Recommended Books

The Night Circus - Erin Morgenstern

I read this for the first time during my senior year in high school for book club. It's a whirlwind of magic and love and souls and time. I love it because the plot isn't linear, it goes back and forth. The characters are human, and their portrayal makes them lovable. Every time I read it, something new pops out at me. The mystery of the circus, of the magic competition, and ultimately of the characters reflects ultimately the mystery and wonder of life and those who inhabit it.

Station Eleven - Emily St. John Mandel

This isn't your average post-apocalypse dystopian novel. I enjoyed it because the human quality in what would we do if the world "ended" really struck home. At the end of it, every action the characters took, from starting an acting troupe to forming cults shows a deep complex human need for answers, whether through art or religion or both. So many post-apocalyptic settings focus on how awful life is, how controlling the government becomes, or how children are forced to murder children. This one focuses so much on how just because the world ends, it doesn't mean humanity does. Humans survive, and with this survival, our culture and humanities. Plus it's full of Shakespeare and music jokes.

Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

I have to admit, I cried reading this. I was over in Ireland and brought this along because the internet exploded, The author is a classics scholar so I knew it couldn't be too out of (historical) character. The prose was short and sweet yet captivating. I got way too into this story. It's completely from Patroclus's point of view and honestly what makes it so heart breaking is that I know how the Trojan war ends. I know who dies and how they do. Now when I think of the Iliad I have to take into account these human figures created for me by this book, and the Iliad becomes as much a tragedy as it is an epic.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Universe - Benjamin Alire Saenz

I got this at a library convention simply because the cover was so beautiful. The author even signed it!!! Then I read the synopsis and realized, huh this might be good. It was. It's about finding yourself and your place in the world.It's rare to find LGBTQ literature that is popular, nevermind PoC centered LGBTQ lit. I loved it because it not only realistically (for me at least) portrayed the process of realization and love, but it did so in a way that was respectful and loving towards the various communities it talks of. It's slow and gentle and loving and definitely a book to read if you want realistic character growth. When I think of it, I am reminded of stargazing at night, relaxing with those you love. It's a peculiar book that grew on me.