict. Their relationship is one of give and take but the murder of their World War 11 grandparents throws them into a situation where only trust in each other will get them through … the one thing they don’t have.

Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Trish Doller's "Float Plan," the movie

Featured at My Book, The Movie: Float Plan by Trish Doller.

The entry begins:

Float Plan is the story of Anna, a young woman grieving the loss of her fiancé, Ben. She takes their sailboat--one they were meant to sail together--and sets out alone for the Caribbean. Anna quickly learns she can't make the trip by herself, so she enlists the help of a former competitive sailor, Keane, who is struggling with a loss of his own.

Anna: If Float Plan, the movie, were cast today, I'd be crossing my fingers that Florence Pugh would play the role. Anna has a softness to her appearance that belies an inner strength, and I think that Florence has the same look.

Keane: So far I have been unable to find a handsome Irish actor who is also an below-the-knee amputee, but not for lack of searching. Until that day I find him, Mark...[read on]

Visit Trish Doller's website.

Coffee with a Canine: Trish Doller & Cobi.

My Book, The Movie: Float Plan.

--Marshal Zeringue

Q&A with Ilona Bannister

From my Q&A with Ilona Bannister, author of When I Ran Away:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

I think When I Ran Away lets the reader know exactly where they're headed when they pick it up and it brings the reader directly into Gigi's mindset at the verge of her breakdown. But hopefully they find that the twists and turns Gigi takes on her journey toward accepting her new self as a woman and mother surprising. I think they'll find her choice of destination interesting as well. I think many readers will relate to the things she's running away from and that many people fantasize about doing the same thing at one point or another, especially after...[read on]

Follow Ilona Bannister on Twitter.

Q&A with Ilona Bannister.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 99: Eric Dregni's "For the Love of Cod"

Featured at the Page 99 Test: For the Love of Cod: A Father and Son's Search for Norwegian Happiness by Eric Dregni.

About the book, from the publisher:

A journey to find Norway’s supposed bliss makes for a comic travelogue that asks, seriously, what makes Norwegians so damn happy—and does it translate?

Norway is usually near or at the top of the World Happiness Report. But is it really one of the happiest countries on Earth? Eric Dregni had his doubts. Years ago he and his wife had lived in this country his great-great-grandfather once fled. When their son Eilif was born there, the Norwegian government paid for the birth, gave them $5,000, and deposited $500 into their bank account every month, but surely happiness was more than a generous health care system. What about all those grim months without sun? When Eilif turned fifteen, father and son decided to go back together and investigate. For the Love of Cod is their droll report on the state of purported Norwegian bliss.

Arriving in May, a month of festivals and eternal sun, the Dregnis are thrust into Norway at its merriest—and into the reality of the astronomical cost of living, which forces them to find lodging with friends and relatives. But this gives them an inside look at the secrets to a better life. It’s not the massive amounts of money flowing from the North Sea oil fields but how these funds are distributed that fuels the Norwegian version of democratic socialism—resulting in miniscule differences between rich and poor. Locals introduce them to the principles underlying their avowed contentment, from an active environmentalism that translates into flyskam (flight shame), which keeps Norwegians in the family cabin for the long vacations prescribed by law and charges a 150 percent tax on gas guzzlers (which, Eilif observes, means more Teslas seen in one hour than in a year in Minnesota!).

From a passion for dugnad or community volunteerism and sakte or “slow,” a rejection of the mad pace of modernity, to the commodification of Viking history and the dark side of Black Metal music that turns the idea of quaint, traditional Norway upside down, this idiosyncratic father and son tour lets readers, free of flyskam, see how, or whether, Norwegian happiness translates.

Learn more about For the Love of Cod at the University of Minnesota Press website.

The Page 99 Test: For the Love of Cod.

--Marshal Zeringue

Pg. 69: Dan Stout's "Titan Song"

Featured at the Page 69 Test: Titan Song by Dan Stout.

About the book, from the publisher:

The third book in the acclaimed Carter Archives noir fantasy series returns to the gritty town of Titanshade, where danger lurks around every corner.

Forbidden magic, murder… and disco. Carter’s day keeps getting worse.

With the return of spring, new life floods into Titanshade. The sun climbs higher and stays longer, the economy is ascendant, and ever more newcomers arrive to be part of the city’s rebirth. Even pop culture has taken notice, with a high-profile concert only days away. When a band member’s murder threatens to delay the show, the diva star performer demands that the famous Detective Carter work the case. But Carter has secrets of his own, and his investigation unearths more victims and dark secrets, triggering a spiral of deceit, paranoia, and nightmarish magical transformations.

As conspiracies are exposed, Carter is sucked even deeper into the machinations of the rich, the powerful, and the venerated. Soon the very foundations of the city threaten to collapse and Carter’s own freedom is on the line as he navigates between old enemies and fragile new alliances while racing to learn the true cause of this horrific series of deaths.

Visit Dan Stout's website.

My Book, The Movie: Titanshade.

Writers Read: Dan Stout (April 2019).

The Page 69 Test: Titanshade.

The Page 69 Test: Titan's Day.

My Book, The Movie: Titan's Day.

Q&A with Dan Stout.

The Page 69 Test: Titan Song.

--Marshal Zeringue