Hall Library Winter Break Reads
Cozy up with a good book this holiday season!
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr The second Upper School Book Club selection, this book partly takes place in Saint Malo, a town frequently visited during Interim Week. This book is on nearly every best books of 2014 list and if you enjoy historical fiction, this one is not to be missed. | THE BLAZING WORLD by Siri Hustvedt Long-listed for this year's Man Booker Prize, The Blazing World tells the story of a female artist who passes her work off as that of three separate men. An intimate look at gender and sexism in the art world and a wrenching novel of identity. | THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE by Jeff Hobbs Assuage the end of Serial by jumping into this aptly titled tragic story of the short life of a young African American man who attempted to remove himself from the ghetto life into which he was born - succeeded - and was then murdered at the age of thirty. |
ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE by Anthony Doerr
The second Upper School Book Club selection, this book partly takes place in Saint Malo, a town frequently visited during Interim Week. This book is on nearly every best books of 2014 list and if you enjoy historical fiction, this one is not to be missed.
THE BLAZING WORLD by Siri Hustvedt
Long-listed for this year's Man Booker Prize, The Blazing World tells the story of a female artist who passes her work off as that of three separate men. An intimate look at gender and sexism in the art world and a wrenching novel of identity.
THE SHORT AND TRAGIC LIFE OF ROBERT PEACE by Jeff Hobbs
Assuage the end of Serial by jumping into this aptly titled tragic story of the short life of a young African American man who attempted to remove himself from the ghetto life into which he was born - succeeded - and was then murdered at the age of thirty.
THE FARM by Tom Rob Smith Called The Dinner of 2014, this tense, fast-paced novel of secrets and lies, Daniel must decide which of his parents to trust. | THE EMPATHY EXAMS by Leslie Jamison This collection of short essays begins with the author's own experience as a medical actor, paid to act out symptoms for medical students to diagnose - and is an empathetic and exploratory collection revealing life's truths. | STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel A National Book Award finalist that shifts before and after a world-threatening pandemic, focusing on a Shakespearean acting troupe. Station Eleven is a suspenseful, tight novel rife with beauty and ephemera. |
THE FARM by Tom Rob Smith
Called The Dinner of 2014, this tense, fast-paced novel of secrets and lies, Daniel must decide which of his parents to trust.
THE EMPATHY EXAMS by Leslie Jamison
This collection of short essays begins with the author's own experience as a medical actor, paid to act out symptoms for medical students to diagnose - and is an empathetic and exploratory collection revealing life's truths.
REDEPLOYMENT by Phil Klay This year's National Book Award winning collection of short stories fictionalizes harrowing accounts of soldiers during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars struggling to make meaning out of chaos. | NOBODY IS EVER MISSING by Catherine Lacey This year's fictional version of Wild follows a young woman who abruptly flees her stable Manhattan life to hitchhike across New Zealand. As her journey unfolds, her mental state begins to unravel, exposing the very real, very knowable anxiety of the human conditions. | WHAT IF? by Randall Munroe Ex-NASA scientist, now popular for the webcomic xkcd answers absurd hypothetical questions scientifically, such as: If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive? From what height would you need to drop a steak to ensure it was cooked by the time it hit the ground? How dangerous is it, really, in a pool in a thunderstorm? |
REDEPLOYMENT by Phil Klay
This year's National Book Award winning collection of short stories fictionalizes harrowing accounts of soldiers during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars struggling to make meaning out of chaos.
NOBODY IS EVER MISSING by Catherine Lacey
This year's fictional version of Wild follows a young woman who abruptly flees her stable Manhattan life to hitchhike across New Zealand. As her journey unfolds, her mental state begins to unravel, exposing the very real, very knowable anxiety of the human conditions.
WHAT IF? by Randall Munroe
Ex-NASA scientist, now popular for the webcomic xkcd answers absurd hypothetical questions scientifically, such as: If your cells suddenly lost the power to divide, how long would you survive? From what height would you need to drop a steak to ensure it was cooked by the time it hit the ground? How dangerous is it, really, in a pool in a thunderstorm?
