Trying to get out of a reading slump? Looking for book inspiration? Here’s what our students and faculty are reading this month!
From Rachel Smithline:
“I recommend One Last Stop (St. Martin’s Griffin) by Casey McQuiston. An adult LGBTQ+ romance, this is a heartwarming sophomore novel with a meet-cute between a cynical former teen detective and a temporarily-displaced punk rocker using the power of love (and pancakes and drag queens and friends) to ensure a happy ending.”
“Juniper & Thorn (HarperVoyager, May 24) by Ava Reid. Adult/Dark Fantasy. A claustrophobic fairytale about the monsters we keep close. Marlinchen is the daughter of a wizard who, one day, leaves the dark confines of her home. Excellent for fans of Shirley Jackson and Catherynne M. Valente!”
From Katie Schwab:
“I just finished reading bell hooks’ All About Love for my Marketing/Publicity class, and I absolutely loved it! (Speaking of love…)
This is an essay collection surrounding the various types of love, the way society has learned to interpret it, how we might look at love differently, as well as her own personal experience with love. I highly recommend it, especially during the month of love!”
From Katie Merikallio:
“In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado is one of my all-time favorite books. I’ll read anything Machado writes (if you like short stories, you should also check out her collection Her Body and Other Parties. In fact, check it out even if you don’t like short stories) but her memoir is particularly stunning.
Told in a series of genre-bending vignettes, In the Dream House tells the story of Machado’s abusive relationship with another woman. It delves deep into both her personal experience and how society treats abusive relationships between two women. The prose is beautiful and vulnerable and I promise you’ll be thinking of it for weeks after you finish.”
From Professor Romanello:
“My recommendation is The Family by Naomi Krupitsky, a debut novel recently published by Putnam. It is a “Read with Jenna” Today Show selection.
The Family tells the story of two best friends since birth, Sofia Colicchio and Antonia Russo. Growing up next door to each other in 1930s Brooklyn, their families gather for weekly Sunday dinners until the day after Antonia’s father disappears, which changes them both forever. A compelling read with a fresh take on old New York, the American Dream, and what it means to inherit the wounds of past generations.”
From Professor Soares:
“Richard Powers in an ecological warrior with his Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Overstory; beautiful prose that brings home the issues surrounding the destruction of the natural world.
Still Life by Sarah Winman is a compelling WWII period piece with elements of magical realism. I couldn’t put it down.”