April 2021: Christy

Christy is a chronic bookseller, having worked in a used bookstore for years before having her two kids, a five-year-old boy, and a nearly nine-year-old girl. When she’s not reading to her kids or hiding in the bathroom with a book, you can find Christy playing in the streams by her house, cheering on the Carolina Hurricanes, or rummaging in her freezer for ice cream. 

The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

My most favorite book of 2020. If you ask for a sci-fi rec, this is what I will unabashedly offer. A beautifully written urban sci-fi celebrating the city of New York and the resiliency of its people while throwing in other dimensions and alien life forms. 

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon

This Pulitzer prize winning novel tells the story of two cousins living in NYC in 1939. They create an incredibly popular anti-Nazi comic book hero while simultaneously tackling their personal battles. Chabon has created a highly entertaining and easy read, great for when you need a change of pace.

Underworld by Don DeLillo

DeLillo is one of my most favorite writers. This book can be daunting at 827 pages. The story starts with a baseball and then travels through many of the major events of the Cold War Era, bouncing back to current time, and ending with a para-sentence that resonates as a prayer to the reader. 

Mythology by Edith Hamilton

I first read Hamilton’s Mythology in middle school, falling in love with the ancient stories. It’s a love that has continued, as this book lives near my nightstand for those evenings I want a fanciful bedtime story to help me fall asleep. 

Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy

Follow The Kid, as he travels West and joins a gang of cowboys set to protect settlers and townsfolk from attacks by the Apache. The novel pulls no punches, explores very dark themes, and will challenge the belief that people are inherently good. This novel is meant to make you uncomfortable. 

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

This is a hard novel, both in subject and in how it leaves the reader. Nabokov masterfully challenges the reader to feel both disgust and pity for Humbert. You aren’t meant to like him. Nabokov has a magical way with words that should not be ignored. I am also very sentimental about the physical book, feel free to ask me about it!

Tender Buttons by Gertrude Stein

This is a poem best read out loud, preferably as you pace around a room, drinking too much coffee, or wine, or both. That’s what Gertrude would have wanted. 

Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

A beloved childhood favorite that is hands down, my most favorite to read to my children. I almost always add some growls and stomping of feet to make sure I do the story justice.

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

One of the first books I remember reading on my own. I still dream about that secret garden and wish I could wander along its paths.

The Gifts of Imperfection by Brene Brown

I go back to this book often to remind myself that I am good enough. As someone who struggles with anxiety, I find that Brene’s words speak truth to me and shore me up when I’m feeling weakest.