"I was 52 when I discovered I could write." -Richard Adams
Kerri Miller's Must-Read
Halfway home on the last leg of a long flight, my seatmate and I discovered we both loved books.
She is 22, specializes in military intelligence and is poised for her first long deployment in the Navy. We’d been having a surprisingly philosophical conversation for a plane ride: It covered friendship, ambition, love, loneliness — and nail polish (hers looked fresh and sparkly; mine not so much).
I imagined her aboard a destroyer for nine months and wondered about the kind of books I’d take along if I were in her place.
“Do you read for pleasure?” I asked, bracing myself for the usual excuses about Facebook and Snapchat and no time and "the last book I read was 'Harry Potter'…"
But her eyes lit up and she opened an app on her phone to show me a jumble of titles she admired and all the recommendations from friends who were stationed around the world.
We were kindred spirits. So we exchanged the books that had been important to us over the last several years. For her, I jotted down Ann Patchett’s “State of Wonder,” the novels of Ron Rash and anything that James McBride and Louise Erdrich have published. I wish I’d remembered to mention “Wolf Hall” by Hilary Mantel.
She told me she’d loved “The Kite Runner” and a book written by a Green Beret about the Vietnam War called “Across the Fence.”
We agreed that there were few books that had sparked our imaginations the way Abraham Verghese's “Cutting for Stone” had.
She confided in me, as we approached the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport, that it had been hard to stay close to friends who were serving far afield. I like to think that when she deploys later this winter onboard that Navy destroyer, she’ll be kept company by authors who will comfort her and challenge her and illuminate the complicated world she’s committed to improving. We’ve promised to stay in touch.
-K.M.
2016 in reading: Favorite books of the year "There's so much you get from a book that you can't get from anyplace else," said Lisa Lucas, executive director of the National Book Foundation.
More
"Watership Down" author Richard Adams dies at age 96 "I was 52 when I discovered I could write," Richard Adams once told the Guardian newspaper. "I wish I'd known a bit earlier. I never thought of myself as a writer until I became one."
More
5 of the year's best books in translationSmall publishers and big indie powerhouses alike showcased international voices this year — we pick out a few of our favorites, from a bitter marriage drama to the memoirs of a polar bear family.
More
On the anniversary of Wounded Knee, a reading list On Dec. 29, 1890, U.S. soldiers killed more than 100 members of the Lakota tribe in South Dakota. These books offer perspective on the massacre and the scars that remain.
More
Make this the year you finally write your bookAccording to a New York Times op-ed from over a decade ago, "81 percent of Americans feel they have a book in them." Are you one of them?
More
Books Trump should read before getting the nuclear codes On Thursday, President-elect Trump tweeted that the U.S. should "expand its nuclear capability." Here's a short list of books to aid in the nuclear decisions ahead.
More
The Thread's 21 favorite novels of 2016 Family secrets and alternate histories come together on our impossible-to-narrow-down fiction list.
More
The Thread's top nonfiction picks of 2016Our favorite nonfiction books of the year will make you laugh, cry and learn a lot about microbes.
More
Reality is overrated: The Thread's top sci-fi and fantasy picksTime travel's the hot topic in 2016, but this list dives into other strange and wonderful places.
More
Young at heart: The Thread's top YA picksFrom historical fiction to dystopic fantasies, these young adult novels make for thrilling reads.
More
For the littlest readers: The Thread's children's and middle grade picksFrom magic watches to made-up languages to big sisters and bigger dreams, here's a look at The Thread's favorite books for young readers.
More
Poets' picks: The best poetry collections of 2016Poets from across the country name their favorite collections of the year.
More
