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January can be a tough month to get through. There’s the crash after the rush of the holiday season and New Year and then there is the cold and the dark weather. On top of that, we sometimes set lofty expectations and see them go unmet. In difficult times, or even in good times, light at the end of the tunnel and hopefulness can give us something to look forward to and keep us moving. Below are several books that face challenges but keep the hope alive.
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The Stand by Stephen King
This 1978 book faces the direst of situations (a plague wipes out 99% of the Earth’s population) with warmth and courage. It follows the aftermath of a patient escaping a biological testing facility and all the fall-out that ensues. When the dust clears, two sides of the leadership coin emerge: one connected to a 108-year-old woman who wants to build peaceful community in Boulder, CO and the other connected to Randall Flag, the “Dark Man” who delights in violence and chaos. The reduced population will have to decide between them – ultimately deciding the fate of humanity. This book is definitely on the darker side but it is a reminder of the choices we can all make, both in regard to our everyday actions, and in terms of where we place our ideological loyalties and faith. When the season is dark, it is always helpful to have reminders of the power of choice.

Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal
Kitchens of the Great Midwest, on the other hand, is entirely cozy. It is also very much concerned with the power and importance of choice, but it faces the notions with a story grounded in realism and found family/community; there are no shortage of likeable and flawed, relatable characters. Eva is the main character but the story starts with her parents: Lars and Cynthia Thorvald both of whom leave her life at an early age, for different reasons. There was always the thread of careers made from (and a connective love of) food between them which Eva inherits, alongside a once-in-a-lifetime palate that guides her as she manages her life’s trajectory and purpose. What I find most interesting about this book is the way in which it locates the ways in which what we are able to unite our passions with our experiences to create something unique and meaningful.

The Odyssey by Homer
The original road story (or at least the first one I know of), this book really hits its protagonist hard. Full of Greek mythology as well as history, this book traces the journey of Odysseus, King of Ithaca, as he tries to make his way home (through many trials and tribulations) after the conclusion of the Trojan war. From the different personalities of the Goddess Athena to the awkwardness of teenage Telemachus, this book is both enchantingly beautiful as well as full of suspense and drama. It’s a reminder, as well, that nothing ever goes as planned and to keep rolling along in pursuit of our goals – the whole point of having a destination, after all, is to have a journey.

How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
I don’t know how a book that deals in such pathos can manage to be as funny as this book manages to be. If January has you looking for catharsis as well as humor, this might be a good book to link yourself up to. Its author, Charles Yu, created a character, also named Charles Yu, who’s a time-travel technician flying around saving people from themselves with the company of TAMMY (an operating system with low self-esteem) and a nonexistent but ontologically sound dog named Ed. (And if you get the sense that this is also a book for nerds, you are correct.) But part of the book’s charm is its tongue-in-cheek approach to issues of memory, familial trauma, and allowing us to move on from some of our painful memories – especially when they help us save the world. This book is unique, interesting, and optimistic. Any science fiction reader would probably have a net positive experience with this read.

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
When I think of the sweetest book I’ve ever read, this book is high on the list of titles that comes to mind first. Cassandra, the seventeen-year-old who leads the story is a manifestation of the author Dodie Smith’s homesickness and assuaging of the feeling through fiction. Smith had relocated from England and was missing it – this book was an attempt to console herself. However, in creating it, she also managed to console readers who may be having a rough time. The book’s nearly fairy-tale-like description of a poignant and funny family who deal with poverty, dreams, and the meaning of love and art – as well as discovering a sense of purpose gives light and warmth to any dark corners that might exist in the periphery. Told through journal entries made by Cassandra, the book is intimate and lovely and it makes for a great January read (and has done so since its first printing, in 1948).

Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Finally, if there’s ever been a better book about giving yourself a second chance at meaning, and providing readers with an unfiltered view of a protagonist’s starkest view of their self-perceived failings, it’s not something that I’ve read. Strayed’s book is a memoir that chronicles her commitment to the walking of the Pacific Crest Trail as a sign of faith in herself and as a way to reckon with the actions and trauma in her past (both things that she had done and that had happened to her). When I think about books that suggest forward movement and the necessity of living in the present in order to be truly alive, this book jumps to the fore.
All of these books would make for great January titles, either due to their coziness or their persistent reminders to live in the present. I think that great art asks questions and tries to connect us to ourselves. That’s something that I think is important year-round, but that I’m specifically drawn to in the beginning of a new year. Hopefully these books are interesting to you as you dive into whatever reading (and other projects) you’ve got in mind for yourself this year!
About the Author

Jen F. is an Adult Services Librarian at MLK Jr. Memorial Library
When I'm Not at the Library:
I love to go for walks, write, watch movies, and practice storytelling and cinematography with my camera in my spare time; I also enjoy baking.
Currently reading: The Antitdote by Karen Russell