So it is Black Friday and it is that time of year to start creating your wish list for the holidays. I have been reviewing a few different book lists- the Washington Post, The NY Times, and some from vloggers that I follow, and thought I would share some of the books that look interesting to me. I hope you can find something that looks interesting to you too!

Creation Lake by Rachel Kushner: I have had this book on my list at the library for awhile now! It is an intriguing set up where an agent is sent to infiltrate a group of environmental activists in France. But who is really being spied on or manipulated? The agent or the charismatic leader of this group? 

The Women by Kristen Hannah: This is one of those books that I want to read but am also reluctant to read because it know it will be challenging. This is the untold story of the many women who went to Vietnam during the war as nurses to care for US military personnel who were wounded in battle. Many suffered from long term PTSD because of what they witnessed and were unrecognized for their service and some were even vilified.

James by Percival Everett: This is a reworking of Mark Twain’s The Adventures Huckleberry Finn, which tells the story from the perspective of the enslaved James. This has been on almost everyone’s list and seems like an important book we should all read. 

This Strange Eventful History by Claire Messud: Based on her own family history, Messud has created a novel about three generations of a family beginning with World War II and on through the 21st century.

Question 7 by Richard Flanagan: I read Flanagan’s The Narrow Road to the Deep North, and it left a deep and lasting impression on me. This book is a bit different as it weaves various ideas and thoughts together exploring the idea of  how interconnected things are in this world and that one idea or one action can have lasting repercussions.

Orbital by Samantha Harvey: This small book (136 pages) won the Booker Prize this year! It describes one day in the life of an international group of cosmonauts as they circle around the earth. Someone described this book as “ravishingly beautiful.”   

I was excited to see some sequels to some of the books I have read and blogged about and thought I would collect them in one group. Jane Pek who wrote The Verfiers has a new book called The Rivals that looks like fun. Louise Penny has a new Gamache book called The Grey Wolf. Commissario Guido Brunetti returns in a new book by Donna Leon called A Refiner’s Fire.