What We’re Reading This Week

SALVADOR

The Martian by Andy Weir

“I just started this book, which begins with the astronaut having been deserted on Mars after the mission is aborted and the others on the mission assume he’s dead. I really like it when an author drops you right into the middle of action. Andy Weir is a scientist obsessed with physics and astronomy who originally self-published The Martian. It went nowhere for a few years, and then it took off when he landed a publishing deal and a film deal in the same week. I’m very excited to finish it.”

SUTTERFIELD

Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christiantity Can Make Surprising Emotional Sense, by Francis Spufford

“Spufford’s writing is phenomenal! Compelling, emotional arguments make for a bracing book that is a lot of fun to struggle with. He’d be a fun person with whom to have a theological discussion. It would get so intense. I’m enjoying it a lot, even the parts I don’t agree with.”

MICHAEL S.

Brainquake by Samuel Fuller

“I’ve been reading this for the Hard Word Book Club meeting tonight. It’s a very interesting thriller. Sam Fuller wrote and directed a lot of classic movies, and he’s also a great novelist. Quirky and exciting. According to the back of the book, Wim Wenders says he’s one of the great film directors of the 20th Century.”

BEN

Dear Leader: Poet, Spy, Escapee – A Look Inside North Korea by Jang Jin-Sung

“Part memoir, part expose of the inner-workings of North Korea, this book was like nothing I had read before. Jan Jin-Sung was previously a poet laureate and high-ranking propaganda official before escaping into exile. Because of this, Jin-Sung has a singular and profound insight into a country I knew little about before discovering this book. Jan Jin-Sung’s personal narrative of exodus weaves with historical and political exposition to create a unique and terrifying account of the realities that many face in his homeland without ignoring the intricacies that might be unfamiliar or unapparent to many foreigners and outsiders (looking at you, Mr. Rodman).”

 

JULIE G.

The Life We Bury by Allen Eskens

 “It’s about a graduate student who decides to write about a guy who was recently paroled from prison who is in a nursing home when the student finds him. The grad student really believes that the man is innocent, so he goes after the story to see if he did it or not. Scott thought it came together too neatly at the end, but I liked it.”