Staff Picks: National Book Lovers Day 2019

"Red, White and Royal Blue" by Casey McQuinston. This romcom features a Latinx LQBTQ+ lead who happens to be the First Son of the United States. The book focuses on his relationship with a Prince in a realistic and humorous way.

“Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide” by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark. If you listen to “My Favorite Murder” podcast, you will love this book. It’s hilarious and dark and reads just like an episode. This book is the Holy text for all Murderinos.

“Dread Nation: Rise Up” by Justina Ireland. My last blog explained the premise, but I forgot to mention that this series (book two coming spring 2020) may be my new “get the book at midnight” type of obsession.” This book is a must for those that like alt history, sci-fi horror and/or thrillers.

"The Power of Concentration" by William Walker Atkinson. This book is one of those books that I think everyone should read. It provides great lessons and practices to help a person be better at focusing on their goals and having the right mindset to ensure you have a prosperous and great life. 

"The Umbrella Academy: Apocalypse Suite," "Dallas" and "Hotel Oblivion" by Gerard Way. This entire series is an incredibly fun and eclectic story with endless personality and fun. There is also a show on Netflix which is based on the graphic novels that is certainly worth watching. I watched the show and then read the novels as a means of nurturing my impatience with the production of Season 2 and the upcoming volumes!

"Things Fall Apart" by Chinua Achebe. This story chronicles pre-colonial life in the south-eastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of the Europeans during the late nineteenth century. My parents grew up in Nigeria so it was one of those books that "everybody read," so I decided to read their copy to see what the hype was about. It was a really interesting story showing how change can impact people, and how they deal with it!

"The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon. This is a mystery novel told from the first-person perspective of a 15-year-old boy with Asperger's Syndrome. The writing style and word choice are compelling because it makes you understand and empathize with his behaviors and how he understand the world around him.

"The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henriquez. This book was selected as one of the common readers for UHCL and I read it in order to review it for The Signal. As a member of the Latinx community, I felt this book did a great job of conveying the struggles, including racism, Latin Americans face in the United States, especially as immigrants.

“Turtles All the Way Down” by John Green. I don’t care if you don’t like YA, everyone needs to stop and read TATWD. It’s a cynical look into the mind of someone who suffers from a near-debilitating mental illness, but learns to survive in the real world full of friendship, romance and mystery. It’s just so much better than his other work and so much better than the majority of fiction.

"Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. I read this in 10th grade and it ignited a love in me for science fiction that will never be satiated. It’s a literature classic and is absolutely worth the read every time.

"The Southern Reach" trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer. This series of books: Alienation, Authority, and Acceptance, tells the story of a secret agency that investigates a supernatural phenomenon known as Area X. It has superbly effective tone and pacing that makes the series creepy, fantastical, and compelling.

"The Giver" by Lois Lowry. This book is one of the greatest works of fiction as it allows the reader to take away something new with each read through. I've read this book at least five times and have interpreted the ending differently each time. Honestly, it should be required reading for everyone in high school, if not middle school.

“Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen. P&P is the closest thing to a perfect novel. I know people think it’s just a typical romance, but it is 1,000 times more than that. It’s a biting and cynical commentary on social classes, sexist ideology and wealth and it is simply brilliant. 

The "Harry Potter" series by J.K. Rowling. “Harry Potter” is a generation defining book and has inspired so much good in the world. My favorite book changes almost weekly, but I gravitate towards "The Sorcerer's Stone," "The Prisoner of Azkaban" and "The Half Blood Prince" a lot.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: This only applies to the 7 main books and 3 “school books.” Not script for the Fantastic Beast Series or “The Cursed Child” play.

"The Heroin Diaries" by Nikki Sixx. It’s really silly to be honest, but bassist Nikki Sixx from the '80s hair metal band Motley Crue wrote an absolutely harrowing chronicle of his Heroin addiction while on tour with the band in the late '80s. I read this book in 8th grade and I have read it almost every year since then. The thoughts and experiences of a heroin addict coming from the first person in diary format combined with the testimony of his friends, bandmates, managers and family in the various entries adds a depth of understanding to addiction that you don’t get from a lot of other depictions of addiction in popular culture. This book is incredibly relevant now as our country experiences an opioid epidemic. The perspectives present in this book really provide a lot of insight into addiction and how it impacts everyone, including the victim.

"Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson. This book isn’t great just because it tells of a wild crazy drug-fueled trip with insane imagery and writing, but that it manages to tell that story in a way that comments on the failure of 1960’s progressivism and the rise of American consumerism. This book is the best example I’ve read of a story “putting you in someone’s shoes,” especially since those shoes belong to one of the most influential and prolific journalists of all time.

