By Jamie Strickland
Somewhere between graduating college and my early adult life, I stopped reading for pleasure, or more accurately, for the desire to feed my hyperactive brain new scenarios to stew over. I just didn’t have time, I told myself.
Now I have even less time than I used to, but in this phase of life, I’m finding myself reading more than ever. Well, listening, mostly. In this busy era, I rely on audiobooks more often than not, squeezing in those bits of brain food into mundane moments like when I’m driving or folding laundry. When I’m really engrossed in a story, I’ve even been known to fly right by my exit on the highway, so I’ve learned to run the GPS as a reminder. I’m annoyed when it interrupts the story, but thankful that I don’t have to turn around.
In part, I owe this renewed love of books to my Aunt Sue, who started a little online book club for women in my family. It was great, because not only was it a way to connect with my aunts and cousins who I don’t see very often, but it also made me pick up some books that I never would have chosen otherwise.
My Aunt Sue passed away several years ago, and while we tried to keep our little Facebook group going for a while after, without her energy, it kind of fizzled out.
But what stayed alive was that renewed sense of reading (or listening) becoming a part of life that I deeply enjoy.
Now I’m in a little book club with some ladies from my gym, and there’s just something special about reading a great book and then getting to talk about it with friends. What everyone loved about it, what everyone hated, what some loved and others hated.
If you’re looking for some brain food in the new year, here are some of my most favorite things I’ve read recently.
“The Great Alone,” by Kristin Hannah
I’ve read several of her books now, but The Great Alone was my first from her repertoire and so far, still my favorite. It follows a girl growing up in the 1960s and 70s with a father who returned from Vietnam with severe PTSD and moved their family to a homestead in remote Alaska. The scenery in this book is described so perfectly that you can almost feel the cold on your skin. And the ending was one I definitely did not predict — always a plus.
“Killing the Mob: The Fight Against Organized Crime in America,” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard
This one chronicles the history of organized crime in America from the 1930s through the 80s, and sidenote, it contains way more about the Kennedy family than I ever realized. Also, J. Edgar Hoover. Just, wow. What a guy. But not in the way you might think.
“11/22/63,” by Stephen King
Coincidentally, this one also has a strong Kennedy connection plus a time travel element that despite its length, keeps you intrigued from first page to last. No matter how old I get, King is still, well, the king. I loved his books in high school and I love them still. No other author can make the hair on your neck stand up quite like he can. If horror is not your genre, don’t worry, it’s not mine either. He has a slew of books that have a touch of the supernatural but none of the gore. I avoid the Pet Cemetery type and gravitate towards ones like The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. Scary, but not in a “monster attack” kind of way.
“Ready Player One,” by Ernest Cline
This one is a dystopian future/adventure type, which is not my normal genre at all. But this book was great. Set in an overpopulated, overpolluted future, people have turned to a virtual reality network called the OASIS where they spend all of their time dissociating from the world around them. The people have a deep nostalgia for 1980s and 90s culture, so the pop culture references will spark fond memories if you grew up in this time. Note: the move version was one of the most disappointing adaptations of a book I have ever seen. It may have been fine as a stand alone move, but after reading the book, I left the theatre grumbling.
“The Hail Mary Project,” by Andy Weir
This is another futuristic one that I listened to with my 13 year old son on the way back and forth to school each day, and we both loved it. This is a book that is definitely better on audio because of the sound effects. They are coming out with a movie version in the Spring and my son and I will definitely go see it — Ryan Gosling, please don’t let me down now!
“The Covenant of Water,” by Abraham Verghese
This beautifully written novel follows three generations of a family in South India, and really made me realize how little I know about Indian culture and history. The author expertly handles the passage of time and intertwining story lines and characters.
What are some of your favorites? I’m always up for a good recommendation. Shoot me an email at jamie@jnowmedia.com.
