The Measure

This book by Nikki Erlick was another recommendation from the B & N sales person. It's an indictment of human behavior and very relevant to the present time even though it is based on a fantastical event. One morning in March, "every adult on earth suddenly seemed to be sharing the same surreal experience, the ubiquity of the boxes both a terror and a relief." They woke to find a small box with their name on it and the inscription "The measure of your life lies within." Eventually, it is verified that the piece of string in each box indicates when a person will die and, as data accumulates, the scientists are able to determine exactly which month and in which year the person will die. Some people choose never open their box. Many are traumatized to find their piece of string is much shorter than they would wish. But most fascinating and provocative are the reactions of society to people who have the short strings. Would you open the box? When interviewed on the Today show, Erlick said the book "was inspired by the Greek myth about three old women spinning threads of human destiny." Holding a masters degree in global thought from Columbia University, and after visiting a dozen countries in 3 years, Erlick said in another interview "The emphasis on the interconnectedness of the world is something I took with me and put into this book...I had all these different characters and I knew I wanted to create a sense that even in our loneliest, most isolated moments — like when I was writing in quarantine — we’re still connected as humans. Our lives touch other lives even if we don’t actively see it happening.”

There are eight characters, each of whom have their own chapters interspersed throughout. This is a bit hard to track at first, but, as we get to know them and watch how Erlick begins to weave their lives together, we can walk in their shoes for a bit. Several reviewers call the book "life-affirming" and "utterly original." Jenna Bush, the host of the Today Show's book club says about her July pick, "I know it sounds like a book about death but really it’s a book about how we choose to live.”

Spoiler alert: the origin of the boxes is never explained.

Gratitude

This short little book is a collection of 4 previously published essays written in the last years of Oliver Sacks' life. Learn more about Oliver Sacks if you aren't familiar with him already. He has written some amazing books (e.g., Awakenings, The Man Who Mistook his Wife for a Hat). Born in England and originally educated at Oxford, he got his medical training at Mt. Zion in San Francisco and at UCLA before moving to New York, where he was a practicing neurologist for 5 decades. Engaged until the very end of his life, his memoir was published just a few weeks before he died in August of 2015. The first essay, "Mercury," was written on the eve of his 80th birthday; mercury is element #80 in the periodic table. He loved the periodic table and had memorability made from appropriate elements commemorating various birthdays. The last 3 essays were written after learning that a rare melanoma had metastasized and would be fatal. He examines what it means to have lived a full life and to be grateful for that life.  From the book:
“My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on this beautiful planet, and that in itself has been an enormous privilege and adventure.”
A fast read that provides an interlude for thought and is well worth pondering.