The Not-So-Required Reading List

Now that I’m an adult(ish), I strangely miss having a required reading list—books that have been chosen for being valuable in some form or another. I’ve also come to realize that not every school had the same required reading lists and that there are quite a few books I missed out on simply because I wasn’t forced to read them.

I wanted to expand my bookshelf to include some of the most important required reading books taught in school, maybe even create a makeshift required reading list for the summer. So, I went to Facebook and asked: what required reading books did you actually enjoy?

The response was overwhelming. It was fascinating to see the variety of books on the list—a reflection of what was most powerful for students during their formative reading years.

Obviously, this list is far too long for me to complete in one summer, but I wanted to collect these works in once place so others might be able to use it for themselves. And, if there’s a book you loved in school that isn’t on this list, let me know in the comments, or add it to the Goodreads list!

Update: State of the Blog

Since it’s been almost a year since I’ve officially updated this blog, I thought I would make a quick update. The State of the Blog, if you will.

First off, if you saw the URL, this blog has moved! This is the fourth home of my blog, and I’m hoping this is its permanent home from here on out.

Second off, since I haven’t been posting reviews here it may look like I haven’t been reading, but I’ve actually been proud of myself for completing another year of the Goodreads reading challenge! I’ll be tackling 25 more books this year—feel free to follow along.

Lastly, and probably most importantly, I’ve been asking myself whether or not I will continue to post reviews here (seeing as I’m so far behind.) Most likely, I won’t be posting formal reviews anymore. But, this blog is my baby: I have too much nostalgia and love for this little piece of the internet to completely let her go. So, I’m leaving the site up as a small time capsule and, who knows, maybe one day I’ll start posting reviews again. The door isn’t closed forever!

Thanks for checking in, and happy reading!

Ashleigh

Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

Rainbow Rowell + Star Wars = be still my beating heart.

This review is best enjoyed to the sounds of “Jabba Flow”, the cantina song by Lin-Manuel Miranda in The Force Awakens. You’re freaking welcome. 

It’s no secret: I love Rainbow Rowell. Fangirl always tops my recommendation list for YA fans, and much of the authenticity of the story comes from the fact that Rainbow herself is an unabashed fangirl.

So, when I found out Rainbow had written a novella about Star Wars? I flipped. I was all over it like an Ewok on a speeder.

This is a very quick read—the novella clocks in at 96 pages. And it was such a cute love story: two people meet in line while waiting for the midnight release of the latest Star Wars movie. Even though they both feel galaxies apart, they begin to realize that maybe they aren’t so far, far away.

This story wouldn’t have to be about Star Wars—it could be about any pop culture phenomenon. The point is that fandoms bring people together in unexpected ways. Whether it’s waiting in a line for a movie premiere, cosplaying at conventions, or reaching for the same book at a comic shop, they things we love bring us together in beautiful ways.

Needless to say, the force is strong with this novella.

Room by Emma Donoghue

You definitely need to be in certain state of emotional stability to read this one. It’s a doozy.

First thing’s first: WOOF. This book is heavy.

Room is the story of a mother and son, experiencing life in a single room they are not permitted to leave. Though the story is told by five-year-old Jack, the real story is about his mother, Ma—a woman who was kidnapped as a teenager and held in a shed as a prisoner by a man Jack calls Old Nick.

The child’s narrative took a little bit of getting used to, but within the first 20 pages, it stopped feeling clunky and became a more natural reading experience. And I was glad to have some emotional distance from Ma (I’m not sure if I could have stomached her full emotional spectrum.)

I can’t talk too much about the rest of the story without spoiling it, but I will say that the twists and turns it took were both surprising and powerful. I read Room before seeing the Academy Award-winning movie (which, I still have yet to do), so I can’t say much to how the two mediums compare. However, the book managed to pack a lot of emotional weight into a fast-paced narrative, and ends on a happier note than I expected going in. Recommended, so long as you’re aware that it comes with a massive trigger warning.

Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

“Sit at the table” is now a phrase I think of regularly.

Is reading Lean In a cliche for the modern-day feminist? If so, I accept the stereotype. And I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

For those unfamiliar, Sheryl Sandberg is the current COO of a little company called Facebook. Lean In asks the question: why aren’t there more women in leadership roles? And how can we get them there? The book became an instant hit/cultural phenomenon/feminist catch phrase, and encouraged women to sit at the table and rise to the top.

