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Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mendel had been on my reading list for months, but as books on the list often do, I glanced over it often to read other things. When the novel was finally gifted to me by one of my teachers, I decided it was the perfect time. I read the entirety of the book on a 9-hour flight ride, and I must say, I was not disappointed. All I have to say is that reading a book about apocalyptic plane rides and airports while riding in an airport, totally cut off from outside communication, was not the brightest idea. It was very spooky, which, I can say for certain, did add to the atmosphere of the book. I adored the novel not just because I tend to love most sci-fi stories, but because each piece of the book works together to form this beautiful, extensive, and cohesive narrative that was so fascinating. The book was funny, entertaining, and spoke beautifully about the nature of humankind: about how humans react in times of crisis and when all is lost. The nonlinear narrative only made this book more beautiful, making it seem as though flashbacks, memories, and fragments of those who had died remained in this new world. To me, the only downside of the book was the ending. Without spoiling too much, I can only say that while some would consider it as a message of the continuation of life, I see it more as a step back into what things were, retranchement instead of progress. All in all, that is only an opinion, and this is still an incredible book that has definitely climbed to one of my top 10 favorite books. Without a doubt, 5/5 rating. To close off this review, a quote that speaks for the entirety of the book is one that also held immense importance to some of the novel's characters: “I stood looking over my damaged home and tried to forget the sweetness of life on Earth.” If you have time, I hope this quote (and the review as a whole) convinces you to pick up Station Eleven as a future read, because it is definitely worth it.

Night is one of those books you hear about often, almost always in the context of "it's a devastating read". Even yesterday, I told a friend I was reading it, and she seemed shocked I was reading it just to read it, instead of as an assignment from someone. Night is such a heavy read that it might seem daunting, but it is one of those books I feel everyone should read at least once. It is the nonfictional and autobiographical retelling of Elie Wiesel's life as a 15 year-old Hungarian Jew in 1944, when he and his entire family were sent to the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Buchenwald. In the preface, Wiesel writes: "What I do know is that there is 'response' in responsibility. When we speak of this era of evil and darkness, so close and yet so distant, 'responsibility' is the key word. The witness has forced himself to testify. For the youth of today, for the children who will be born tomorrow. He does not want his past to become their future." That is what the book is about, and that is why the story is so heartbreaking: Wiesel is laying out the devastation he saw to ensure that future generations will be reminded of what humans are capable of, so that never again will it happen. There are so many other parts of the books that can be talked about, but one I find most interesting is the idea that we, as humans, wait until it is too late to change our ways. The Jews of Sighet (the Romanian town where Wiesel and his family are from) are warned that danger is coming, and yet, until the very last moment, they seem to live in a delusional world where everything will turn out fine. It is like the story of the frog in a pot placed over a slow heating stove: the frog will not try to escape the water, because the temperature is raised so slowly that it thinks everything is fine, until the water boils and it is too late, because the frog has already burnt. Night thus serves as a warning to the future, for us to remember of what happens and what can happen again, unless we make sure it never does. In only 120 pages, Elie Wiesel has written a book that serves to warn all of humankind. Needless to say, this is a 5/5 read, and one I recommend to all and will likely read again soon.