FRESH FROM THE FARM: A YEAR OF RECIPES AND STORIES by Susie Middleton Part cookbook, part memoir, this gorgeous book provides an intimate look into a year at Middleton's farm - with gardening and cooking tips as well as project design ideas and delicious stories. | RED OR DEAD by David Peace A fictionalized historical account of the history of the Liverpool Football Club - players, supporters, but most importantly, famed manager Bill Shankly. | THE BEES by Laline Paull An apian Handmaid's Tale, this novel follows a lowly sanitation worker bee as she attempts to work her way up in the hive. Don't bee turned off by this book's oddness, it's a thrilling, imaginative and literary read you won't put down easily. |
FRESH FROM THE FARM: A YEAR OF RECIPES AND STORIES by Susie Middleton
Part cookbook, part memoir, this gorgeous book provides an intimate look into a year at Middleton's farm - with gardening and cooking tips as well as project design ideas and delicious stories.
RED OR DEAD by David Peace
A fictionalized historical account of the history of the Liverpool Football Club - players, supporters, but most importantly, famed manager Bill Shankly.
BOY, SNOW, BIRD by Helen Oyeyemi A loose retelling of the Snow White fairytale that explores race, love, and loyalty to family. Breathtakingly imaginative, this story expertly fuses the real world with the whimsy of a fairy tale. | THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin A book that will leave you feeling like you've been hugged by every one of your favorite books, this warming novel tells the story of AJ, a small bookstore owner, and Maya, the infant abandoned on the bookshop stoop one night. | AN UNTAMED STATE by Roxane Gay After being kidnapped in front of her wealthy father's estate, Mireille must endure the torments of a man who hates everything she represents - and when it becomes clear that her father intends to resist paying her ransom, Mireille's story deepens. |
BOY, SNOW, BIRD by Helen Oyeyemi
A loose retelling of the Snow White fairytale that explores race, love, and loyalty to family. Breathtakingly imaginative, this story expertly fuses the real world with the whimsy of a fairy tale.
THE STORIED LIFE OF A.J. FIKRY by Gabrielle Zevin
A book that will leave you feeling like you've been hugged by every one of your favorite books, this warming novel tells the story of AJ, a small bookstore owner, and Maya, the infant abandoned on the bookshop stoop one night.
THE REPUBLIC OF IMAGINATION by Azar Nafisi From the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran comes an exploration of American culture through the lens of three often-taught classic novels: The Great Gatsby, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. English teachers, don't miss this one. | 2AM AT THE CAT'S PAJAMAS by Marie-Helene Bertino After a horrible day, precocious nine-year old Madeleine sets off for the legendary Philly night club The Cat's Pajamas - ready to make her stage debut - while simultaneously her fifth grade teacher prepares for a date with an old high school crush - and the jazz club itself faces foreclosure. Three stories twine together as effortlessly as the notes in a jazz solo. | THE FEVER by Megan Abbott Heralded as a modern version of The Crucible, this tense novel follows the Nash family after a close friend is struck by a terrifying, unexplained seizure and class. Events become more tangled when several other students begin to exhibit the same symptoms. |
THE REPUBLIC OF IMAGINATION by Azar Nafisi
From the author of Reading Lolita in Tehran comes an exploration of American culture through the lens of three often-taught classic novels: The Great Gatsby, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. English teachers, don't miss this one.
2AM AT THE CAT'S PAJAMAS by Marie-Helene Bertino
After a horrible day, precocious nine-year old Madeleine sets off for the legendary Philly night club The Cat's Pajamas - ready to make her stage debut - while simultaneously her fifth grade teacher prepares for a date with an old high school crush - and the jazz club itself faces foreclosure. Three stories twine together as effortlessly as the notes in a jazz solo.
CITIZEN: AN AMERICAN LYRIC by Claudia Rankine In light of recent events, this short book of prosaic essays, images, and poems should become required reading for all, serving as a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our society. | GEEK SUBLIME by Vikram Chandra Chandra, a computer programmer turned novelist, explores the connections between the worlds of art and technology. Coders are obsessed with elegance and style, just as writers are, but do the words mean the same thing to both? | POPULAR: VINTAGE WISDOM FOR A MODERN GEEK by Maya Van Wagenen Would tips in a 1950s popularity guide (written by former teen model Betty Cornell) be applicable and relevant for today's modern teens? Find out in this hysterical and candid memoir written by a clever teen. |
CITIZEN: AN AMERICAN LYRIC by Claudia Rankine
In light of recent events, this short book of prosaic essays, images, and poems should become required reading for all, serving as a powerful testament to the individual and collective effects of racism in our society.
GEEK SUBLIME by Vikram Chandra
Chandra, a computer programmer turned novelist, explores the connections between the worlds of art and technology. Coders are obsessed with elegance and style, just as writers are, but do the words mean the same thing to both?
A Hall Library Bibliography
by Ms. Fardoux and Ms. Kirsch (with a little help from GoodReads), December 2014.