Mary Pols Book Recommendations & Book Mentions
This list consists of recommendations or mentions of books spotted in media, social media accounts, podcasts or other public websites.
Mary Pols on XMary Pols is an author and critic. Media relations @BatesCollege, formerly editor @MaineWomenMag, writer @PressHerald, movie critic @TIME, @JSKStanford. Plus: the blur of the 90s and @ucbsoj

Ocean State
Stewart O'NanMe on the new Stewart O'Nan, Ocean State, for @nytimesbooks gorgeous illustration by Karlotta Freir. @LizEgan https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/books/review/ocean-state-stewart-onan.html?searchResultPosition=1
Hardcover, 2022
$27.00Member price:$13.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Sam: A Read with Jenna Pick
Allegra GoodmanIn her latest novel, “Sam,” Allegra Goodman delivers a portrait of a girl at risk that shimmers with an unusual intimacy and depth.
Paperback, 2023
$19.00Member price:$9.50 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Did You Hear about Kitty Karr?
Crystal Smith Paul…this is an ambitious novel, illuminating the complexities of racial identity, particularly what it means to be Black in Hollywood no matter the era. It’s the kind of book that makes you want to know more about Hollywood’s hidden history.
Hardcover, 2023
$27.99Member price:$13.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Pieces of Blue
Holly Goldberg Sloan“Pieces of Blue” goes off the rails in its wild last act, but… it checks a lot of boxes, including the alluring Hawaii setting. The novel’s best feature is Sloan’s poignant and amusing glimpses into the children’s interior lives as they grieve and build new lives for themselves.
Hardcover, 2023
$28.99Member price:$14.49 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The Celebrants: A Read with Jenna Pick
Steven RowleyWith its minimalist plot, “The Celebrants” has the vibe of a late-career Garry Marshall movie, but with a better-than-usual script.
Out of stock

Ask Again, Yes
Mary Beth KeaneLast month I wrote a short but glowing review of Ask Again, Yes by Mary Beth Keane for @people and this AM was so thrilled to listen to @MaureenCorrigan's take on it, which nailed its lack of pretense but brilliance (and compared her to Ann Patchett, very apt).
Paperback, 2020
$18.00Member price:$9.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The Collected Regrets of Clover
Mikki BrammerThis weird, lovely and sweetly satisfying novel has a lot in common with the 1990s rom-coms Clover likes to sedate herself with after a patient dies. It’s engaging and accessible… and Brammer’s take on death and grieving profound enough to feel genuinely instructional.
Hardcover, 2023
$30.00Member price:$15.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
The Passenger
Cormac McCarthyNo review of Cormac McCarthy's The Passenger can touch this one by John Jeremiah Sullivan in @nytimesbooks - he captures completely all that's wrong (and right) with it. Whoever assigned him (@gilbertcruz?), thank you. https://t.co/gNDmEWgtEJ
Paperback, 2023
$18.00Member price:$9.00 + Free shipping50% off your first book
Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders
Kathryn MilesI'm so proud of my friend @Kathryn_Miles for writing "Trailed: One Woman’s Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders" - it is riveting true crime and I'm convinced Kate did in fact solve the case. Out May 3. https://t.co/xKxJ1tlVKA
Paperback, 2023
$19.99Member price:$9.99 + Free shipping50% off your first book