The Thread's Must-Read
The Southern Reach Trilogyby Jeff VanderMeer
Buy this book
Have you lost sleep to the Southern Reach trilogy yet? The first movie adaptation is about to hit. Read up before the fever takes hold.
Jeff VanderMeer’s unsettling series imagines an area of wilderness isolated from all human contact. It’s not just cut off, it cut itself off. One day, an invisible border came down and now the land is reclaiming itself. All traces of any human presence have been erased, pulled under by vines and overgrowth. The zone has been labeled Area X, and ever since the border went up, it’s been carefully monitored by a team of scientists. Not that they have provided any answers.
The first book in the series, “Annihilation,” follows the twelfth expedition dispatched into Area X. The group is made up of four women: an anthropologist, a psychologist, a surveyor and a biologist. They’re tasked with researching what happened — and what’s still happening.
It’s a gets-under-your-skin, you-might-not-look-at-plant-life-the-same-way-again kind of fast-paced read. You may lose a whole afternoon to this sci-fi thrill, and there’s two more where that came from.
The movie adaptation, starring Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez and Oscar Isaac is coming in February. You can watch the trailer now and get a head of the story with the books.
-Tracy Mumford
P.S. Yes, it’s devastating when a book you love gets turned into a mediocre film. Here’s hoping.
 |
Love letters to your favorite books “Dear Fahrenheit 451” by Annie Spence
Buy this book
Librarian Annie Spence's new book is a collection of love letters and breakup notes to the books in her life — written in a warm, funny, specific voice that skillfully balances reverence and wryness.
More
Go behind the velvet rope and into some dark corners “Inside Studio 54” by Mark Fleischman
Buy this book
Owner Mark Fleischman's memoir drops plenty of celebrity names while detailing the day-to-day logistics (and the drugs) that kept the nightspot running.
More
A former speechwriter looks back on his “Hopey, Changey” years with Obama “Thanks, Obama” by David Litt
Buy this book
David Litt says writing speeches and jokes for former President Obama was often a delicate task: "There's a whole industry of people trying to take your words out of context."
More
James McBride's newest is a gem “Five-Carat Soul” by James McBride
Buy this book
The National Book Award-winning writer's debut story collection includes stories both straightforward and surreal. NPR's critic calls it “brash, daring and defiantly original.”
More
Jennifer Egan returns with a gorgeous tribute to NYC and its seaport “Manhattan Beach” by Jennifer Egan
Buy this book
Jennifer Egan's sweeping new historical novel doesn't just draw from the classic catalog of New York stories — it also takes its place among them.
More
Listen: Sherman Alexie on the aftermath of the “Native American Apocalypse” “You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me” by Sherman Alexie
Buy this book
Sherman Alexie told MPR’s Kerri Miller that his generation lived in the aftermath of the "Native American Apocalypse," he said. "They had everything taken from them … And we were raised by them."
More
Inside the video game industry “Significant Zero” by Walt Williams
Buy this book
Video game writer Walt Williams describes his advancement in a competitive and secretive industry. Critic Jason Sheehan says the book “plays out ... like a video game.”
More
