Happy Friday, bloggers! And congrats on the last official day of classes! Start your weekend out right by writing down these three staff picks from Danielle, Molly, and Kim!
Danielle recommends…
IN COLD BLOOD by Truman Capote
A good read for… People who like thrillers, murder mysteries or gripping literature about crime!
A brief synopsis… Told from two different perspectives, this novel follows the story of two men who murder the Clutters and and the two lawyers who are trying to find the men who murdered the Clutters.
So why’s it a top pick? This is such a psychological thriller – I couldn’t put it down! Capote puts you into the mindset of both the lawyers and the killers in the most encompassing of ways. Fascinating read about crime and prosecution.
Molly recommends…
THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF KAVALIER AND CLAY by Michael Chabon
A good read for… people who enjoy comic books, adventure novels, rich character development, and funny novels.
So why’s it a top pick? Haven’t finished it yet, but it’s about the beginnings of the graphic novel genre in New York City. It’s magical and inspiring. I love the language, the character development, and the really unique ideas behind this novel. It makes NYC magical again. It deals with immigrant issues and incorporates fantasy into a real world situation.
Kim A. recommends…
INFINITE JEST by David Foster Wallace
A good read for… Anybody who enjoys science fiction and has the patience for the challenge. The book is not easy to get through, but it’s also not nearly as difficult as people like to make it seem. This novel took me five weeks to read, so it’s best for a summer holiday. It’s very worth the time.
A brief synopsis… The time is the near and recognizable future–time is subsidized, so the years are named after the company/product that owns the year, rather than the number you’re used to. It’s the convergence of a variety of storylines: a Quebecois separatist group, an elite tennis academy, and a half-way house for NA and AA. A man has created a video that is so beautiful and entertaining that one cannot look away, and people die happy absorbed in it. The Quebecois separatists are trying to find the master copy to release it into the U.S.
So why is it Kim’s top pick? What an absorbing story. When you look forward to getting home from work just so you can sit and read a book, and then you feel a little empty when it’s over, you know you’ve read something truly remarkable.
Kim’s favorite quote from the book… It’s always seemed a bit preposterous that Hamlet, for all his paralyzing doubt about everything, never once doubts the reality of the ghost. Never questions whether his own madness might not in fact be unfeigned.