To Rise Again at A Decent Hour

To rise again at a decent hour

by Joshua Ferris

This book was recommended to me by a friend, and I'm so happy I decided to pick it up and read it! The author, Joshua Ferris, tackles some major topics - identity theft, religion, relationships, suicide and others. But the book is also very funny. I was laughing out loud most of the time. I'm definitely going to be reading something else by Ferris!

What If? Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions

 by Randall Munroe

By the writer of the webcomic xkcd, this book follows the same idea: use hard science as humour.  Munroe doesn't dumb it down, either.  The concepts are challenging.

In this book, he takes reader submitted questions and examines what would happen if: a baseball were thrown at near the speed of light; what would happen if tried to use the kick-back of a machine gun a jetpack; what if you turned your hairdryer on to the highest setting, but 1000x hotter?

It's funny and it doesn't use too much jargon so it should be easy enough to understand even when tackling some pretty high-level physics.

Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage

by Haruki Murakami

I've been reading books that are a little more light-hearted so I thought it would be a good time to switch it up a bit. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami is definitely not light-hearted, but it is a fantastic read. Friendships, love, regret, openness, and death are all touched upon in this novel. It definitely made me pause and reflect on the past, and choices made.

Bioshock: Rapture

by John Shirley

Based on the video game series BioShock, this novel stands very well alone as a story in its own right. Set in the underwater utopian city of Rapture, BioShock: Rapture tells the story of the founding and Ayn-Rand-type vision of a city where all people are equal, paid each according to their contributions to the city, with no government interference.  Of course as often goes in these perfect plans, everything goes wrong and inequality inevitably divides the city (but you already knew this part from playing the game).

You don't need to play the game to appreciate the story: none of the games features appear in the book beyond providing background texture.

If you are curious, you can also find the games in our DVD Dispenser.

Attachments

Attachments

by Rainbow Rowell

Lincoln is hired at the local newspaper to read staff emails flagged as inappropriate. At first it seems to be the perfect job: he works mostly alone, the job is pretty easy, and at times amusing. However, when Lincoln starts to look forward to reading emails between coworkers Beth and Jennifer he starts to question his behaviour - especially once he finds himself falling in love with Beth. 

Funny and sweet, I couldn't put this book down! Rainbow Rowell has also written Eleanor & Park, Fangirl, and Landline.

Americanah

 
By Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Adichie is a wonderful storyteller. I found this novel to be very captivating and couldn't put it down. It is hard to describe this book because it is about so much - love, race and identity, the immigrant experience, and more.

Description from chimamanda.com:
Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.

The Yard: a novel

By Alex Grecian

Here is one that I could not put down even though at times my queezy stomach told me I should. I even contemplated calling in sick to work just to read this book. Alex Grecian uses actual historical characters and places to add to the reality of this story.

Take a step back in time to a place before DNA testing and when it was thought that performing an autopsy with your bare hands was perfectly safe. Fingerprinting was still a very new and unreliable form of identification. Grecian uses vivid and sometimes stomach churning descriptions in this novel. The Yard is the first in the Murder Squad series.

In Victorian London there are twelve detectives known as “The Murder Squad,” whom are given the daunting task to solve a countless number of murders each month. This is a time just after the Jack the Ripper murders and the citizens of London are disappointed in the police force and scared of what may be "out there." The squad is hit hard when one of their own is found murdered. One of my favorite chapters detailed from the murder victims perspective while he was being brutally killed, very gruesome. If you want to know more you’ll need to get yourself down to the library today!