Read this book! Scarlett Thomas Edition

I was at a bridal shower on Saturday, trying to be unobtrusive while the bride opened her gifts, when my boyfriend's aunt started grilling me on what I wanted to do with my life and what's wrong with me to make me such a loser, ending with a lecture on how if I just listened to her I could be a Success! Anyway, in the midst of this harangue, she asked me who my favorite writers were, and I started telling her about Scarlett Thomas, whom I adore. I got all excited and happy talking about her, as well as my other favorite authors, and then she suggested her own since mine clearly weren't up to snuff. And yes, Aunty, I did pick up the not so subtle insinuation in your suggestion that I read A Light in August because it's the easiest Faulkner.

Possible future in-laws aside, the whole experience reminded me that I should blog about the awesomeness of Scarlett Thomas. She's a writer from the New Puritan school, which is all about telling a story as simply as possible. I've read two of her books, and I loved them so much I gave them away. That's the highest praise possible from me because I hoard books. I keep them and read them over and over and over again and get mad when people touch them. So for me to give a book away I have to feel strongly that everyone in the world should read it.

The first book I read is Popco. It's about a cryptanalyst/toy designer who solves a seemingly unbreakable code and finds a hidden pirate treasure. The End of Mr. Y, cover adorned with the tantalizing tagline, Would you read this book if you knew it was cursed? is about a graduate student who finds an extremely rare book holding the secret to linking into the consciousness of, well, everyone. Both books are suspenseful and dramatic and funny and touching and chock full of information. Everything I know about homeopathy, cryptanalysis, pirates, toy and puzzle design, and thought experiments I learned from Scarlett Thomas. I read an interview with her on Bookslut, like, a year ago, and she said that when she sets out to write a book she makes a list of everything she wants to learn about and then comes up with a plot that connects them. Luckily, she only wants to learn about really interesting things, and she passes it all on to the reader.

So buy her books if you're too lazy to read encyclopedias and tedious technical manuals but still want to learn cool stuff while engrossed in a compelling plot.