This book made me remember my Women’s Studies courses in college—it opened my eyes, taught me wisdom, and ultimately changed how I view and interact with the world. And oh boy, do I have a career crush on Sheryl Sandberg.

I read this book before my annual employee review, and felt more confident and empowered in myself to think about what I want (and don’t want) my career to look like. By the end, I felt empowered to take control of my career. I wanted to get my Master’s in Business! (Note: I have never wanted and will never actually want a Master’s in Business.)

I found the chapters on partnership and parenthood to be the most interesting; at this point in my career, those are the roadblocks I see ahead of me that I’ve never been sure how I should tackle. The answer is a mixture of hard work and collaboration.

If you’re cringing at the word “feminist”, don’t let the word scare you—this is an important book to read for anyone of any gender, at any point in their career. The information discussed in this book is too important to ignore.

 

Uprooted by Naomi Novik

This is me BRANCHING OUT of my normal reading. (Get it?!)

“Our Dragon doesn’t eat the girls he takes, no matter what stories they tell outside our valley. We hear them sometimes, from travelers passing through. They talk as though we were doing human sacrifice, and he were a real dragon. Of course that’s not true: he may be a wizard and immortal, but he’s still a man, and our fathers would band together and kill him if he wanted to eat one of us every ten years. He protects us against the Wood, and we’re grateful, but not that grateful.”

From the first sentence of Uprooted by Naomi Novik, I was intrigued. Dragon? Wizard? Girls locked in towers? Tell me more.

And the first third of the book was enchanting to read—memorizing, even. I wanted to know more about this young woman, Agnieszka (aka the hardest name to pronounce ever), why she was chosen amongst a village of other girls, and how her time in the Dragon’s tower would play out. I loved the idea of the “Dragon” in the tower to be a human, not an actual dragon.

However, as the story progressed, I had trouble finding the thread of the story; it seemed to get lost in itself. This was especially true in regards to Agnieszka’s discovery of magic, the politics of the kingdom, and the shadowy evils in the nearby the Wood. Once Agnieszka is chosen, I wanted the story to evolve more within the tower during her ten years there—but she leaves pretty quickly, and the story twists and turns into completely different directions.

It felt like there were three different stories happening at the same time and were constantly vying for the reader’s attention. Much of the time I spent reading Uprooted was me thinking, “I like the idea here. But I’m not sure I love the execution.”

That has nothing to due with Novik’s talent, however; the writing itself is absolutely bewitching. The female friendship between Agnieszka and Kasia is especially wonderful to read as both girls develop and mature, and her use of imagery is splendid.

So, did I like Uprooted? Yes, but with an asterisk. I liked what I saw along the journey—I just wish I had known where the journey was going.

First & Then by Emma Mills

The perfect balance of romance, coming-of-age, and humor.

Dear Internet: did you know that, with a library card, you can borrow eBooks that go straight to your phone? You didn’t? Because this little trick has changed my life.

That’s how I stumbled upon First & Then by Emma Mills: browsing through my library’s catalogue. And I’m glad I did, because this is young adult romance at its finest.

A quick note about the author: you (might) know her as the YouTuber elmify. She was most popular during the heyday of the Vlogbrothers, aka Hank and John Green, and the explosion of the vlogger-sphere (I’m pretty sure that’s not a word, but I’m sticking to it.) Emma always comes across as sweet, genuine, and lovable, and this book captures all of those sentiments I find in her videos.

The story follows Devon Tennyson, a high school senior who has no idea what she wants to do with her life, has an unrequited crush on her best friend Cas, and is perfectly okay with keeping life as it is. One day the universe throws her for a loop when her cousin Foster, a socially awkward freshman, comes to live with her family. Devon is determined to distance herself from Foster as much as possible—but it doesn’t help that he’s in her P.E. class, along with the maddeningly superior (and handsome) star running back, Ezra.

As the story progresses, Devon finds herself in a series of uncomfortable (yet familiar) high school situations that ultimately teach her what it means to love—romantically, yes, but also for one’s family and oneself.

