Contemporary Archive

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The Vacationers by Emma Straub

Just as Trap Queen by Fetty Wap is taking over the airwaves, The Vacationers has positioned itself as one of THE books of the summer. It’s on all of the best beach reads lists, including my own from last month, and it has all the components of beach read dreams: it’s fast, light, and breezy. The

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The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

This little book has made quite the mark in the self-help/home organization genre. Written by Japanese cleaning consultant, Marie Kondo, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is infinitely better than the usual drivel that comes out of this section: How to organize your closet with fancy shoe racks!

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All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Cruising through my best books list of 2014 (I’ve done 3/5 so far…not bad), this novel has become quite popular in recent months. I’ve read a number of books this year set during the World War II era – Fatelessness, Sarah’s Key, and The Book Thief, to name a few

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Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

Everything I Never Told You not only appeared on all the best books lists of 2014, but it was often cited as the best book of the year. If folks couldn’t decide on a single best book then they cited it in the top five.

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Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier

This book isn’t exactly new, but I see it pop up frequently – at used bookstores, in airport lounges, on a friend’s reading list. It’s been on my own bookshelf for years, staring me down, and beckoning a read. I took the plunge and thought it was worth a review.

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In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick

True Story: In 1819, the 238-ton whaleship Essex was attacked and sunk by a sperm whale in an isolated area of the South Pacific. The 20-man crew set out in three small boats to try to reach the coast of South America (the place they deemed safest).

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Wild by Cheryl Strayed

Cheryl Strayed is my new girl crush. I’ve been telling everyone I know about her because she. is. awesome. First, she wrote Wild, which was made into a movie with Reese Witherspoon and is everywhere lately.

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The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Kids, there’s no magic here. A swift departure from those little, obscure books, The Parry Hotter series, The Casual Vacancy is very much a novel for grown-ups. While describing the book to my family, I used the word ‘adult’ so many times that they thought I was reading erotica. But that’s simply the

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I’ll be up-front: this book is fantastic. A magnificent story, incredible characters, powerful imagery, and an enlightening look into a turbulent and heartbreaking part of history, The Book Thief has become my new go-to novel when people ask me to recommend something to read. The Book Thief is written from the perspective

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The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

Guys, this wasn’t good. The weak comparisons to Jane Austen’s famed works aside, the novel suffers from unmemorable, clichéd characters, a slow pace, and a thin plot. The Jane Austen Book Club is shallow chic lit at its core, trying to parade as something more serious. In full disclosure: I’m female and was an English