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Interesting Books to Read
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items This is a vibrant and diverse collection of books spanning various genres, themes, and eras. From powerful explorations of human resilience and identity, to epic sagas of family and community, and thrilling adventures of survival and mystery , each s...
Renata Adler's Speedboat, reissued by NYRB in 2013, is a modernist novel that unravels through fragmented vignettes. With no traditional plot, the story captures the disenchanted essence of bourgeois life, exposing its grim underbelly. The protagonis...
Speedboat by Renata Adler
Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart is a poignant memoir of family, identity, grief, and resilience. With humor and heartfelt honesty, Zauner recounts growing up as one of the few Asian American kids in Eugene, Oregon, navigating her mother's high exp...
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
François Sagan's Bonjour Tristesse, published 70 years ago, is a controversial yet celebrated tale of teenage Cécile's summer in the south of France. Amid a love triangle involving her libertine father and his companions, Cécile navigates her own rom...
Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan
Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life intricately weaves the lives of four college friends striving for success in New York City. United by ambition and deepening relationships marked by addiction and pride, their bond centers around Jude, a profoundly sc...
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Colson Whitehead's The Underground Railroad reimagines the historic network as a literal system of tracks and tunnels beneath Southern soil. The novel follows Cora, a young enslaved woman in Georgia, as she escapes a brutal plantation with Caesar. He...
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Pulitzer Prize Winner) (National Book Award Winner)
Emma Rosenblum's Bad Summer People offers a satirical glimpse into the lives of the affluent Upper East Side crowd and their summers on Fire Island. Packed with sharp observations about privilege, family drama, romantic entanglements, and a dash of m...
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
Malcolm Lowry's Under the Volcano chronicles the tragic journey of Geoffrey Firmin, a former British consul in Mexico, whose life is consumed by alcoholism. Set during the Day of the Dead, the novel follows Firmin's estranged wife Yvonne as she retur...
Under the Volcano by Malcolm Lowry
Abby Stern, a 33-year-old cyclist in Philadelphia, juggles her gig jobs, a pending marriage to childhood sweetheart Mark, and lingering self-doubts. Leading a cycling trip to Niagara Falls offers her time for reflection, but the journey grows complex...
The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
James McBride’s The Color of Water is a heartfelt tribute to his mother, Ruth McBride Jordan, a resilient woman who raised twelve Black children while grappling with her own complex identity as a light-skinned Jewish immigrant. The book intertwines R...
The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother by James McBride
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 explores censorship and conformity through the story of Guy Montag, a fireman tasked with burning forbidden books. As events unfold, Montag experiences a moral awakening, leading him to question the oppressive laws he on...
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude chronicles the Buendía family over generations, intertwining their personal stories with the mythical town of Macondo. A masterpiece of magical realism, the novel captures themes of love, loss, a...
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
Betty Smith's A Tree Grows in Brooklyn portrays the resilient Francie Nolan as she grows up in the Williamsburg slums of Brooklyn. Amid her family's eccentricities and struggles, the novel captures the raw hardships, heartfelt connections, and simple...
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Susanna Clarke's Piranesi presents a surreal and mesmerizing world within an infinite labyrinth of halls, statues, and tides. The enigmatic Piranesi explores this vast house, living in harmony with its mysteries. His encounters with "The Other" and t...
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke (Women's Prize for Fiction Winner)
Joan Lindsay’s Picnic at Hanging Rock is a haunting tale set in 1900, where a group of young women vanish during an outing to a secluded volcanic formation. Combining mystery with a subtly eerie atmosphere, this enigmatic Australian classic has capti...
Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay
Ursula K. Le Guin’s The Left Hand of Darkness follows a human envoy tasked with integrating the icy planet Winter into an intergalactic alliance. On Winter, where gender is fluid and societal norms differ vastly, he must navigate cultural divides to ...
The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Series) by Ursula K. Le Guin
Chris Cleave’s Little Bee is an unforgettable tale of a sixteen-year-old Nigerian orphan and a privileged British woman whose lives intersect in extraordinary ways. Balancing humor with harrowing moments, the story delves into resilience, humanity, a...
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Arkady and Boris Strugatsky’s Roadside Picnic follows Red Schuhart, a daring stalker who ventures into the hazardous Zone to recover alien artifacts left by mysterious visitors. Consumed by the Zone’s dangers and the black market, Red’s encounters le...
Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky and Boris Strugatsky
Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar is a poignant exploration of mental illness, following the descent of Esther Greenwood, a talented and ambitious young artist grappling with societal pressures and personal struggles. This haunting classic delves deeply in...
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote follows the adventures of a delusional knight errant and his loyal squire, Sancho Panza. As Quixote pursues chivalric ideals, often misunderstanding reality, their journey blends humor and wisdom. Recognized as the fi...
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes
Isabel Allende’s The Infinite Plan follows Gregory Reeves, a man shaped by hardship and resilience, from his upbringing in a Hispanic barrio of Los Angeles to his time in Vietnam and eventual career as a lawyer. When his life begins to unravel, Grego...
The Infinite Plan by Isabel Allende
Larry McMurtry’s Lonesome Dove is an epic tale of two aging Texas Rangers embarking on their final adventure through the untamed American West. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel masterfully portrays a wide array of characters and emotions, capturing ...
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (Pulitzer Prize Winner)
Sarah Schulman’s After Delores is a compelling noir novel set in 1980s New York City, centered on a tough coffee-shop waitress navigating heartbreak after her girlfriend Dolores leaves her. Filled with humor, sensuality, and intensity, the story capt...
After Delores by Sarah Schulman
Maggie Shipstead’s Seating Arrangements portrays a chaotic wedding weekend at the Van Meter family’s Waskeke island retreat. As father-of-the-bride Winn grapples with social snubs, buried desires, and family tensions, the celebration unravels into a ...
Seating Arrangements by Maggie Shipstead
Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace, the sole survivor of a critical space mission to save humanity. Stranded light-years from Earth with fading memories and no living crewmates, Ryland must unravel a scientific mystery to prevent an e...
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Darynda Jones’ A Bad Day for Sunshine follows Sunshine Vicram, a quirky sheriff newly returned to Del Sol, New Mexico, where a missing teen and a manhunt disrupt her plans for a quiet tenure. Amid family chaos, old flames, and small-town drama—includ...
A Bad Day for Sunshine by Darynda Jones