This had a nice pinch of “Friday Night Lights”, with an even bigger helping of Pride and Prejudice. Our romantic lead, Ezra, is praticaly Mr. Darcy reincarnated as a high school star football player. This was a cute, fun, and fast read—I enjoyed every second of First & Then. I hope to see more books from Emma in the future!

 

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

This was one of the most touching stories I’ve read in some time.

One of the beautiful things about living in New York City is being surrounded by the best theater and performing artists in the world. I now have the leisure of nonchalantly saying to myself, “Hmm, that play that won a Tony? That’s right around the corner, I should probably go see that.”

(This, of course, excludes Hamilton. A weasel has a better chance of getting into Harvard Law School than I do at getting Hamilton tickets.)

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was one of these nonchalant theater choices—tickets were half-off, I had heard nothing but phenomenal things, so why not? And let me tell you: this show knocked my socks off. I could go on and on about how spectacular the acting, production, and writing were…but, this is a book blog, not a theater blog.

Since I adored the play so much, I went a little crazy looking into the creative process for the show. It wasn’t long until I found out the play was based on a book published in the early 2000’s. So, of course, I downloaded and started reading the book the same night I watched the play.

The play pretty much is a direct adaptation of the book, with most of the dialogue and description pulled directly from the novel. The story is told in diary entries from the narrator, Christopher, a high-functioning autistic teenager. Though the story begins with solving the mystery of a murdered dog in Christopher’s neighborhood, the narrative gradually progresses to tackle the ideas of family, trust, and identity with heartbreaking honesty.

Since the writing is structured as diary entries, the novel does a beautiful job of putting you in the mind of an autistic character and making his truth seem real (because, it’s hard for most of us to put ourselves in those shoes).

This was an extremely quick read: I was finished within three days. Talking about the story and the prose I feel kind of spoils the experience, so I’ll say nothing more than this: please read this book. It will make you laugh, cry, and ultimately challenge how you see the world.

 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

[muffled eight-bit adventure music plays in the background]

Note: This review is best read to the sweet sounds of the Scott Pilgrim original soundtrack. Or possibly “Tom Sawyer” by Rush on repeat. Rock on.

Alright, first things first: as someone who calls Scott Pilgrim vs. the World her favorite movie, and who has buried days of her life into virtual worlds, how have I not read this book until now?

In all honesty, though this book came out in 2011, it wasn’t even on my radar until 2015. Since I was in college from 2011-2015, a bunch of my classes required huge amounts of reading, and I felt like I didn’t have time to read for pleasure. So let’s call this blunder a byproduct of a collegiate blind spot. A momentary blip in my nerd cred as I dragged through classic literature. Chalk it up to academia.

(I tried really hard to sound like a prick there. Did it work?)

All of that to say, I was destined to someday find this book. It was practically an inevitability. There was no parallel universe where I wasn’t going to read it (save for maybe the “darkest timeline” universe where I am unhappy and am actually illiterate.)

Ready Player One is the story of Wade Watts, aka Percival, a teenage boy living in the dystopian future of 2044. The novel is built around the conceit that a video game developer who grew up in the 1980s designed and created a massive multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG, for all you nerds out there) called the OASIS. During a time of war and uncertainty in the real world, the world has flocked to the more pleasant, virtual reality of the OASIS, creating an entirely new online-society.

When the creator dies, he leaves behind a message: he’s left an Easter Egg hidden in the game, and whoever finds it will inherit his massive fortune and ownership of the OASIS.

As you can imagine…chaos ensues.

At the beginning of the novel, it felt more like I was getting into a Scott Pilgrim-esque story, drenched in pop culture references and video game antics. However, the novel slowly morphed into a more dystopian science-fiction novel than I think I had bargained for—less of the fun, tongue-in-cheek videogame adventure, more of the dark consequences of getting lost in a virtual world. But, once I adjusted my mindset, this novel was a hell of a ride.

Lots of the writing felt like it was skipping through plot, or merely summarizing—which was ultimately fine, because there was still plenty of action and adventure packed into the pages. I never felt cheated of a moment, though I did find some of the early explanation of the virtual world and the history of the creator a bit tedious.

