Here are 92 books that Trumpet fans have personally recommended if you like
Trumpet.
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Writing is about the metaphysical as well as the rational if it’s any good. As an author, I am always more interested in the wreckage of a crisis than the crisis itself—in the aftermath. Survivors search for purpose above all else. They undertake long sojourns, seek spiritual counsel, or find solace in art or politics. As a writer who has dealt with illness for most of my adult life, I think one path that is shared by all these novels is the discovery of agency—over one’s body, one’s choices, and one’s own life and death. There lies meaning.
I love novels that open up slowly, drawing the reader into a world of coincidence and connection.
Cunningham’s classic AIDS novel draws heavily on Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway to create a haunting trilogy—a day in the lives of three women in different decades of the 20th century. I was drawn into the lyrical, elegiac stories about the heartbreaking choices we make as women and gay men, and the consequences of our actions on others.
This book taught me about finding the extraordinary in ordinary moments and a deeper understanding of how suffering stays in the body and is carried intergenerationally.
Winner of the 1999 Pulitzer Prize and Pen Faulkner prize. Made into an Oscar-winning film, 'The Hours' is a daring and deeply affecting novel inspired by the life and work of Virginia Woolf.
In 1920s London, Virginia Woolf is fighting against her rebellious spirit as she attempts to make a start on her new novel.
A young wife and mother, broiling in a suburb of 1940s Los Angeles, yearns to escape and read her precious copy of 'Mrs Dalloway'.
And Clarissa Vaughan steps out of her smart Greenwich village apartment in 1990s New York to buy flowers…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I studied French language and literature from the time I was 13 until I graduated from college. Alongside that work, I also became more interested in African American literary and artistic histories, so I studied that as well. I realized there was a lot of overlap as many Black American artists would flee to Europe to “escape” American racism. Learning more about these historical writers throughout my graduate school journey made me very interested in researching further and writing my own take on the subject for young people.
I loved that this classic by one of America’s greatest literary minds gave me answers about what it would be like if I did what I always dreamed of doing: leaving America behind and moving to France. One of the important things I came to realize was that The Great Escape would not solve your problems, but it would help give you a fresh perspective on things.
'A masterwork... an almost unbearable, tumultuous, blood-pounding experience' Washinton Post
When Another Country appeared in 1962, it caused a literary sensation. James Baldwin's masterly story of desire, hatred and violence opens with the unforgettable character of Rufus Scott, a scavenging Harlem jazz musician adrift in New York. Self-destructive, bad and brilliant, he draws us into a Bohemian underworld pulsing with heat, music and sex, where desperate and dangerous characters betray, love and test each other to the limit.
'In Another Country, Baldwin created the essential American drama of the century' Colm Toibin
I am the author of three books, all featuring characters who feel like outsiders; some are queer, many are artists, most are people of color. I was lucky enough to grow up around artists, in a community where creativity was valued. I wrote poems and invented card games, put on plays in our living room, and made up stories to fall asleep at night. I knew I was an artist before I knew the word queer. When I came out, my outsider status doubled; I wanted to know how other queer artists and writers navigated these dual identities—how they not only survived but thrived. Their stories are my story.
The brilliant, searing insights of this book are hard to oversell.
Tóibín is a writer who defies category, and the book—part mini-biographies, part literary criticism, all heart—is a book for anyone who loves writers (not just writing).
He has an incisive yet tender eye for analysis, of not just literature, but of an author’s—dare I say it—soul, and he taught me more about writers I already knew and loved, like James Baldwin and Elizabeth Bishop, while introducing me to authors I’d only heard of, like Thom Gunn and Thomas Mann.
The sections on Oscar Wilde and Roger Casement blew my mind wide open. This book is a must-read for all queer authors writing today—to appreciate how far we’ve come and to celebrate where we’re going.
Colm Tóibín knows the languages of the outsider, the secret keeper, the gay man or woman. He knows the covert and overt language of homosexuality in literature. In Love in a Dark Time, he also describes the solace of finding like-minded companions through reading.
Colm Tóibín examines the life and work of some of the greatest and most influential writers of the past two centuries, figures whose homosexuality remained hidden or oblique for much of their lives, either by choice or necessity. The larger world couldn't know about their sexuality, but in their private lives, and in the spirit of…
A poisonous maiden, a Daoist sex cult, and a violent insurgency.
The polyandrous Yan family in China's rural Shaanxi Province takes in two carpenter brothers. When one brother is convicted of murder after killing their neighbor in a dispute, a constable threatens to expose the family's rumored polyandry and extorts…
I am the author of three books, all featuring characters who feel like outsiders; some are queer, many are artists, most are people of color. I was lucky enough to grow up around artists, in a community where creativity was valued. I wrote poems and invented card games, put on plays in our living room, and made up stories to fall asleep at night. I knew I was an artist before I knew the word queer. When I came out, my outsider status doubled; I wanted to know how other queer artists and writers navigated these dual identities—how they not only survived but thrived. Their stories are my story.
