At the beginning of this year, I made a resolution to return to a hobby I once cherished dearly: reading. It sounds simple enough, and in many ways it is, but finding the time to read -- and actually enjoying it -- while balancing two majors, strained personal relationships, daunting fiscal responsibilities, and the treacherous slopes of the late-adolescent mind can become quite the chore. While I set my goal for twenty-five books (and only read about ten), I found that the tiny gaps in my schedule where I could plop down on my tattered recliner and open a great book were some of the most enjoyable parts of my day. So, for anyone else who finds themselves wrapped in nostalgic reminiscence about times once lived, or just wants to revel in the quintessential experiences literature has to offer, I've decided to compile a small list of great books to start the year off on the right page.
1. Flappers and Philosophers by F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald is unarguably one of the greatest American authors of the 20th Century, and this novel is no exception to that title. This book is split into five unique, unrelated stories that guide you through a range of trials and tribulations, like a young Southern belle moving to the brutal Northern tundra, a brooding socialite attempting to fit in with her contemporaries, or a veteran with a battered mind and a revolutionary heart. This novel breathes life into an era of American history long forgotten but quite integral in the cultivation of many modern social tropes.
2. Citizen by Claudia Rankine
A recent recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship (casually referred to as the "genius grant") and a gifted author, Claudia Rankine explores the dark and foreboding catacombs of racism and its intricate roots within American culture with a keen, perplexing accuracy. This novel embraces the deep-seated political, social, and biological archetypes that we seem to accept with such ease, flips them upside down, and exposes them for what they truly are through the welding pf poetry, prose, and the visual image into one seamless work of art. Rankine challenges our formal idea of "citizenship" by placing it above and beyond some sort of state-mandated title and developing it into a larger understanding of belonging and cultural identity.
3. Passing by Nella Larsen
Passing firmly established Nella Larsen's prominence among women writers of the Harlem Renaissance, a time when poor African Americans were flocking from the disheveled economy of the South to the bustling burrows of Northern American cities after the abolition of slavery. At the same time, African Americans experienced a sort of cultural renaissance as they found their place within American society. This novel, set in Chicago at the tail end of the Roaring Twenty's, follows the lives of two African American women with a skin tone so light, they're able to "pass" as white. Through rich dialogue and a palpable expedition into the human psyche, we're given the chance to dissect those ever-present ways in which race and identity affect our perception of those around us.
