Fall is the perfect time to dive head first into some new books, or books that you’ve been putting off reading for a while that you finally got around to. Here are some books that I read recently during the fall season!
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Crying in H Mart is an emotional and heartwarming coming-of-age memoir by Michelle Zauner where she comes to terms with being half-Korean and having to gain her mother’s approval. Her and her mother often bond over their love of Korean food, and as her mom struggles through a journey with cancer, Michelle begins making Korean recipes to feel closer to her. She often turns to music, which has been a constant throughout her life. The story brings you through how she eventually became a world-renowned singer and started the indie band Japanese Breakfast. This book delves deep into themes like cultural identity and family, and I found that it was one I just couldn’t put down. I actually saw Japanese Breakfast in concert a few days after I finished reading the book, and it made me feel so much closer to her as an artist and a person. It was a surreal experience and one that I will never forget!
Normal People by Sally Rooney
Normal People is an introspective novel detailing the bond between two people, Connell and Marianne, as they go through high school, college and afterwards into their adult lives. They both face challenges, and this affects the bond they have with each other. Marianne and Connell are drawn to each other in a relationship that is unlike anything either one of them has felt before. Even though they might drift apart at times, they always end up coming back no matter the circumstances. Rooney’s writing deals with topics of mental health, insecurity, social and economic divisions, class and many other relevant issues. This is a book I find myself coming back to again and again, and there are many lines in this book that I have highlighted just because I want to read them back later. Rooney has something relatable in this book for everyone and you can identify with one part or another in all of the characters. Sally Rooney’s writing is incredible, and whenever someone asks for a book recommendation I always give them this one.
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo
Three Women is a novel following reporting done over years by Taddeo on the lives of 3 real women and their stories. Lina, a mother in suburban Indiana whose marriage has lost its passion, reconnects with an old flame through social media and embarks on an affair that quickly becomes all-consuming. Maggie, a 17 year old high school student in North Dakota, finds her life turned upside down when she engages in a relationship with her married English teacher and has to go through the devastating effects of a criminal trial. And Sloane is a successful restaurant manager living her dream in the Northeast, married to a man who likes to watch her sleep with other men and women. I thought it was very interesting to read about everyone’s different personal experiences with love and how that affected them in their later lives, and the writing kept me engaged the whole time. Each women’s story showed me a different side of the characters, and while there were a couple stories that I felt more connected to than others, the way the author wrote made me want to keep reading. It was a bit of a slower read, but I’m glad I kept at it because the conclusion was satisfying and I don’t regret reading it one bit.
The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
This book brings me back to my Junior year English class. I was one of the few people that actually loved this book when I first read it, and now that I’ve read it again this fall I appreciate it even more. Catcher in the Rye follows two days in the life of Holden Caulfield after he gets kicked out of his prep school before Christmas break and stays in New York until he has to come back to his parents. As he tries to deal with the “phoniness” and superficiality of the adult world and faces the inevitable ending of his childhood, he becomes more and more exhausted and emotionally unstable as he tries to grapple with the meaninglessness of it all. Reading about Holden as a character, even though he isn’t the best person in the world, I felt like I relate to him in a way and I appreciated reading Holden’s tangents and his digressions throughout the novel.