My Favorite Books
May they move you as they did me!
Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel. This is the only novel I’ve ever read twice. Mandel’s writing is simple yet poetic. Her style enamors me with a great sense of serenity. She explores how humanity endures and lives on, whether it be through theatre, history, comic books, or faith, after the collapse of modern-day society. With her adoring cast of characters, she beautifully illustrates how lives intersect, entangle, and impact one another without ever really meeting. Miranda is my absolute favorite character and her life symbolizing the end of modern possibilities is absolutely brilliant!
Deep Secrets, Niobe Way. I’ve always been fascinated by masculinity and how it impacts the lives of boys & men. Deep Secrets is an accumulation of interviews with over 300 boys between the ages of 11 to 17 and their emotional development as they integrate into a society that imposes masculine and homophobic beliefs. What results is an internalized homophobia, despite one’s sexual orientation, which stunts boys’ emotional growth, self expression, and hinders their companionship with other males, doubling their suicide rate due to increased loneliness and isolation.
It’s an incredibly affirming yet devastating read on the male experience, especially after learning that this phenomenon is relatively new, surfacing only within the last 100 years with the creation of the word ‘homosexual’ in the English language. It makes me think back to the Roman age, when male companionship was normalized…
Julius Caesar, William Shakespeare. Speaking of the Roman age! I’m not the first nor will I be the last person to say this, but Julius Caesar is a masterpiece. From Cassius and Brutus’ daring plot to secure Rome’s democracy, to Antony’s deceptive speech rallying the people against them, this political thriller is manipulative poetry at its finest. During my conservatory days, I had the great privilege of portraying the sly yet righteous Cassius in scene work, and would give anything to explore this text once again in its entirety.
The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz. To shelve this book in the ‘self help’ section of The Strand is absolute slander! This toltec wisdom book is a spiritual awakening! By following four very simple agreements, you can identify, separate, and filter out all fear and emotional poison that doesn’t belong to you. What results from this practice is a life of light. This book has affirmed everything I’ve ever felt in this life: the world and the people in it operate from fear and you don’t ever have to entertain it.
East of Eden, John Steinbeck. Steinbeck is no stranger to your high school Lit. syllabus, but if you ever choose to delve beyond Of Mice & Men, this is the book to read. This self proclaimed Magnum Opus chronicles the intertwining destinies of two houses, the Trasks and the Hamiltons, in two generations.
A fictionalized retelling of Cain and Abel, it is an incredible exploration of the devastation of love and money with richly crafted characters. You’ll never meet a more psychotic, cold-hearted woman like Cathy. Nor will you ever meet another Lee, the greatest - if only - Asian American character in Classic American Literature. The 1955 film adaptation with James Dean erased Lee from the narrative, which is quite shameful as he is instrumental to raising the Trask boys, giving them the love and father figure they never had.
The House In The Cerulean Sea, TJ Klune. This is the only author capable of making me openly weep tears of joy, sadness, and hope all at once. Klune’s writing is incredibly breezy, light, and quirky with rich, adoring characters that are impossible to forget.
This novel is, admittedly, his most famous work, but not without good reason! It dares you to seek love, acceptance, and family in a world filled with prejudice, hatred, and fear. Once you start, you shan’t put it down, and you’ll wake up one morning wondering when you’ll ever see Lucy, Chauncey, Linus and the others ever again... Oh wait, September 2024 because there’s a sequel COMING!!!