Photo by Beatriz Pérez Moya
With March comes the opportunity to grab a blanket and set up under a canopy of blossoming trees with a juicy book in-hand. Now that sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? Maybe you’re someone who doesn’t have a lot of free time, or perhaps you’re hesitant to dive into something you may lose interest in. Well, we’ve got some incredible picks for you this month that are sure to pique your interest, give you chills, or welcome you to sit and process your emotions for just a bit. Happy spring reading!
The Sanatorium
by Sarah Pearse
An imposing, isolated hotel, high up in the Swiss Alps, is the last place Elin Warner wants to be. But she’s taken time off from her job as a detective, so when she receives an invitation out of the blue to celebrate her estranged brother’s recent engagement, she has no choice but to accept. A spine-tingling thriller set so close to home…
Get your copy here.
Valentina’s pick
Big Sur
by Jack Kerouac
Love him or hate him, Jack Kerouac isn’t afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve. In Big Sur his freewheeling prose captures the highs and lows of unadorned living in nature (and some alcohol-induced delirium for good measure).
Given the immense amounts of booze the legendary Beat poet punished himself with, his insights about friends, life and himself are remarkably lucid (mostly). But the real pleasure of this book is the rawness and rhythm of his writings about nature. Kerouac’s earthy descriptions of the rugged Californian coast are the perfect inspiration to get our own shoes dirty as Spring blooms around us.
Get your copy here.
Matt’s Pick
You Think It, I’ll Say It
by Curtis Sittenfeld
A perfect book for those who have a limited time to read right now but are still craving something quick, sharp, & entertaining. It’s a dazzling and smart story collection by Curtis Sittenfeld, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rodham and American Wife.
The theme that unites these stories is how even the cleverest people tend to misread others, and how much we all deceive ourselves.
Get your copy here.
Tanya’s Pick
Betty
by Tiffany McDaniel
When I finished the novel Betty by Tiffany McDaniel, I was overcome with a huge sense of sadness. I sat staring into space for a long time, just to be with the aftermath of my emotions. It is rare that a book hits me so hard. To be honest, it is a difficult book to read at times. The one-sentence pitch is that Betty is a coming-of-age story of a young girl named Betty, growing up in the Ohio Appalachians in the 1960s. One of the first lines of the book is “A girl comes to age against the knife”, an indication that it will not be a book filled with sunshine and ponies (although there are both). It is the story of a young girl’s growth, her family, her imagination and her community. It is also the story of racism, poverty, nature, magical stories, sexual abuse, violence, resilience, love and death. The novel is based on the authors own family history, as told to her by her mother (the original Betty). Betty is brutal and beautiful, but mostly beautiful.
Get your copy here.
Clara’s Pick
So Brave, Young, and Handsome
by Leif Enger
A struggling author escapes his run-of-the-mill life by saying yes to his gut-instinct pull to follow a mysterious love-sick fugitive on a mission to set things straight with his ex. I enjoyed escaping reality with Enger’s narrative style whilst the protagonist with writers block discovers his life is the story he needed to write …
Get your copy here.
Nix’s pick
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