{"id":6143,"date":"2024-01-18T08:52:40","date_gmt":"2024-01-18T13:52:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/?p=6143"},"modified":"2024-01-18T08:52:40","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T13:52:40","slug":"bookish-favorites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/2024\/01\/18\/bookish-favorites\/","title":{"rendered":"Bookish Favorites"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For most of my life, I\u2019ve been a reader. There\u2019s been an extra book in my backpack since second grade, just in case I have time to read. Between classes, on the bus, or late at night under the blankets, I can steal away to a different world for a little while. For me, books have always been a way to connect with the unfamiliar \u2013 to see and be seen. I fell out of love for reading in my earlier years of college. But, over the last few I\u2019ve dove back in. <\/span><\/p>\n

To say that I can\u2019t get enough is an understatement. I read a total of 64 books last year, some I might never have tried if not for the rave reviews from my friends and family. As January comes to a close, and we are firmly planted in 2024, I\u2019m recapping my top picks so that you might feel inspired to give one a try!<\/span><\/p>\n

Giovanni\u2019s Room – James Baldwin<\/b><\/p>\n

James Baldwin is a writer I\u2019ve been putting off for far too long. Partially because every piece of writing I\u2019ve seen of his is as beautiful as it is tragic. This isn\u2019t true of his entire body of work, but Giovanni\u2019s Room is heart-wrenching and raw. Set in 1950\u2019s Paris, the narrator David, a man soon to be wed to his girlfriend, stumbles into a whirlwind romance with the breathtaking Giovanni, while away in France. The story follows David\u2019s attempts to navigate a queer relationship that he yearns to keep hidden while trying to deal with his shame and fear around his sexuality. While David keeps his relationship with Giovanni concealed in a small room in Paris, his world unravels around him as Baldwin tends to this novel with such care. It\u2019s a work of art; a work that resonates with who we are as humans and it\u2019s one you shouldn\u2019t miss. This was just my first dip into Baldwin\u2019s work, but since then I\u2019ve continued to read him, and have loved every second of it. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is How You Lose the Time War – Max Gladstone, Amal El-Mohtar<\/b><\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been on BookTok, a side of the app TikTok dedicated to literary recommendations, you might have heard of this one. <\/span>This is How You Lose the Time War<\/span><\/i> blew up online last year. While some books don\u2019t live up to the hype, this one blew away my already high expectations. An epistolary novel, the story is told between letters from two dueling main characters in an intimate rivalry across time and space. You don\u2019t have to like sci-fi to love this book. It\u2019s less about planets and space technology and more about the cunning, clever rivalry that unfolds between two agents of a warring faction. <\/span><\/p>\n

My advice? Don\u2019t google it. Don\u2019t read anything else about it. Just pick up this 200-page book from your local library and embrace the journey. The writers achieve a masterclass in wit, wordplay, lyricism, and poetics across what is such an intense intimate story. This one cannot be skipped. <\/span><\/p>\n

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup: John Carreyrou<\/b><\/p>\n

You might have heard of Elizabeth Holmes and the startup Theranos from the many docuseries and retellings produced by HBO and Hulu last year. If you haven\u2019t, buckle up. <\/span>Bad Blood<\/span><\/i> is a nonfiction telling of what happens when the cutthroat environment of Silicon Valley puts their faith in someone who isn\u2019t what they seem. Theranos was a company founded by Elizabeth Holmes and is meant to be the next big startup hit \u2013 think Uber, Facebook, and Apple. Millions of dollars, including government contracts, were invested in Theranos, which claimed it could diagnose any ailment or disease from just a single drop of blood. Doctors relied on it and major corporations contracted the company investing in this technology, only for it to be a fraud. The technology didn\u2019t, and had never, worked. This book tells it all. It is a gripping journalistic effort that keeps you turning the pages. It has everything to keep you on your toes: blackmail, big money, dramatic relationships, a web of lies, and ceaseless suspense. It\u2019s easy to forget that this is a nonfiction book, because not only is the story so unbelievable, but John Carreyrou\u2019s writing sucks you in and doesn\u2019t let go. Even if you don\u2019t like nonfiction, I say give this one a try. It\u2019s sure to surprise you. <\/span><\/p>\n

Into the Drowning Deep – Mira Grant <\/b><\/p>\n

Out of the California bays, a ship full of researchers, security guards, and a film crew sets out to discover what happened to the Atargatis, a boat that went missing in the Mariana Trench. Lost at sea, there is no knowledge about what happened to the Atargatis or the people on it. There are rumors, legends, and even alleged footage that something from the deep, some apex predator, took down the boat. But nothing is known for sure. Some say the disappearance of the Atargatis is nothing but a hoax. Tory, a young scientist lost her sister on that boat and is determined to find out what happened, even if that means returning to the waters some swear they will never sail in. This is a horror, science fiction novel that is eerie and claustrophobic, riveting and suspenseful. I\u2019ve never read a book with such a compelling atmosphere and an interesting cast of characters. It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s smart, and it has a lot to say about the fate of our planet. If you\u2019re looking for a good laugh and the feeling of impending doom, this one\u2019s for you. Out of the 64 books I read last year, this one was, by far, my favorite. <\/span><\/p>\n

Looking into this year, I\u2019m planning on reading whenever I can. Some people set goals on how much they read, but I find it can be stressful to commit to a certain number of books. If you\u2019d like to get into reading this year, try committing to reading one page a night, or for 30 minutes each week. Make it part of your routine, and most importantly, find a book that speaks to you. Reading is such a treasure and I hope this inspires you to embark on a new literary journey this year. <\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

By Milo Heard<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For most of my life, I\u2019ve been a reader. There\u2019s been an extra book in my backpack since second grade, just in case I have time to read. Between classes, on the bus, or late at night under the blankets, I can steal away to a different world for a little while. For me, books […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4739,"featured_media":6145,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-2024"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4739"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6143"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6146,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6143\/revisions\/6146"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/web.uri.edu\/inside-rec\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}