An excursion north
Some of the books bought were recommendations from my fellow book fans who joined me on this trip. A few were ones I have had my eye out for. And a few were spur-of-the-moment decisions.
The Dispossessed, by Ursula K. Le Guin
She has long been a favorite. She is not only a great writer of science fiction, but is "a literary icon," as the author Stephen King described her.
Anyway, I heard about this novel on a podcast called "Fast Forward," which is about topics that might arise in the future. (It's great. You should listen to it. Its host, Rose Eveleth, has the perfect podcast voice, and I am in love with it.) During a show about space flight and labor law, and what living and working on another planet might entail, the host mentioned this book. So I bought it. It was the least I could do.
The House in the Cerulean Sea, by T.J. Klune
Look at that book cover! That should be enought reason to pick it up.
Not only that, but the title has the word "cerulean." We need to use that colorful word more often. Says Merriam-Webster: "Cerulean comes from the Latin word caeruleus, which means 'dark blue' and is most likely from 'caelum,' the Latin word for 'sky.' An artist rendering a sky of blue in oils or watercolors might choose a tube of cerulean blue pigment. Birdwatchers in the eastern United States might look skyward and see a cerulean warbler."
What's it about? Who knows? But it's described as "being wrapped in a big gay blanket."
The Midnight Library, by Matt Haig
This was recommended by Corina Fay, a teacher and one of my companions on this trip. Listen, when a teacher tells you to read a book, you read it.
The book's description says that "between life and death there is a library." And this library allows the book's protagonist to change the course of other lives by changing her decisions. Of course, knowing this might make the choices harder.
Still, she should make those decisions.
Girl A, by Abigail Dean
I have had this one on my to-buy list for quite a while. I found it. So I picked it up.
Based on a true story, it tells the tale of a girl -- known as Girl A in media accounts -- who grew up in her family's "house of horrors" before managing to flee and save her five siblings. When their mother dies in prison years later, the children must come to grips with their traumatic Despite the raw subject matter, I am told it's a novel one can rip through in a couple of days. A blurb calls it "gripping and beautifully written." What more could one ask for?
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, by V.S. Schwab
Another friend and bibliophile, scientist Melissa Mann, and I were discussing the fluidity of time, and she recommended this novel. She even pointed out the shelf it was sitting on.
I did not know this, but Schwab is one of the great science fiction writers of our time. In this novel, her protaganist and title character is immortal -- with the catch that every year on her birthday, she jumps into another skin and time. No one remembers her former self.
Which of course, leads to the awful blurb: "A life no one will remember. A story you will never forget." But an author does not write her own blurbs. So I forgave her and bought the book.
The Kingdoms, by Natasha Pulley
The book blurb describes it as a "genre-bending feat (that) masterfully combines history, speculative fiction, queer romance, and more." So I have to ask, how could you pass this one up?
Oh, you want more? It also bends time.
Actually picking up this novel was a mistake. I was going for another book, but grabbed this one instead. It spoke to me.
The Elephant of Belfast, by S. Kirk Walsh
It has an elephant. In Belfast. Industrial, gritty, urban Belfast.
It also has Loyalist Protestants and Republican Catholics continuing their long feud over a small piece of Ireland.
Then World War II happened. And life went on.
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