Somehow I fell down the EverestTok rabbit hole and ended up here. Everest is endlessly fascinating, from the people audacious enough to climb it to the cultural conversations surrounding the merits of climbing it in the first place. Into Thin Air dives deep into these cultural and philosophical conversations, which were my favorite parts of the book. Everest isn't the most technically difficult climb, but it has the most mystique for being the tallest. This draws a very particular kind of climber: one who cares more about the social cachet than the experience itself. When egos, bad incentives, and mother nature collide, disaster strikes on Everest in 1996. The second half of the book focuses on the logistics of the '96 disaster, giving us an hour by hour breakdown of what happened and what went wrong. Since Krakaur was actually ON this cursed expedition, he's able to provide an intimate account we would never otherwise get. My main gripe was, since he was on the expedition, I expected more emotionality and personal thoughts from him. He really focuses on the logistics: this climber was here at 4:30, this decision was made which lead to this other thing happening.... and while all this is important and interesting, I wanted more about how he was feeling, what it was like to be up there. I wanted more human experience injected between the logistical realities.

I still loved this, and might even listen again. Excellent audiobook choice!

I have a special interest in books about marriage, and this falls squarely in the "quiet novel about domestic commitment" category. Not everyone's cup of tea but 100% is mine. This isn't quite a "marriage in crisis" story, despite the title. The affair in question is murky; arrangements and subtle confessions and blurred delineation between fantasy and reality make this more of a meditation on desire and emotional fidelity than a story of adultery. There are beautiful passages here that succinctly hit at the heart of what it means to stay committed and build a life in spite - in spite of boredom, complacency, familiarity, yearning. How do we reconcile the parts of ourselves that crave adventure and freedom with the parts that need stability and familial intimacy?

This is one of those literary fictions that, while beautifully crafted, is not overwritten or painful to digest. It's easy reading, while still grappling with complex subjects.