Thank you for this review! I haven't read Birnam Wood, but your descriptions like 'kaleidoscopic' and 'cinematic' have got me intrigued. Regarding Burkeman's latest, I definitely recommend! I read it in a weekend and immediately had to post a review of it as well. Wishing you a November of excellent books!
Birnam Wood was a bit too long (though I know a significant page deduction from The Luminaries!) for me, though most of your bullet points still resonated. I agree with The Children's Bible (and really any Lydia Millet) for good climate fiction that reads fast. Land of Milk and Honey is another recent one where I enjoyed the format. Thanks for the other options to try!
MJ, I picked up Birnam Wood ready to put it down at any page whenever it became too preachy. But, it hooked me. Shelley wanting to quit, tired of scrounging through garbage for the cause, for her strong boss, Mira, devising a way out via Tony so Mira would fire her, rather than force Shelley to overtly quit—hilarious. The characters were too richly drawn to put down.
Yes, I guess I mentioned the number of pages because I wouldn’t want anyone to think this was a quick read! I usually prefer shorter books too. Thanks for those recs too, MJ!
Timely share on buckets vs rivers, Abra! Just yesterday I let go of the guilt of my way too many Libby holds and let go of anything I’d pushed off for more than 6 months - still kept it tagged to read someday, but I didn’t need the guilty reminders of books I hadn’t read that clearly haven’t caught my mood in a long time. We also put aside the “housekeeping and routine” bucket this week while the kids were off for fall break to do more NOTHING. We still have all the sports, but it was nice to just focus on those commitments and accept the pile up of dishes and dust bunnies for one week.
Thank you for this review! I haven't read Birnam Wood, but your descriptions like 'kaleidoscopic' and 'cinematic' have got me intrigued. Regarding Burkeman's latest, I definitely recommend! I read it in a weekend and immediately had to post a review of it as well. Wishing you a November of excellent books!
Thanks for that recommendation, Christi! I will look for your review. And yes, looking forward to hunkering down with some longer books in November.
Thank you for sharing this! Birnam Wood has been on my list for ages, and your review has bumped it up.
It was a fun read— and not quite what I was expecting when I went into it, which was nice too.
Birnam Wood was a bit too long (though I know a significant page deduction from The Luminaries!) for me, though most of your bullet points still resonated. I agree with The Children's Bible (and really any Lydia Millet) for good climate fiction that reads fast. Land of Milk and Honey is another recent one where I enjoyed the format. Thanks for the other options to try!
MJ, I picked up Birnam Wood ready to put it down at any page whenever it became too preachy. But, it hooked me. Shelley wanting to quit, tired of scrounging through garbage for the cause, for her strong boss, Mira, devising a way out via Tony so Mira would fire her, rather than force Shelley to overtly quit—hilarious. The characters were too richly drawn to put down.
Yes, I guess I mentioned the number of pages because I wouldn’t want anyone to think this was a quick read! I usually prefer shorter books too. Thanks for those recs too, MJ!
Timely share on buckets vs rivers, Abra! Just yesterday I let go of the guilt of my way too many Libby holds and let go of anything I’d pushed off for more than 6 months - still kept it tagged to read someday, but I didn’t need the guilty reminders of books I hadn’t read that clearly haven’t caught my mood in a long time. We also put aside the “housekeeping and routine” bucket this week while the kids were off for fall break to do more NOTHING. We still have all the sports, but it was nice to just focus on those commitments and accept the pile up of dishes and dust bunnies for one week.
Love this for you! Do more NOTHING.