On My Bookshelf: The Overstory by Richard Powers

Title: The Overstory
Author: Richard Powers
Genre: Literary, Magical Realism, Trees, Ecology
My Rating: 4/5

Broken down into four parts (Roots, Trunk, Crown, Seeds), this is a difficult book to describe. Roots is basically a collection of short stories about people whose lives have been impacted by trees. In the rest of the book, which has elements of magical realism, the characters are drawn together by trees, which are semi-sentient beings and a silent character in their own right. The bulk of the story follows a group that gets involved in environmental activism and, depending on how you look at it, eco-terrorism.

This book dragged at times and gripped me at others. Every paragraph was so full of meaning and information, that it took me longer to read than usual. I wouldn’t call this a bedtime read; I definitely needed to focus to get the most out of this book. The story was hopeful and heartbreaking and it brought me to tears multiple times. The genius of The Overstory is that it holds a mirror up to humanity and it’s both a beautiful and horrifying picture. Powers captures the capacity of humans for great altruism and love–and terrible violence and destruction. The ending was bittersweet. If Powers is right, the outlook for us humans doesn’t look great. But the trees will still be there, long, long after we’re gone. 

You and the tree in your backyard come from a common ancestor. A billion and a half years ago, the two of you parted ways. But even now, after an immense journey in separate directions, that tree and you still share a quarter of your genes. . . .

The Overstory, Richard Powers

On My Bookshelf: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

Title: The Night Circus
Author: Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Fantasy
My Rating: 5/5

Erin Morgenstern weaves a captivating story in The Night Circus, in which two magicians engage in a lifelong duel. Trained from youth by their masters, they must continue the game even as they fall in love. Eventually, however, one of them must lose. But losing means dying and, even worse, destroying the entire structure of the game–The Night Circus–and the lives of their found family.

If I had stopped reading this book around page 100, I might have given it three stars. It had gorgeous imagery by an obviously talented writer, but I felt like nothing much had really happened. By the end, I was enthralled. The Night Circus isn’t a book so much as a beautiful, bittersweet dream. An enormous cast of characters enriched the story and raised the stakes. Most people think death is the worst thing that could happen, but Morgenstern convinces the reader that it’s the least of worries. To lose the game is to die, but it also means losing the love of your life and destroying the lives of hundreds of people that have become family. I started The Night Circus at the suggestion of a friend and emerged a different person.

Someone needs to tell those tales. When the battles are fought and won and lost, when the pirates find their treasures and the dragons eat their foes for breakfast with a nice cup of Lapsang souchong, someone needs to tell their bits of overlapping narrative. There’s magic in that. It’s in the listener, and for each and every ear it will be different, and it will affect them in ways they can never predict. From the mundane to the profound. You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone’s soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift. Your sister may be able to see the future, but you yourself can shape it, boy. Do not forget that… there are many kinds of magic, after all.

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern

On My Bookshelf: The Wild Trees by Richard Preston

Title: The Wild Trees
Author: Richard Preston
Genre: Nonfiction: Redwood Trees, Forest Canopies, Ecology, Explorers
My Rating: 5/5

Imagine you’re crazy enough to climb a redwood tree. That’s more than 300 feet. More than 30 stories. (No thank you–I’ll stay here on the ground with my crippling fear of heights.) Now imagine sitting in the branches at the top of that tree, plucking fresh berries off the huckleberry bush that lives in the canopy. In “The Wild Trees,” Richard Preston beautifully describes the unseen world in the tops of the earth’s tallest trees. The canopies of the redwoods were once thought to be a desert, but they teem with life. Entire gardens grow in the treetops. Climbers can get lost in the branches, some of which are riddled with fire caves. Preston conveys the wonder of the canopies through the eyes of the pioneers who were some of the first explorers. I devoured this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in trees, explorers, or ecology in general. Someday, when I am able to see a redwood forest with my own eyes, I hope I feel like one of the explorers as he sits in the top of one of the trees: 

The spiritual weight of the place seemed immense. It was as if he were waking up from a sleep, as if his life up to then had been a dream, and this was real. He felt as if he had left time behind. 

The Wild Trees, by Richard Preston

On My Bookshelf: 99 Percent Mine by Sally Thorne

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Title: 99 Percent Mine
Author: Sally Thorne
Genre: Romance
My Rating: 4/5

One of my latest reads is Sally Thorne’s “99 Percent Mine,” a delightful friends to lovers romance. I feel like giving this book only four stars is a little unfair of me. I couldn’t help comparing it to Sally’s first book, “The Hating Game,” which I loved so much that I read it twice in a row. Despite my bias, “99 Percent Mine” is worth a read. The main character is both flawed and loveable and the love interest, thankfully, is a well-rounded character in his own right. Though the book oozes with sexual tension, both characters have their own growth arcs that don’t revolve around each other. Sally Thorne has a strong voice and a fresh take on romance tropes. I will read anything she writes in the future.