3 book recommendations for August, 2021
From my work-in-progress: "We all have secrets. A secret might disrupt your life, but it won’t change your future. A Secret, on the other hand, exerts a gravitational pull on your destiny. Only some people have Secrets. Mostly assholes like me."
It’s always exciting to embark on the rough draft of a new novel. I’m in the midst of writing Chapter 10, and the characters are really coming to life, which is simultaneously thrilling and a little terrifying. I can’t wait to see where this story leads.
And now, books I love that you might too:
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers stars a monk on a journey of self-discovery through a distant world where civilization has been lovingly retrofitted to be more humane, sustainable, and beautiful. Brimming with hope, empathy, and humor, this wonderful little book is the narrative equivalent of a cup of herbal tea—many of which are gratefully sipped by its cast.
Sum by David Eagleman is a mind-bending short story collection where each gem of a tale is a thought experiment in what the afterlife might be like. While Eagleman’s visions of what might come after death are as creative as they are diverse, the best part is how each challenges you to look at life from a new angle.
The Premonition by Michael Lewis follows a handful of brilliant but unlikely misfits who saw COVID-19 coming before other people started paying attention. The thing I love most about Lewis’s books isn’t that they grapple with big ideas, though they do, or that they interrogate how the world is changing, though they do that too, but that they weave both into human stories so compelling that they read like nonfiction novels.
Bonus recommendation: Beginner’s Mind by Yo-Yo Ma opens a window into the mind and heart of the beloved cellist, offering insight into how music connects us and what it means to make good art.
In other news:
I interviewed Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone about writing the Hugo and Nebula-Award winning novella, This Is How You Lose the Time War: "Books are letters in bottles, cast into the waves of time, from one person trying to save the world to another."
We think of reality as discrete: a world of concrete objects that interact. But reality is relational: a world of escalating interactions where events, not objects, are the basic building blocks. We only exist, grow, and change in relation to each other. Share on Twitter.
My wife and I hosted a refugee in our home and it was a transformational experience for everyone involved. If you believe in taking action to build a more open, inclusive, humane, abundant future, I highly recommend it. New Anchor is a great place to start if you live in Bay Area.
Ten popular Bandwidth highlights, annotated: “A while back, Goodreads asked me to annotate ten of the most popular Kindle highlights in Bandwidth. I love snatching glimpses into other people's creative processes, and these notes give you a sneak peek into mine.
There’s something uniquely haunting about the soft orange glow of sunlight filtered through wildfire smoke. It blurs the edges of shadows. It illuminates everything with the warm hues of candlelight. It ever so gently promises ruin. Share on Twitter.
From my conversation with William Gibson about writing Agency: "We seem to be losing our sense of a capital-F Future. Few phrases were as common throughout the 20th century as 'the 21st century,' yet how often do we see 'the 22nd century'? Effectively, never."
It’s hard to believe Neon Fever Dream came out 5 years ago. It's the cult classic among my novels: not many people know about it, but those who read it love it. That's why it's one of the stories I'm most proud of. Here for you whenever adventure calls.
I used to think that writing was a way to capture and share ideas, but the more I write, the more I realize that writing is a source of ideas. Creating is what makes you creative. Share on Twitter.
If you enjoy this newsletter and want to support it, become a paid subscriber and tell your friends. Every month, I recommend books, both fiction and nonfiction, that crackle and fizz with big ideas, keep us turning pages deep into the night, challenge our assumptions, help us find meaning in a changing world, and make us think, feel, and grow. In an age of digital abundance, quality is the new scarcity. The right book at the right time can change your life.
When I'm not reading books, I'm writing them. If you savor the promise and peril of new worlds opening up, if you prefer hard questions to easy answers, if you seek adventures that will transport you and leave you changed, then you're the kind of person I write for. You can find my novels right here. Bon voyage, fellow traveler.
Cheers, Eliot
Eliot Peper is the author of Veil, Breach, Borderless, Bandwidth, Neon Fever Dream, Cumulus, Exit Strategy, Power Play, and Version 1.0. He publishes a blog, tweets more than he probably should, and lives in Oakland, CA.
"Outstanding. Totally nails it at all levels. Incredibly powerful female characters who are simultaneously introspective and totally kickass heroic leaders. I read the whole book in one evening and loved it."
-Brad Feld, managing director at Foundry Group, on Neon Fever Dream
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