Siobhan Smith ‘30
Staff Writer
As we enter cold weather, one of the best things to do on a chilly day is curl up with a blanket and a good book. So, I have compiled a few of my favorite books as recommendations, all of which could get you into reading, get you out of a reading slump, or give you an idea for your next read.
You may have heard of John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, which was a hugely popular book and movie that came out in the 2010s. He has many great books, spanning multiple genres—romance, coming-of-age, non-fiction, adult fiction, essays. One of my favorite books of his is The Anthropocene Reviewed. It’s a collection of essays, reviewing topics from Diet Dr. Pepper to the human capacity to wonder. He writes in such a captivating way that it makes you not just invested in the topics reviewed, but causes you to realize how much there is in our current ‘anthropocene’ (unofficial geological meaning the “Age of Humans”). He also recently, in September of this year, released a fiction novel, Hollywood, Ending, which tells the story of two rising Hollywood actors navigating the struggles of fame, human relationships, and their pasts.
Speaking of stories of fame, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an all-time favorite of mine. Evelyn Hugo is a movie star, one of the most famous actresses of the 50s through the 80s, and is finally revealing the truth of what was happening between her movies and seven husbands. The question of who her true love is is finally answered, along with an abundance of other secrets. I also would recommend many other of Reid’s novels, with my favorites including Carrie Soto Is Back and Daisy Jones and the Six, which also has an incredible show on Amazon Prime and an album on Spotify. One cool factor in Reid’s books is that they generally all exist in the same universe, so there are character references across novels.
We have officially entered the release month of The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping movie, and so there is no better time than now to read the book. It tells the story of young Haymitch Abernathy, who was Katniss and Peeta’s mentor during their Games. In heartbreaking fashion, the book gives the background of how Haymitch grew up, survived his own Games (a Quarter Quell with double the number of tributes), and transformed into the drunken and reluctant yet caring man from the original series. If you start reading now, you’ll be ready for the movie on Nov. 20, whether watching here or at home over Thanksgiving break.
Jennifer Finney Boylan and Jodi Picoult’s Mad Honey is one of my favorite books ever, and one I think everyone should read. It is also one of the only books I will ever recommend to go into blind. This is an amazing book, one of my all-time favorites, with so many unexpected twists and such great characters, and I think it’s best read when you know absolutely nothing about it.
My last recommendation is God of the Woods, by Liz Moore. This was the most recent book I’ve read, and it is a thrilling mystery. This book is genuinely a page-turner; I could never put it down. The mystery is laid out so well, with all the characters, timelines, and plot points fitting together at the right times throughout the story to come together in what you least expect. I never knew what would happen next. I would totally recommend this if you’re someone who likes trying to figure out the mystery of a story or someone who hasn’t read a good book in a while—it will definitely draw you back in.
Image courtesy of Readers Digest
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