reading recommendations, january 2021
Some of you may remember the Alexander Payne movie The Descendants that came out back in 2011. I remembered really liking it, but I'd forgotten that it was originally a book until I stumbled across a mention of it online last month. This week, I snagged it from the library, and man, how I love Kaui Hart Hemmings' sharp humor and dialogue. If you love stories about dysfunctional families, this one’s for you, folks. It's also great to get to read about Hawaii, a location I don't often see portrayed in fiction.
Looking for something a little less realistic and a little more magical? I would highly recommend adding some Aimee Bender fiction into your life. She's always doing something weird and magical – and yet also emotionally affecting – in her stories. My favorite collection of hers is The Girl in the Flammable Skirt.
Okay, I'm sneaking in a non-reading recommendation at the end here. If you haven't yet seen Hamilton, now streaming on Disney Plus (I swear, I wasn’t paid for this endorsement), I highly recommend it. It's so uplifting and inspiring to see the way Lin-Manuel Miranda plays with language and storytelling in this musical. He reminds me that creation is supposed to be – among many other things – purely joyful.
