Read All About It

When winter winds blow, it’s a good time to enjoy indoor pleasures. These recentlypublished volumes can help you pass the time until the days are longer and the sunshine a little stronger. Happy 2022!

Such a great way to welcome the new year: The

Guide for Trying Times (2021). This arrangement of conversations between Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams focuses on four reasons for hope: amazing human intellect, the resilience of nature, the power of young people, and the indomitable human spirit. Nutshell review: A rather dire assessment of the state of the world is balanced by reminiscences of human ingenuity and grit.

Reviewed (2021) is a series of essays evaluating happenings of the current, human-centered era. The variety of topics ranging from Halley’s Comet, QWERTY keyboard, and the penguins of Madagascar offer bite-sized entertainment. Bestselling YA author John Green’s ratings from one to five stars, unfortunately, tend to devolve into self-absorbed complaints. Nutshell review: Reviewing and assigning worth to a book of reviews is profoundly absurd— but I’ll give it three stars.

(2021) reminded me of my love for short stories. Lily King briefly immerses readers in other peoples’ lives with well-crafted characters in “feel like I’m there” settings. The end of each story made this reviewer long for the narratives to continue, but alas … such is the nature of the genre. My challenge was savoring rather than reading one after another in a single sitting. Nutshell review: Complicated human emotions in delightful morsels.

Times (2020) is bibliotherapy for those challenging periods we all face. Readers going through or emerging from a trying stretch will appreciate Katherine May’s beautiful prose encouraging us to embrace cold weather (whilst bundled up) and slow days (for reflection and healing) and realizing their cyclical nature. Nutshell review: A “reading cure” for handling hardship—introspective, personal, and pointing to better days.

The Energy Paradox by Steven R. Gundry, MD (2021) engages readers without overwhelming with science. Most can appreciate the byline: What to Do When Your Get-Upand-Go Has Got Up and Gone. Dr. Gundry tends to oft repeat his themes—but understanding the metabolic causes of chronic fatigue or general malaise and how to address them is worth the effort. Nutshell review: Helpful mental health and meditation topics, but suggested recipes are too complicated.

All these books are available at Brunswick County libraries.

“New Year's Day: Now is the accepted time to make your regular annual good resolutions. Next week you can begin paving hell with them as usual.” ~Mark Twain