Andi's Book Recs in Rotation 8/22/22
Hey, book nerds! Welcome back to a bi-weekly series where I provide rapid-fire recommendations from my most recent reads. Here’s a list of my recs in rotation:
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Recently, I’ve had a simple goal: Read more genre fiction. I know what I like, and it’s Literary character-driven books. I picked up Sea of Tranquility because I hoped it would be the best of both worlds. A time travel story with mesmerizing prose? Sign me up. But this Sci-Fi novel delivered on so many other fronts. It’s both historical and futuristic, while also honing in on the very fine elements of how humans interact with others. It harbors the anxiety of existence which is balanced with the feeling of a cool wind hitting your cheeks. Emily St. John Mandel has produced a story that seamlessly glides through time and begs the question: Are we living in a simulation? Does that constitute living at all? Absurd, and at times mind-blowing, this book gripped me the whole way through.
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
This round of reading was two-for-two when it came to Sci-Fi books. Dominic begged me to read A Psalm for the Wild-Built for months. And I definitely see why: It’s a heartwarming, gender-affirming love letter to the environment. There are moments in this bite-sized masterpiece that I will think about for years to come. It follows Sibling Dex (a tea monk) and Mosscap (a robot) as they struggle to understand each other and the world around them. I found myself pondering why we—as people struggling to find meaning in a quickly advancing society—are constantly craving more. This book made me laugh and cry. It’s full of wonder, big and small questions, and, most importantly, an unlikely yet prosperous friendship. If you’re looking for a warm hug, this is the book for you.
Patricia Wants to Cuddle by Samantha Allen
Lilly Wachowski—showrunner on Work in Progress and cocreator of The Matrix trilogy and Sense8—said it best: “Bigfoot-Lesbian-Romcom-Mystery-Horror is my new favorite genre!” This book really is a good time. It features four final contestants for a dating show called The Catch as they get catty and fight for their lives on a mysterious island. As gruesome as it is satire, this story pinpoints some of the most annoying elements of popular culture. It reeks of obsession and self-serving characters. Some of them want one thing: Glamstapix followers. Others yearn for an understanding of their identity. I listened to the audiobook using Libro.fm; the narrator managed to imbue the text with as much personality as it deserves. But we have this book in the shop, too. I highly recommend experiencing it in whatever way works best for you!
Dogs of Summer by Andrea Abreu (Translated by Julia Sanches)
Annnnd, back to character-driven Literary fiction. I just couldn’t resist telling you about this one, a book that I read back in May as an Advanced Reading Copy. Dogs of Summer came out just in time for our August heat wave. Frenzied yet precise prose captures the essence of northern Tenerife. Each vignette-style chapter is another layer of a vivid fever dream. The 10-year-old narrator is affectionately called Shit by her best friend Isora. The two girls experience the world together with yearning, false confidence, and the lack of control that youth establishes. Isora is seen through Shit’s eyes with heightened affection—the type of affection that a 10-year-old can barely fathom. Shit would do anything for Isora: eat herself sick, follow her deep into the woods, log into a dirty chat room. This book is for my wistful readers.
