So far this year I’ve read about 35 books. I think I might have missed a couple that I read on my Kindle and returned already. But that’s a pretty close number. And quite a lot of books! So instead of waiting until the end of the year to recap everything I wanted to mention the highlights thus far.
Fiction
- A Discovery of Witches, Deborah Harkness
This is the first in a trilogy of fantasy novels. While I went on to read the sequels, the story seemed to lose some magic along the way (pun intended). “A Discovery of Witches” was absolutely riveting; I loved the academic setting and slowly developing plot. But it is quite a quite a commitment to read the full series and eventually I felt like like the story was just dragging out too much. Yet with that caveat it was still one of the most enjoyable reads so far.
- A Gentlemen in Moscow, Amor Towles
I picked this up on the recommendation of a good friend, and I was not disappointed. This novel was a perfect example of a compelling story and fantastic character development that did not require constant action and external conflicts. Overall, I think I enjoyed this so much because the protagonist refuses to fall into a victim mentality and is able to maintain his sense of self-determination in the midst of challenging circumstances. In our own tumultuous and isolated times, this book has some thought-provoking observations.
- The Effort, Claire Holroyde
This book spoke to the sense of fragility that we experience even now, despite having no apocalyptic doom bearing down on us. It is a science-fiction novel set in the near future, where astronomers discover there is a devastating astroid headed straight for our planet. “The Effort” is a global plan to stop the astroid and save Earth. I did not find the characters particularly interesting or compelling, but the story relies much more on the suspense, conflict, and increasing danger.
Non-Fiction
- Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake
This is an exploration into the mysterious and complex life of fungus. Yes, fungus…like the stuff in the ground that produces mushrooms. If I had to choose a favorite book so far this year, it would actually be this one. It was an absolutely fascinating read. I loved learning about the underground networks of fungus connecting the earth, trees, and plants. I think I’ll probably do a full blog post just on this book because it is so interesting. But here is just one tidbit:
“A mycelial network is a map of a fungus’ recent history and is a helpful reminder that all life-forms are in fact processes, not things. The ‘you’ of five years ago was made from different stuff than the ‘you’ of today. Nature is an event that never stops.”
- Madhouse at the End of the World, Julian Sancton
I’ve discovered that I really enjoy books about nature, exploration, and history…so this book about the 1897 expedition to the South Pole really covers all of my interests. I was expecting a fairly dry exposition of the events, but it feels more like a novel. I read it within a few days because I just couldn’t put it down. Beyond the historical significance, it is a fascinating character study and offers some lessons on what it takes to survive extreme challenges. As the title suggests, some went mad from the strain of the voyage…but others did not. And what made the difference? To me, this psychological aspect of the story was most interesting. The author also did a great job weaving original source documents into the text. It felt so real and immersive to be reading the journal entries from various members of the group, but yet the quotes never felt disjointed or out of place.
- Spark, John Ratey
This book explores the connection between mental wellness and physical fitness. While we all know that exercise is good, I really enjoyed learning more about how exercise actually strengthens the brain as well. The first few chapters provide evidence for how physical activity promotes overall wellness. There are chapters devoted to specific issues, such as anxiety, ADHD, addictions, and depression. For someone who maybe struggles with motivation to exercise, I’d recommend the first few chapters as these provide some compelling arguments. I ended up skimming the rest of the chapters because I wasn’t particularly interested in some of the topics. And overall, each of the issue-specific chapters basically give the same argument, just more honed in. Once you realize that he’s arguing that exercise is good for people with anxiety, it isn’t a leap of deduction to assume he’ll say that exercise is good for ADHD, and depression, and so forth. For me, there was nothing life-changing in the book, but rather a confirmation of the importance of physical fitness. But for someone who tends to be more intellectual, it was a definitely gave me motivation to stay active…if not for my body, then at least for my mind.
