Time travel is a concept that has always made for great storytelling. From Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court or H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, to Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, we love stories that take a character out of their time and put them somewhen they don’t belong. Our current Library display, “Lost in Time”, collects some of the best books in the time travel genre, as well as a few time loop books, where characters relive, or bounce around in, a block of time (think Groundhog Day but better).
The great thing about time travel books, is that they can fall into pretty much any other genre. If you’re a fan of mystery books, try The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton (FIC Tur). In it Aiden Bishop must solve the murder of Evelyn Hardcastle. Every time he fails the day begins again, and Aiden wakes up in the body of a different guest at Blackheath Manor. If you like thrillers check out 11/22/63 by Stephen King (FIC Kin). It follows Jake, a man whose friend Al, runs the local diner and divulges a secret to Jake: his storeroom is a portal to 1958. He enlists Jake on an insane mission to try and prevent the Kennedy assassination. If you like romance, there are many, many time travel options, but the granddaddy of them all has to be Outlander by Diana Gabaldon (FIC Gab). It’s about Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, who finds herself in Scotland in 1743. Scotland is torn by war and raiding border clans and Claire is protected by a gallant young Scots warrior, James Fraser. If you’re a fan of books about history I suggest Doomsday Book by Connie Willis (FIC Wil). It digs into life in the fourteenth century after its main character, Kivrin, gets stranded there. If you’re looking for something unique, try Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (YA FIC Rig). In it there is a group of children who live in time loops in the past to protect themselves, because they are all “peculiar” in some way. They have an array of strange features and abilities. One is able to summon fire, another can float. One has a hive of bees that live inside of him, and one little girl has a mouth in the back of her head. The story is told through a series of strange vintage photographs that the author has collected and combined to tell a story, as the characters wind their way through time.
These are just a few of the many great books available, there really is a time travel book for everyone. Come by the second floor library any time between now and June 1st to browse all the possibilities. If you have questions, you may call us at (765)362-2242 (ext. 117) or send us an email at ask@cdpl.lib.in.us.
Emma Lashley is a Library Assistant in the Reference and Local History Department at CDPL.
