Truthfully, I'm a little surprised we made it to this point. It was pretty close Monday night, when I was thinking "I could just give up now." But we did it. Sixty days of recommendations.
Thank you to Maggie for indulging me when I told her I needed a hobby and she should spend hours and hours of her time to help me. Her passion and her insight as a reader is impressive.
For the last post, here are some of the book that didn't fit in 60 days:
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor: A girl who has trouble fitting into the real world discovers a world of magic hidden under the surface. The kind of fantasy novel that restores your faith in the genre. And bonus: Okorafor's next project is a comic book series about Shuri, everyone's favorite character from the Black Panther movie.
Arcadia by Tom Stoppard: The most romantic play about math and gardening that you’ll ever read. Clever and entertaining, it’s worth finding the script even if you can’t catch it on stage.
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery: It’s true, Montgomery has written more than Anne of Green Gables. This is a classic rom-com trope -- medical mix-up results in young woman breaking out of her shell because she thinks she’s going to die soon -- before it was a trope.
Children of the Sea series by Daisuke Igarashi: I’ll admit, I’m not totally sure what is going on in this series. Aliens, maybe? But the beautiful illustrations and emotion of the story make it worth it. Ruka meets two boys who were raised by manatees.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel Garcia Marquez: While One Hundred Years of Solitude is a classic, if you’re looking for a quicker read, this novella is a mystery where you know who dies and who killed him, but not how a community could let it happen.
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine: With Serena Williams in the news, it’s a good time to revisit this collection of poetry that goes from micro-aggressions to the way Williams works through adversity.
Death with Interruptions by Jose Saramago: A little bit of fairy tale and fable and romance mixed in with the realities of what happens when people stop dying in a small country.
The Fiddler in the Subway by Gene Weingarten: A collection of the best work of one of America’s best feature writers.
The Gold Cell by Sharon Olds: A poetry collection that feels very intentional, as the poet charts her own development. This has my favorite kind of poems (where an ordinary occurrence results in a universal observation) and my least favorite (Freudian poems) -- it was worth getting them all together.
Giant Days series by John Allison: Dad and I debated whether the difference between a comic book series and a graphic novel was the format or character development vs. plot. I could submit this as evidence that a serial story can still be about character. Three young women become best friends in college, despite their differences. I don't know if they change as much as they learn how to become more like themselves. It's realistic enough to be relatable, clever enough to be funny and weird enough to be fun.
Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett: A funny take on the Apocalypse, when a demon and angel decide to mess with fate when they get too attached to life on earth.
Goodbye Stranger Rebecca Stead: Stead is a lean writer, but still manages to get even the emotional complexities of adolescence.
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne: A sexy romance that manages to be perky without being annoying.
I’ve Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella: Even with cell phones, I think history’s greatest romantic tragedies would have ended the same way because no matter how technology changes, people are terrible at communicating. As proven when Poppy and Sam start texting. This is Kinsella, so not a tragedy, but ends with a romantic declaration and positively ambiguous ending.
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang: Even as someone who never understood the appeal of Pretty Woman, I enjoyed the rapport between this genius and her call-boy.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto: A short story that’s as comforting as the life-saving katsudon served in the end.
A Lady’s Lesson in Scandal by Meredith Duran: One of the best historical romances from the rare historical romance author who isn’t trying to pretend to be Jane Austen. It’s possible Nell is a long-lost heiress, but can she fit into high society after a life in London’s slums?
The Little Virtues by Natalia Ginzburg: I ordered this book after seeing Ginzburg on a list of under-appreciated writers. She lived through fascism in Italy, and her essays are like gems, hard but clear and beautiful.
The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman: Short and creepy and magical.
Too Much Happiness by Alice Munro: There are a lot of short story writers who write about small, everyday things. But I don’t know if anyone does it with the grace and tension of Alice Munro. Giver her all the Nobels.
The Wanderer by Sharon Creech: Young Sophie loves the sea but her cousin Cody can’t quite figure her out. They go on a trip on a sailboat with their family.
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