This month’s choices:
Fiction
The Stand
By Stephen King
One of my nephews perused my bookshelf during the Thanksgiving break and asked me if I’d enjoyed Stephen King’s sprawling epic, “The Stand.”
After gushing about the book, I realized I’ve never chosen it for my book club. Until now.
This is one of King’s earlier published works, and for my money it’s one of his top three fiction pieces (along with “The Shining” and “Misery”).
Many people referenced this book when COVID-19 struck because “The Stand” is a story about a weaponized strain of flu—known as Captain Trips—that wipes out 99% of the world’s population.
The survivors find themselves drawn by their dreams into one of two camps: One, led by Mother Abigail, represents hope and compassion. The other group follows Randall Flagg, a malevolent force gathering his troops to do battle.
It’s the ultimate showdown between good and evil, with the good guys settling in Boulder, Colorado, while Flagg’s people are in Las Vegas.
In this post-apocalyptic world, we get to intimately know several characters, and we struggle alongside them as they find their way in this nightmare world.
For many of King’s fans, this is easily his most ambitious novel, a stunning examination of societal collapse, moral choices, and the eternal battle between light and dark. It’s dense, but you won’t be able to put it down.
Nonfiction
The Wager
By David Grann
I’m a sucker for good historical nonfiction, and this one is truly fascinating.
In 1741, a battered ship washes ashore on the coast of Brazil carrying thirty emaciated British sailors who claim to be survivors of His Majesty's Ship Wager, which had wrecked on a desolate island off South America's coast.
But months later, another group of survivors arrives in Chile—only they tell a dramatically different account of what happened, accusing the first group of mutiny and murder.
Grann masterfully reconstructs this maritime disaster and its aftermath, revealing how the crew of the Wager—originally part of a squadron pursuing a Spanish treasure galleon—descended into chaos after their shipwreck.
Stranded on a barren, storm-lashed island, the men faced starvation, disease, and betrayal as their social order collapsed. The survivors split into factions, leading to a harrowing struggle for survival and conflicting narratives about leadership, loyalty, and justice.
Through meticulous research, Grann uncovers not just a gripping survival tale but a larger story about the British Empire and the brutal realities of eighteenth-century naval warfare. This riveting historical narrative reads like a thriller while illuminating how humans behave under extreme duress.
Last Month’s Picks
The Alice Network
By Kate Quinn
The remarkable story of two women, intertwined across two world wars.
The Sixth Extinction
By Elizabeth Kolbert
There have been five major extinction events throughout history. Are we causing the sixth?
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Happy reading!