BEST BOOKS TO READ IN QUARANTINE.
1) Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
This is a coming-of-age novel that explores racism, prejudice, and hypocrisy. Although the topics are tough, Kiley Reid manages to make it a fun (even funny) read.
A memoir about a 50-something divorced mother reclaiming her sexuality by casually dating around Philadelphia, Leslie Morgan's memoir strikes the perfect balance between a steamy beach read and a touching work of introspection. Through her experiment, she grapples with the idea of what a "good" woman of a certain age should be doing and what she actually wants out of life, love, and sex. It made me examine my own ideas around sex and aging while also being just a seriously fun read.
3) "Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right" by Jane Mayer
I've long known that money played a role in politics, but it wasn't until I read this incredibly thorough and well-reported book that I learned about the pervasiveness and power of money's influence in the American government. Author Jane Mayer does a great job unraveling the family history of the Koch brothers and showing exactly how they contributed to the rise of the radical right through think tanks, universities, and other groups you would typically think of as bipartisan. Yes, this book may leave you angry and jaded, but it also gives you a clear education on how and why American democracy is so broken today.
This is one of my favorite book, it has power that can change many people mindset, this book was one of the most popular during pandemic and many people voted it to read in quarantine. If you're someone who identifies as shy or introverted (and always felt that this held you back in life), this thoroughly researched book will not only reassure you that you're far from the only one who feels this way, but will also help you find your unique strengths.
5) Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev
So this is one of romance novel that I think should be in this list, it has 3 volumes- 'Recipe for Persuasion', 'Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors' and the third one is coming this July. I can only handle so many heart-rending literary masterpieces that make me think right now, and there is nothing like a little bit of true love to make everything seem right in the world. I do, however, have criteria for romance novels: They need to have something extra, and this series by Sonali Dev has it in spades. The "it" factor here is cultural context that takes this love story several layers deeper. Dev weaves in Indian culture, traditions, and foods into this modern adaptation of the classic.
Its funny and flawed and fleshed out in a way few millennial protagonists. Trudging between her low-paying publishing job and bleak Brooklyn apartment, she starts seeing Eric, a digital archivist with a wife and home in New Jersey. As all three they navigate an open marriage, Edie tries to slowly find a place for herself in the world, despite how chaotic it is.
7) American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
This fictional recount of a Mexican mother trying to escape cartel violence and make it to the safety of America was easily my most gripping read of 2020. Anyone even remotely interested in learning why Mexicans might immigrate illegally and what they actually have to go through to get into America will not be able to put this book down.
8) Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland by Patrick Radden Keefe
"Say Nothing" is what you want every historical fiction book to be, so spellbinding that you can't believe it's not fiction. Radden-Keefe is a master of narrative, and his talent is put to no better use than here, in the disorientation of The Troubles. Radden Keefe constructs a brutally vivid, exquisitely fair account of a war-that-wasn't-a-war by threading the needle of meticulous research through the lives of its larger-than-life actors real people who oscillate between villain, hero, and, sometimes, martyr.
Its also an romance Red, White & Royal Blue" near-perfectly encapsulates the convoluted yet empowering experience of growing into one's queer identity, while the simultaneous plotlines of presidential elections and royal family ties make the world feel a bit more hopeful and far more loving. Casey McQuiston miraculously proves that romance novels can be authentic and profound, with the development of very human, very flawed characters that you'll unquestionably root for.
10) A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
The novel hinges on a farmer’s decision to pass his land to his three daughters. As in the play, a disagreement between the patriarch and his favorite daughter causes the family to unravel. Smiley’s take explores the cultural and political shifts that ripped through Middle America in the 1960s and ’70s. Here, long-trusted ways of life show signs of breakdown: Farmers have started using chemicals that poison water sources; banks offer loans that can’t be repaid; individuals find themselves at odds with one another across generational and gender lines. The issues Smiley grapples with public health, inequality take on renewed relevance as a result of the pandemic. But more than anything, A Thousand Acres is about a place on the cusp of change a place that the reader knows won’t look the same after the last page is turned.
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