Impossible a feat as it may seem, some of us are finding time to read in the midst of all of the holiday bustle. And what are we reading? For the most part, books coming out in January. So tuck these titles in the back of your mind and remember them when it comes time to spend all of the BP gift cards you get in your stocking.
Merrilee
Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations by Norman Davies
“This is awfully dense, but I’m a hard core history geek, so I’m loving it. Not only does Davies provide thorough and precise information about, for example, Burgundia, but he also goes through and critiques the accuracy of other people’s historical information, which I find hilarious. Like the Encyclopedia Britannica on the topic of Burgundia, for example, got 11 out of 15 facts correct.
This book is really well done. If you’re a history nerd like me, you’ll love it. It really makes me want to read his book on the British Isles.”
(Available 1/5/12)
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Will
“I’m reading three books right now, all of which come out in January.
The Amazing Adventures of John Smith, Jr. aka Houdini by Peter Johnson – This one has a lot of promise. It’s about a kid who decides to get rich writing a novel, and chooses Houdini as his subject. (Available 1/24/12)
Chomp by Carl Hiaasen – So far, so awesome. (Available 3/27/12)
Dumpling Days by Grace Lin – This is the third book in Grace Lin’s series starring Pacy. In this one, the family travels to Taiwan where Pacy is getting in touch with Japanese and Taiwanese culture. So far, of the three I’m reading, Dumpling Days is my favorite (though the others are very good, too.) I’m learning a lot about Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese culture my self. So while she’s getting schooled in the story, I’m getting schooled by reading it.” (Available 1/2/12.)
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Joe
Retromania by Simon Reynolds
“This book is about how our musical obsession with the past, whether it’s ’60s revivalism, or ’70s and ’80s revivalism, is undermining our culture. It’s a great premise, though there are times when the book makes me very angry and I want to throw it against the wall. But it does make me think. It’s very well written. I love the writer, so I keep reading it. I just want him right in front me sometimes – to talk to, not throw the book at. Oddly enough, I highly recommend this book.”
(Available now.)
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Raul
The Quantum Universe by Brian Cox
“I’ve been looking forward to this book because I enjoyed Cox’s previous book, Why Does E=mc2? I’ve always been curious about quantum physics and all the weird stuff that makes up our world that you can’t see. Cox writes in a very down-to-earth way, easily accessible for a layman. In Why Does E=mc2?, for instance, he laid out how the equation applied to practical things using very practical examples. I like these conceptual books that make you go, Wow, that’s what reality is really like! When you think about it, all we really are is energy condensed to a static state. What keeps us together? I’m hoping, in this book, Brian Cox will explain the answer.”
(Available 1/31/12)
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Further Interpretations of Real-Life Events by Ken Moffett
“I picked up this reader because a new collection of short stories always intrigues me, and because when I turned it over and read Moffett’s bio I saw that he’d been published in American Short Fiction, one of my favorite lit mags. I have not been disappointed. The stories cover a variety of situations, but all boil down to what I most enjoy reading about – characters grappling with how one actually goes about living a life in the wake of common heartbreak, grief, trauma, happiness, mistakes made, and so much life already lived. He’s the kind of writer that makes you want to sit down and write your own stories. Coming from a pile of anonymous readers, this book is a nice surprise.” (Available 1/17/12.)
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