As I continue to dive into my towering stack of to read books, I wanted to highlight the first books I read at the start of 2020. This year, unlike any other, I feel as though I have nothing but incredible books, all credit goes to my mom who only lends me books that she rates A+. These several books have kept me company during pivotal times. First was my move from Hollywood after 10 years of living in a space to the unknown house in Highland park. Followed by traveling around and finally to our current uncertain times that is Covid-19 and quarantine. Do you ever feel that a book represents a time and a moment? A reminder of a significant moment in your life? A good, or even a terrible book brings me back to those hours spent reading and the reason why that book was chosen and what brought me to read that particular cover. Those hundreds of pages are what educates me when I find myself stuck, it’s what gives me hope when I feel down, and what takes me around the world without having to move my feet. Every book has a story, not just what’s written in the pages, but how it makes you feel in a particular time and these books are just the beginning of some changing times.

SO first things first.

PACHINKO by Min Jin Lee

I picked up Pachinko during the holidays but I didn’t actually dive into it till the beginning of the year. I spent a majority of December trying to fight off a lingering cold while packing, selling and moving all that was a 2 bedroom apt in Hollywood to a shared two bedroom house in Highland Park. I was working full time during the holidays and stretching myself very thin, by the time I picked up the book before bed I’d read a paragraph and be asleep. Once the stress was over and I found myself moved into my new home, I finally gave Pachinko the respect it deserved. I sat down and read it, almost in its entirety.

The author, Jin Lee, writes about a multi-generational epic that covers the road less traveled in historical fiction. A layered look at the Korean immigrant experience in early 1900’s Japan, about the role of family and the strength of women, about identity and fate. Beautifully written with characters that stay with you, engage you, and break your heart multiple times over. One of those long books you don't notice is long at all and once it’s done, you only want it to continue. I was fascinated to read the historical fiction taking place during World War II that wasn’t American or European biased. While reading Pachinko I realized there were holes in my knowledge when it came to World History and the experience by Korean and Japanese people. I guess I can say I was largely ignorant of the fallout of the division of Korea and the way it left many of their people living in Japan stranded and living so very poorly. All in all I can say this novel is beautifully constructed with characters who feel quite real and vivid. Definitely would recommend, it doesn't matter if you aren't Korean or even Asian, because the themes are universal, a book that everyone would enjoy!

ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anothy Doerr

I picked up this book during a run with my trail wife Lani. We were around Silverlake when we spotted a little neighborhood free library. The book enthusiast I am can not pass up a gander into the treasures this box may hold. Low an behold All the light we can not see was stacked on top and I had remembered hearing it was a good novel so we carried it for the remainder of the run. It wasn’t until a few months later as I packed for my trip to the Suunto Headquarters in Finland did I pick up the book again. The size was perfect for traveling and my mom assured me it was well worth the read. I read the majority of the plane ride and if it wasn’t for the lack of sleep and light due to everyone sleeping on the plane, I would have finished it. I can not entirely portray how this book affected me. When I think of it, I feel as though it was a movie I had watched instead of read, each word illustrating a detailed picture in my mind. The beautiful complexity of this story and the technique that Anthony Doerr has used is completely spellbinding. Any writer could write she was angry or he was happy, especially during WWII, but Doerr doesn’t write the emotions of the characters. He beautifully paints the scenes and states the facts about the characters and leaves out the emotion so that the reader fills in the hurt and the anger and the fear and the joys. This book is nothing short of a masterpiece. I’ll just leave you with with one last thing, Doerr says of the title that “It’s… a metaphorical suggestion that there are countless invisible stories still buried within World War II — that stories of ordinary children, for example, are a kind of light we do not typically see. Ultimately, the title is intended as a suggestion that we spend too much time focused on only a small slice of the spectrum of possibility.”

Gives me chills just reflecting on this novel.

TIME AFTER TIME by Lisa Grunwald

This book reminds me of traveling around Finland and Sweden with it in my backpack. By no means is it a small paperback book but a large and in charge hardcover. And mind you, my backpack is a mere backpacking pack while traveling through very cold climates and this novel taking up vital space for my essentials. Needless to say I never started it during my trip- between some epic jet lag to being always on the go to the next adventure, I never had the time. But once I returned home, I finally gave it a chance, while still a bit bitter about carrying it around for so long.

I’m a sucker for a good love story, and this is a non-traditional romance novel, if there is one. It is a really sweet tale about love during the Depression and some time later, in New York City. The writing has a gentleness that is appealing. The well-crafted characters feel so real that their struggles pull at the reader's heart-strings. It’s all base on the Mahattanhenge, a term popularized by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, is a phenomenon occurring around the time of the summer and winter solstices. Throwing Neil deGrasse Tyson in to make Eamon proud, who is a huge fan of StarTalk Radio. Anyway, the rising or setting sun creates an amazing burst of light framed by Manhattan skyscrapers as the sun rises above or dips below the horizon. Although I am a sucker of a good romance novel, this one, although beautifully written, was one I found almost predictable. My overall feeling while the book was really well written and the story line was strong, I wasn't yearning for more after I finished the book.

THE DOUBLE BIND by Chris Bohjalian

I read this post Finland trip pre Suunto Camp in Utah trip. It was a limbo stage where all I did was sleep, eat, run, work, repeat. At the time I wasn’t aware that this author had also written The Flight Attendant which I had read a few months prior, I thought was also fantastic.

This book would be my next recommendation after All the light we cannot see. Thoroughly engaging and engrossing. A woman who works at a homeless shelter is given a box of photographs of a dead patient. It starts her on this quest to find out who he was and if he is connected to her hometown on Long Island and yes, there is this whole Gatsby thing, which made it all that more interesting. I loved the layers of the story that get peeled back and the ways in which her story and his story become intertwined as the story goes along. Dealing with issues of mental health and coping with having been assaulted years ago, as she researches, she becomes obsessed and no one around her gets it. I loved it. What a layered and complex and yes, riveting read and one I would re-read. The ending took me completely by surprise that I almost wanted to re-read it to see what signals I missed. I normally pride myself on being a fast reader but this is one you want to read with care and pay attention to detail. It was beautifully written and one that I would recommend to anyone looking for a great book.

I didn’t realize reviewing this book would stir up so much emotion, it was an extremely riveting topic that will always stay with me. I look forward to reading more of his work, just in case a certain someone decides to order me some for my birthday, ahem my mom.

Have you read any thought provoking or just plain great books lately? Leave a comment with any rec’s!

I have ample time, not knowing when I’ll be returning to work and am always looking to add great books to my always accumulating stack of to read books!

Till next time,

Sawna