Books
Never Let Me Go

Never Let Me Go

The narrator in Never Let Me Go tells a story unlike any you have ever read. The tension in Ishiguro’s novel is unrelenting, and even as you piece the plot together, you will not be prepared for the revelations.

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Miss Pym Disposes

Miss Pym Disposes

Josephine Tey wrote quiet stories, and Miss Pym Disposes is one of my favorite. A girls’ school, a murder, a busybody. But the friendship at the center of this book is deeper, and more frightening than the simple plot might suggest.

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Name All the Animals
Percy Jackson and the Olympians

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series is pure pleasure. An updating of Greek myths, the heroes are hilarious, and clever, and in constant peril. I wanted to be these kids, and reading their adventures is the next best thing.

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A Room of One’s Own

A Room of One’s Own

Money and a solitary place to work. These are still vital for the artist. A Room of One’s Own is a lovely book, and easily read. If you’re able to track down a copy of Eileen Atkins’ monologue, you’ll have a particularly delightful experience of Woolf’s treatise.

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Fun Home

Fun Home

Fun Home is a brave book, and beautifully rendered. I’ve never experienced a story like this, and the restraint is poignant.’

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Nightwood

Nightwood

I’m not entirely sure that I get Nightwood, but I love the language and the characters, and I go to the bookcase sometimes just to touch its spine and reconnect with the story.

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The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book

Nobody Owens lives the most unusual tale of heartbreak I have ever read. Gorgeous, and unpredictable, and eerie.

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Housekeeping

Housekeeping

Housekeeping is the kind of story that you want read to you at night, so that you can dream in this language with these characters.

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Citizen Vince

Citizen Vince

A compelling book about citizenship. Layered and inventive, violent and funny, an urgent and compulsive read.

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The Accidental

The Accidental

The Accidental is circular and complicated, and explores multiple voices and perspectives with disconcerting ease. I was deeply involved with these characters, even when I didn’t want to be.

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Cultural Amnesia

Cultural Amnesia

An astonishing collection of essays: anti-establishment, insightful, tough-minded. When I read Cultural Amnesia I felt tethered to all the world.

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