A Book A Week

2015 marked the fourth year of A Book A Week. Over those twelve months, I was able to read many books, discover new authors, and  most importantly. . . connect with other readers. Personally, the year saw me complete my masters degree and begin several new jobs. 2016 is already shaping up to be a great year for the blog! From the start, I plan on reading a few of the books that I simply didn't have time to get to last year. Additionally, I have several new releases awaiting review, author interviews scheduled to post, and exciting new giveaways to host. But before I kick off 2016 with my first review, I thought it would be fun to look back on 2015 and list my favorite books of the past year!

Here are my top 5 books of 2015 listed in no particular order:

Beneath the Surface by John Hargrove

This non-fiction book by a former SeaWorld trainer provides an inside look at the company's treatment of their animals and the people tasked with caring for them. John Hargrove chronicles his years of working for the company and the corporate reaction to the tragic death of veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau. The book is a riveting expansion of the author's interview in the documentary Blackfish that provides new details and offers fair solutions. Read the full review here. 

Not on Fire, but Burning by Greg Hrbek

In the most emotionally moving novel that I encountered in 2015, author Greg Hrbek presents a poignant and layered family drama that explores loss, grief, and prejudice. These difficult topics are approached with a poetic prose that allows the text to flow effortlessly from the page and to imbed itself into the deep recesses of your soul. Read the full review here.

Fortune Smiles by Adam Johnson

Adam Johnson follows his Pulitzer winning novel The Orphan Master's Son, with this eclectic collection of short stories. The stories showcase Johnson's masterful skill and provide unique contemplations on life and the human condition. With this release, Johnson is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors! Read the full review here. 

Go Set A Watchman by Harper Lee

This was perhaps the most controversial novel of 2015. The details surrounding the novel's discovery, publication, and content seemed to overshadow the fact that this was one of the best novels of the year! In the book, Lee challenges our perception of her beloved characters and forces us to face the realities of racism, politics, and gender inequality. Like the classic novel that preceded it, I believe that Go Set A Watchman will stand as a great work of American Literature and further cement Harper Lee's status as a legendary author. Read the full review here. 

Slade House by David Mitchell

While this novel never attempts the same scope or depth of Mitchell's larger tomes, it is a taut and welcome departure that matches the imaginative originality of the author's best works. The fact that Slade House is a spooky story that never takes itself too seriously only adds to the delight of reading it and makes it one of the most enjoyable novels of 2015. Read the full review here. 

And so we end the last chapter of 2015 and begin the adventure of a new year. What were your favorite books of 2015, and what are looking forward to reading this year?

A few years ago, I succumbed to the pressure of numerous recommendations and read David Mitchell's acclaimed novel Cloud Atlas. While I appreciated the unique construction and technically inventive writing of that novel, I found myself slightly unsatisfied by the end of it. The changing perspectives of different characters at vastly different time periods made reading the story quite a chore. When I finally made it to the end, I didn't feel any significant payoff to my efforts. Despite all of that, I still found myself reflecting upon the book, closely watching Mitchell's career, and waiting for the chance to read more of his work.

His latest novel Slade House immediately caught my attention. The first chapter was initially published as a serialized set of tweets. Mitchell then went on to expand that short story by adding four more chapters to complete the novel. At a little over 200 pages, Slade House is a work that is a bit more digestible than some of his heavier tomes, but equally thoughtful and enchanting.

Slade House is a mysterious dwelling that plays host to 120-year-old twins, Jonah and Norah Grayer. It is one of those places that exists somewhere in the outer edges of our minds. A Narnia like "reality bubble" of the imagination that is visible only to the select few who possess the psychic abilities to engage with it. Every nine years, Slade House appears to those (fortunate?) souls, enticing them to enter into the grand estate. Logically speaking, the residence and expansive garden surrounding it should not be able to exist in the narrow alley between the neighboring two homes. Still, those who push on the small iron door in Slade Alley are granted access to the extraordinary lair that defies space and time.

Each of the five chapters follows an individual as they explore Slade House. Beginning in 1979 and reconvening every nine years to the present day, the mystifying Grayer twins greet their guests with a specially tailored performance in the "Theatre of the Mind". They take the form of different characters each time, affably luring their visitors deeper into their shadowy "lacuna". By the time the true intentions of the Grayer's are revealed, it is too late. The guests become victims to their nefarious hosts and ensure that the cyclic nightmare will continue.

In Slade House, David Mitchell produces an astonishing story that defies genre and engages the innermost recesses of our imagination. Each chapter adheres to a similar form as the characters methodically approach their doom. This simple formal device creates an ever-mounting dread as readers become attuned to the ominous inevitability of the characters' fate. In the hands of a less capable author, the explanation of the Grayer's back story and "operandi" could easily have become convoluted and difficult to comprehend. Fortunately, Mitchell's effortless linguistic manipulation conjures a coherent description of this intricate mythology. Slade House comfortably succeeds as an intelligent and terrifying page-turner that brilliantly showcases the proficiency of its visionary creator.

For more information, visit the author's website, Amazon, and GoodReads.

(2015, 32)