February 2022: Sarah W
Sarah W. was born and raised in Raleigh. She is a lover of the arts, an advocate for mental health, and has a passion for vinyl, social justice, mashed potatoes, and cats… in no particular order.
Bluets by Maggie Nelson
This is the perfect break-up read if you’re ready to wallow in your feelings for a bit. Nelson’s prose poetry beautifully describes love, loss, and suffering through the color blue.
Priestdaddy by Patricia Lockwood
In Priestdaddy, Lockwood recounts her wildly entertaining experiences growing up with and subsequently moving back in with her eccentric Catholic priest father. This memoir is quirky, hilarious, and at times deeply serious.
Quiet by Susan Cain
This book is a fantastic validation for the introverts in our lives who are often swallowed up by the extroverted culture of the world. Cain does an amazing job of valuing the strengths of introverts, particularly in the workplace.
One Hundred Years Of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Some say this book defined the genre of “magical realism.” The story follows a multi-generational family living in the utopian town of Macondo. This is a beautiful story, but not an easy read.
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
I have read The Perks Of Being A Wallflowerevery year since I was a teenager, and my love for it has never dwindled. This story follows Charlie as he navigates life, high school, and mental illness.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
This classic has one of the most realistic depictions of depression I have ever read. As someone who has struggled with depression, I found it to be both comforting and confronting.
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh
My Year of Rest and Relaxation is like no book I have ever read, but it was certainly worth the read! It follows the life of a woman whose personal project is to abuse prescription medications and sleep for an entire year.
Atlas of the Heart by Brené Brown
This is the newest book from the famous social worker who gave the groundbreaking Ted Talk about vulnerability. Bonus? The stunning cover!
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues is a hilarious novel that follows Sissy Hankshaw, who hitchhikes across America with her abnormally large thumbs.
Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi
This is an incredible graphic novel, a memoir of Marjane Satrapi’s life growing up as a young girl during the Islamic Revolution. It is important, eye-opening, and very real.
Suppose I were to begin by saying that I had fallen in love with a color . . .
A lyrical, philosophical, and often explicit exploration of personal suffering and the limitations of vision and love, as refracted through the color blue. With Bluets, Maggie Nelson has entered the pantheon of brilliant lyric essayists.
ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
NAMED ONE OF THE 50 BEST MEMOIRS OF THE PAST 50 YEARS BY THE NEW YORK TIMES
SELECTED AS A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY:
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Experience the book that started the Quiet Movement and revolutionized how the world sees introverts—and how introverts see themselves—by offering validation, inclusion, and inspiration
"One Hundred Years of Solitude is the first piece of literature since the Book of Genesis that should be required reading for the entire human race. . . . Mr.
Read the cult-favorite coming-of-age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory.
A realistic and emotional novel about a woman battling mental illness and societal pressures written by the iconic American writer Sylvia Plath.
“It is this perfectly wrought prose and the freshness of Plath’s voice in The Bell Jar that make this book enduring in its appeal.” — USA Today
Named a Best Book of the Year by The Washington Post, Time, NPR, Amazon,Vice, Bustle, The New York Times, The Guardian, Kirkus Reviews, Entertainment Weekly, The AV Club, & Audible
A New York Times Bestseller
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her latest book, Brené Brown writes, “If we want to find the way back to ourselves and one another, we need language and the grounded confidence to both tell our stories and be stewards of the stories that we hear. This is the framework for meaningful connection.”
“This is one of those special novels—a piece of working magic, warm, funny, and sane.”—Thomas Pynchon
BEST SELLER • A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • Wise, funny, and heartbreaking, Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s acclaimed graphic memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution.
Free Media Mail shipping on U.S. orders over $50