Happy jolbokaflod to all those who’ve adopted Iceland’s practice of exchanging books on Christmas Eve and spending the night reading. I’m hoping to do a good bit of that since it’s coming down to the wire for me to finish my 2021 reading stack.
One thing I like doing with books, movies, and different pieces of art I enjoy is looking for connective threads that seem to tie them all together, even though they seem to have little in common. One theme that always seems to do it for me is that I love stories that remind me how vast and full of possibility life really is, whether those are movies like Boyhood or Soul, books like Pachinko, shows like Parts Unknown, or improvisational jazz. Or that podcast episode I named Juniper after.
There are a few books in Rhys’ stash that seem to fit that theme too- though perhaps none more so than All The World, which visually follows a large, culturally blended family throughout a day of beaching, going to the farmer’s market, taking shelter from the rain in a cafe, and making a big meal together. The message that the world is big and small, me and you- encompassing everything and yet somehow strangely intimate just matches the way I see things.
According to the sticker on its cover, the book won some award for being this good, though I had never heard of it until we started building a little book collection for Rhys and now, Kai and Juniper.
Any other books- for littles or for grownups- that make you feel like the world is full of possibility?
