The weekly post

The one where we travel through time

Hi friends, I hope that you and your loved ones are all staying safe. The devastation rolling across the southeast U.S. is horrific and truly unfathomable, with the full impact still not fully understood. Mindful of the misinformation that is spreading about the response and resources available, I highly recommend going directly to fema.gov, where information about Hurricanes Helene and Milton is being regularly updated and where you can find additional resources about how to check for/prevent the spread of misinformation. This link includes a roundup of some of the local, regional, and national organizations that are supporting those impacted by the storms.

This week is a longer letter. I’m loving the books that I’m currently reading and what I have in my TBR stack, and I’m sharing a review for The Ministry of Time, which was lengthier than I expected! I’m really looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this story. The Ministry of Time was released in May of this year, and it felt like I instantly saw it everywhere. As someone who doesn’t read a lot of sci-fi or time travel books, this novel felt like an approachable entry point into the genre, though I’m curious to hear others’ perspectives on the premise and execution of the story.

Wherever you are, whatever you’re reading, I hope you’re taking good care.

Currently Reading

THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL by Kelly Bishop. Technically, I am listening to this one as I try my hand at audiobooks yet again (the medium I just won’t give up on). While I’m a devoted Gilmore Girl fan, I’m personally most excited about this one because my fabulous star of a best friend was part of the team that helped bring it into the world. Only a few chapters in, and I am already loving the great stories Kelly Bishop has to share, and it’s made even more special by hearing her narrate. Plus, fall is simply always the right time for the Gilmores.

Recent Recommendation

THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (4.5 stars). Where to really begin for this tale? The Ministry of Time promises to be part time-travel, part spy thriller, and part romance, and is endorsed by Emily Henry and Obama alike. In other words, this novel sets itself up to pack a punch from the first page, and it delivers. I am admittedly still processing this novel, and I’m eager to share what stood out to me about the storytelling. I’m also itching to discuss with someone in greater detail (sharing too much would obviously spoil some plot points) so please let me know if you’ve also recently picked this one up so we can compare notes!

The Ministry of Time is told from the perspective of an unnamed civil servant who is offered a position on a top secret project. The assignment? A new government agency is exploring time travel, seeking to better understand the limitations of how it can be utilized, by hand-selecting a number of “expats” from different moments in time. The civil servants are partnered with these expats to serve as ambassadors or “bridges,” helping the time travelers acclimate to present day.

Our narrator serves as a bridge to Commander Graham Gore who was assumed dead on an 1845 expedition to the Arctic. Gore is reserved and tender, moody and well-intentioned. He understandably struggles to understand what happened to his crew and why he was selected for this time travel experiment, though he does a remarkably good job of processing this struggle. Perhaps more challenging for him is learning how to adapt to present day and catching up on the centuries of history that separate the life he knew from the life he now occupies. This story is oftentimes moody, dark, and sinister, and it is lightened so often by Graham’s reactions to how times have changed, which range from childlike glee, when he learns to ride a bike, to complete aghast, when he discovers the rules and woes of modern dating.

I’m not one for time travel stories typically, but this one grabbed my attention early on because it starts with a relatively straightforward premise and riveting, hard-to-pin-down characters that enticed me enough to follow along and suspend my disbelief. This, paired with Kaliane Bradley’s amusing descriptions and turns of phrase, made for masterful writing. As the narrator and reader both start to piece together that this project might not be as innocent as originally presented, the pacing somehow perfectly straddles that of a slow burn and the quick clip typical of a spy thriller. Given the ever-present, ominous mood throughout, I wouldn’t say this book is enjoyable, but I continually found myself thinking that it is in a league entirely of its own.

That said, this book would have been a five star review for me if the author had maintained the simple time travel premise, but about two-thirds of the way through, it took on a more circuitous route with increasingly complex character relationships, and I found myself needing to reread passages to see if I had missed something. I remained invested in the story, and deeply intrigued by where it was going, but it also felt illustrative of why I always struggle with time travel stories. There’s always another dynamic to track, another loophole the reader and narrator weren’t aware of, another pillar knocked over that disturbs the whole operation. In this case, each new layer serves to contribute to a broader social commentary on systems of power, assimilation, climate change, race, and gender, and while thought-provoking, I would have appreciated a simpler ending that focused on one or two of those themes, rather than all.

On the whole, this story sits squarely outside of my normal reading comfort zone, and I’m glad I went on the journey. I looked forward to reading this every day, finding small pockets of time in the mornings and evenings, and it’s really stuck with me - I’ve found myself thinking about it in the days since finishing the last page. It was lovely to feel invested in a story without feeling the need to rush to the end. That’s a rare gift, and I’m grateful to the friends who recommended this unique story.

Recommend for… fans of HP and the Order of the Phoenix, Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and the film Get Out directed by Jordan Peele

Up Next

WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT?: VISIONS OF CLIMATE FUTURES by Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson. This recent release from Dr. Ayana Johnson is at the tippy top of my list. She is an incredible and inspiring advocate, conservation strategist, and marine biologist, and is one of the co-editors of my all-time favorite collection, All We Can Save. The first review I saw of this book claimed we have “another book of climate optimism and focus on solutions” on our hands, and my goodness, am I in need of that these days.

Reading Soundtrack

This playlist is fall-in-a-bottle, as told by Taylor Swift and Stevie Nicks, and it has been the perfect backdrop for cooler reading days (and is the inspiration for this week’s three words).

Quote of the Week

“The truth is, it won’t get better if you keep making the same mistakes. It can get better, but you must allow yourself to imagine a world in which you are better.” The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley

Three Words

Long story short.