For me, the start of the new school year also meant another move. Once I was done lugging the cardboard boxes up three flights of stairs and cursing myself for not moving somewhere with an elevator, I began to unpack. In just about every nook and cranny of the boxes that contained my life, I found more and more books shoved between my clothes, my decorations and my dishes. Every time I thought I was done stocking the shelves of my bookcase, I somehow found more — I still don’t remember packing so many books. Some, I haven’t read in years. The plot is mostly lost on me. Others, I haven’t stopped thinking about since I read the first line. Here are the books that have stuck with me the most this year.
- “Luster”
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Edie is a 20 something in New York who has already faced a lifetime of loss. When she is fired from her job, she is left with no choice but to turn to the wife of the man she met online. Edie is raw, real and utterly imperfect. “Luster” is a story of art, life and what brings us together. Find the book here.
- “Beach Read”
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Emily Henry’s “Beach Read” is not your run-of-the-mill beach read. Author January Andrews is left to mourn her father and cope with the fact he was not the man she thought he was. Shortly after his death, she moves to his beach house on North Bear Shores to find inspiration for her next novel. Instead, she finds former classmate Augustus Everett. Find the book here.
- “White ivy”
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My current read is Susie Yang’s debut novel, “White Ivy.” Following Ivy through her teens and into adulthood, “White Ivy” is a story of theft and obsession, but it is also a story of race, class and gender. It is what happens when you mix a coming-of-age story with a psychological thriller. Find the book here.
- “Electric Arches”
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A collection of short stories and poetry, author and sociologist Eve L. Ewing explores growing into Black womanhood. From her youth in Chicago to an unknown, sci-fi future, Ewing makes both the real and unreal tangible. Find the book here.
- “Boy Parts”
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Set in the mind of British photographer, Irina, “Boy Parts” is a dark and twisted novel where the main character is as unlikeable as she is comical. When Irina goes on sabbatical from her bartending job, she can focus on her art and self-destruction. It is “My Year of Rest and Relaxation” meets “American Psycho.” Find the book here.
Honorable mentions:
“Three Women” by Lisa Taddeo
“A People’s Guide to Capitalism” by Hadas Thier
“Get a Life, Chloe Brown” by Talia Hibbert
“She’s Come Undone” by Wally Lamb
“All About Love” by Bell Hooks
Next up on my reading list:
“Girls Against God” by Jenny Hval
“Night Sky with Exit Wounds” by Ocean Vuong
“Detransition, Baby” by Torrey Peters
“Like a Bird” by Fariha Róisín
“How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy” by Jenny Odell