Five Books To Check Out In The New Year
If you’re like me, you’re a firm believer in “you are what you read.” I know that’s not the phrase, but it should be. So, without much fanfare, here are five books I’ve read over the past year that I would recommend you check out. These weren’t necessarily released in 2018, nor are they necessarily my favorites of 2018, they are simply a diverse cross-section of the ones I’ve found myself recommending over the past year. Hopefully, at least one of these can be a new road for you to wander down.
Stories Of Your Life And Others by: Ted Chiang. This is a collection of short stories that blends precise intelligence and subtle humor to situations of extreme variation surrounded by the everyday. If you saw the movie “Arrival,” it’s based on a story in this collection. The topics are diverse but always executed with primary care given to what it means to be human in an exceptional circumstance. One of my favorites tells the story of a worker helping to build the Tower of Babylon. Even in a generations long quest to get to heaven, the weight is on the everyman.
What Do You Do With An Idea? by: Kobi Yamada, illustrated by: Mae Besom. The title pretty much says it all. This illustrated journey revolves around a child discovering his idea and trying to answer the question of the title. Do I nurture it? Do I hide it because people will make fun of me? What if my idea doesn’t turn out like I hope? This book is beautifully illustrated and delicately composed. I would highly recommend it for anyone you know of any age struggling with that question of creativity.
The Ballad Of Black Tom by: Victor Lavalle. This novella was difficult for me to put down. It blends suspense, history, music, and H.P. Lovecraft style horror that had me clamoring for the next chapter. This story isn’t for everyone but because of its short nature, I recommend you give it a try and see if it can’t surprise you. It starts with a down-on-his luck jazz guitarist in 1920s Harlem and slowly builds into magically summoning ancient all-powerful creatures to bring about the apocalypse.
If you’re a Lovecraft fan and specifically know the story “The Horror at Red Hook,” this story is the same but from the perspective of an African American. Given the well-documented racism inherent in much of Lovecraft’s work, it is a fascinating shift of view.
If You Find This by: Mathew Baker. Nicholas is an eleven-year-old who sees his world in music and math. Music and math make sense. The way his parents and classmates behave does not, especially when his grandfather shows up out of nowhere and starts talking about the treasure he had hidden years ago. A treasure would be nice since Nicholas’s parents might have to sell their house… which is where Nicholas’s brother is… because Nicholas’s brother is a tree. This would be a great chapter book for anyone in your life who sees things a little differently.
Pebble In The Sky by: Isaac Asimov. Careful readers knew we weren’t getting through this list without talking about Asimov. One of my favorite authors, published as many as 10 books a year, wrote or edited over 500 books total, and can be found in 9 of the 10 Dewey Decimal categories. He’s a genius and I’d recommend any of his works. “Pebble” is simply his first novel and the first Asimov I read this past year. If you like science, fiction, or the combination, Asimov is for you.
