I'm no great fan of memoirs. They generally strike me as self-absorbed. If you are like me in that way, I would encourage you to make an exception with this one. It is a moving and transforming experience. (Nonfiction)
All in Reading with Randy
“Today I Wrote Nothing” by Daniil Kharms
His stories are generally short and quirky and every now and then there is one you think is going to go somewhere and then it doesn’t. (Fiction)
“The Full Facts Book of Cold Reading” by Ian Rowland
The book is not particularly about whether psychic abilities may actually exist. Rather, it offers a description of the methods that psychics use to manipulate their customers. (Nonfiction)
“The Nickel Boys” by Colson Whitehead
Whitehead’s fiction writings are not preachy but they are penetrating. He continues to call our attention to the unfinished work of racial healing. (Fiction)
Math Books
I’ll bet you were told there would be no math here. Surprise! There is nothing but math here. (Nonfiction)
“Remainder” by Tom McCarthy
So at the risk of alienating readers who are wondering if I’m going to talk about their favorite book, let me review one that no one I know or have ever met has read. (Fiction)
“The Secret Lives of Boys” by Malina Saval
Teenage boys can be both intimidating and exasperating, often at the same time. It is a tribute to Saval’s skill that I came away from the book caring about the boy in every chapter. (Nonfiction)
“Shroud” by John Banville
How about a novel built around the founder of deconstructive literary criticism? It’s hard to imagine a more exciting premise than that. (Fiction)
“What If?” by Randall Munroe
Okay. I get it. We are all ready for something on the lighter side. How about a book that is constantly amusing, engaging, and at the same time will actually teach you something? (Nonfiction)
“Jennifer Government” by Max Barry
What is the point of writing a novel when what is happening in the world is far more unbelievable than any act of the imagination could be? Is it even possible to write satire in a world where the news is already too kooky to be satirized? (Fiction)
“The Righteous Mind” by Jonathan Haidt
We may think we hold our moral decisions based on reasons, but more than likely the position came first and the reasons later. (Nonfiction)
“The Secret Chord” by Geraldine Brooks
Most of us have known the story of David for so long we cannot remember what it was like to hear it the first time. This novel allows us to hear this familiar story all over again. (Fiction)
“The Impeachers” by Brenda Wineapple
I don’t know what your history classes were like in high school or college, but I assure you that this is a fascinating tale, which is all the more remarkable since you already know how it comes out. (Nonfiction)
Plays by Hnath, McCarthy, Schreck, and McDonagh
It is undoubtedly true that plays were meant to be seen on the stage. And yet some of these scripts are so brilliant that they yield great pleasure and insight even by their reading. (Fiction)
“Midnight in Chernobyl” by Adam Higginbotham
It is a brilliant piece of detailed investigative reporting and the best account of the Chernobyl disaster that we have. (Nonfiction)
“After the Quake” by Haruki Murakami
The straightforward impetus for the stories is the Kobe earthquake of 1995. Four thousand were killed, and more than a quarter million were left homeless. It lasted all of 20 seconds. (Fiction)
“American Crucifixion” by Alex Beam
At the very least, we should educate ourselves on the history so we can understand where Mormonism came from. (Nonfiction)
“Motherless Brooklyn” by Jonathan Lethem
It is a call for us, individually and as a society, to try a little harder to understand and appreciate those in our midst whose minds work a little differently from our own. (Fiction)
“Columbine” by Dave Cullen
While the events are deeply moving and almost unbearable, Cullen has not set out to toy with our hearts but to tell us what really happened. (Nonfiction)
“Crabwalk” by Günter Grass
What does it mean to deal with a national sin? What does it mean to grapple with a past that is never just the past, that keeps intruding day by day and will do so for the foreseeable future? (Fiction)