Future Home of the Living God
Louise Erdrich

I have been listening to Future Home of the Living God on libro.fm. (For audio book listeners unfamiliar with libro.fm—you can buy audio books from an indie bookstore, like this one!, and listen to books on your smart phone, tablet, or other device of your choice—click here for more. Erdrich reads the book, which is a treat in itself.

Future Home is set in the near future and follows Cedar Hawk Songmaker, a 26 year old woman raised by her adoptive parents, Sarah & Glen Songmaker. Cedar is pregnant and wants to know if her biological family has any medical history she should know before her baby is born. To find out, Cedar goes to visit her biological family, who live on a reservation. Themes of family and identity abound. But the real heart of the story is what’s happening not just to Cedar and her families, but the entire world—evolution is going backwards. While Future Home is dystopian and dark, it also is laced with Erdrich’s humor. This is a compelling, well-written story.

Morningstar
Ann Hood

In her last two books, Ann Hood has explored the transformative power of reading. In the novel, The Book that Matters Most, members of a book group read the book which has mattered the most to each of them. In Morningstar, the memoir which is her latest book, Hood mines her own experiences as a young reader. Hood grew up in a family in which storytelling was central, but reading was not particularly valued. On her own, she discovered an eclectic mix of books. These included Little Women, The Bell Jar, Johnny Got His Gun, and Marjorie Morningstar. My interest in this book is as a catalyst to explore one’s own reading, and the ways in which books shaped our lives. I’d love to hear from you on this topic—what books helped make you the person you are today?

Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy
Anne Lamott

I’m a huge fan of Anne Lamott’s non-fiction. In it, she explores her own messy life unflinchingly and with humor in ways that illuminate the human condition. Her fierce faith shines through, but is never sentimental, sappy, or orthodox.

Hallelujah Anyway opens with these words: “There are times in our lives—scary, unsettling times—when we know that we need help or answers but we’re not sure what kind, or even what the problem or question is.” She decides that mercy is what our time calls for. She defines mercy as radical kindness, along with its synonyms, grace, forgiveness, and compassion, and declares “Hallelujah that in spite of it all…there is mercy.”

I found this book to be hopeful and affirming in these days in which we live. And I’m going to keep re-reading it to help me remember its wisdom.

A Long Way Home: A Memoir
Saroo Brierley

A Long Way Home is the memoir of Saroo Brierley. Saroo's story begins in India, where he is living in poverty with his mother and siblings. At the age of five, Saroo convinces his much admired older brother to take him along when he sets out seeking food or money to help the family. The boys traveled by rail. They become separated and Saroo ends up crossing India alone. When the train stops, he has arrived in what was then known as Calcutta. Saroo's journey eventually leads him to be adopted by an Australian couple. Australia becomes his home and the Brierleys his family. Still, he clings to the memories of his childhood in India. With a great deal of determination, Saroo eventually finds his hometown and is reconnected with his biological family. A Long Way Home has left me with a greater awareness of poverty and the staggering numbers of homeless children throughout the world. I am also left thinking about the power of hope and determination. Lastly, I am left considering the importance of family. This is an amazing story!

Science Comics—Dogs: From Predator to Protector
Andy Hirsch

I know, I know this looks like an all-time low for me but when it has “Science” in the title, I have to at least give it a look. If you like dogs, this is your book. If you like genetics, this is your book. If you like evolution, this is your book.
What better topic to write about than dogs? Everybody loves dogs (well maybe not the adamant cat-lover) but almost everybody loves dogs and this book explains everything about dogs. Why they look the way they look, where they came from, why they sniff butts. When I was handed this book, I thought it would be a quick read at 120 pages. It’s a highly illustrated book but is packed with a ton of information. A dog, Rudy, takes you through an assortment of topics that’s not just for kids. He discusses Linnaeus, Mendel, Belyaev, Darwin…what you never heard of Dmitry Belyaev? Well you should buy this book to find out about breeding aggressiveness out of foxes. All the stuff I learned in my college genetics course and more in kind of a fun presentation (no comic books in college, although I do have to admit to some poorly written text books). I suggest you read the Introduction (which I frequently skip) and be aware of the Glossary and Further Reading in the back.

I thought it was a fun and informative book but don’t get it just for the youngster in your family. I would say junior high up to all adults is a good range of reader.

No Horizon is So Far: Two woman and their Historic Journey Across Antarctica
Liv Arneson and Ann Bancroft

These two women were the first to cross Antarctica. Ann is from Minnesota, which makes this story extra special. They walked, skied and used awls with their skis to cross. It was truly an adventure of endurance including storms, ice crevices and bitter cold. The summers in Antarctica are very short, so they had to move quickly to meet their goal. Not only did I enjoy reading about the journey, but also found out that the women had prepared a curriculum for schools to use. Thousands of kids followed their trek. A quote from Billy Jean King says, " They inspired young girls and boy alike to follow their dreams." If you like this book you might want to read Endurance by Alfred Lancing and West with the Night by Beryl Markham. Be sure to put an extra log on the fire to read this book.

Note: although this book is out of print, we can secure used copies.

News of the World
Paulette Jiles

Captain Jefferson Kidd makes his living traveling the small towns in Texas. He performs live readings from newspapers to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. The captain runs into an old friend who asks him to take a ten year old girl who has been freed from the Kiowa Indians back to her relatives 400 miles away, near San Antonio. Thus unfolds a marvelous story which I thoroughly enjoyed. Jiles is the best-selling author of Enemy Women, set in the Civil War. That book was a National Book Award finalist. At the core of this book is the relationship between a grizzled old man and a lost young girl finding what it means to care about someone and finding her place in the world. A must read! This book is slated to be a movie starring Tom Hanks.

The Life We Bury
Allen Eskins

The Nix
Nathan Hill

This epic novel does a masterful job of moving back and forth in time, building suspense and unfolding the complex stories of its very relatable characters. The contrast between the protest at the 1968 Democratic Convention and Occupy Wall Street is thought provoking. This book might have the longest sentence ever: I usually hate prose without breaks but this works because it fits the context perfectly.

11/22/63
by Stephen King

Imagine that only you could travel back in time to 1958, and that you have been urged to stop the assassination of Kennedy, in hopes that the Viet Nam war would be avoided. This is not your typical Stephen King novel. But King is a master storyteller beyond his usual horror genre. You may not like the ending, I didn't, but visiting the "Land of Ago" through the eyes of a 2011 man is totally engaging.

This Idea is Brilliant: Lost, Overlooked, and Underappreciated Scientific Concepts Everyone Should Know
John Brockman

I don’t have a scientific turn of mind, and this book knocked my socks off. Its clear insights tie up the loose ends I always feel when confronted with the explanations that science offer. It offers holism rather than rarified splintering trains of thought. This collection of short essays explains, in terms I can begin to understand, the work brilliant minds have devoted their careers to develop. Seriously, after reading these essays I’ve come away feeling comforted, not with the queasy helplessness I generally feel when up against the blank impermeable wall of what feels unknowable.

Note: this book will be released January 16.

The German Girl
Armando Lucas Correa

I am 66 years old, and I’ve never read a book that had such a profound effect on me! The German Girl grabbed my heart from the very beginning and didn’t let it go. Hannah, the German Girl in 1939 and Anna, her great niece in 2014, come to life thanks to the beautiful writing of Armando Lucas Correa. The author tells the story of the St. Louis, a ship that sets sail from Hamburg, Germany in 1939, filled with Jews hoping to find freedom and a new country to call home. Sadly though, they only find rejection from many countries, including the United States. Please read this book and then read the The Muralist. Thank you, Mr. Correa.