Inarguably, 2020 has been off to a rough start: the unprecedented wildfires spreading through Australia, Kobe Bryant’s untimely death, and the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan. With a series of unfortunate global events unfolding, I decided that although I cannot guarantee a pledge to Change.org or a tribute made on my instagram story will make a significant difference worldwide, I can make small changes in my life to enlighten and positively impact my 2020. As such, I decided to embark on an ambitious resolution to 20 books in 2020. What better way to start of the year than to resurrect a hobby I lost since senior year of highschool! And of course, I wanted to share the list of books I made for myself to inspire others to follow suit.
Below is a list of 10 books I carefully scavenged for and curated (The second half of the list will be published around the second half of the semester!). I tried to include books of various genres, be it nonfiction or fiction, scientific or dystopian. Since HerCampus is a platform for women supporting other women across the country, I also sought to make the list written exclusively by female authors of diverse experiences; however, there are a few books written by men that I just could not exclude from my selection. Without further ado, here are the 10 must-read books to enhance your 2020!
- Yale Needs Women: How the First Group of Girls Rewrote the Rules of an Ivy League Giant by Anne Perkins
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Perkins tells a riveting story about the first group of young women admitted to a previously all-male prestigious Ivy League institution. The historical nonfiction novel brings about a sense of empowerment, courage, and resilience, resonating still with young women, like us, in college today.
- Essentialism by Greg McKeown
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Recommended by a friend who claims that I am the definition of a “non-essentialist,” this novel illustrates a series of powerful anecdotes that target the insanity that plagues overworked individuals in the current increasingly fast-paced society. In addition to teaching the reader how to say “no” gracefully, McKeown guides the reader to slow down and think before making decisions that are truly essential to enhancing the self. As an inherent non-essentialist, I am excited to see how this self-help book will help me rediscover my ethics and guide me to improving my decision making skills so that I can find value and pleasure in pursuing less.
- Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
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Pachinko is the first novel written for the adult, English speaking audience about the narratives of Japanese-Korean culture. Not only does the novel elucidate the issues of racism, class, and stereotypes of being Korean, but the captivating novel also beautifully details the Korean immigrant experience.
- The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
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A beautifully crafted work of fiction, The Goldfinch includes vivid character development, mesmerizing language, and suspense to create a storyline that explores several profound themes of love, loss, reinvention and redemption, survival, and loss and obsession.
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
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Originally published in 2018, Becoming is a memoir that encapsulates Michelle Obama’s experiences with connecting to her roots, discovering her identity, creating her health campaign, and being a mother. Although most people know Michelle Obama as the former first-lady, this unique memoir uncovers new insights on her upbringing and reveals a more raw, human perspective of her that is unnoticed by the public eye as a result of her widely recognized and esteemed label as the first-lady of President Barack Obama.
- The Sympathizer by Viet Thahn Nguyen
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Recipient of the 2016 Pulizter prize, Nguyen crafts a profound, startling, and artful novel about a North Vietnamese spy in the South Vietnamese army amidst the fueling Vietnam War, who later stays hidden in a South Vietnamese community in America. The duality of the narrator’s identity as both the spy and the immigrant is one of the reasons behind the book’s brilliance.
- The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
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This touching novel tells the story of a young girl named Pecola who grows up in the years after the Great Depressing is a must-read. Morrison examines the racial, personal, and sexual feelings and struggles within a young girl in a poetic and endearing way. In our self-absorbed, appearance obsessive modern world today, this novel confronts beauty and the consequences of beauty standards in an unconventional yet mesmerizing way.
- Americana by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
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I was required to read this book the summer before my senior year of high school prior to taking AP Literature and Composition. The 500+ page book surely seemed to be a daunting task; however, once I started reading and the plot began to unravel, it was hard for me to keep my nose out of its pages. The novel, which is about a Nigerian woman, Ifemelu, who immigrates to the US to attend university, dives into a deep investigation of race, culture, identity, and love, ultimately telling a truly gripping human story.
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
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I feel like The Handmaid’s Tale is a book that everyone talks about, especially since there is a TV series adaptation of it available on Hulu. I’ve been wanting to read this book since junior year of high school, so naturally, I added it to my list. This enthralling dystopian tale is set in a period of totalitarianism in which women are stripped of all their civil rights, essentially becoming servants to civil society. This powerfully written novel reveals the potentially disturbing consequences of having a religious state against women. For dystopian novel lovers, this highly acclaimed book will definitely not disappoint.
- The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
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Another science-fiction dystopian novel, The Memory Policy takes place on a small island where objects seem to be disappearing and an entity known as the “memory police” makes sure they are eternally forgotten. This novel strikes a haunting future of mass surveillance in which an unsettling epidemic of forgetting things encroaches upon the island. As a thriller/horror movie enthusiast, I love a good dystopian novel read to recharge my year.
And that concludes the first part of my list. Until the second half of the semester rolls around, happy reading, ladies!