Jordan Mattox

1. The Archer Paulo Coelho

I’ve never been much of a fan of Coelho, but I decided to give this one a try because I really enjoyed the book Zen in the Art of Archery and it seemed like they had the same flavor. The book was fine, but certainly not mind-expanding. He essentially is teaching wisdom principles through his version of Koan or parable. If you have read books of spirituality or Buddhism, you will find echoes here. I think that there are better books than this that illustrate these principles and ideas though. 

2. The Story of a New Name Elena Ferrante 

I read the first volume in this four book series last year and meant to continue, but got sidetracked with other books and kind of forgot about it. But then I was scrolling through HBO Max and realized that they had adapted the novels into a series. After watching the riveting first season based on the first book (My Brilliant Friend), I was reinvigorated to return and finish reading them. The second novel continues the story of the friendship between Elena and Lila as Lila gets married and Elena continues her education and pursues love interests. The book is so beautifully written and the story so enthralling told that you will not want to put this down. If you are looking for a good book series to start this year, consider Ferrante’s. 

3. The Power of Regret: How Looking Backward Moves Us Forward Daniel Pink

These types of books–business or self-help books that offer summaries of psychology research with anecdotal applications–had their heyday, but may be coming to an end, given that most of them should just be articles and the frailty of psychology experiments called into question by replication crisis. This book is in many ways a Ted Talk about the benefits of learning from regret. The key takeaway is to learn from regret and not get mired in woulda, coulda, shoulda mental dialogue. A valuable point, no doubt, but one that could have been delivered in far fewer pages. 

4. The Golden Compass: His Dark Materials, Book 1 Philip Pullman 

I do not often read YA, in part because there is so much bad YA out there. But it’s becoming clear that there is good YA and, in looking through lists of people’s favorites, His Dark Materials typically tops the rankings charts–and for good reason. People often compare these stories to Harry Potter, except that I think the storytelling, ideas, and writing is much better. The story is too complicated to explain in his brief vignette, albeit to say that there are talking animals, Oxford dons, witches, fighting Polar Bears, multiverses, wormholes, discussions of the origin of consciousness, zeppelins, and more. I’d highly recommend the audiobook version as they utilize a full cast with sound effects as well. A great book to take a long walk with. 

5. Pachinko Min Jin Lee 

I remember a few years ago when this book was making everyone’s best books of the year list. Sometimes, with books like this, I like to wait until the glow has dimmed a bit to read them, shielding myself from the implicit pressure to match the fervor. I am glad that I waited and also glad to say that the book lives up to hype. The story follows a family that immigrates to Japan from Korea in the 1920s/30s and follows the descendants until the late 1980s. At its core, it is a family melodrama, but of the highest order. The story is subtle and quiet, but has a deep emotional intensity and is compulsively readable: the pages seem to turn themselves. 

6. Hurricane Season Fernanda Melchor 

To say that this book is difficult to read would be an understatement. Melchor is one of the most exciting novelists working in Mexico, but her books are hard reads. First, the book has few paragraph breaks and some of her sentences seem to go on for pages. Secondly, the story is about the murder of a town “witch” and each chapter takes on a new character involved in the crime. The language is graphic and content is often disgusting, but that macabre and profane content is meant to deliver a point. An important novel, but not one that is easy to read. 

7. In Other Words Jhumpa Lahiri

I’ve read and enjoyed a lot of Lahiri’s short fiction and was excited to pick this one up about her learning to read and write in Italian. In fact, she wrote the book in Italian and then had the translator who translated Ferrante’s novels translate her writing back into English. Her writing, in Italian, is on the left-hand pages and the translated version on the right hand pages. The book is a beautiful series of essays on learning and inhabiting a new language. I will read really anything she writes. 

8. Beautiful World, Where Are You Sally Rooney 

Rooney was known for a time as the millennial novelist, a reputation she earned through her first two books (Normal People and Conversations with Friends), but I would say that this is her most mature book and at points strikes me as somewhat conservative. It follows the story of two friends who exchange emails, correspondences which may be the highlight of the book, and their relationships with each other and their lovers. Her perceptive and punchy dialogue is really what sets her apart. If you haven’t read her, I’m not sure I’d start here though, it might be beneficial to begin with Normal People or Conversations to observe the evolution of her tone and ideas. Recommended for those of a certain age, but to all who enjoy dialogue of the highest order.