“Books are a uniquely portable magic.” - Stephen King
I spent much of August in a portable magic of my own, traveling to a place I first wanted to see long before the Journey to 197.1 After being so far-flung and sleeping in hotels for a month, I am now finally settled in my new Bachelorette Pad and my fingers are flying across the keyboard to get this to you. I’ve found I need peace to reflect after the inner turmoil of change and then, once I pour out, I pour out.
This list is a mix of books I’ve read since the last book post, and those on my mind for the coming crisp weeks as leaves fall and the rhythm of life slows.
Night Wherever We Go, by Tracey Rose Peyton
I shared this novel in Summer Reading and want to place it here, too. After reading this book, I will buy anything if Tracey Rose Peyton’s name is on the cover. It was absolutely magnificent, so poignant, achingly real, abrasive, and the end was such a beautiful mingling of generations.
Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi lived in a time and place I will never understand. Persepolis is her graphic memoir of growing up during the Iranian Revolution, when every single thing in her life and country changed drastically as the result of a new tyrannical power.
Born to intellectual parents, Satrapi attended a co-ed international school. Before long, the school was gender-segregated and all the girls were forced to wear hijabs. This change was the first of many, and to this day, the end is still not in sight.
The Light in Hidden Places, by Sharon Cameron
I started this one on a break between classes and had to quiet myself from all the laughter so I wouldn’t disturb people in the library. Its young characters are so playful, and Cameron’s narrative is so precious in the beginning. The story is about a Polish teen that ultimately hides Jews during the Holocaust, but the very beginning is about life before invasion. The sheer normality of of her young life makes the difference of occupation even more stark.
Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus
This novel is on book lists everywhere, and I finally took the bait after seeing the Apple TV trailer for the show that’s being released soon. Garmus’ protagonist, Elizabeth Zott, is a chemist in the 1960s and becomes famous by being cast as the star of an unlikely cooking show.
Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt
I bought my own copy of this novel so it would be ready for me when I am ready for it. Tova Sullivan takes a job at an aquarium as she grieves her late husband, where she meets an octopus that lives there. The two become unlikely friends on Tova’s lonely night shift. As it turns out, the octopus knows the truth about what happened to Tova’s son, who disappeared years ago in the sea.
I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman
I made a stop at Barnes & Noble today because bookstores and libraries just make me feel good. I noticed this title on a table full of paperbacks and its cover drew me in. The synopsis is even more fascinating — a group of women have literally never lived with or around men. I wonder if they lived differently—did they fight over power? Do they learn that men exist in the rest of the world, and do they care? I have so many questions, and there’s only one way to find out the answers.
Reading Challenge Update
In the slumber of January, I designed a reading challenge for the first time. I wanted it to be flexible, to flow with all of us and where we were being drawn to read in our (limited) free time. You can read the original post here:
August - Read a novel about war of any kind.
My pick: All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque
I bought a copy of this over the summer after seeing the Netflix movie that bears its name. If you like war movies at all, you must watch it. The cinematography is so crisp and real; as a viewer, you’re immersed.
My interest in the book was piqued when I learned that the Nazis burned this novel during their infamous book burnings. And it was written by one of their own—a German WWI veteran.
September - Read a novel about climate change.
My pick: Sea of Tranquility, by Emily St. John Mandel
I read this novel earlier this year and it is like a symphony. So, so beautiful. Each character whose lives seem completely siloed actually cross paths in a tesseract.2 There’s a fourth plane of time and a rupture is created by a single character they all meet across centuries. One of the characters lives on the moon, because in her lifetime, the Earth is no longer a viable place for all of humanity to live due to climate change.
Parable of the Sower and How Beautiful We Were are also great choices that are on my want to read list! They’d fit this category well, with Parable touching on the Earth’s “future” and How Beautiful on the environmental desecration of colonialism.
October - Read a novel about characters who migrate for any reason.
The Books of Jacob, by Olga Tokarczuk
This is an absolute behemoth of a novel, at almost 1,000 pages. I’m under zero impression that I will finish it in October, but I’ve already started it and I know for certain it is a map across Eastern Europe in migration, from Podolia to the then-all powerful Ottoman Empire.
The central character is Jacob, a self-proclaimed “Messiah” who converts across the Abrahamic religions and gains power in all of them. The craziest part: he was a real person that lived a long, long time ago.
Even if it doesn’t sound like your kind of book, I want you to at least see the inner cover:
The Books of Jacob, or: A fantastic journey across seven borders, five languages, and three major religions, not counting the minor sects.
Told by the dead, supplemented by the author, drawing from a range of books, and aided by imagination, the which being the greatest natural gift of any person.
That the wise might have it for a record, that my compatriots reflect, laypersons gain some understanding, and melancholy souls obtain some slight enjoyment.
-The Books of Jacob
Isn’t that gorgeous?
My next book post will come in October, and I’ll share my picks for November and December then. The last two of our first year in a reading challenge! What a full circle. Thank you for coming along. :-)
I wish you evenings and rainy afternoons spent curled up with books that speak to your soul.
Until we meet again,
Sarah
I will write about it soon! I’m still reconciling all the thoughts I have about it first.
Where time bends because past, present, and future are happening all at once.