Hello again, and welcome to this edition of Campbell Unclassified!
It’s a brand new year, full of new horizons to explore, new challenges to overcome, new books to read! Have you made a reading goal for yourself this year? Maybe you want to try revisiting all your old favorites. Or head off on wild adventures with some epic fantasy. You could try some new skills with some how to books and our Library of Things. Read every James Patterson novel? Check out our new travel guides and plan your dream vacation? Try one of those “100 books to read before you die” challenges?
Whatever your fancy, one of the first decisions many people make is whether or not they are going to read fiction or nonfiction. Me? I say, “why not both?!”
With that in mind, I would like to share some great book pairings with you; books that go together like Doc and Marty, peanut butter and jelly, Kirk and Spock, like wine and cheese!
Fans of Bridgerton Unite!
Whether you first met Julia Quinn’s Bridgerton family on Netflix or in the novels, you may be interested in The Time Traveler’s Guide to Regency Britain: a handbook for visitors to 1789-1830 (for other novels set in Regency Britain, try authors Mary Balogh or Georgette Heyer).
American Tragedy
I highly recommend The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead. Then check out The White House Boys by Roger Dean Kiser--on which it was based--and We Carry Their Bones: the search for justice at the Dozier School for Boys, a new book detailing the recent forensic work done on the ground of the old reformatory school.
Journey to the Red Planet
There is a lot of great science fiction out there about space travel. For adventures on our planetary neighbor, try The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury or The Martian by Andy Weir. Then pick up Packing for Mars (comes in a children’s edition, too!) or Dinner on Mars if you’d like to know about the science behind making a visit to Mars possible.
Digging Up Dinosaurs!
Who DOESN’T love dinosaurs?! We have so many books about dinosaurs, you’re sure to find something you like, but have you read about Mary Anning? Check out Tracy Chevalier’s Remarkable Creatures for a tale of female friendship and fossils, and The Fossil Hunter: dinosaurs, evolution and the woman whose discoveries changed the world by Shelley Emling. Share her story with the kids with these children’s books: Mary Anning’s Curiosity, Dragon Bones, or Fossil Hunter!
Crime on the American Frontier
The infamous Bloody Benders are thought to be responsible for the gruesome murders of over a dozen men and one infant in Kansas between 1872 and 1873. The excellently researched Hell’s Half-Acre by Susan Jonusas is thoroughly engrossing. I can’t wait to check out the novel All the Blood We Share by Camilla Bruce!
You can check out more fiction/nonfiction pairings online!
Happy reading!