Read This, Then That: A May the 4th Slate of Out-of-this-World Reads
With a new Star Wars flick on the way for the first time in ten years (or thirty-two, if you’d prefer to pretend that the prequels never happened, we won’t judge), we thought that it was fitting this May the 4th to tip our lit hats to decidedly other-worldly reads: the detective novel with an alien conspiracy at its core, True Believers by Michael Blair (Linda Leith, 2015), and the dysfunctional family novel with a mother who believes in crop circles, Belinda’s Rings by Corinna Chong (NeWest Press, 2013).
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Read This, Then That features literary pairings for the voracious reader. As big readers ourselves, we know you always want your next book picked out before you finish your current one, so let us help you out with a two-fer recommendation.Read this: True Believers by Michael Blair (Linda Leith Publishing)Then that: Belinda’s Rings by Corinna Chong (NeWest Press)With a new Star Wars flick on the way for the first time in ten years (or thirty-two, if you’d prefer to pretend that the prequels never happened, we won’t judge), we thought that it was fitting this May the 4th to tip our lit hats to decidedly other-worldly reads: the detective novel with an alien conspiracy at its core, True Believers by Michael Blair (Linda Leith, 2015), and the dysfunctional family novel with a mother who believes in crop circles, Belinda’s Rings by Corinna Chong (NeWest Press, 2013).In True Believers, alien abductions would be a welcome change from the sorry business private detective Hank Loomis is facing, let alone the murdered woman found encased in ice at the start of the book (whose casefile didn’t go to him, naturally). After being investigated himself for having his own business card in the dead woman’s pocket, Hank and his business and increasingly, romantic partner Connie decide to look for another missing woman from their office complex, Belle Ryerson. Their search leads them to a local UFO group, run by a charismatic psychiatrist and his beautiful, mysterious assistant. As they dig deeper into Belle’s disappearance, the question remains as to who is more dangerous: the aliens, or the people who purport their existence?Belinda’s Rings, on the other hand, is told through the eyes of teenager Grace (though she’d much prefer you call her “Gray”). She’s an aspiring marine biologist and a stand-in parent when her stepfather, Wiley, wastes away on the couch and her mother, Belinda, seems more concerned about completing drawings and paintings of concentric circles and a UFO she’d sworn she’d spotted from their backyard. When Belinda leaves abruptly to study crop circles in the United Kingdom, Gray is left holding the reins between big sister and mother wannabe, Jess, and baby brother Squid.While True Believers and Belinda’s Rings are tremendously different books, they align in that there is true danger – to individuals, or families, or both – when people look outside of Earth more than they look within it. Read True Believers, then Belinda’s Rings, and May the 4th be with you.
