This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Chapman chapter.
Music Enthusiast
- Girl In a Band by Kim Gordon – A memoir by Kim Gordon of the band Sonic Youth. It’s honest and sincere, Gordon opens up majorly and pours everything out.
- Hunger Makes A Modern Girl – You’ve seen her on Portlandia and in the band Sleater-Kinney, Carrie Brownstein writes about her life in this book
- Reckless: My Life as a Pretender – The life of Chrissy Hynde as told by the one and only Chrissy Hynde. Her memoir that follows her rock star life; the good the bad, and the punk.
Funny People
- Why Not Me? – Mindy Kaling’s follow up to her best seller, Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? This book doles out valuable career and life advice and gives readers a glimpse into all the hard work that got Kaling where she is today.
- Modern Romance – Aziz Ansari explores love in modern times and how the internet and texting have changed the whole dating thing.
- One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories – A collection of short stories by BJ Novak. They’ll entertain you to no end, make you laugh but also think.
Books That Should be “Classics”
- How I Paid for College: A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship, and Musical Theatre by Marc Acito – Okay so this isn’t really a classic but it feeds off of all the classic coming of age stories. Imagine if Catcher in the Rye had a baby with a classic 80’s movie about high school, this would be the result
- The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie – If you read the best seller Absolutely True Diaries of a Part Time Indian then you’ll like this book. It’s by the same author with the same kind of humor only it’s short stories that sometimes connect and sometimes don’t. It’s a wonderful quick read.
- Welcome to the Monekyhouse – You probably read Slaughterhouse Five in school, check out this collection of short stories by Vonnegut. Everything from science fiction to romance is covered within these gems.
Strong Women
- A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout and Sarah Corbett – A harrowing account of a woman being held hostage in Somalia for over a year. This has been optioned to be made into a film, so get on it!
- It’s What I Do by Lynsey Addario – Spielberg immediately bought the rights to this memoir of a photojournalist who shares her experiences in the Middle East while balancing being a wife and mother to those back at home
- The Taliban Shuffle by Kim Barker – Yet another book in the works of becoming a movie with Tina Fey slated to star. This book follows the true stories of journalist Kim Barker in Afghanistan. Never failing to see the humor in the most desperate of times, it makes a tough subject accessible to all.
Politicians
- Living History by Hillary Clinton – Read up on presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton in her memoir.
- Game Change & Double Down by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin – Accounts of the 2008 and 2012 elections these books make the presidential race as exciting as Game of Thrones; I’m not kidding!
- Alexander Hamilton by Ron Chernow – Lin Manuel read this book while on vacation and was inspired to write the current Broadway hit, Hamilton!
Books into Movies
- Room by Emma Donoghue – A story of a woman and her son kept in a small room by their captor and their escape to a new life. Brie Larson stars and is already receiving award season buzz.
- The Danish Girl by David Ebershoff – Follows the true story of painter Einar Wegnerand his wife Gerda as Einar chooses to undergo a first of its kind sex change operation. Another film that is already attracting buzz, starring Academy Award winner Eddie Redmayne.
- Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith – Based on Jane Austen’s classic, this tale puts a spin on the novel by making them face an army of zombies. The film is due out in February.
Books for Mom
- Boys in the Trees by Carly Simon – Rock star Carly Simon recounts her life story and reveals a few stories behind her music.
- A Year of Yes by Shonda Rimes – Little else can be said besides that it’s Shonda Rimes memoir.
- Dear Mr. You by Mary Louise Parker – Parker has composed letters to men in her life that have made her who she is today; some real, some fake. A unique storytelling method that proves to be entertaining and effective.
Books for Dad
- But Enough About Me by Burt Reynolds – Reynolds looks back on his life and how he got to where he is. A man’s man, dads will enjoy reading about their secret man crush.
- Duty: Memories of a Secretary at War by Rober M Gates – A classic political book that your Dad will read for “fun”. Gates reflects on his time spent in Washington and his role as the Secretary of Defense.
- Rogue Lawyer by John Grisham (Or any book by Grisham or Tom Clancy)– These can usually be found in airports which is always a plus