My favorite books to be stuck in a time loop with

I'm a sucker for the time travel genre, and specifically the sub-genre of time loops. Harry August adds a layer to the beloved “trope” that I don't think I've ever seen before: the protagonist lives the same life over and over again, from birth to death. It's hard to describe this one beyond the premise in any way that does it justice, but luckily the premise is intriguing enough in its own right. A highly recommended book.

What would you do if you could go back and inhabit your 10-year-old-self with your adult mind? What would you do differently? What would you try to keep the same? Who would you save? In a more finite version of living-life-over-again, Micajah Fenton goes from being a suicidal octogenarian, to a time-traveler with the aid of an otherworldly spacecraft that lands on his property.

This book is full of rich and beautiful character moments in the bayou of mid-century Louisiana, and the Silicon Valley of the 1980s, that juxtaposes nicely against the hard sci-fi premise of UFOs and AI holograms. A Gift of Time was just that; a gift, one that brought a tear to my eye on more than one page.

Perhaps the most kindred title to my own book, Here and Now and Then is the story of Kin Stewart, and time-traveling spy from the year 2142, who becomes stranded in the 1990s after a botched mission. Having assimilated to life in the past, even marrying and starting a family, Kin's got a bad bout of brain fog and amnesia resulting from the ordeal, (time travel is hard!). And then, his rescue team shows up 18 years too late. They bring with them the revelation that Kin has only been gone for 2 weeks relative to their time.

While admittedly full of some heavy-handed “this author clearly loves Star Trek and soccer” dialogue in the beginning, once this book finds its feet, it really takes off and is a fun romp, with a cool look into the author's speculative future.

Buttressing off of the themes of amnesia and time relativity in the last recommendation, Weir's Project Hail Mary is the story of a science teacher on a doomed mission to space who is trying to save the earth from a sun-eating extra-terrestrial microorganism dubbed “Astrophage”. Unable to recall his own name or what he's doing on this spacecraft, Ryland Grace has to jog his own memory quickly if he's going to be successful. Alone and both relatively, and literally out of time, Grace endeavors to save the planet with the help of an unlikely ally in this moving, and scientifically fascinating tale of friendship, sacrifice, and ingenuity. Highest recommendation.

Reconnect is an off-the-books company that will use time travel to rescue people from the moments before their untimely deaths, or place willing customers in the past—for a fee, of course. But when a rescue mission goes badly, Reconnect agents Mark and Seth find themselves stuck in the past with the FBI in hot pursuit. What's more, their own company is looking to cover up their mistake by taking their lives.

This is a really fun graphic novel in the genre of time travel + crime thriller, by creators that have gone on to much success in the comics industry. They also happen to be friends of mine!