The Monk and Robot series, of which there are currently two books: A Psalm for the Wild-Built and A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, has been on my to be read list for so long, but I never got to reading it until a few weeks ago, when I read the first book, A Psalm for the Wild-Built. The book is very short, only about 160 pages, but it's such a great read. The same is true for A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, which is only 152 pages long and yet continues the great story started in the first book. The series, unlike many of its sci-fi dystopian counterparts, is set in a world where humans have learned from their errors, one where the worldbuilding always makes you want to pack up and become a tea monk. The world and its characters are delightful. Needless to say, both of these are 5/5 reads, but read more below (with some spoilers) about why. Do We Want to Turn the Page? The Summary: A Psalm for the Wild-Built: Centuries before, robots of Panga gained self-awareness, laid down their tools, wandered, en masse into the wilderness, never to be seen again. They faded into myth and urban legend. Now the life of the tea monk who tells this story is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered. But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how. They will need to ask it a lot. Chambers' series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter? A Prayer for the Crown-Shy: After touring the rural areas of Panga, Sibling Dex (a Tea Monk of some renown) and Mosscap (a robot sent on a quest to determine what humanity really needs) turn their attention to the villages and cities of the little moon they call home. They hope to find the answers they seek, while making new friends, learning new concepts, and experiencing the entropic nature of the universe. Becky Chambers's new series continues to ask: in a world where people have what they want, does having more even matter? They're going to need to ask it a lot. The Author: Becky Chambers is an American science fiction writer. She is the author of the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series as well as novellas including To Be Taught, if Fortunate and the Monk & Robot series, which begins with the Hugo Award-winning A Psalm for the Wild-Built.

Jonathan Safran Foer's Everything is Illuminated was recommended to me by a teacher, though some of the story was spoiled to me at the start, and I was told it might be a bit hard to get through at first. Regardless, having been told that the ending was worth it, I persevered through. Whether it was the Alex's butchered English (which is funny, endearing, and interestingly enough, important to the plot) or Trachimbrod's story, all the strange elements tie in to create one beautiful picture. I ended up loving this book, and I cannot recommend it enough. Do We Want to Turn the Page? The Summary: With only a yellowing photograph in hand, a young man -- also named Jonathan Safran Foer -- sets out to find the woman who may or may not have saved his grandfather from the Nazis. Accompanied by an old man haunted by memories of the war; an amorous dog named Sammy Davis, Junior, Junior; and the unforgettable Alex, a young Ukrainian translator who speaks in a sublimely butchered English, Jonathan is led on a quixotic journey over a devastated landscape and into an unexpected past. The Author: Jonathan Safran Foer is the author of two bestselling, award-winning novels, Everything Is Illuminated and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and a bestselling work of nonfiction, Eating Animals. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. (from Goodreads)

In a somewhat surprising turn of events, yet another one of the books I have read this year is nonfiction. The Alchemy of Air by Thomas Hager was recommended to me a few weeks ago by my chemistry teacher. I decided to read it, because for some reason unknown to me, I always end up liking the books recommended by science teachers (the most important example being Richard Preston’s The Demon in the Freezer, one of my all time favorite books). After completing this book, I can certainly say that this still holds true, because this was an amazing read. Do We Want to Turn the Page? The Summary: A sweeping history of tragic genius, cutting-edge science, and the Haber-Bosch discovery that changed billions of lives—including your own. At the dawn of the twentieth century, humanity was facing global disaster: Mass starvation was about to become a reality. A call went out to the world’ s scientists to find a solution. This is the story of the two men who found it: brilliant, self-important Fritz Haber and reclusive, alcoholic Carl Bosch. Together they discovered a way to make bread out of air, built city-sized factories, and saved millions of lives. But their epochal triumph came at a price we are still paying. The Haber-Bosch process was also used to make the gunpowder and explosives that killed millions during the two world wars. Both men were vilified during their lives; both, disillusioned and disgraced, died tragically. The Alchemy of Air is the extraordinary, previously untold story of a discovery that changed the way we grow food and the way we make war–and that promises to continue shaping our lives in fundamental and dramatic ways. The Author: Thomas Hager is an American author and writer of popular scientific and narrative nonfiction.

