Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve carved out time to savor some of the slim, gift-worthy hardcovers that I’ve treated myself to recently. All are lovely in their own way. Read on for the details… maybe you’ll find an inspiration for the upcoming holiday season!

Note 1: The physical books themselves are all so gorgeous that I’m including a little gallery at the end, to give a sense — beyond the Goodreads-featured covers — of how special they all are.

Note 2: You may notice that I didn’t provide ratings in my write-ups below… that’s because I’d give each and every one 5 glowing stars!

The Imagination Chamber: Cosmic Rays from Lyra’s Universe by Philip Pullman: The Imagination Chamber is a collection of snippets, little bits and pieces of text from the author’s imagination that float through the worlds of His Dark Materials. Some pages contain just a sentence or two; some, a few paragraphs. There’s no overarching story, just a sampling of ideas. 

A daemon is not an animal, of course; a daemon is a person. A real cat, face to face with a daemon in cat form, would not be puzzled for a moment. She would see a human being.

I’ve seen some complaints from reviewers about what this book is not — it’s not a novel, or novella, or a short story. It truly is simple — just an assortment of bursts of imagination from the author’s mind, all of which tie into the series in some way. I can understand the frustration if these reviewers expected something other than what they got. As for me, I understood what to expect, and loved savoring this sampling of beautiful writing and ideas.

In Lyra’s world people got used to knowing that their daemons talked to other people’s daemons, and could perceive dislike, coldness, attraction, sympathy, etc, without their people saying a word, or while they were talking of something entirely different. Later their people might realize that (for example) they had made a lifelong enemy, or that they’d fallen in love.

Recommended for: Fans of the His Dark Materials series.

Details:
Published: 2019
Pages: 87

The Wood at Midwinter by Susanna Clarke: What a surprising delight! This short, simple story is a fairy tale about a woman who finds true happiness in the forest, among the trees and animals who love her as much as she loves them. It’s odd and lovely, and the book itself is gorgeous, filled with black-and-white illustrations (by Victoria Sawdon) that add to the sense of enchantment.

Recommended for: Readers who enjoy thoughtful fairy tales, beautifully crafted illustrated stories.

Details:
Published: 2024
Pages: 64

A Few Rules for Predicting the Future by Octavia E. Butler: This slim book presents an essay (originally published in 2000) by the late, great Octavia Butler alongside absolutely gorgeous artwork (by Manzel Bowman). It’s short, succinct, and wise, and in relatively few words, conveys the author’s unique outlook.

Apollo 11 reached the moon in July 1969. I had already left home by then, and I believed I was watching humanity leave home. I assumed that we would go on to establish lunar colonies and eventually send people to Mars. We probably will do those things someday but I never imagined that it would take as long as it has. Moral: Wishful thinking is no more help in predicting the future than fear, superstition or depression.

The conclusion is especially powerful:

So why try to predict the future at all if it’s so difficult, so nearly impossible? Because making predictions is one way to give warning when we see ourselves drifting in dangerous directions. Because prediction is a useful way of pointing out safer, wiser, courses. Because, most of all, our tomorrow is the child of our today. Through thought and deed, we exert a great deal of influence over this child, even though we can’t control it absolutely. Best to think about it, though. Best to try to shape it into something good. Best to do that for any child.

Recommended for: Anyone, really — obviously for Butler fans, but more generally, for readers of speculative fiction, and anyone who appreciates smart, sharp writing paired with beautiful artwork.

Details:
Published: 2024
Pages: 56

How To Be Invisible by Kate Bush: A collection of the lyrics of the amazing Kate Bush, curated by the singer/songwriter herself. An introduction by the writer David Mitchell is a deeply personal and highly informative essay on the impact of Kate Bush’s work across the years of her career, and gives context and greater insight into many of her songs.

And if I only could
I’d make a deal with God
And I’d get him to swap our places
Be running up that road
Be running up that hill
Be running up that building
If I only could

The book itself presents song lyrics, organized thematically into different sections. Some of these I knew and loved; many are new to me, and I enjoyed reading the words even while realizing that without the music, I wasn’t getting the full impact. But that’s okay — the words themselves are amazing to read.

I’d actually bought copies for myself and for my daughter a few years ago, but after a quick initial glance, put in on my shelf until “later”… which is finally now. In a wonderful case of serendipity, the author notes at the end of the Susanna Clarke book credit Kate Bush’s music as inspiration**, and that drove me to return to How To Be Invisible and finally take the time to savor it. (I haven’t read every single page yet — after the intro, I paged through and read lyrics randomly, and plan to keep the book on my reading table, to further explore at a leisurely pace.)

Recommended for: Kate Bush fans, of course, but also those who may only know her work in passing and are open to a deeper dive.

Details:
Published: 2018
Pages: 194

A gallery of images of these amazing books:

**She mentions several of my favorites, including Under Ice:

It’s wonderful
Everywhere
So white
The river has frozen over
Not a soul
On the ice
Only me
Skating fast
I’m speeding past trees leaving
Little lines
In the ice
Cutting out
Little lines
In the ice, splitting
Splitting sound
Silver heels spitting
Spitting snow
There’s something moving under
Under the ice
Moving under ice
Through water
Trying to get out of the cold water
It’s me
Something, someone — help them
It’s meSave

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