By JIM HERSHEWAY

Peter White Public Library

“The Long Walk” by Stephen King 

Not for the faint of heart, this book is now a major motion picture, originally released under the pseudonym of Richard Bachman and published in 1979 in the story collection “The Bachman Books.” 

The story is written with a teenage protagonist as the narrator, and is set in a dystopian dictatorship worshipping America. The annual competition consists of 100 boys (chosen by a lottery, similar to the draft …) that must keep a steady pace of 4 mph without stopping, a grueling match of stamina and wit, which can only have one survivor. Any walker who drops below 4 mph, stops or takes a break for any reason is given three warnings or is killed on the spot by a group of monitoring soldiers. The winner of the walk will be awarded “The Prize” and can have anything he wants for the rest of his life. 

Truly horrifying, this chilling read reflects life’s arduous journey of perseverance, hardship and sacrifice.

“The Long Walk,” considered a metaphor for the Vietnam War, was written by a 19-year-old King as a freshman at the University of Maine in 1966-67 and is considered one of his best among hardcore King fans.

“War Girls” by Tochi Onyebuchi

The year is 2172. Nuclear disasters and climate change have made much of the earth unlivable. Only the lucky ones have escaped to space colonies in the sky. In wartorn Nigeria, battles are fought using flying deadly mechs and soldiers outfitted with bionic limbs and artificial organs meant to protect them from the harsh radiation-heavy climate.

As civil war rages on, two sisters, Onyii and Ify, who are separated when their camp is attacked, dream of more. Their lives marked by violence and political unrest, they wish for peace, of hope, and of a future together.

On the surface, this is an action-packed story of two sisters fighting the odds to love and remember each other despite the distance. If you like fantastic world building, high-tech war stories, giant mech fighting and the themes of identity regarding race, ethnicity and technology, this an unforgettable read.

The story concludes in Onyebuchi’s sequel “Rebel Sisters.”

“Vineland” by Thomas Pynchon 

The story is set in 1984 California following the struggles of 1960s counterculture survivors. Zoyd Wheeler, father of teenager Praire, whose mother Frenesi Gates went off with Brick Vond, federal prosecutor, went to collect mental disability checks from the state by jumping through plate glass windows once a year.

The narrative follows Zoyd and Praire as their lives in Vineland become increasingly disrupted by federal law enforcement, which brings the conflict between the old counterculture and the new regime to a head.

Pynchon takes us through flashbacks, cutaways and extensive exploration of characters’ memories being avant garde, post-modern and alternate reality, by critiquing mass media, consumerism and creeping authoritarianism with elements of pulp fiction, martial arts and conspiracy theories. 

Recently, filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson described the movie “One Battle After Another” as being loosely based on Vineland.

Other interesting books by Pynchon are “Gravity’s Rainbow,” “V,” “Inherent Vice” and “Against the Day.”

“The Te of Piglet” by Benjamin Hoffs

This is the sequel to the timeless unforgettable book of Hoff’s “The Tao of Pooh.”

Piglet turns out to be the perfect embodiment of “Te,” the Taoist term for virtue, which is attained through sensitivity, modesty and smallness.

Te defined is not a moral code to be followed, but an inherent quality or virtue that comes from within.

“Piglet noticed that even though he had a small heart; it could hold a rather large amount of gratitude.” Panned by some critics who claimed that Hoffs used this book as a soapbox.

Yet Taoist principles remain intact, demonstrating that even the smallest among us can possess a moral and spiritual strength that far exceeds physical stature.

In closing: “When we give up our images of self importance, and our ideas of what should be, we can help things become what they need to be.”