The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak

My boss gave me this book out of the blue one day. He said he was about to give it away, but he thought I might like it. When I finally got around to reading it, I was a bit put off by the "young adult" label it had. No one should be though. While I can see how it would be a good book to read in high school English classes, that doesn't mean it's not suited for an older audience. I read two of my all-time favourite books in high school English- Catcher in the Rye and To Kill a Mockingbird, I'm looking at you.

To summarize, this book about a young girl and her foster family in Germany during World War 2 was really good and I cried at the end. The End.

It Chooses You, by Miranda July

I love Miranda July, so I'm biased here. This book is almost a companion piece to her recent film "The Future". While she was stuck writing the end of the movie, she distracted herself by interviewing people who advertised things for sale in the Penny Saver. That project became this book, and through it she not only figured out what to do with her film, she found someone who became a large part of it.

This book is charming and gives some insight on her thinking behind "The Future", a film I found fascinating. It also gives some insight on the recently married July's heart. I find her way of thinking comforting.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and Other Concerns), by Mindy Kaling

This book was thoroughly delightful and I would like to be friends with Mindy Kaling. Her book is a fun memoir where she talks about how she got to where she is through hard work and being a good kid. I notice that she doesn't talk a lot about mooning over boys and only mentions someone who sounds like a serious boyfriend once, right at the end. I think this book would be a good influence for teenage girls. A very funny, light read that I identified with in several places. Would have been good to read on vacation.

The Walking Dead, by Robert Kirkman

This was my Christmas. Staying up until 3 am several nights in a row, devouring (unintentional pun) eight years worth of zombie comics. And it was damn worthwhile too. If you enjoy the TV series of "The Walking Dead", you will enjoy the comics too, even if you're not a regular reader of comic books. They're different enough that you appreciate them as totally separate stories. Either way, I can't wait to see Rick and the gang again.

11/22/63, by Stephen King

I read a lot of Stephen King in high school-oh, how much less freaked out of things I must have been then!- but not a word since, until I started reading a blog called The Hairpin. The Hairpin has a Stephen King fan on staff, and I was interested to read about a couple of King's recent works. This, his newest book, sounded really good so I requested it from the library. You guys. SO GOOD.

The titular date refers to JFK's assassination. The plot is that Jake Epping, an average high school teacher, finds a portal to 1958, and decides that he can change the world by saving Kennedy from being killed. That's all you need to know. It wasn't a horror like I expect from Stephen King, and although there were whiffs of the supernatural (whiffs beside the main plot of time travel, of course), I was only a little freaked out. This book was super interesting and unpredictable and I couldn't put it down.

Shteyngart!

Suddenly I'm noticing him everywhere.

Interview in the NYT

Article on his Sunday routine in the NYT

His Twitter feed (which I found out about- how else?- via the NYT, namely, a tweet from columnist Frank Bruni)

Super Sad True Love Story, by Gary Shteyngart

I heard this guy interviewed on Q, and he and his book sounded so interesting I requested it straightaway, after some Googling to figure out what his last name was. Since then, I've read that this is his third book, but his first that is not straight-up humour. It's a humorous book, but mixed with quite a bit of seriousness.

"Super Sad True Love Story" takes place in a very near future, hints of which I am seeing all the time. Poor protestors camping out in a NYC park? That's in here. I just read an article suggesting you try out emoji instead of texting boring old words! In this book, people can actually get a degree in Images, which are now the preferred method of communicating. People despise books, preferring to immerse themselves in their apparati (ultra-smartphones). I've gotten a few unpunctuated emails clearly written on a phone (that doesn't make it okay!) that suggest we're headed that way.

This was a super interesting book that made me think a lot. I could probably go on about it all day. A definite win!