I started the first semester of my MA program in Literature and Cultural Studies at the University of Cincinnati this past August. I knew my pleasure reading would slow down, as it always does when school starts, but this time, it stopped completely. As I’ve continued in my program, I’ve been thinking about diversity a… Continue reading Grad School and Diversity
I picked up an Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of THE GIRLS at the AWP conference, long before I knew about the pre-publication buzz surrounding Emma Cline’s debut novel. I didn’t want to wait to see what the fuss was about, so I decided not to save it for next year. I found myself disappointed. THE GIRLS… Continue reading The Girls
This book hadn’t been on my radar at all. As I’ve stated before, YA isn’t my go-to genre. I’ve spent the summer interning with literary agent Jessica Sinsheimer and she kept raving about this book. So I cracked the spine and it reshaped the way I think about YA literature and thrillers specifically. Nina Barrows sees the… Continue reading The Killer in Me
Brandon Stanton, author and curator of the wildly popular HUMANS OF NEW YORK Facebook page (and following books), is very much your normal white American man. I made an exception to my challenge to look through HUMANS OF NEW YORK: STORIES. I randomly picked it up and my library and decided that this book more or less fits… Continue reading Humans of New York: Stories
This was a 100% spontaneous pick. I had seen Penguin post about it on Facebook and I picked it up at my library. I was in no rush to get to it, but once I started, I had finished it in 24 hours. In their review, The Washington Post wrote, “You’ll want to grab a friend and… Continue reading 13 Ways of Looking At a Fat Girl
The selection of this book follows a rather predictable narrative in my life: I buy a bestselling book, put on my shelf because I’m in the middle of about five other books, and read the new one a year later. I purchased FATES AND FURIES not long after its National Book Award nomination and finally… Continue reading Fates and Furies
I don’t typically abandon books, unless the writing is absolutely horrible. I try to stick with most of what I start. The last book I remember abandoing was James Joyce’s ULYSSES, because I am weak and Joyce broke me after 100 pages. I started reading Orhan Pamuk’s STRANGENESS IN MY MIND a few weeks ago and… Continue reading Breaking Challenges and Leaving Books
THE VEGETARIAN by Han Kang won the International Man Booker Prize this year and prompted my desire to read through the shortlist this month. I still had two more books to tackle before this one, however, the smooth matte red cover seduced me and I plowed through the short novel in 48 hours. While THE… Continue reading The Vegetarian
Sabaa Tahir wins the award of being the only YA author to make it on to my list. I read a significant amount of YA in high school and early into my time at college. As I become more widely read, my tastes began veering into literary fiction and thrillers, so YA dropped by the… Continue reading An Ember in the Ashes
Toni Morrison has been lurking at the edges of my “To Read” list for a while now. I chose Beloved for no reason other than the fact that it was the first Morrison title to pop into my mind. I finished this novel two weeks ago, but I haven’t been able to write about it until now.… Continue reading Beloved
Hannah Haney 