The Book of Records

The Book of Records by Madeleine Thien is the best book I have read this year. 

A novel that leaps across centuries past and future, as if different eras were separated by only a door.

Lina and her father arrive at an enclave called The Sea, a staging post between migrations, with only a few possessions. In this mysterious and shape-shifting place, a building made of time, pasts and futures collide. Lina befriends her neighbors: Bento, a Jewish scholar in seventeenth-century Amsterdam; Blucher, a philosopher in 1930s Germany fleeing Nazi persecution; and Jupiter, a poet of Tang Dynasty China.

Memory, political revolution, generational change, and the ethical imagination are at the heart of Lina’s illuminating conversations with her fellows in the Sea: how we come to believe what we believe, and how every person is an irreplaceable, unique vessel of history. Through the guidance of these great thinkers, Lina equips herself to reckon with difficult questions of guilt, responsibility, and the possibility of redemption when her ailing father begins to reveal his role in their family’s tragic past.

As Lina confronts her father’s troubling admissions, she begins to reconceptualize the world around her, gaining a deeper understanding of how our individual futures are shaped by our political circumstances, and she relies on the collective joy of art and intellectual endeavors to carry her through difficulty. A novel that voyages between centuries, generations, and ideas, The Book of Records is an indelible testament to the migratory nature of humanity and our ceaseless search for a home—in the physical world, in cyberspace, in history, and in the imagination—in the wake of catastrophe.

Thien is a beautiful writer who pulls readers into the story. She must have a brilliant mind to be able to wrestle the time periods, philosophy, and poetry into a truly amazing book. Buy this book today.

Thien, Madeleine. (2025). The Book of Records. New York: WW Norton & Co.

Embers of War (Embers of War #1)

Embers of War by Gareth L Powell is a great science fiction novel with an AI ship as one of the main characters. 

The Trouble Dog, designed as one of five fighting ships, retired her commission a the end of the last war and is now working with the House of Reclamation. The House has a ragtag fleet of ships and people who go where they need to help rescue of those who need it.

Captain Sal Konstanz is from a planet that was entirely destroyed during the last war. She has always been on the side of helping, flying a first aid resupply ship during the war. She actually comes from a long line of people who, unlike all other humans in the galaxy, do not seek riches or fame, but just to do their part for all living creatures. 

When a cruise ship sends a distress signal from the Artefact system, Trouble Dog, Sal and the crew are the closest ship that can help. 

Ona Sudek, a poet who has gained some acclaim from her war poetry is on the cruise ship when it is hit. They crash into one of the planets called artefacts because someone carved them into shapes. This one looks like a giant brain. 

This first book in the Embers of War series is a great read of any science fiction fans, but particularly of the Patricia Hutchins series by Jack McDevitt. 

Powell, Gareth L. (2018). Embers of War. London: Titan Books.

The President and the Frog

The President and the Frog by Carolina de Robertis is a beautiful book about a life spent in the service of making a country more just. 

In an unnamed Latin American country, a former president is about to be interviewed by yet another foreign journalist. Though he has been out of office for a while, his journey from protesting the previous regime and spending years in prison before becoming president is inspirational to people everywhere.

At 82, the president spends most of his time in the garden enjoying the quiet. He is a little surprised and resigned that he is still getting requests for interviews. Always when they come, they exclaim at the size of his small home and then move outside to film the interviews. 

And each time, the president considers telling them about the frog that came to taunt and encourage him to talk - keeping him from going insane while he remained in a hole in the ground with no human contact. A frog that may well have been a figment of his imagination.

Filled with humor and the strength of the human spirit, The President and the Frog is a philosophical novel about survival for the greater good. Told in flashbacks and present day, this is a wonderful book that everyone should read. It reminds me of my other favorite recent read: Piranesi by Susanna Clarke. Both capture the best of what it can mean to be human. Buy them both today from your local, independent bookstore. 

de Robertis, Carolina. (2021). The President and the Frog. New York: Alfred A Knopf.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (A Monk and Robot Book #1)

A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers is the first book in the Monk and Robot series. 

Sibling Dex is a monk who is changing their job and planning to go on the road to offer tea service. After declining the optional training session, Dex is on the road with this Oxbike and trailer.

Tea Service is a ceremony where the monk parks, sets up a seating area and anyone can come and talk about their problems or ideas. At the end of the talk, the monk makes them a tea appropriate to the discussion / feelings expressed.

This is a part of Panga human culture centuries after the split between humans and robot. The land was divided fifty percent for humans and fifty percent for robots. 

When Sibling Dex decides that even the small villages are not as remote as they were hoping, they decide to try a pilgrimage to a former temple in the wilds.

Not too far off of the paved human road, Sibling Dex meets a robot! This is the first conversation between human and robot since the split. 

Chambers is a wonderful writer who brings humanity to her characters - regardless of species. This discussion between two very different beings illustrates what humans think of themselves versus what others might see. A beautiful book for all humans!

Chambers, Becky. (2021). A Psalm for the Wild-Built. New York: Tor.

Piranesi

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke is one of my favorite books of the last few years. It is a story that can be read a philosophy, a look at the human condition, or just a beautiful story of the awe people see in the world around them.

The House has hundreds of rooms and vestibules, all filled with statures. All room's statues are different than those of the other rooms. And the House makes up the entirety of the world.

A few rooms have collapse into the sea and become the Drowned Rooms where you can fish, collect seaweed and watch the birds.

Piranesi knows the house. He has explored and mapped his world. He knows the tides that sometimes close off sections. He has made a life with what his world has to offer.

The only other living person in this life, simply called the Other, meets with him twice per week. He is researching a Great and Secret Knowledge. He and Piranesi could not be more different in their approach to life.

This is all I can say without giving too much away. I absolutely love this book. Buy a copy today from your favorite local bookshop. 

Clarke, Susanna. (2020). Piranesi. New York: Bloomsbury.

Daoism: A Beginner's Guide

Daoism: A Beginner's Guide by James Miller is a great introduction to a philosophy and religion of balance.

This is a great introduction to Daoism, from its creation through the main three schools of thought today, including the philosophies, Tai Chi, and meditation.

Beginning in China, spanning centuries and almost every part of the globe, this guide is beautifully organized some of the main concepts in Daoism. Miller also explores how Daoism and Buddhism influenced each other over the ages.

This is a beautiful book whose timeliness in the current pandemic may give you some ways to refocus your mind.

Miller, James. (2014). Daoism: A Beginner's Guide. London: Oneworld.

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar

Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein is like a crash course in basic philosophy - and the best read-aloud book in years.

This is a great book for anyone who likes jokes. The jokes are great, non-offensive and educational. Each joke illustrates a theory of philosophy.

Cathcart, Thomas and Daniel Klein. (2007). Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar. New York: Abrams Image.