One of my reading goals for 2024 is to read at least 12 books in French (one per month). Last year, I read 3 books in French. One year, THREE books! This year, I am determined to do it differently, and thankfully, it's succeeding. I am reading books that I want to read, and because of that, I have already read 2 French books! This particular book was a delightful read, and is called Au Soleil Redouté by Michel Bussi -a title which would translate to In the Dreaded Sun. While it has yet to be translated to English, for those who know French or are simply patient enough to wait, this is an incredible book. Do We Want to Turn the Page? The Summary: In the heart of the Marquesas, the most isolated archipelago in the world, where the souls of Brel and Gauguin hover, five readers take part in a writing workshop led by a famous best-selling author. Would the dream of their life be, for each of them, within reach? Deep in the rainforest, strange statues keep watch, the shadow of a tattoo artist lurks. And full sun in the blue waters of the Pacific, a disappearance transforms the stay into a... murderous game? Hell or heaven? Hiva Oa becomes the scene of all suspicions, of all manipulations, where anyone can lie... and die. Yann, a confused cop, and Maïma, a smart teenager, will they find which of the guests at the Au Soleil Redouté... pension has come to kill? (translated from Goodreads) The Author: Michel Bussi is one of France's most celebrated crime authors. The winner of more than 15 major literary awards, he is a professor of geography at the University of Rouen and a political commentator. After the Crash, his first book to appear in English, will be translated into over twenty languages.

In a surprising turn of events, all three of my first few reads of 2024 were non-fiction. Considering only 6 of the 50 books I read in 2023 were nonfiction, this year is shaping to be one filled with new books! My third book of 2024 was, just like the previous two, incredible, so here's why you should read Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil de Grasse Tyson Do We Want to Turn the Page? (in this case, YES!) The Summary: What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day. The Author: Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia. (from the Goodreads page)

My first read of 2024, The Dinosaur Artist by Paige Williams is a one of a kind book: it’s the true retelling of the “theft” of a dinosaur skeleton, a T. bataar fossil that ended up on auction in New York in 2012. Subtitled "Obsession, Betrayal, and the Quest for Earth's Ultimate Trophy", The Dinosaur Artist is a fitting title for a book about constructing skeletons to be sold as works of arts from fossils. Interestingly, I read my first book of the year on my phone, finishing The Dinosaur Artist on the plane. Do We Want to Turn the Page? The Summary: New Yorker staff writer Paige Williams delves into the world of the international fossil trade through the true story of one man's devastating attempt to sell a Gobi Desert dinosaur skeleton from Mongolia, a nation that forbids trafficking in natural history. The first time Eric Prokopi saw T. bataar bones he was impressed. The enormous skull and teeth betrayed the apex predators close relation to the storied Tyrannosaurus rex, the most famous animal that ever lived. Prokopi's obsession with fossils had begun decades earlier, when he was a Florida boy scouring for shark teeth and Ice Age remnants, and it had continued as he built a thriving business hunting, preparing, and selling specimens to avid collectors and private museums around the world. To scientists' fury and dismay, there was big money to be made in certain corners of the fossil trade. Prokopi didn't consider himself merely a businessman, though. He also thought of himself as a vital part of paleontology--as one of the lesser-known artistic links in bringing prehistoric creatures back to life--and saw nothing wrong with turning a profit in the process. Bone hunting was expensive, risky, controversial work, and he increasingly needed bigger "scores." By the time he acquired a largely complete skeleton of T. bataar and restored it in his workshop, he was highly leveraged and drawing quiet scorn from peers who worried that by bringing such a big, beautiful Mongolian dinosaur to market he would tarnish the entire trade. Presenting the skeleton for sale at a major auction house in New York City, he was relieved to see the bidding start at nearly $1 million---only to fall apart when the president of Mongolia unexpectedly stepped in to question the specimen's origins and demand its return. An international custody battle ensued, shining new light on the black market for dinosaur fossils, the angst of scientists who fear for their field, and the precarious political tensions in post-Communist Mongolia. The Prokopi case, unprecedented in American jurisprudence, continues to reverberate throughout the intersecting worlds of paleontology, museums, art, and geopolitics. The Author: Paige Williams is a staff writer at The New Yorker. At the magazine, her subjects have included suburban politics in Detroit, the death penalty in Alabama, paleoanthropology in South Africa, the misappropriated cultural patrimony of the Tlingit peoples of Alaska, and the White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. She won the National Magazine Award for feature writing, in 2008, and was a finalist, in another category, in 2011. Her work has appeared in multiple anthologies of “The Best American Magazine Writing” and “The Best American Crime Writing.” Williams is the Laventhol/Newsday Visiting Professor at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, and she has taught at universities including Ole Miss, N.Y.U., and M.I.T., in the Knight Science Journalism program. She has been a fellow of the MacDowell Colony and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard. The Dinosaur Artist, her first book, grew out of a 2013 magazine piece, "Bones of Contention." (From The Dinosaur Artist's Goodreads page)

