New Paths

by Marissa Creamer Rowan Public Library

The year is still young; the slate is still clean enough to offer boundless possibilities. Hopefully, you are successfully implementing your resolutions as you seek to change yourself for the better. Sometimes, it’s good just to change your perspective.  I know someone who has the tradition of always buying a new pair of shoes to wear on New Year’s Day.  The new shoes symbolize not going down the same paths or making the same mistakes, and making sure the new year is filled with new journeys and new views. It’s a nice reminder that this really is your chance for a fresh start.

These books tell the story of individuals who have chosen to strike out on their own and forge a new path:

Sara has lived her entire young life in Sweden with her nose in a book, but she has decided it’s time to shake things up a bit. In “The Readers’ of Broken Wheel Recommend” by Katarina Bivald, Sara leaves her bookstore job and home country to track down her American pen pal in Broken Wheel, Iowa. Sara and Amy have been corresponding about life and their shared love of literature. When Sara arrives in the tiny, depressed town, however, she discovers that Amy has passed away. The town embraces this visitor, and next thing Sara knows, she is living in Amy’s house, where she is entranced by Amy’s light-filled bedroom full of books.  Sara makes it her mission to turn Broken Wheel on to reading. “Books are meant to be better than reality. Bigger, funnier, more beautiful, more tragic, more romantic.” She has an uncanny knack for matching the right book with the right reader, even George, the 50-something recovering alcoholic who discovers he loves reading “chick-lit.” The story is filled with references to a wide variety of books and authors, including Proust, Jane Austen, Harper Lee, Mark Twain, Christopher Paolini, and Sophie Kinsella, with a reading list provided at the end for further exploration.

Britt-Marie has left her cheating husband behind and has set out to find her place in the world. But is the world ready for Britt-Marie?  Fredrik Backman, author of “A Man Called Ove” first introduced us to Britt-Marie in “My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry.”  She takes center stage in “Britt-Marie Was Here,” the story of a curmudgeon you can’t help but grow to love. You might say she’s passive-aggressive, but she’s just trying to be helpful…. And of course she’s not suffering from OCD; she’s just very concerned about proper organization and decorum. After all, there’s only one way to organize a cutlery drawer, any other way would simply be uncivilized. Britt-Marie becomes the temporary caretaker of a recreation center in the dying town of Borg, where soccer provides the one spark of life. By default, Britt-Marie becomes the “coach” of the youth soccer team, and everyone is in for some big changes. The story is by turns hilarious and  heartbreaking, and you’ll find yourself cheering for Britt-Marie!

Deborah Install’s “A Robot in the Garden” takes place in a technologically advanced future that is otherwise familiar. Ben is at a low point in his life when he discovers a broken down robot in his garden. Tang “looks like a school project, a fusion of some sort of Japanese fine art and materials from a scrapyard.” Ben finds purpose in trying to fix the ailing robot, and soon the two embark on a globe-trotting journey to find Tang’s inventor. Tang has the mindset and irrepressible joy of a toddler and the pair develop a close bond. This is a humorous, feel-good story that still poses some deeper questions, such as: How should we treat forms of artificial intelligence? Can robots have feelings? Can they serve as a substitute for human interaction?

Embark on your own journey with these books from Rowan Public Library.