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BOOK RECS
here's a list of five books everyone in the world should own right now:
1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
This brilliant epic novel set in New York and Prague introduces us to two misfit young men who make it big by creating comic-book superheroes. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America the comic book. Inspired by their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapists, The Monitor, and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men.
why you should read it: there's a million plotlines and a million characters, but it's so smart. painfully so. it's hilarious and also sad, but so intricate and brilliantly crafted. i've read it about three times the whole way through and i love a different thing about it each time. if you like ww2 stories, comic books, love stories, and realistic gay relationships, this is the novel for you.
*and not that it matters but it did win the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
2. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
It brings the sound of the punk generation to life. Iggy Pop, Danny Fields, Dee Dee and Joey Ramone, Nico, Patti Smith, and scores of other famous and infamous punk figures lend their voices to this definitive account of that outrageous, explosive era. From its origins in the twilight years of Andy Warhol's New York reign to its last gasps as eighties corporate rock, the phenomenon that was known as punk is scrutinized, eulogized, and idealized by the people who were there and who made it happen.
why you should read it: it's been described as the best book about music that never ever talks about music. the stories are vivid and real and i think, more than anything, it makes you see who the real heroes are. reading this you stop loving lou reed and david bowie and jim morrison, and find yourself in love with danny fields and duncan hannah instead. brilliant novel. absolutely brilliant.
3. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
It is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his seven-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together.
why you should read it: dave eggers is funny and interesting and often arrogant and quick. he's both likable and hate-able, but he doesn't stop that from writing an incredible memoir. the story is funny, but also indeed heartbreaking, and even when you don't agree with what he's saying or doing, you can still appreciate him. it's very twisted at times, and as mentioned before, he's often too quick for his own good. but this is overly telling and very real. an incredible read, i have to say.
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
why you should read it: i read this book this summer and it took me a month. not because i am a turtle, or particularly slow, or anything like that - but i wanted to read it. every word. and so i did. because it's so precious and so beautiful and you just want to curl up with his sentences.
also i cried. quite a bit. and my heart was very heavy until i turned the final page.
5. The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
Enter The Realm of Possibility and meet a boy whose girlfriend is in love with Holden Caulfield; a girl who loves the boy who wears all black; a boy with the perfect body; and a girl who writes love songs for a girl she can’t have.
why you should read it: the first thing i ever read by levithan. he's now my favourite YA writer, even surpassing john green. if that doesn't say something, i don't know what fucking will.
so, what do you think? have you read some of these? if so, what did you think? :) what are your favourite books? and when did i turn into a person that asked questions like this?
here's a list of five books everyone in the world should own right now:
1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
This brilliant epic novel set in New York and Prague introduces us to two misfit young men who make it big by creating comic-book superheroes. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just smuggled himself out of Nazi-invaded Prague and landed in New York City. His Brooklyn cousin Sammy Clay is looking for a partner to create heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit America the comic book. Inspired by their own fears and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapists, The Monitor, and Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men.
why you should read it: there's a million plotlines and a million characters, but it's so smart. painfully so. it's hilarious and also sad, but so intricate and brilliantly crafted. i've read it about three times the whole way through and i love a different thing about it each time. if you like ww2 stories, comic books, love stories, and realistic gay relationships, this is the novel for you.
*and not that it matters but it did win the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
2. Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
It brings the sound of the punk generation to life. Iggy Pop, Danny Fields, Dee Dee and Joey Ramone, Nico, Patti Smith, and scores of other famous and infamous punk figures lend their voices to this definitive account of that outrageous, explosive era. From its origins in the twilight years of Andy Warhol's New York reign to its last gasps as eighties corporate rock, the phenomenon that was known as punk is scrutinized, eulogized, and idealized by the people who were there and who made it happen.
why you should read it: it's been described as the best book about music that never ever talks about music. the stories are vivid and real and i think, more than anything, it makes you see who the real heroes are. reading this you stop loving lou reed and david bowie and jim morrison, and find yourself in love with danny fields and duncan hannah instead. brilliant novel. absolutely brilliant.
3. A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
It is the moving memoir of a college senior who, in the space of five weeks, loses both of his parents to cancer and inherits his seven-year-old brother. Here is an exhilarating debut that manages to be simultaneously hilarious and wildly inventive as well as a deeply heartfelt story of the love that holds a family together.
why you should read it: dave eggers is funny and interesting and often arrogant and quick. he's both likable and hate-able, but he doesn't stop that from writing an incredible memoir. the story is funny, but also indeed heartbreaking, and even when you don't agree with what he's saying or doing, you can still appreciate him. it's very twisted at times, and as mentioned before, he's often too quick for his own good. but this is overly telling and very real. an incredible read, i have to say.
4. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
why you should read it: i read this book this summer and it took me a month. not because i am a turtle, or particularly slow, or anything like that - but i wanted to read it. every word. and so i did. because it's so precious and so beautiful and you just want to curl up with his sentences.
also i cried. quite a bit. and my heart was very heavy until i turned the final page.
5. The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
Enter The Realm of Possibility and meet a boy whose girlfriend is in love with Holden Caulfield; a girl who loves the boy who wears all black; a boy with the perfect body; and a girl who writes love songs for a girl she can’t have.
why you should read it: the first thing i ever read by levithan. he's now my favourite YA writer, even surpassing john green. if that doesn't say something, i don't know what fucking will.
so, what do you think? have you read some of these? if so, what did you think? :) what are your favourite books? and when did i turn into a person that asked questions like this?