A Russian Winter
And 2024: a Year of Non-Fiction
Nemesis: The Death Star
Author: Dr. Richard Muller
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Genre: Nonfiction
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What to know: The star Nemesis as been orbiting the Earth for millennia. Every 26 million years it showers the Earth in comets, the same of which were responsible for the destruction of the dinosaurs. This book tells both the story of this notorious star and the scientists behind its discovery.
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Dead Souls
Author: Nikolai Gogol
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Genre: Fiction
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What to know: A fundamental work of Russian literature, Dead Souls follows Chichikov through peasant filled Russian backwaters running a series of scams to buy the names of dead serfs from their landed owners. This novel offers holistic look into Russian society, and represents the beginning of Russian realism.
Biographies of Russia
Author: Robert K. Massie
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Genre: Biography
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What to know: Robert K. Massie won a Pulitzer in 1981 for his histories, of which he wrote 8. I shall focus my efforts on the 4 dealing with Russian Czars: Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and the Romanovs, for which he has won highest praise.
Pnin
Author: Vladimir Nabokov
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Genre: Fiction
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What to know: Some attribute Pnin to be Nabokov's ultimate foil to Humbert Humbert. They share many traits after all: scholarly men, professors, presumably tweed clan, with one merciful essential contrast in their proclivities. Pnin is the novel that launched Nabokov's fame in his exile home USA.
