As we approach the end of a year that gave us too much, but also not enough, it is time to slow down before collecting our scattered thoughts on all that has transpired — and what’s to come. And what better way to do so than to pick up a good book to lose yourself in?
A lot of people already have the same idea, as book sales in November and December typically make up 25% of annual print sales, according to Circana BookScan (formerly NPD Books), a publishing industry data provider.
There are so many ways for you to go about this, which is why we are lining up a week’s worth of book recommendations with something for everyone. If you’re a fiction lover, critic Carole V. Bell is revisiting the classic political thriller “The Emperor of Ocean Park,” which is eerily prescient about the scandals of today. If you are a fan of poetry, poet David Woo interviews fellow poet Danez Smith on his new curated collection of early Langston Hughes works “Stereo in Blue.” For history buffs, our editor-in-chief spoke with Cherokee author Rebecca Nagle about her new book “By the Fire We Carry: The Generation-long Fight for Justice on Native Land,” which spans the forcible removal of Native Americans to treaty lands to the landmark 2020 Supreme Court case that reaffirmed Native land rights a century later.
Books may not feel as exciting as newer, flashier mediums, but the right tome can have the power to rewire someone’s brain and their perspective on their humanity and their position in life. Take it from Daniel Pirkel, an incarcerated author who is currently advocating for his and fellow incarcerated people’s access to better reading material.
The wrong book, however, could — and have — put many off reading when they are just children, which is why it is important to read books that resonate with your here and now. Kicking things off this week, we revisit Malavika Kannan’s refreshing essay that identifies five tired classics to retire from the high school reading list and five new classics to replace them with.
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