The main thing I took issue with was the maniac pixie nerd girl and Wade’s love interest, Art3mis. Like…ugh. I get it. I get why there’s a maniac pixie dream girl in a pop culture/gamer adventure. It’s a really easy fit, and generally fun to read. But, being me, I can’t help but know that it’s a generally problematic trope for “girls who game” to be attached to (cough cough, been there done that). However, as the story progressed, the characters began to take on more dimension (including Art3mis), which I think did a great service to the story.

Overall, this was an addictive novel that I had a hard time putting down. With the movie adaptation slated to come out in 2017 (directed by none other than Steven Spielberg himself), do yourself a favor and read the book so you can have an amazing sense of superiority over the moviegoing masses. I mean…er…do it for literature?

(Nah, totally do it for the superiority.)

CliffNote Reviews

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ve been a bit behind on my reviewing here. But I’ve been doing plenty of reading!

That said, since it’s been awhile, I wanted to post a digest/update to give you the quick and dirty on my reading in the last few months. Think of it like CliffNotes. But with way less stress, because you’re totally not getting quizzed on any of this.

More complete reviews possibly to come at a later date.

 

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling

Unlike most people in my generation, I missed the wagon on Mindy’s first book, Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? (And Other Concerns). Regardless, when Mindy’s second book arrived, I decided to jump in—and why not, she’s hilarious!

This book was definitely a fun, quick read, with plenty of Mindy’s signature “I-know-you’re-jealous-of-how-fabulous-I-am-deal-with-it” humor peppered throughout. However, once the book was done, I felt like it didn’t stay with me the way other memoirs have. Rather than a dinner to chew on, this was like a macaron dessert: a treat that’s over too quickly and lacks real substance.

(But that never keeps you from eating a macaron, now does it?)

 

 

Winter by Marissa Meyer

Winter was one of my most anticipated titles for this year. I started reading the Lunar Chronicles way back when I first started this blog, and have been hungry for more ever since.

At a whooping 800 pages, this took me longer than I expected to get through. My biggest problem is that there seemed to be a lot of bluff within those 800 pages—there was obviously a lot happening, but a lot of chapters didn’t feel like they pushed the story forward in a meaningful way.

Overstuffed with plot while trying to weave in a Snow White retelling made this finale suffer, and I was a little disappointed with this read. However, Meyer did an excellent job of tying up all of her loose ends (and leaving a few open for fanfiction writers to exploit at will).

 

My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

Okay: I’m a sucker for holiday-themed short story collections. (Is that technically a category?) With a phenomenal line-up of today’s top young adult writers, I quickly reserved my library copy, and committed to reading one short story a day in the days that lead up to Christmas.

Like all collections, this was hit-or-miss. A few of the stories felt like pulling teeth to get through (but, at 20-30 pages each, it was hard to come up with a valid reason not to.)

My two stand-out favorites came early in the collection: “Midnights” by Rainbow Rowell, a friends-to-lovers story set on various New Year’s Eves, and “Polaris Is Where You’ll Find Me” by Jenny Han, a quick story about a girl living with elves on the North Pole and longing for love. At the very least, this collection definitely got me in the holiday spirit.

 

You Deserve a Drink by Mamrie Hart

Mamrie Hart is one of the funniest, most outrageous women on YouTube. That’s not an opinion—it’s a fact. And her collection of personal essays quickly made its way into my favorites.

Mamrie talks about all manner of things (with a Mamrie Hart-twist, of course). From doing shrooms at a Flaming Lips concert, dealing with panic attacks and anxiety with a tall glass of whiskey, and getting generally drunk off her ass whenever the occasion arises—things I would be horrified and embarrassed to deluge—Mamrie lets it all hang out in the most well-written, honest, and hilarious fashion one could hope for.

Even if you’re not familiar with Mamrie’s work on YouTube, this book is easy to dive right into. Recommended.

 

Sweet Baby Jesus! by Caroline Praderio

Every semester, the publishing students at my alma mater (hi Emerson!) publish one book submitted by a student in the department. It’s a great experience to gain expertise in the overall publishing process: from acquisition, copyediting, marketing, and production.

Or so I’ve heard. I, obviously, was too busy reading comics studying to participate.

A friend of mine published a collection of her personal essays one year, and thank goodness she kept a few extra so I could read it in the near future. This is  an honest and beautiful collection of personal essays, with punches of humor that hit you right in the gut. Loved every second of reading this book!