ENJOYING WHAT WE’RE ENJOYING WHAT WE’RE

Shantaram

Gregory David Roberts (2005)

Sarah’s Score: *****

When my partner gifted me a nine-hundred word novel, I wasn’t excited at the task. But not even a chapter in, I was convinced that it was worth the time. Shantaram is a beautiful literary novel that follows a prison escapee who makes a new life for himself in Bombay, India. Roberts ability to take the bleak and desolate and turn it into pure beauty through exceptional wordsmithing is of a talent I’ve never encountered. I now say, instead of studying creative writing in school, I should’ve just studied Shantaram.

Reaper

This is literally just Dan’s cat..? (2015)

Dan’s Score: *****

When most people meet Reaper, a large black, long-haired half-Maine Coon mix, they’re quite impressed with his social skills, size, confidence, and the fact that he’s trained to sit for a treat. As an avid enjoyer of the outdoors, he’s also notably adorable in his hi-vis vest and leash. For all of these reasons, and in addition to the fact that he sleeps on the end of my bed every night, I wanted to give him a clean 5 out of 5, but I had to knock some points off for occasionally complaining too much and for sometimes harassing his elder roommate and fellow cat, Nibbler.

The Fragile Earth

The New York Times (2020)

Jeremiah’s Score: *****

In 1989, The New Yorker writer Bill McKibben published an essay on carbon-dioxide emissions called “The End of Nature.” The essay helped soften overly scientific language by bringing it into the narrative nonfiction sphere, so those of us more adept in the humanities can try to wrap our brains around the things that most contribute to climate fuckery, scientifically speaking. At 535 pages, it’s not exactly a quick read, but it is important as it features some of the great essayists of our time highlighting what’s at stake as humanity melts our favorite places on Earth.