Bookworm Friday: Five Books Recommendations from Michał Tomczak

Hey. I’m Michal and I work as a manager in Trading. Reading is something I absolutely love so I hope you’ll enjoy the little list I put together.

1. David Foster Wallace - Infinite Jest

Reading this one is a life altering experience. There is so much nuance and so many layers you’ll get lost. It’s also full of ideas and unconventional plot twists. On top of all that, there are several narrative styles and multiple writing techniques used. It’s like reading all of the great writers in one place. From Joyce and Dostoevsky, thought Gombrowicz and Vonnegut all the way to King.

But in its heart, this is a novel about us. It chronicles the human experience. From many vantage points and through many eyes. That’s why it’s worth a read. It’ll feel like looking into a mirror.

2. Joe Abercrombie - The First Law Trilogy 

 There is a somewhat cookie-cutter approach to modern fantasy. Recycling of ideas. Abercrombie noticed that and decided to play with the genre. Then he went further. He not only broke the common fantasy concepts and paradigms. He also did that the ones we hold as a society. Whatever you think is going to happen will undoubtedly not occur. And that’s the power of this trilogy.

It’s also very well written. With gritty characters, fast-paced narrative and deep, colourful world. Who does not what to read about a protagonist called “The Bloody Nine”?

3. Kermit Lynch - Adventures on the Wine Route 

 “Drinking water leads to suicide”. Here’s a quote for the quote liking crowd coming from one of the producers profiled in this book.

Uncharestically for wine writing this one is not an encyclopaedia of wine regions and varieties. It’s a story of people. Of producers who make wine the same way their parents did, and their grandparents before. In a basement, below the house. Lynch chronicles his encounters with them and his journey to understating what a good wine really is.

So, take the time, meet some really cool people, and get inspired to drink more wine.

4. William Zinsser - On Writing Well 

We write a lot. Now more than ever. Slack, email, social media and official documents. And through all of this we want to be heard and understood. Unfortunately, not all of what we create is great. Or clear.

This book will guide you through what it means to respect the words you put down. And how to do it in a way that converts exactly what you think and feel. And just for that, it’s worth your time.

5. Neal Stephenson - Reamde 

When I sat down to write this list the story, I wanted to tell closed on book number four. So, this one is sort of an epilogue.

If a book has more than a thousand pages there is something that draws me to it. “This is a cool challenge” I think. Sometimes it turns into an ordeal. Page by page of boring prose. This one, fortunately, is not like that.

It’s a fast-paced thriller full of Russian mafia, Hungarian hackers, Islamist terrorists and, of course, a totally confused protagonist. I never really noticed the length. Time just flew by. An absolutely enjoyable, extremely well written and researched adventure.