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Books that Woke Me Up
24
items I've created a list fo books that helped opened my mind tremendously in college!
I majored in English Literature, so these books were evidently needed in the curriculum. Plase enjoy them!
I majored in English Literature, so these books were evidently needed in the curriculum. Plase enjoy them!
Sections
5
Theory, History, and Method in Religious Studies
British Literature
American Literature
Cuban Literature
Haitian Literature
Theory, History, and Method in Religious Studies
These books range in religion, but they do point towards religious studies that we should all be aware of.
This book had me in a chokehold in 2017.
Beowulf
2
Blessed to state I was able to teach this to my sixth graders. In both English classes and Spanish classes!
I Am Malala: Girl Who Stood Up for Ed
This book really opened made me realize certain aspects about religion and one's faith.
The Sacred and The Profane: Nature of Religion
It's one of the oldest surviving works of religious/mythological literature, from ancient Mesopotamia. It contains themes of mortality, gods, dreams, creation, the flood, and human-divine relationships — all central to religious inquiry. Some profess...
The Epic of Gilgamesh
Christian autobiography and theological reflection
The Confessions of Saint Augustine
The “Allegory of the Cave” is often used to discuss reality vs. illusion and divine truth
The Republic: Plato - Books
British Literature
My favorites. I really do hope you enjoy these richly classics!
This book was amazingly written.
Frankenstein: Mary W. Shelley
1
When you dive deep into this book, you will see the characters true nature. This book was an excellent read in college due to a highly approachable professor who transformed learning, for me. Read this book and emerge yourselves into it.
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Read the book, you won't regret knowing who had pride and who bore prejudice
Pride & Prejudice (2005)
I miss learning about this book!
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
I've spoken about this book on my podcast, hues of what. This book shows the tragedy of what life was like for a woman during the 1700s and 1800s, women had no voice. Therefore their rights were stripped away if their husbands decided so.
Maria, or the Wrongs of Woman
Bless his heart and all he wrote.
William Wordsworth
Will you read me?
The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
American Literature
Perhaps the most interesting of all books, to me, from America.
I definitely recommend this book
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer: Twain, Mark
Please tell me what grade you read this book in!
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
I know this book is taught in almost every school in America, but the lessons and thematic message within this book needs to be studied more. Fitzgrald had a grandiloquent idea. Clearly, I loved this book in HS.
The Great Gatsby: Only Authorized Edition
I enjoyed reading this book in HS. I also enjoyed knowing that Hemingway really did become a fisherman. Google his appearance before and after becoming a fisherman, you'll be surprised.
The Old Man and The Sea by Hemingway
Cuban Literature
These are themes surrounding these books: Cuban Literature
• Cuban-American Literature
• Diaspora Literature
• Post-Revolutionary Latin American Fiction
• Historical Fiction with political overtones
I read this in college and fell in love with this book! If you want to learn about the Cuba and life pre Castro, I highly recommend this book!
Loving Che: A Novel by Ana Menéndez
Though Hijuelos was born in the U.S., his novel captures the emotional experience of Cuban exiles and the longing for a lost homeland. It won the Pulitzer Prize and paints a lush portrait of Cuban-American life in the 1950s.
The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love (FSG Classics)
This is one of the most prominent Cuban-American novels. It follows three generations of Cuban women, split between Havana and the U.S., and offers nuanced perspectives on the Cuban Revolution and diaspora identity.
Dreaming in Cuban: García, Cristina
Arenas was a gay Cuban writer persecuted by the Castro regime. His memoir is raw, poetic, and fiercely political—a foundational text in Cuban dissident literature and exile testimony.
Before Night Falls: A Memoir - Books
Haitian Literature
Essential reads that explore Haiti’s history, identity, resistance, and the immigrant experience
This is a coming of age novel that I heard in my first year of my Bachelor's. A haunting story of a young girl sent from Haiti to New York, exploring intergenerational trauma, womanhood, and cultural silence. Often taught in Caribbean and diaspora li...
Breath, Eyes, Memory (Oprah's Book Club)
A fictionalized account of the 1937 Parsley Massacre—where thousands of Haitians were killed in the Dominican Republic under Trujillo’s orders. A deeply moving historical narrative.
The Farming of Bones - Danticat, Edwidge: Books
This is a short story collection! The themes explored are: Exile, storytelling, resilience, community.
Krik? Krak! - Danticat, Edwidge: Books