Adult fiction: Tenth of December by George Saunders Amazing. I could try to write a review but it wouldn’t do this book justice! Read it!
Juvenile fiction: The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo When a magician accidentally conjures an elephant out of thin air, it sets off a chain of events that will change the lives of everyone. This book is technically written for kids, but I would recommend it to every adult – it is absolutely beautiful!
Picture book: Secret Pizza Party by Adam Rubin, Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri “Poor Raccoon. All he wants in life is some pizza.” The creators of “Dragons Love Tacos” (one of my top five of last year!) have returned with (is this even possible?) a funnier, sillier, amazing-er book! My favorite quote of the year is from this book (“pizza smell gives me the happy screams”), and the whole thing was so funny I laughed all the way through. Then I read it again, and again laughed all the way through. Then I cornered as many coworkers as possible, and watched them read it/read it over their shoulder, laughing all the way through.
Adult Nonfiction: Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer I found out this morning that Lehrer apparently fabricated parts of this book (most notably, certain quotes by Bob Dylan) which has led to its removal from stores and being recalled by the publisher. I am hugely disappointed, because this was one of my favorite nonfiction reads ever! Even knowing that some of this book is inaccurate, it was still fascinating, and it raised some very important questions on our assumptions about creativity. Perhaps an opinion piece on creativity is in order….
Young Adult: Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor This book completely swept me away – I basically went without sleep until I finished it, sped through the second book, and what?! The third and final book isn’t even WRITTEN yet?! I highly recommend this book, but you may want to wait until the trilogy is completed….
Movie: I Am If you ever feel discouraged about humans, watch this movie! Definitely the most “feel good” movie I have ever seen!