Top 5 Book Recommendations (January 2014)

Ever since I finally finished reading the books I already have, I’ve been glutting myself on all the books I’ve wanted to read for the last couple years. Which means I’ve been doing a lot of reading this month and plan to do plenty more over the rest of the year. Here are my top 5 picks* this month, semi-Kotaku-inspired style:

5. Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients by Ben Goldacre
Genre: Non-fiction
What It’s About: Goldacre, a medical doctor, argues that pharmaceutical companies routinely provide poor information to doctors and patients alike due to systematic flaws in the way the industry researches drugs.
I Recommend It Because: … for the most part, Goldacre is a balanced reporter. He tries not to judge individuals but condemns their practices and is not afraid to lay responsibility for harmful outcomes at their doorstep. He explains subtle statistical concepts with clear real-world examples. Goldacre is always careful to tie his observations back to his own experience and training as a medical doctor, and his passion for his important topic shines in easy-to-read prose.
But You Might Not Like This Book If: … you are either expert enough in this field that you’d prefer a study aimed at professional rather than lay readers or you found even the most basic of statistics frustrating. Or, presumably, if you belong to one of the companies or institutions Goldacre criticizes.

4. The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
Genre: Fantasy
What It’s About: A man reminisces about the time, as a young boy, that he accidentally let a supernatural creature loose in his hometown and had to save himself and his family with the help of some otherworldly friends.
I Recommend It Because: … at his best, Neil Gaiman has the ability to conjure that dreamlike sensation of things you felt as a child, and in this book, he plain hits it out of the park. The main character is vivid and unique, and his childish fears feel real. Gaiman makes the whole world ring with that feeling of mystery, age, and magical secrets you get when you find an old toy by itself in the forest or wander by yourself through the countryside at night.
But You Might Not Like This Book If: … like me, you occasionally find some of Neil Gaiman’s recurring characters annoying. Sometimes, Gaiman’s main character turns inward in a way that bothers me, a way where he doesn’t really think too much about the respect one owes other people as autonomous individuals. Because I’ve found that this happens for me in other Gaiman stories, I think I’m hypersensitive to it in this one. Your opinion may differ, or you might simply not care, so YMMV.

3. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (Chaos Walking series #1)
Genre: YA science fiction
What It’s About: In Prentisstown, where all men can hear each other’s thoughts, Todd discovers his fellow townsfolks’ terrible secrets and must run away from his home.
I Recommend It Because: … the voice is absolutely stunning. Todd’s narration gives the cadence of his uneducated upbringing and lends the story life. He describes his feelings evocatively, and the experience of hearing “Noise” (the cacophony of the thoughts of every sentient creature within listening distance) is immersive. I especially loved the voice of Todd’s dog, Manchee, who sounds so spot-on that now I’m going to imagine that every dog I encounter thinks like him.
But You Might Not Like This Book If: … you can’t stand the kind of plot where the main character knows something important but refuses to tell the reader. A couple times, Todd learns plot-driving secrets but refuses to believe them, and his denial is expressed by their content not appearing in the narrative. Likewise, Todd obtains a repository of important information early on, and he encounters someone who can help him access that information, but he refuses to look at it for a long time. It’s particularly frustrating because a lot of the plot tension comes from unresolved mysteries to which Todd knows the answer.

Also, the ending. No spoilers, but if you don’t like endings that wouldn’t work unless this is the first novel in a series, you will not be happy.

2. The Real Boy by Anne Ursu
Genre: MG fantasy
What It’s About: Oscar, a slightly strange magician’s workboy, must brave the world outside his master’s shop when misuse of magic threatens his own village and the big city.
I Recommend It Because: …Ursu presents Oscar’s worldview and tells an engaging, twisty, magical story with him as the hero. If this were a contemporary story, it would be tempting to armchair-diagnose Oscar as living with a condition somewhere on the autism spectrum: he is overwhelmed by social contact, he has trouble reading other people’s emotions, and he has an intense interest in particular subjects that make him feel safe. But part of what makes this story great is that it works hard not to blame Oscar’s difficulties and strengths on a “disorder.” Oscar is Oscar: he’s just another person, and this is the way he happens to be.
But You Might Not Like This Book If: … your favourite part of world-building is the detailed logistics of a society. Although Ursu includes just the right level of detail for me, there’s a lot of magical lore that gets summarized or omitted. Personally, I don’t enjoy hard science fiction with elaborate flights of inventiveness or long descriptions of elven history (*ahem*Tolkien), so this book is perfect for me. But if you share Oscar’s intense interest in the theory of some elements of magic, you might find yourself frustrated at what’s left out.

1. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Genre: YA historical fiction
What It’s About: Two young British women, best friends, fight in the Second World War as a pilot and a wireless operator.
I Recommend It Because: …it’s brilliant? The characters are vivid. The plot is gripping, inspiring, and heartbreaking. Without spoiling anything, the narration is clever and allows the reader to make his or her own connections.
But You Might Not Like This Book If: … you don’t like fictional violence, even when it’s just hinted at. At the start of the book, the narrator is in a Nazi war prison. If that sounds traumatic, steer clear of this one.

* = about 70th percentile for the month