To call this book a biography threatens to diminish the power and force of the story telling.
Yes, it covers the biographical details—the troubled family life, the delayed yet ferocious sexuality, the prodigious talent—but what makes this book extraordinary is the alchemy that occurs on the page; the blending of Williams’ voice with Lahr’s narrative focus gives us a deeply researched and insightful dive into the mind (and heart) of one of the greatest playwrights the American theatre has ever produced.
People today call everything “epic,” but this book truly is; it delves into Williams’ process, introduces his demons and muses, and shows the challenges all writers face of how to balance the people we’re committed to in our real lives with the characters we’re devoted to on the page.
The gift here is not in the gossip (though there’s plenty of great dish), it’s in the time travelling: to…
John Lahr has produced a theater biography like no other. Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgrimage of the Flesh gives intimate access to the mind of one of the most brilliant dramatists of his century, whose plays reshaped the American theater and the nation's sense of itself. This astute, deeply researched biography sheds a light on Tennessee Williams's warring family, his guilt, his creative triumphs and failures, his sexuality and numerous affairs, his misreported death, even the shenanigans surrounding his estate.
With vivid cameos of the formative influences in Williams's life-his fierce, belittling father Cornelius; his puritanical, domineering mother Edwina; his demented…
I'm a guitar player, a writer of music and a bandleader. I've made 12 records—working on my 13th—have written 2 books, and made an app called "Humanome," which is a metronome that intentionally doesn't keep steady time. I have a Patreon page and a YouTube channel. I've devoted most of my life so far to playing music, touring, practicing—lots and lots of practicing—and more or less thinking about music non-stop. As a player, I care strongly about improvising—the spontaneous creation of music—and as a writer, I care deeply about melody, rhythm, and form. I get a lot of inspiration from visual art and from soulfulness in all its forms.
This book beautifully, soulfully and informatively documents the life of one of America's greatest artists. I reveled in its pages, marvelling at the inner workings of the man and at the fascinating life he led for decades at the forefront of American music.
At various times tragic, hilarious, enlightening, scary, off-putting and inspiring, he couldn't have made it more like his own music if he'd tried. I never met Miles, but this particular book has the ring of veracity about it—at times, brutally so—and the countless stories of virtually every notable musician in Jazz and beyond are entertaining and eye-opening. Loved it.
Miles: The Autobiography, like the man himself, holds nothing back. He talks about his battles against drugs and racism, and discusses the many women in his life. But above all, Miles talks about music and musicians, including the legends he has played with over the years: Bird, Dizzy, Monk, Trane, Mingus and many others. The man who has given us the most exciting music of recent times has now given us a fascinating and compelling insight into his extraordinary life. 'An engrossing read ...gives fascinating insights into the cult phenomenon' Miles Copeland, Weekend Telegraph 'Magnificently truthful, action packed, raw and…
I am a novelist with a passion for reading and it is this which I feel qualifies me to speak on this topic. My reading is eclectic across the crime/mystery genre and there’s nothing I love more than a book that sucks me right into the same world its characters inhabit, something all five of my choices did. As a novelist I appreciate the way these novels all use the weather conditions to add an extra layer of threat to the protagonists and it’s something I’ve always wanted to emulate.
MacBride’s seminal debut introduces readers not only to an erstwhile hero and a stunning ensemble of secondary characters, but also his wonderful descriptions of a foul Aberdeen winter.
Scattered in among the narrative are little vignettes that elevate the whole story with his excellent turn of phrase. Since reading this novel, his books have become must reads for me, even if the Aberdeen Tourist Board don’t have him on their Christmas card list.
Stuart MacBride's Number One bestselling crime series opens with this award-winning debut. DS Logan McRae and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer who stalks the frozen streets.
Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather...
It's DS Logan McRae's first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn't get much worse. Three-year-old David Reid's body is discovered in a ditch: strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. And he's only the first. There's a serial killer stalking the Granite City and the local…
Big Ideas... For Small Businesses
by
John Lamerton,
Big Ideas… for Small Businesses is a straight-talking, no-nonsense guide to growing a small business without sacrificing your lifestyle. Written by a former civil servant turned entrepreneur, the book challenges hustle culture and instead champions the idea of an "ambitious lifestyle business" - one that provides freedom and financial stability,…
Like many others, I had an early fascination for pop music, which moved on to rock music as I grew older. I would love to know more about the artists or music figures who made such emotional and stunning music that made the world better and more exciting. British rock and roll music has made a massive impact on the Western life that we all know and love. These five books are the best ones for me, and while all are unique, they have humor and interesting details and let me gain knowledge about these iconic figures.
I loved this book because I was able to find out more about this lynchpin of the indie music World of the 80s and 90s that I grew up in. Primal Scream was responsible for some iconic tunes, and learning more about Bobby was insightful and entertaining. I discovered so much that I didn’t know about the band’s musical journey and Bobby's influences.
