Indie bookstores are unique for the love that goes into their very existence. A Capella Books in the Inman Park area is a little store that plays a big role in the local literary scene, and their staff reflects the enthusiasm for reading that serves book lovers so well. Matt Nixon is a bookseller at A Capella Books, and he shared some reading recommendations to give as holiday gifts to loved ones.
Nixon’s book recommendations:
“Same Bed, Different Dreams” Ed Park (Nixon’s favorite book of the year)
Synopsis: Audacious. Thrilling in its audacity. “Same Bed, Different Dreams” is one of those books that the marketing copy and the blurbs do no justice to what makes the book so exceptional. It’s a history of modern (i.e., late-19th/20th century) Korea. It’s also an alternate history of Korea in that same time period. It’s a satire of publishing and of high tech. It’s a wild tale of various connections and threads (President McKinley assassin, esoteric 60’s sci-fi, Ronald Regan’s appearance on the 50’s game show “I’ve Got a Secret” with panelist Betsy Palmer, who had an affair with James Dean AND appeared in the original Friday the 13th, which was championed by a Sci-Fi/Horror magazine founded by church of the Korea expat Sun Myung Moon: all connected) that come together to make an extraordinary novel told in three intertwining narratives. Dive in, get lost but know that you’re in good hands. It all comes together. Thrilling!
“Wellness” by Nathan Hill
Synopsis: A great, big, meaty novel of ideas AND a deep and astute study of a relationship and marriage. Jack and Elizabeth meet as college students in 1990s Chicago. Wellness charts their relationship over 20 years: first flush of love and connection; building careers; financial striving and career setbacks; parenthood and its struggles; growing distance and dissolution. It’s also about the creation of art, capitalism and generational…
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