For 31 days (minus 1, December 20th), I posted a book recommendation every day. Although it was fun, it was exhausting, and I probably will not be doing it again. Anyhow, here's a recap of each recommendation: Days 1-7 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar The Book Thief by Markus Zusak The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune Cogito by Victor Dixen Roxy by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman The Secret of Life by Howard Markel Days 8-14 Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by Philip K. Dick Circe by Madeline Miller None Shall Sleep by Ellie Marney Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson Days 14-21 The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson Educated by Tara Westover With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevado They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera 1984 by George Orwell Wolfsong by TJ Klune Days 22-27 Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao The Sixth Extinction by Elizabeth Kolbert Donne-Moi des Ailes by Nicolas Vanier The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki One Night in Miami by Kemp Powers Dry by Neal and Jarrod Shusterman Days 28-31 Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers That's a total of 30 books, 2 repeating authors (Neal and Jarrod Shusterman and TJ Klune), and a great time during a month-long challenge.

It's the fourth day of the 31 Days of Recommendations! Today, read TJ Klune's The House in the Cerulean Sea. It features some of my favorite quotes, and is all around an awesome book. Why you should read it: The House in the Cerulean Sea is about Linus Baker, a grumpy worker at Department in Charge Of Magical Youth. One of his cases brings him to the Marsyas Island Orphanage, the House in the Cerulean Sea. As often with Klune's main characters, Linus has to make the difficult choice of saving the home or possibly allowing the end of the world. This, combined with Klune's humorous writing, makes for a great read! Quote: “Change often starts with the smallest of whispers. Like-minded people building it up to a roar.” T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea What is this? If you haven't seen yet, this is 31 Days Of Recommendations, where I'll be sharing a book rec every day until the new year. From fantasy to murder mysteries, make sure to follow so that you can see each day’s recommendation, and end the year reading!

For the third day of December, read Markus Zusak's The Book Thief. It's an incredible book, written in a way that makes it even more enjoyable. Why you should read it: The Book Thief is the story of a german girl, Liesel, who occasionally steals books, thus earning the name of the Book Thief. The book is set in 1939 Germany, and it is narrated by Death, a not so morbid being who is haunted by what it has had to do. Liesel's story is closely intertwined to Death's, and combined with the writing, this makes for an incredible book. Quote: “I guess humans like to watch a little destruction. Sand castles, houses of cards, that's where they begin. Their great skills is their capacity to escalate.” Markus Zusak, The Book Thief What is this? If you haven't seen yet, this is 31 Days Of Recommendations, where I'll be sharing a book rec every day until the new year. From fantasy to murder mysteries, make sure to follow so that you can see each day’s recommendation, and end the year reading!

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is the first book you should read for 31 Days of Recommendations! Why you should read it: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a story that spans 30 years, starting with the creation of Ichigo, a game whose creation and success will have a stark impact on the novel. Through those years, you get to see Sadie, Sam, and so many other characters grow, age, and most importantly, live. Although it is a "love story", it's unique in its approach, making it a book I absolutely adore. Quote: “I love that world more, I think, because it is perfectible. Because I have perfected it. The actual world is the random garbage fire it always is. There's not a goddamn thing I can do about the actual world's code.” Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow What is this? If you haven't seen yet, this is 31 Days Of Recommendations, where I'll be sharing a book rec every day until the new year, with a quote and/or other ideas from the book to convince you to read them. From fantasy to murder mysteries, make sure to follow so that you can see each day’s recommendation, and end the year reading!