If you haven’t read the book that inspired the Disney adaptation, you can clear that blemish on your life path “right here, right now” as my high school football teammates would say. It’s a meditative novel about life, death, and the constitution of a meaningful existence. Did you know the author was a hunter? Salten demonstrates a deep understanding of and respect for the forest and the life that propagates it.
New stories from Kelly Link!!! Each story in this collection is somehow better than the last. I didn’t think anything would top “The White Road” until I read “Skinder’s Veil.” These are more than simple retellings of old fairy tales—they’re modernized and reimagined to the point where they barely resemble the stories that inspired them. I’d call it Link at her best, but she never brings anything less to the table.
More than just a catchy title, this is one of those memoirs that gets in your head and is impossible to put down. From afar, it’s easy to shake your head at the travesties that befall so many child stars, but McCurdy breaks down that distance, making it impossible to separate yourself from her perspective. The result is a story that feels deeply relatable despite the fact that it’s so far removed from the lives most of us live.
Are you a good judge of character? Probably not, according to Malcolm Gladwell. He takes us on a deep dive into the problems with communication, detailing the ways in which we misjudge the intentions of strangers, or misinterpret their actions. Gladwell highlights an important modern issue to show that the forces underlying our interactions are never as simple as they seem.
Pollan strikes a perfect balance between historical/scientific research and personal anecdotal reporting. The result is a highly engaging series of long essays about three particular drugs and the plants they from which they stem. Bad puns aside, I nearly missed my bus stop because I couldn’t put this book down. I don’t think I’ve ever wanted a latte more than I did while reading about Pollan’s abstention from caffeine.
You want it darker? Everybody knows Leonard Cohen’s your man. Not always easy to stomach, the stories in this posthumous collection are full of the raw grit of a young artist finding himself through reflective juxtapositions of love and hate, beauty and ugliness, loneliness and companionship. A fascinating insight into the creative process of a songwriting genius.
If you’re into sci-fi and somehow haven’t read this yet, then do yourself a favor and pick it up. Crisp prose, compelling characters, and a massive complex world full of history that feels bigger than what can fit into one book. I’ll go out on a limb and call it the best space opera since the original Star Wars. It’s probably true. The trilogy is exceptional, but this book also satisfies as a self-contained experience.
