Back-to-school often has a negative connotation for college students- with exams, papers, all-nighters, and stress looming ahead. However, it should be an exciting time too! Time for football, roommates, Thursdays at Whiskey’s and fall! Just because school is starting does not mean the fun or self-care should stop. Treat yourself this fall to a little me-time and take a weekend to dive into one of these great reads.
1: Dear Martin, Nic Stone
If you’re looking for a fast, but powerful, read, I highly recommend Dear Martin by Nic Stone. This book is about an African American young adult who grows up in a private school and his troubles understanding the racism and police brutality he begins to notice around him. I read The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas last summer and both books reminded me a lot of each other. Read one or read both but definitely don’t miss out on putting yourself in a place to understand different perspectives better. This book is intended for young adults, so some of the issues are oversimplified, but the message and morals are well-intended and beneficial for all to hear.
2: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats, by Jan-Philipp Sendker
This book was incredibly beautiful. I usually enjoy fast, captivating stories and find too much detail hard to work through, but this book was written with everything you could want. It was poetic, heartbreaking, it made me laugh, and it held my attention through the very end. I was super impressed with both the story and with the style the book was written in. The novel is about a woman who goes searching for her long-lost father in his childhood village in Burma and learns of his beautiful, lifelong love story. I highly recommend this one.
3: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, by Gail Honeyman
Eleanor is a woman who grew up never knowing what it was like to be simply normal. Of course, she runs into some other average, normal humans who become her first-ever friends and open her world to love and laughter and joy for the first time. This book is fantastic. It’s not going to be a “feel good novel,” but it’s not depressing and dark either. I promise you won’t want to put it down. You’ll find yourself rooting hard for Eleanor, an unsuspecting hero of the story.
4: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, by Mary Roach
This book is weird. I mean it, super strange. And yet it is also fascinating, funny, intriguing, and, at times, downright disgusting. If you can’t handle the thought of death or have a weak stomach, this isn’t the book for you. However, if you can embrace that a body without a soul is nothing but raw material made from the Earth, you’ll find this book interesting. Basically, the book focuses on the many uses of human bodies after death for “science,” both historically and in the present. I learned a lot from the book. It’s nonfiction, but Roach does a good job of giving the book some humor and making it easier to read than many scientific writings.
All of these wonderful titles and so many more can be ordered online using Linkcat, associated with the Madison Public Library. A library card is cheap and so easy to get — definitely get one! So now, give yourself a break from the back-to-school chaos. Light some candles, apply your favorite face mask, pour yourself a glass of wine, and snuggle in tight for an evening of reading for fun instead of work!