'Gillespie is rock and roll's Oliver Twist. A punk rock fairytale, razor sharp on class struggle, music, style, and a singular view of the world resulting in one of the world's great bands. Couldn't put down' Courtney Love
Born into a working-class Glaswegian family in the summer of 1961, TENEMENT KID begins in the district of Springburn, soon to be evacuated in Edward Heath's brutal slum clearances. Leaving school at 16 and going to work as a printers' apprentice, Bobby's rock n roll epiphany arrives like a bolt of lightning shining from Phil Lynott's…
I love reading mysteries, ever since I started back in junior high with Hercule Poirot, I have loved an atmospheric murder and ensuing investigation. As I’ve gotten older and started writing my own books, though, I’ve gotten pickier about what kinds of detective novels I can stick with—I now require that they also be excellent on the sentence level, which isn’t always easy to find. I also find that I gravitate towards books that have pockets of dry humor from time to time and a unique investigator.
There are 25 (!) books in the Rebus series by Scottish writer Ian Rankin, which is really great news for everyone because they are all really good. Each book can be read as a stand-alone as well, so don’t be daunted. This one is one of my favorites because it has a cool twist and it’s very moody.
Inspector John Rebus, who is (as many mystery protagonists are) a gifted detective who doesn’t always play by the rules, has been sent a way to a kind of Scottish re-training course for senior offices who have been bad. The dialogue is very good here, not to mention the many gritty descriptions of Edinburgh.
The thirteenth Inspector Rebus novel from the No.1 bestselling author of A SONG FOR THE DARK TIMES
'No one in Britain writes better crime novels' Evening Standard
'This is Rankin at his best, and, boy, that's saying something' TIME OUT
Rebus is off the case - literally. A few days into the murder inquiry of an Edinburgh art dealer, Rebus blows up at a colleague. He is sent to the Scottish Police College for 'retraining' - in other words, he's in the Last Chance Saloon.
Rebus is assigned to an old, unsolved case, but there are those in his team…
I have lived by the sea in the far north of Scotland, where I wrote The Wee Seal, and several other sea and seal themed books. I now live in Edinburgh by the sea and swim daily. I am also a storyteller with a keen interest in myth, and how myth impacts our lives. The recommendations I have given a nod to myth and their place in our life, and the sea, and how, at least in Britain, it is rarely that far away. A little wild, in a world that can feel, sometimes, too tame.
This is the story of a woman who is having a hard time personally, and she swims to heal herself. She swims to reconnect with her wild nature. And she is brave. She swims in all seasons, all weathers, all conditions. Once she was almost pushed against craggy rocks.
I swim too. I love seals, and know this act of taking to the water - our small bit of wild - to reconnect with my wild nature.
I loved the vulnerability that shines through in this book and I like to read of strong women who dare connect with nature to empower themselves. I feel I do that (a bit) and people like Victoria inspire me to push those wild boundaries a little more.
A book about intense physical and personal experience, narrating how Victoria Whitworth began swimming in the cold waters of Orkney as a means of escaping a failing marriage. This is a memoir of intense physical and personal experience, exploring how swimming with seals, gulls and orcas in the cold waters off Orkney provided Victoria Whitworth with an escape from a series of life crises and helped her to deal with intolerable loss. It is also a treasure chest of history and myth, local folklore and archaeological clues, giving us tantalising glimpses of Pictish and Viking men and women, those people…
The problem is not with the actions young women take but with the toxic, sexist conditions they are responding to.
Tanenbaum found, based on six years of interviews with young people ages 14-30, that young women are navigating a culture littered with gendered dress codes, revenge porn, and sexually explicit…
As well as featuring kick-ass female lead characters, all the books listed delve into why people do what they do – and this has always fascinated me; it’s why I became a journalist. Talking to victims of crime, I was always struck by their strength (and that was never more true than when I fronted an award-winning campaign for victims of domestic abuse). Prior to that, I worked at a high-security men’s prison, and getting to know the prisoners had a profound impact on me. Now, whether reading or writing a book, I love to get under the skin of characters and find their ‘why.’
Complex, clever, and cunning Gruoch is fighting for her survival and the crown of the ancient kingdom of Scotland–and she isn’t going to let anything or anyone get in her way.
She has no one to look out for her, so she must take on the world herself, and no matter what was thrown at her, she kept on, as single-minded as ever–and I kept cheering her for that, despite her villainy.
LONGLISTED FOR THE CWA HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION DAGGER 2024 LONGLISTED FOR THE GOLDSBORO GLASS BELL AWARD 2024 'Suspenseful, atmospheric and full of twists and turns, I loved the brutal, backstabbing world that Isabelle Schuler conjures up where only the most ruthless can survive' - Jennifer Saint 'Dazzlingly clever and difficult to put down' i Power. History. Love. Hate. Vengeance. She will be Queen. Whatever it takes... Daughter of an ousted king. Descendant of powerful druids. Destined to take her place in history. As a child, Gruoch's grandmother prophecies that she will one day be Queen of Alba and reclaim the lands…
