Here is the list of all the books that are on top of most people’s mind this week, or at least deserves to be. It’s also a complete list with books on almost every genre that should appeal to most out there. Read on to find out more.
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
The story is set in a small town in Ireland and the year is 1985. It is the weeks preceding Christmas and Bill Furlong who runs a coal business is having the busiest time of the year. However, things play out differently one fine morning while delivering a coal shipment to the local convent. It is a chance discovery that makes Bill face his past on one end while addressing his own inner appeal to stand up to a wrong that, as Amazon described, ‘is safely nestled in the status quo and fiercely protected by the Church’. In the end, it’s a story of hope and heroism, how not dealing with wrong is another wrong being committed, all of which makes for a compelling reading experience.
Booth By Karen Joy Fowler
The novel provides us with a heady glimpse of the family behind John Wilkes Booth, the one person considered the most notorious in American history. Hailing from a family that would rather prefer being remembered for their stage performances than anything else, Booth gradually shaped up to become an assassinator, perhaps owing to the circumstances he had found himself in. It is something that again does not go entirely unnoticed by his siblings. It might be wrong to say they knew Booth would become an assassinator in the future but his extreme views on politics and racism made things uneasy for his siblings. It is also the time when America is in strife with extreme political and economic instability which, with each passing day, is driving the country to the brink of civil war. The book traces the lives of Booth from the perspective of his family and in the backdrop of the immense social upheaval that is taking a heavy toll on the citizens.
Preppy Kitchen: Recipes for Seasonal Dishes and Simple Pleasures By John Kanell
Cooking is something that anyone might want to try out irrespective of whether they are a passionate cook or have just a passing interest in cooking. The book can cater to the requirements of all such individuals. Also, a nice quality of the book is that the recipes are organized by season so that you have the freshest ingredients to cook your delicacies.
The recipes provided are varied too, which include Chive and Parmesan Buttermilk Biscuits, Blackberry-Balsamic Pork Chops, Apple Butter and Marzipan Bread, and Chorizo Beef Burgers with Queso and Avocado, to name just a few. In addition to the recipes, there are tips and tricks provided throughout as well. These apart, there is something else provided too, which includes making winter wreaths to pickling vegetables. All in all, the book is a must-read for both aspiring as well as seasoned cooks.
The “I Don’t Want to Cook” Book: 100 Tasty, Healthy, Low-Prep Recipes for When You Just Don’t Want to Cook by Alyssa Brantley
Now, this is another cookbook but is different from the scores around in that it does make cooking seem like a chore. Rather, the recipes provided are not only easy but require very less preparation time and the least of planning. Also, the ingredients mentioned are most likely to be present in your kitchen already, which means fewer trips to the grocery store as well. Best of all, the recipes do not look daunting as well and hence can be best suited for those days when you don’t feel like cooking in the first place.
Among the recipes provided include Fried Egg and Greens Breakfast Sandwich, Dill Pickle Tuna Melts on Rye Bread, Shrimp and Andouille Sausage Boil with Corn and Red Potatoes, and Maple Vanilla Microwave Mug Cake.
None of the recipes will take more than 15-mins of preparation time, which means less time spent in your kitchen and more time available to pursue your other hobbies and passions. There are lots of tips and tricks provided as well while there is going to be less of cleaning required post every cooking session. All of this does not come at the expense of taste or nutritional value either.
The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times by Michelle Obama
Former First Lady Michelle Obama is at it again, delivering another masterpiece of a book where she provides a hearty mix of tools and tips which she believes can help us stay firm and resolute when everything around us seems to be in a state of constant turmoil and uncertainty. In the book, Michelle Obama also tries to offer solutions to some of the most enduring issues that we so often face in our regular lives.
It is like dealing with such issues as ways to develop an enduring and lasting relationship, discovering inner strength within us and our community, and dealing with times when we feel helpless and suffer from a lack of self-confidence. Michelle Obama draws upon all the experience and wisdom she has gathered as a daughter, spouse, friend, mother, and of course, the First Lady. All of this makes the book deserving a thorough reading given the manner it promises to help us tide over the troubled times.
The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes by Neil Gaiman
If there is any novel that excelled in the fine art of graphic storytelling in recent times, it is The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes. Author Neil Gaiman does a great job in weaving together a story of fairy tales and folklore, of ancient mythology and mysticism. It is also about an attempt to create something definitive out of the infinite, trying to define the forces that exist beyond life and death.
The novel revolves around an occultist who embarks on a daring mission, that of capturing death and using the same as a bargaining chip for attaining eternal life. However, the plan goes awry when she discovers to her horror that she has instead trapped her own younger brother Dream. Also referred to as Morpheus, Dream is put behind bars for 70 years from where he eventually escapes and sets out to regain his lost powers.
The Fishermen and the Dragon: Fear, Greed, and a Fight for Justice on the Gulf Coast
In the 1970s on the shores of the gulf coast, tension is simmering. A pesticide plant is killing off the local shrimp and crab industry to a point that it can no longer support families as it had for generations before. An influx of new faces is challenging the status quo. An explosive encounter between a white crabber and Vietnamese refugee that leaves one dead ignites a cascade of events that divides a region and brings the Ku Klux Klan to town. Meanwhile one woman knows who the real enemy is, and fights tirelessly to expose it. In this follow-up to his 2018 book, The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century, which we also named a best of the month nonfiction pick, Johnson spins a twisty tale that reads like a cross between a crime thriller and Where the Crawdads Sing in its vivid setting of the scene. He blows the lid off a true story lost to history—which still feels shockingly relevant today.
All the Living and the Dead: From Embalmers to Executioners, an Exploration of the People Who Have Made Death Their Life’s Work
We are surrounded by death. It is in our news, our nursery rhymes, our true-crime podcasts. Yet from a young age, we are told that death is something to be feared. How are we supposed to know what we’re so afraid of, when we are never given the chance to look? Fueled by a childhood fascination with death, journalist Hayley Campbell searches for answers in the people who make a living by working with the dead. Along the way, she encounters mass fatality investigators, embalmers, and a former executioner who is responsible for ending sixty-two lives. She meets gravediggers who have already dug their own graves, visits a cryonics facility in Michigan, goes for late-night Chinese with a homicide detective, and questions a man whose job it is to make crime scenes disappear.
With a keen interest in tech, I make it a point to keep myself updated on the latest developments in technology and gadgets. That includes smartphones or tablet devices but stretches to even AI and self-driven automobiles, the latter being my latest fad. Besides writing, I like watching videos, reading, listening to music, or experimenting with different recipes. The motion picture is another aspect that interests me a lot, and I'll likely make a film sometime in the future.
