reading is hot but mostly when i do it

10 books that changed my life

as a winner of the reading award at my elementary school’s sixth-grade award ceremony, i feel like i’m very qualified to talk about books. i’ve said this before and i’m sure i’ll say it again, but reading is one of my favorite pastimes. it’s such an important outlet, and i’ve always loved having the ability to put myself into other stories and worlds only found on pages.

in the last few weeks, i’ve been reading almost nonstop. one of my favorite parts of summer is just lounging outside with my swimsuit and my book, soaking up the sun, getting distracted by the clouds, and losing myself in the words on the pages. i’m often in my favorite hammock next to my pool swinging back and forth and often reading so intensely that i don’t even realize how much time has gone by.

in honor of the end of gemini season, the warmth of summer (and the post i had planned being completely derailed by my kidney stone hospitalization eleganza extravaganza), i’m using this as an opportunity to spend some time writing about books that have impacted my life in various ways. apologies in advance for how many times i say things like “the prose is beautiful!!!!” BUT IT’S TRUE FOR A LOT OF BOOKS!

these are 10 books that changed my life:

thank you to sofia for taking this lovely photo of me reading one of my favorite books in our special favorite place

1. my brilliant friend by elena ferrante

   i don’t have enough words to describe this series, specifically this book, and i would go as far as calling this my favorite book of all time. ferrante is a once in a generation storyteller, and the characters she develops are so fleshed out and real that you almost feel like they’re in your own life. throughout the series, ferrante masterfully describes the ups and downs of female friendships but takes that further with discussions about the stifling nature of motherhood, class differences, and the social and economic landscape of a tightly knit community throughout many years. one of my favorite elements of this series is the exploration of womanhood throughout different stages of life, the excitement and confusion of making a new friend at school, to the devastating nature of friendships falling apart. i loved everything about these books, the main characters lenú and lila, both flawed, bring the reader on such a deep and genuine journey.

2. the kite runner by khaled hosseini

   i read this for the first time for summer reading when i was a junior in high school, and the story has stuck with me ever since. i stayed up so late trying to finish the book, and i sobbed. this is a story about friendship and family, power dynamics and culture, and as hosseini has mentioned: guilt and redemption. all of this is woven together with beautiful prose and devastating imagery. we are taken through the protagonist, amir’s, life and we see afghanistan before and during the taliban’s control. it is truly one of the most devastating and well-written novels i’ve ever read, and i think about it all the time.

3. her body and other parties by carmen maria machado

   short stories are such a special medium since authors are able to play so much with different formats and give readers such a wide taste of what they can do. when i read HBAOP, all i knew of machado was that we went to the same college (💌) but as i made my way through each of the stories in the collection, i fell more and more in love with her writing. HBAOP touches on themes of womanhood, sexuality, trauma, and bodily autonomy, woven together in the most compelling, and perfectly written stories. this has often been classified as horror, due to the repeated motifs of women having some horror done to their physical bodies, but it’s told in a way that combines the real terrors of our world, with fairy tale and fantasy elements. this book is a masterclass in writing, a perfect combination of theory and literature, and it’s been my biggest inspiration.

4. play it as it lays by joan didion

   how could i write a list of my favorite books without including one by the master? joan didion is without a doubt, one of the greatest writers of all time. i love her work, from her more journalistic pieces, to long-form novels, her writing style is so distinct and recognizable, and i adore it. i often adore flowery, descriptive prose, but didion’s unflinching, sparse writing (her trademark) perfectly sets the tone for the arid, desert landscape we see play it as it lays play out in. set in the 1960s, the story follows a failed actress in her failed marriage as she unravels psychologically. the novel touches on mental health, abortion, and suicide, and is told with nonchalance, reminiscent of the laze of hollywood in the 60s. i found this such a compelling read, i finished it in a coffee shop near my apartment, and the end of the novel made me cry and then sit in prolonged silence, just absorbing the words.

5. normal people by sally rooney

   sally rooney changed my life. i could go on and on about my love for her as an author and a writer (see my essay on her) but i want to focus on this story. following marianne and connell, young people growing up from very different economic backgrounds in ireland, normal people, follows them from high school to college, as they learn the depth of their relationship to each other. i honesly could have included any of rooney’s books on this list, but normal people has such a special place in my heart. rooney writes emotions so well, she illustrates the complexities of a relationship and how issues arise not from lack of love, but from miscommunication, economic backgrounds, and self-resentment. one of the most important parts of the story is connell’s journey, his isolation, and realization of his unhappiness at leaving home and life moving fast and changing, it’s one of the most relatable and poignant elements in this story. i adore this book.

