What are you reading now?

In the crazy and complex world we find ourselves inhabiting, it is sometimes valuable to block out the TV, internet and virtual world, and read a book. If you are like my wife and me, getting good books for Christmas or birthdays from those who know what they are talking about is a pleasure, and we can go hide in the books, often listening to music from artists of yesteryear.

This year’s crop included many extraordinary books, many new, some a little older.

My colleague Madeline Hutchings, an English major at Tufts before she wandered off into law, recommended great books:

“Boys in the Boat” by Daniel James Brown, recommended before the movie came out, is now again on the bestseller list. The story of the group of rowers in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, this gripping story eclipses the movie in drama and color, and is a sure winner. Read it before you watch the movie.

“A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving, also was recommended by Madeline. I have to confess that I have thrown out all the other offerings of Irving, who studied fiction writing at UNH and received his BA in English there in 1965, so I was very skeptical when this volume was recommended.

However, reading it and going deeper into the very clever story, showed that Irving had recounted a story with wit and sensitivity. This one is worth the read.

“The Frozen River” by Ariel Lawhon, is a very interesting and gripping novel about a midwife in Maine in the 1700s. I had never heard of this book, and was driving to buy Christmas books when I heard a review of it on NPR. When Barnes and Noble was sold out of it, it piqued my interest further, so I bought it at the Bookery on Elm Street in Manchester, and it was a great hit with the family. (Lesson? Maybe go to The Bookery first?) This is a rich story which will make you want to block out the world.

“Romney” by McKay Coppins. This carefully written biography of the Utah senator, Massachusetts governor and former GOP presidential candidate, paints a clear picture of a man who started in the shadow of his famous father, Michigan Gov. George Romney, achieved a great amount of success in business, and then entered politics, assumedly for the right reasons, only to win his most fame as the gold standard in comparison to Donald Trump, who offended Romney and required him to vote against him in critical circumstances. The book covers the various choices Romney was required to make, the hard choices he was facing, and his ultimate choice to confront what he believed was a totally corrupt and unacceptable alternative. Comparing the moral, religious Romney with Trump should give everyone pause.

“The Covenant of Water” by Abraham Verghese. When you look at a book this thick (724 pages) you have to wonder if you are giving the recipient a good present or a task. In this case, the book, which was an Oprah’s Book Club winner in 2023, was a great hit (although I admit I have not tackled it yet). Written by a doctor who previously wrote another bestseller, this book is about generations of people in India, the ancestral homeland of the author, who had a lifelong relationship with water — although that is too simplistic. You apparently have to read it to understand it completely, but the reactions I have seen from those reading this book commend it to me and you.

“Whistlestop” by John Dickerson, the CBS former moderator of “Face the Nation,” recounts favorite stories from presidential campaign history. For those who think we may have hit a record low, as I sometimes do, this book reminds us of the varied past of American campaigns, and the suspects who were involved in those campaigns. And it has a lot of humor in it.

“The Nazi Conspiracy” by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch. This fascinating historical recounting of the secret plot to kill President Franklin Roosevelt, Joseph Stalin and Winston Churchill is a chilling and thrilling story about a Nazi attempt to change the world that was about to defeat their attempt at empire. The intrigue surrounding transporting Roosevelt around Tehran, Iran, so the leaders could meet and decide the future of the war the world is better than watching such tales made up on TV.

There is a pile of unread books on the shelf next to my bed waiting to be read recommended by friends and colleagues. The points of all this are several: Reading reasoned history gives a better view of history and current events than just reacting to today’s headlines; recommendations from thoughtful colleagues and friends can lead you to books you might not have considered; local bookstores, like the Bookery or Gibson’s in Concord, are valuable resources we need to preserve, protect and frequent; and blocking out the noise and taking time to think is a luxury we don’t have often, and should resurrect. Think about it — over a good book.

Brad Cook is a Manchester attorney. The views expressed in this column are his own. He can be reached at bradfordcook01@gmail.com.