What We’re Reading This Week

JULIE W.

A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit

“I read these essays in one sitting. There’s something about the rhythm of Solnit’s sentences as they course through her subject that feels like swimming. She’s hypnotic. I’d follow Solnit anywhere. In this case, I followed her through what it means to lose ourselves and to be lost, either in the wilderness, or to drugs, or to love, the desert, country music, all kinds of situations. We are a culture that has taken connectivity to a whole new level. We are rarely alone and rarely in a place we do not recognize or must navigate using only our wits. What do we discover about ourselves in unfamiliar territory? What does it say about us when we choose to be lost? If not all who wander are lost, not all who are lost are desperate for salvation. There’s a lot to consider in this book and I appreciate Solnit’s wide-angle view on the topic. I’m looking forward to hearing her talk at the Harry Ransom Center this week.”

JOE

Revival by Stephen King

“YES, I AM READING REVIVAL! IT’S 400 PAGES–THE PERFECT LENGTH FOR A STEPHEN KING NOVEL. THERE IS NO FAT IN THIS THING! I’VE WAITED FOURTEEN YEARS TO READ ANOTHER KING NOVEL AND I’M GLAD REVIVAL IS THE ONE I CHOSE! I’M REALLY INTO IT. IT HAS REJUVENATED MY LOVE FOR STEPHEN KING. THE DEDICATION PAGE IS AWESOME! I CRIED A LITTLE WHEN I READ IT.” (all-caps used to reflect Joe’s superlative enthusiasm for this book. –ed.)

JAN

Without You, There Is No Us: My Time With the Sons of North Korea’s Elite by Suki Kim

“Devastatingly heartbreaking memoir about teaching English to the sons of North Korea’s elite. Kim chronicles loving these boys, but being afraid of them at the same time. Her paranoia is ever-present. Such a good book.”

MICHAEL S.

The Adventures and the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

“I’ve been rereading this in anticipation of Anthony Horowitz’s Moriarty, which comes out in December.”

KATHLEEN

Endurance: An Epic of Polar Adventure by F.A. Worsley

“Awesome. This book is about the Shackleton Expedition of 1914 going to the South Pole. This year marks the 100th anniversary, so this book was republished. The writing is incredible. It makes you feel like you’re there, starving, freezing, eating seal and penguin meat. And that was the good stuff. All 100 men survived, but one lost his toes.”