The ancestors sing

and arrive by mail

My friend Radha’s debut novel, And the Ancestors Sing, was one of the most anticipated books of 2026. And now, finally, it’s published!

Full disclosure: I haven’t started reading it yet because I’ve been totally immersed in the novel Skylark by Paula McLain—BUT I can’t wait to start.

Yes, this is the Substack where I list books I’m reading, or want to read, or have read.

Books I Loved in 2025:

• Bug Hollow, by Michelle Huneven (modern dysfunctional-family-with-a-heart epic)

• A Long Winter, by Colm Toibin (Irish writer takes on sad French winter tale)

• Foster, by Claire Keegan (another Irish writer takes on a sad-happy tale, but in Ireland)

• Go, Went, Gone, by Jenny Erpenbeck (a retired professor in the former East Germany finds renewed purpose when he gets involved with immigrants—basically A Man Called Ove but written for adults)

• The Glass Hotel, by Emily St. John Mandel (stranger but just as compelling as Station Eleven)

• Exit West, by Mohsid Hamid (another strange and compelling (love?) story, with some magical realism as the government collapses and society breaks down)

• The Husbands, by Holly Gramazio (funny; light; couldn’t put it down. Again with the magical realism)

I’d love to hear about your recent favorites.

Writing prompt: We might have to excuse him for …