Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino
Tarantino has novelized his own movie in his fiction debut. Variety had this to say: “In the golden age of 60s and 70s movie novelizations, film fans flocked to these cheap paperbacks, usually written by B-grade writers who’d been granted access to a screenplay draft but not the finished film, in the hope that they’d contain some interesting deleted scenes … If there’s an overriding gag here, it’s that ‘Once Upon a Time’ is a book of mostly deleted scenes.”
How Do You Live? By Yoshino Genzaburo
A Japanese children’s novel from 1937, and a guide to living a fulfilling life. Once banned in Japan for its humanism and anti-authoritarian ideas, it’s now available in English.
He Kupu Taurangi: Treaty Settlements and the Future of Aotearoa New Zealand by Christopher Finlayson and James Christmas
“Treaty settlements are no panacea. They can address but not cure the past and there is a wide range of views among Māori about their adequacy. Yet no other country has attempted a national reconciliation project quite like New Zealand’s.”
At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop
Winner of this year’s International Booker prize, and recipient of these words of praise from the New York Times: “a spare yet extraordinary novel about this bloody stain [World War One] on human history.”
Letters to Camondo by Edmund de Waal
Like de Waal’s bestselling family memoir The Hare with the Amber Eyes, Letters to Camondo tells the story of a Jewish family, using objects and in this case fictionalized letters. There are two whole Guardian reviews of de Waal’s new book, both with their thumbs up: “a wonderful tribute to a family and to an idea” says one, and “an exquisite and profound coda to The Hare with Amber Eyes”, the other.
The Practice of Not Thinking: A Guide to Mindful Living by Ryunosuke Koike
Zen priest Ryunosuke Koike’s guide to mindfulness and connection. From the publisher’s blurb: “Koike’s theory tells us that our energy is predominantly being used to think negative and unnecessary thoughts, causing us to lose our ability to make decisions and our five senses to lose their strength. Ranging from complacency in your relationship, over-commitment at work to searching for approval from others, The Practice of Not Thinking will teach you how to re-train your brain and eliminate these challenging habits, leading to a quieter and more peaceful life.”
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
People ask Google, “What is The Vanishing Half summary?” Google replies, “The Vanishing Half follows the lives of two twin girls, both light-skinned Black girls, who run away from home at the age of 16. Desiree marries a dark-skinned Black man and has a child, while Stella lives her life passing as white.”