"Master of the Game" by Sidney Sheldon. This book follows one family across multiple generations in order to tell how one man's decisions impacted them all. This is one of the best books for someone like me who loves a soapy drama. It has it all! Love, money, murder and more. Also, the way the story is told is near perfect as Sheldon is a master of the writing game.

“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J.K. Rowling. While the "Harry Potter" franchise is a perfect amalgamation of archetype and fantasy, Rowling's strongest writing is definitely in her third book. PoA introduces the reader to three of the most nuanced characters in modern literature (Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew) and the writing is sharp, witty and cynical. While Rowling has a lot more writing ahead of her, this is the book people will consider her “magnum opus.” The English language lacks the words to describe how good PoA is.

"Everyone’s a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too" by Jomny Sun. This is a graphic novel about an adorable little alien and his adventures as he visits the earth and interacts with all of its creatures, pondering the meaning of existence and living a positive and happy life among the earthlings. It is so cute. Please read it when you’re sad, it is impossible not to smile while reading this book.

"Jurassic Park" by Michael Crichton. It has been my favorite book since 5th grade and led to my favorite movie as well. As the book that helped inspire me to be a writer and furthered my interests in dinosaurs, chaos theory, the works of Michael Crichton and many other topics this book will always hold a place in my heart as one of the most powerful and well written books of the nineties and 20th century as a whole. 

"Differently Morphous" by Ben “Yahtzee” Crowshaw. I love this book because it reminds me of the humor of Terry Pratchet novels, being a funny satire/deconstruction of fantasy stories. This story also has heavy Lovecraftian tones and imagery and a modern twist.

"Becoming" by Michelle Obama. By far the best autobiography I've ever read. Obama writes with such truth that it makes one feel connected to her story in some shape or form. From her coming of age to becoming the First Lady of the United States, Obama allows the reader a look into how life's obstacles and blessings challenged her and her family.

“In Cold Blood” by Truman Capote. This book is chronicles the murder of the Clutter family and it is written so beautifully. It’s famous for being the first “non-fiction novel,” which basically means it reads like an actual novel. It is simply genius and I am so lucky I had to read it for my English III AP class.

“The Color of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute to His White Mother” by James McBribe. This and Barack Obama’s first book are probably the most influential non-fiction books I have ever read. This book alternates chapters between biographic chapters of his mother's life from her Orthudox Jewish upbringing in the 1930s American south all the way up to her life as a grandmother and autobiographical memories of his childhood and growing up. 

"I Am Ozzy" by Ozzy Osbourne, with the help of some editors and writers. Ozzy Osbourne released his very own autobiography about his upbringing, the beginnings of Black Sabbath, the experiences of his solo career and the consequences (and benefits) that rock superstardom comes with. It is incredibly funny at times, tragic in others, and overall a lovable and captivating story of one of the most notable figures in Rock 'n' Roll history. I love this book and bought it at a book signing when I was only 13 years old. This is another book that I read almost yearly purely out of interest. It is incredible.

"The Secret Teachings of All Ages" by Manly P. Hall. A book of encyclopedic magnitude, this is an absolutely necessary go-to book for those interested in esoteric, occult/mysticism topics. A book I still find myself returning to, it is one that has lots of great knowledge and wisdom and is a testament to how ancient wisdom is still of much worth in 2019.

"The Peoples History of the United States" by Howard Zinn. This is a history book that shows the history of America from the voices who don’t often have a chance to shape it. Not only is the writing good, but it also elevated my understanding of the U.S.A's politics, and it’s history; which shapes how I interpret and understand it today.

“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. I’ll concede this book may have been amazing, it is a classic I guess. However, in my English II PAP class, we spent a whopping three weeks analyzing the turtle chapter and I cannot get over my extreme hate for this book. I literally cannot see a positive thing about it at all.

“The Grapes of Wrath” by John Stienback. I tried so hard, but I don’t like this book or the movie. The SparkNotes are boring too. The only thing I liked was the analysis and conversations about the book believe it or not. If you want a good Stienback read, check out “Of Mice and Men.”

Most Holy Texts, depending on what you believe.

"Fifty Shades of Grey" by E.L. James. This book is gross, Christian Grey is gross, the writing is awkward and dumb. The portrayal of a Dom/Sub relationship is not only gross but also very inaccurate, and very dangerous. I can’t even recommend that you read it if you want to laugh at its awfulness, there are plenty of smut fan fictions that do that much better, this truly feels like a hyper-conservative Mormon mother’s idea about how relationships work.

“Jefferson’s America” by Norman K. Risjord. I hate Thomas Jefferson and I hate authors who romanticize and defend slavery.

Most Holy Texts, depending on what you believe.