The year is 1997 – or is it?
Confused? We don’t blame you! Yes, it is in fact 2016 – HAPPY NEW YEAR – but we’ve decided to take a little trip down memory lane and venture into the year of all-good-things-published: 1997. The Twentieth Century, 1997 to be exact, left us with incredible musical hits, cinematic classics, and more – it was also the year bazaar was conceived. So we welcome you to our very special 200th Edition special of bookworms, your definitive destination for all things literary – well, at least we like to think it is. So to celebrate all the awesome reads published in 1997, let’s take a look at some of the literary works that inspired us.
Since its release in 1997, Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie has garnered much acclaim and countless awards. This is largely due to the simple writing style and contemplation of a tangible and relatable situation. Much like this memoir of Albom’s cherished professor, the author himself has a certain depth to his character that appears through his writing as well as his versatility as an ex-sports journalist. This is certainly an example of a book that will change your life and impact you for the better. I have yet to happen upon a book more contemplative and reflective of life itself.
As huge fans of Phillip Pullman’s trilogy His Dark Materials, we had to include his second installment to this series. The Subtle Knife gave us the opportunity to step back into Lyra’s world and explore the beautiful bonds of friendship in a new-found realm. Taking us on the epic rollercoaster of emotions Pullman effortlessly writes, we’re thrown amidst a strange plane of thought where fantasy and reality might very well overlap. Ever so subtly, he writes and rewrites the rules of the worlds to give us a dangerously clever weapon that is the knife that can cut through all of space and time.
And in one bazaarite’s not-so-humble opinion, Neil Gaiman aka the King of Fantasy published his first stand-alone novel, the ineffable Neverwhere. A book we had shamelessly dubbed as London’s ultimate guidebook, we stand by it to the very end. Because ‘London Below’ is very literal, we bid you a simple warning – read this book after you visit London, for it will never be the same again. Be wise young bookling, for the words in this novel are law, and laws are taken far too literally in London Below. Welcoming you into the world of the forgotten, Neverwhere came to us in 1997 and is yet to falter in intensity.
A fictional memoir captivated our world back in 1997 when Arthur Golden published his debut novel, Memoirs of a Geisha. With an almost flawless air of authenticity, Golden tells us about life through a celebrated Japanese geisha’s eyes. Dating to pre and post World War II, we’re taken on an excursion to find out what it truly means to be a beautifully made-up geisha. An entirely fiction recollection, Memoirs of a Geisha is a wonderful and telling tale of beauty and power.
No collection is complete without the series that brought the world together. In our final words, we would like to remind you all that the very first Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (that’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone to all you American version kids), was published in 1997. J.K. Rowling, we salute you. Rejoice in the glory that our humble publication and this epic series came to life in the same year!
Enjoy the new year and remember, read all the books! Image provide by @Austen Squarepants through his account on www.flickr.com.
