Some dark reading this month – and I don’t mean we had a light bulb needing to be changed. The third book, though, is all sweetness and light.

Book 1: The Great Escape by Paul Brickhill

You’ve probably seen – or at least heard of – the movie.

I can promise you: The book is better.

Because the author was there.

The intricate planning and excruciating work that went into digging tunnels (yes, plural) are described in fascinating detail.

Wouldn’t it be something if leadership in Washington read more and tweeted less? (Please vote on Tuesday!)

Book 2: The Plague by Albert Camus

This was an enthusiastic re-read for me. In college, I read the version titled La Peste for a French literature class. So technically this is the third time I’ve read it, as in college, I’d follow up reading a chapter en français with its English version, just in case,

It’s been a few years since this novel found its way to our bookshelves. Somehow, though, reading about a plague that closed down the city of Oran in Algeria during our own pandemic felt … inappropriate.

The Plague is referred to as absurdist (a term which Camus did not appreciate, it seems). To me, it was horribly realistic.

Book 3: Mr. Rabbit’s Symphony of Nature by Charles van Sandwyk

Children’s books aren’t just for the little ’uns.

Every square inch of this book is absolutely splendid. The poems, the stories, the calligraphy, the illustrations.

Especially recommended as a palate cleanser after reading about war and pestilence.

Book 4: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman

This is the first of the hefty volumes in the His Dark Materials trilogy.

With a whip-smart young protagonist who comes to realize she isn’t an orphan after all and who charms an otherwise scary polar bear, I’ll be back for Volume 2 soon.

And it doesn’t hurt that this is on some banned books lists.

Book 5: De Profundis by Oscar Wilde

Another oft-banned author, Oscar Wilde wrote this while in prison.

Toward the end of his sentence, Wilde was allotted a single sheet of paper each day. On it, he wrote a daily installment of this letter to the gentleman friend whose father was behind the famed author’s arrest and imprisonment. Wilde’s determination to forgive, despite his friend’s selfish behavior, is both impressive and appalling.

And yes, the introduction is beautifully written by that Patti Smith.

---

Sign up here to receive an email notification with each new story: