Luminarium was one of five books recommended for summer reading by The Center for Fiction: Luminarium by Alex Shakar is not the kind of book I would ordinarily choose. Twins who are game developers? One in a coma, the other struggling to make sense of his life outside the virtual worlds he creates? Neurological studies, military conglomerates, and war games? Didn’t sound like a book I’d like very much. In fact, I loved it! Shakar takes on the difficult questions of how to find meaning and be fully awake and he does it without pontificating in a story that is engaging from start to finish. There’s a reason this just won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Fiction, so don’t be scared off as I nearly was.