DECEMBER 2021
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The Coastal Buzz
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Making a Holiday List? Add These Books By Donna Ruth Morgan
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ur December books offer you a good read by a local author and some excellent non-fiction to peruse. All these books are recent, from 2021, and all are available in Brunswick County libraries. Indoor Kitchen Gardening Handbook: Projects & Inspiration to Grow Food Year-Round – Herbs, Salad Greens, Mushrooms, Tomatoes & More is a book that novice and seasoned indoor gardeners will treasure. Elizabeth Millard provides all the tools to grow produce and herbs within your home with tips, illustrations, and every step from idea to mealtime. Beautifully illustrated, lots of fun to read and (hopefully) implement. Nutshell review: Great winter project to feed yourself, or a gift idea for the holidays. Brunswick County author Henry Hack ticks all the boxes in Absolution: believable characters, realistic setting, and a compelling plot. This tale of two protagonists, linked by tragedy and on a collision course with world-wide ramifications, provides plenty of
mystery and even philosophy. It is by turns infuriating then heartrending. Check the Local Authors shelf at your library to borrow an excellent read. Nutshell review: A standalone novel that’s the best to date from Henry Hack. Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty (2021) is a saga-length family drama with a mishmash of topics— sibling rivalry, broken relationships, mistrust, and a few social issues. Dysfunction on so many levels overwhelm the elements of suspense or mystery and render it more depressing than enjoyable. Nutshell review: A slog peopled by shallow characters, a chapter on Covid (enough, already!), and an anticlimactic resolution. Nicholas Sparks’ latest flips the narrative from past to present as a dying woman shares her story with an unlikely friend. The Wish moves between NYC at Christmas to traumatic past events in coastal North Carolina. Elements that detracted from my enjoyment: predictability, dragging plot, and excessive somber facts about terminal illness. Nutshell review:
Though a good reminder that life is short and each moment a treasure, this book is too depressing for my recommendation. Fuzz dives into the wacky world of criminal animals and insects. Humorist Mary Roach gives readers an up-close view of a variety of “pesky” critters with the audacity to act like nature intended—even when it’s prohibited. Travel from the U.S. Rockies to Down Under to learn how people and wildlife interact, and the humane and barbaric ways our “superior” species prevails. Fun, informative, and thought-provoking. Nutshell review: When nature breaks the law, who ya gonna call?
“There are three stages of man: he believes in Santa Claus; he does not believe in Santa Claus; he is Santa Claus.” –Bob Phillips
