SINGAPORE – In this week’s book box, The Straits Times recommends four books that would make great Christmas gifts. Buy the books at Amazon. These articles include affiliate links. When you buy through them, we may earn a small commission.
Book review: End of the world is endless fun in Kate Atkinson’s Normal Rules Don’t Apply
English author Kate Atkinson has toyed with the idea of infinite possibilities in her 2013 novel Life After Life, in which central character Ursula Todd is put through a groundhog day grinder of endless alternate life trajectories, from being stillborn to being brutally murdered by her abusive husband.
Here, Atkinson rehashes this computer game trick with a lighter – and more conceptual – touch. Her latest offering is a cycle of interlinked short stories situated in York with the end of the world nigh – except everything keeps rebooting, each time with a new set of unexpected rules.
The collection starts biblically, with the rhythm of a fairytale. She gives the Book of John a spin: “In the beginning was the Void. Then came the Word, and with the Word the World began. Then one day, to everyone’s surprise, the Void returned, and darkness rolled over the land.”
Book review: Britney Spears grieves, rages and rises in best-selling memoir The Woman In Me
Celebrity memoirs are not uncommon, but perhaps none has been as hotly anticipated as American pop star Britney Spears’ The Woman In Me – and not without good reason.
The 42-year-old singer of iconic hits such as ...Baby One More Time (1998) and Toxic (2003) was silenced for 13 years under a conservatorship controlled by her father that stripped her of the right to decide what to do with her career, finances and life. She was freed from the arrangement only in 2021 after reporting her father for conservatorship abuse.
Now, finally able to tell her story, Spears – who reportedly worked with ghostwriters – does not adorn her memoir with fancy words.
Book review: Brandon Sanderson’s The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook For Surviving Medieval England is a cracking fun read
There is evidently a substantial Venn diagram intersection that embraces fans of Arthur C. Clarke, Diana Wynne Jones, Robert Ludlum and the inimitable Terry Pratchett. This book is aimed squarely at that demographic which will grasp instantly the references, narrative framework and sense of humour driving the story.
The ever-prolific Brandon Sanderson went into overdrive during the pandemic years and produced five novels, four of which he then went on to Kickstarter to fund in a self-publishing drive.
That 2022 campaign, which raised a mind-boggling US$15.1 million (S$20.2 million) in the first 24 hours alone, is officially the most successful Kickstarter of all time. Sanderson wanted to raise US$1 million, but ended the campaign with some US$41.7 million for what he calls A Year Of Sanderson.
The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook For Surviving Medieval England is one of his pandemic manuscripts, a standalone story outside of his famed Cosmere universe.
Book review: The Heron Catchers is a slow look at infidelity in a picturesque Japanese town
The last place Sedge expected to find comfort is with Mariko, the wife of the man who ran off with his own wife, Nozomi.
Reeling from the pain, he takes residence with his brother-in-law Takahashi and his spouse Yuki in Kanazawa, and begins to navigate the tricky terrain of healing and finding his purpose once again.
The picturesque small town provides the perfect backdrop for contemplation and personal growth.
Sprinkled throughout the novel are mentions of Japanese history, pottery and poetry, which add a needed depth to the story.
The Straits Times’ Weekly Bestsellers Dec 9
The Little Liar by Mitch Albom tops the Fiction list.
