Finals week begins Monday and then summer break (or summer semester if you’re taking classes) begins. If you’re going to have some spare time and want a new book to read a few staff members of Kaleidoscope have given their recommendations. The links go to Amazon but be sure to check out your local library’s online selection or use an Audible free trial.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
If you like: historical fiction, tragedy and romance
The first book written for an English-speaking audience about Japanese Korean culture, this book will transport you to another world. Staring off a few years before World War II, the book follows the tales of one family over four generation, each one facing adversities appropriate for their time period and all caused by their identity. A foolish young girl who believed in the love of an older man, a young college student trying to hide his “tainted” lineage, this fictional story will teach you about the true hardships many Koreans face today all while tearing your heart to a million pieces.
Bonus: It’s the 2019 National Book Award Finalist
Paperback for $9.39 on Amazon
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
If you like: Young Adult and adventure
The story follows the lives of five misfits and their daring adventures to pull off the ultimate heist. The main character, Kaz Brekkar is the very best of The Barrel’s worst and is a criminal prodigy. Set in a town loosely inspired by the Dutch Republic, Kaz is challenged to break into the most impenetrable walled city in the world and he’s going to need the best of the best to pull it all off. If you’re looking for a fast-paced action-packed story with romance deceit and mystery, this is the story for you. There is also a sequel that you can read if you really enjoy the original, “Kingdom of Crows,” follows the lives of the five characters after the events of “Six of Crows”.
Paperback for $8.98 Amazon
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell
If you like: John Green, high school romance, books that make you cry
This novel follows the lives of Eleanor Douglas and Park Sheridan, two high school students in Omaha, Nebraska. Eleanor is the new kid on the block and couldn’t fit in even if she tried, while Park does everything to blend in. Set in the 1980s this book is beautifully saturated in nostalgia. If you like John Green books and are a sucker for clumsy, adorable high school romance, this is the story for you. The novel follows Eleanor and Park as they navigate the tumultuous roller coaster of high school, families and first-loves. This story is a tear-jerker so keep some tissues handy, but the end is well worth all the ugly-crying in between.
Paperback for $8.99 on Amazon
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon
If you like: Dystopian type books, superpowers
Have you ever wondered what British society would like in the future if it was run by a corrupt government controlling people with powers? If so, this is the story for you. This novel follows the life of Paige Mahoney, a young woman who has clairvoyant powers and her journey to escape an inescapable prison. When Paige is drugged, kidnapped and arrested for her illegal use of her power she is taken a prison specifically designed to hold people like her. This story follows her daring escape from the cruel world she lives in. While this novel is more challenging to read than your average Young Adult novel, all of the complex themes and characters are well worth the extra time.
Paperback for $4.36 on Amazon
Down Girl: The Logic of Misogyny by Kate Manne
If you like: philosophy, feminism
Kate Manne explores the relationship between patriarchy, misogyny and sexism in the tradition of analytic feminist philosophy. Manne took inspiration from the #MeToo movement, the 2016 election and real-life events for her book to explain how these things reinforce gender norms and sexist ideology. Down Girl is potentially the most timely work of 2017 but 2020 readers will certainly get new insights. For those who do read Down Girl, Manne has links to other analyses on her website as well as responses to criticism of the book.
Paperback for $10.83 on Amazon
Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
If you like: graphic novels, memoirs
Has been stuck at home with your family reminded you that you don’t actually feel a part of them? You aren’t the only one with issues connecting to your family. In her critically acclaimed graphic memoir, Alison Bechdel recounts her complicated relationship with her father. Her father was distant to her throughout her life. It was when Bechdel came out as a lesbian in college that she discovered her father was gay himself, and before she had a chance to truly contend with the implications, he was dead. This book is her way of dealing with that complicated history. If your family becomes too much during social distancing, why not escape into one with even more issues?
Paperback for $5.00 on Amazon
Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
If you like: classics, Hollywood
“Play It As It Lays” is about Maria Wyeth, an actress who is no longer acting. She is simply existing in Hollywood, married to a director who sees her as a burden, drinking the days away, compulsively driving the freeway at night. The book is about more than just Maria. It is about the way Hollywood systematically uses and throws away women as soon as they can. It is a glimpse inside the horrors that system is willing to inflict upon a woman once they decide they are done with them.
Paperback for $11.79 on Amazon
