The Spring Reading List

Spring always seems like the shortest season. At least in the northeast, it’s just an extension of winter, followed by a few weeks of temperatures in the upper 60s, followed by unrelenting rain and humidity. This spring was … different. Perhaps as a result of the Canadian wildfires, perhaps it’s El Niño, or maybe it’s just because we got lucky, but the weather this spring has been beautifully exceptional. The fair temperatures and blue skies didn’t keep me from reading some excellent books. A few of my favorites are below.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin

This was one of those titles that kept appearing in various recommendation lists. I resisted because the title seemed weird, the cover seemed like a strange throwback to the 80s, and a story about video games didn’t seem intriguing to me.

But when Georgia Butcher suggested I read it, and knowing her recommendations haven’t steered me wrong yet, I decided to give it a shot. And yeah, it’s fantastic. Ms. Zevin does a tremendous job of creating characters with distinct and non-obvious motivations. She paints the idea of love in many shades and uses love as a driving force through pain, happiness, and video games.

That said, there is one moment of denouement that seems forced and a bit too deus ex machina for my taste. But it did lead to a satisfying conclusion that was unexpected, atypical, and ultimately successful.

Red Notice, by Bill Browder

I’d heard about the horrors of doing business in Russia. But Bill Browder’s account is something altogether evil. And what Putin’s regime did to Browder’s employee, Sergei Magnitsky, was inhumane and demonic.

This book is one part business creation story and one part revenge tale - and most in Browder’s position would have cut their losses and run. But Browder managed to not only make Russian oligarchs pay for the crimes they committed, but he also used his power to bring their crimes to light on a global stage.

Freezing Order, by Bill Browder

My father-in-law suggested I read this, but seeing as it was more or less a sequel to “Red Notice,” I read that one first. The two books are one story told in two parts. The second book dives into the ramifications that Browder and his compatriots endured for exposing the horrendous corruption and insanity at work at the highest levels of the Russian government.

I can’t wait for Browder’s inevitable third book now that the world has seen the psychopathic egotism of Putin and his costly and failing invasion of Ukraine.

Chain-Gang All Stars, by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

Incisive, satirical, and painful, this is a tangible version of the Hunger Games that shows the faults of our private prison systems, our corporate greed, and the evils of fame. It’s sometimes blistering and poignant, comical and gut-wrenching, and altogether a tale that seems far-fetched but rapidly becoming a reality.