Man, I miss reading. Not all those textbook chapters reading we’ve been doing all semester, but actually enjoying a good book. I used to read a lot for fun. And then college hit me. Suddenly, I’m drowning in papers and exams and work. During my free time, I sleep. Now that a one month long break is approaching, I can finally get lost in a different world. Here are some suggestions if you’re looking for a book to actually enjoy.
1. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay
Bad Feminist is a series of essay dealing with popular culture and how loving certain things can go against being a feminist. Roxane Gay is incredibly clever and truthful about the world we live in as girls.
2. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Set in New Jersey, the novel explores the life of Oscar De Leon, an overweight Dominican nerd who believes that there is a curse set upon his family by former dictator Rafael Trujillo.
3. American Skin by Don De Grazia
Alex Verdi is running from the police after they catch his parents in a huge drug bust. He ends up in Chicago and joins an anti-Nazi, multiracial group where you are taken on his whirlwind of a journey that ends Alex up in prison.
4. Bastard out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison
Set in South Carolina, “Bone” Boatwright is a bastard child. When her mother’s boyfriend, Daddy Glen, enters the picture, Bone’s life is changed forever as he shows her the true colors of cruelty. A highly disturbing tale of atrocities committed against a child, but you won’t be able to put the book down.
5. Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns) by Mindy Kaling
If you haven’t read this by now, this is your chance. Mindy Kaling’s autobiography is honest and hilarious as she explores her struggles and experiences growing up as a child of immigrants, awkward, and completely obsessed with rom coms.