Katie Recommends
Any road trip I've ever been on, I stare out my window for hours noticing the natural elements around me: trees, cactus, wildflowers blowing in the breeze. I zone everything out around me and focus on the huge natural world around us. That's what I love most about BRAIDING SWEETGRASS. It makes the reader notice nature and begin to ask questions about where we fit into the natural world and what that relationship can look like.
Luisa has a strong head on her shoulders and a penchant for more excitement and adventure in life, which is something we can all connect with. She runs away with a boy she might like to find a troupe of missing Ukranian dwarfs and planting herself on the "Beach of the Dead" in Oaxaca, which carries its own identity within the novel. Isolation and youthful obsessions permeate this mesmerizing novel.
A heartbreaking and honest collection about chronic mental illness and its effects on Wang. Through these essays Wang's mission is not to scare, shock, or make the reader feel sorry for her, but to create an environment where mental illness is better understood and destigmatized within our culture. An eye-opening collection of essays from a truly exceptional writer.
Imagine if THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy were pre-apocalyptic. CENSUS is a beautiful tale about a father's unconditional love for his son and his fears of letting him go.
Reading this as a teenager forever changed the types of books, movies, and art I fell in love with. For over ten years I've kept this on my shelf and return to it over and over, always discovering something new.
Perhaps Murakami's most underated novels and my absolute favorite of his works. AFTER DARK presents an interesting set of characters all with their own secrets with only hours (literally) of events. Murakami manages to pack an entire world of mystery into this novel.
An excellent creepy little novella with echoes of THE SHINING. A screen writer, his wife, and daughter rent a house in the secluded mountains of Germany, but the house and town are not what they seem.
Journalist Dave Cullen has written about the epidemic of school shootings for two decades. In this new book he focuses on the movement spurred by Parkland's March for Our Lives. The students' voices are what Cullen focuses on and the mission and movement they have created.
A biography and graphic novel! Told in first-person narrative, it captures the artist at her most vulnerable and creative. Hesse has also reimagined many of Kahlo's famous paintings in a stunning and unique style. This is a beautiful piece of art!