   

   i haven’t stopped thinking about this since i read it

6. the hunger games series by mother of dystopian literature, suzanne collins

   like many other girls my age, i went through an embarrassingly long dystopian literature phase (i would say from about 11-14). i read the hunger games in 5th grade, i have the entire first page of the book memorized. it was my bible (it probably still is) and suzanne collins is a genius. i’m not even going to describe the plot because you must know it by now, but collins, who was inspired to write the book by flipping channels and seeing coverage of the war in iraq on one channel and reality tv programs on another, integrated some of the most in-depth cultural commentaries into what was passed off as a YA romance book. collins’ depictions of propaganda, violence against children, authoritarian governments, and the cracks we see in all governments, truly rival some of the greatest political commentary i’ve read. i think her impact has been insane, as the hunger games series is constantly relevant (at least to me) and i’ll always have such a deep respect for collins and her genius brain.

7. emma by jane austen

   i very typically gravitate towards more contemporary fiction, but i found emma to be such a fun read. emma woodhouse, the titular character, is flawed and often annoying, but her meddlesome nature creates for such lovely growth as she falls in love and realizes the power dynamic in her friendship with harriet. jane austen is obviously a great writer, but for me, i found that emma is my favorite of her novels. i love how often the characters can be so unserious, how she paints such a picture of the little town emma lives (and rules over as queen bee.) all of the characters are so well developed, we learn so much about them, and austen’s writing is so clever and often funny. emma is one of my favorite fictional characters due to her journey, and i definitely would consider her a gemini icon.

8. the bell jar by sylvia plath

   i find sylvia plath such a tragic figure in american literature. i think because of how much she struggled with her mental health, she’s able to write about topics like depression in such realistic detail. when i read the bell jar for the first time, i was almost taken aback at how her depiction of depression felt so real. i think that this book is very flawed (there is blatant racism) but part of why it’s stuck with me is the intense description in plath’s writing. she utilizes metaphors better than most (the literal bell jar metaphor and of course the fig tree). i was introduced to plath through her poetry, i remember reading it on tumblr and analyzing it in high school english class, but it’s always stuck with me. i think the bell jar is a classic for a reason, and i’m always so deeply moved by the prose.

   

   i took this photo 2ish years ago of the very pink collection of items on my dresser

9. the idiot by elif batuman

   this is a newer favorite for me, but the idiot is one of the smartest books i’ve read. following selin, a daughter of turkish immigrants and a freshman at harvard, batuman’s semi-autobiographical novel explores how language influences who we are. this book is hard to summarize, as so much of it comes from literary references, and there are only a few central characters, but while reading this, i felt like i was learning about myself as selin learned about herself. there was a sense of purpose in every choice bautman made in this novel, and as a coming-of-age novel, this felt so realistic. at the end of the novel, selin still doesn’t fully understand herself, she knows she has much to learn and i truly felt that while reading this. selin is a constant thinker, she has so much in her brain, and i felt very seen in this character. i wish i could describe this book half as eloquently as it was written, but even two years after reading this, i still feel such an intense love for the writing and the character.

10. the fellowship of the ring by j.r.r. tolkien

    i could go in on tolkien for his refusal to write a female character, and how in this book there are maybe 2 girls and none of them speak to each other, but i’m choosing to focus on the brilliance of this story and the world that tolkien created. i read the hobbit when i was really young, my mom would read parts of it to me when i was going to bed, and then i rediscovered this world through my boyfriend, who loves the lord of the rings a crazy amount. he bought me this book, and i read it as an adult and just fell in love with the storytelling. i love lore and fantasy, and this book presents such a beautiful world, with such deep (often insane) lore. it is the foundation for all fantasy media, and tolkien’s impact is truly insane. i found myself visualizing the misty mountains and wishing i was along on the journey with the fellowship. it’s a classic for a reason and i’m grateful paul introduced me to these books at a time when i could have more of an appreciation for them.

i could have included a million other books, there are so many that pop into my brain, but i feel confident with these 10. if you’ve read them and have strong feelings, please share them! i love them all so much and they all are so special to me in their own unique ways. books are so special, and we all gravitate towards them for different reasons, maybe what i love about one is what you hate and vice versa, but it’s just so interesting to me how we all find different things that call to us.

i’m sure in the next year, i’ll find a new book that could make this list, or maybe i’ll just re-read the hunger games series again and remember how it is truly the greatest to exist.

p.s.

for my paid subscriber baes, i have your first post coming this week (yay) and it’s very diary-esque so i’m excited for you to read it!

weekly favorites:

• 800 mg ibuprofen (saved me during my kidney stone trying to exit my body in the most dramatic of ways)

• the virgin suicides (i rewatched the movie and am currently reading it and it’s just so beautifully written/adapted, i could honestly do a whole post on it…)

• the euro tournament (yay sports!)

• love island (be on the lookout for something about this coming soon….)

• raspberries (my favorite fruit)

• swimming around in the pool (i always forget how much i love just floating around)

that’s all for now!! thank you for reading, feel free to let me know your thoughts <3

with love,

sarah 💌