The ideal book to read on an airplane includes three things: traveling over vast geographical space, coming into contact with strangers and learning about fascinating cultures. Personally, the books that hit my sweet spot are those that capture global subject matters that affect humanity in different ways and that are anything but a diversion.
Don't Get Too Comfortable follows David Rakoff's journey to become a U.S. citizen, the banality of cryogenics, the meaninglessness of couture fashion, the narcissism involved in fasting (for reasons not religious) and the irony of gay Republicans. When Rakoff observes people, certain enterprises or anything, he asks why, coming to a conclusion so thoughtful that he gains a trust that is, well, comforting and very funny.
Too Much Happiness takes us to a world that most don't want to dwell on. Horrible things happen to good people, and we learn that good people aren’t always what they seem. Author Alice Munro asks where exactly our sympathies might lie as well as what it means to feel at home, pinpointing how this changes as we move and mature.
Submergence is a fast-paced historical romance for our time, illuminating how so very small humankind really is in the face of the natural world. Highlighting the war in Afghanistan while traversing over untouched landscapes such as the Hadal Deep, Submergence examines the passion between a war hero and a scientist.
Girl in the Moonlight weaves in masters of art such as Rainer Maria Rilke and Giorgio Vasari, while introducing all-American boy Wylie, his first-class Western cultural experiences and an unforgettable encounter with a beautiful Catalonian girl.
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