Good, better, best

Three recent reads and how they stack up

My sincere apologies for being absent last month! The good news is that because I haven’t written in so long, I have plenty of recommendations to share.

Whatever the opposite of a book rut is is whats happening to me right now. The last three books I read were so good that my fiance recently told me he’s excited for me to land on a dud so he can speak to me again. We’ll see.

Here are my last three reads: the good, the better, and the best.

Happy reading!

Good

Ascension by Nicolas Binge

Read it if you like: Outlandish adventures, speculative thrillers, mysterious phenomena being investigated by scientists

A scientist is called upon by an elite group to help investigate an enormous, mysterious mountain that has appeared out of thin air in the middle of the ocean.

This book was written for The Rock to make a movie out of it. There are a few lines in there that I’m actually certain he has said in other movies. Much like the 10 McNugget meal at McDonalds, there is little of substance but plenty of flavor. This starts out like the top of a roller coaster and doesn’t let go til the end, so hold on for dear life through these outlandish twists and turns. It’s a poor man’s Dark Matter, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable.

Better

An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green

Read it if you like: Internet culture, young people attempting to navigate life, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

When a young woman takes a video of a giant robot that has appeared on a New York City street, she is unexpectedly catapulted to international fame. It turns out these robots have landed on every major city in the world, and they may not be of this earth.

A delightful twist on the traditional first contact novel, this is branded toward a younger generation but will prove enjoyable for those of all ages. It is, in my opinion, rare that an author captures the language and nuances of the internet and its young confederacy in a way that doesn’t cause excessive amounts of cringing. April May, however, is a flawed and complex and brutally honest young protagonist, full of contradictions and humanity that anyone who has grappled with their own sense of identity will appreciate. Hank Green does it all here: aliens, romance, modern malaise and a hefty dose of humor. And yes, he’s John Green’s brother, but I think he does it even better.

Best

Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read

Read it if you like: Jaw-dropping survival stories, astonishing true adventures, Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer

The true story of how a rugby team struggles to survive in the remote Andes after their plane crash lands in the middle of the mountains.

Ask my fiancee, I audibly gasped during just about every page of this book. Despite the title, I failed to see how anyone could survive at any given point. You think it’s going to get better? No no, it gets worse. But what a testament to the will to survive. I have now forced everyone I know into reading this book. Avoid me for the next 6 months unless you want to hear about it.