Further Reading: Books to Cheer Up Students During Pandemic
It was scary at first, your coursemate admitted. He was referring to the temporary loss of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, but he noticed your expression. His curiosity was piqued. The outage, which lasted nearly six hours (and one of the worst Facebook experienced), was an opportunity for you to reach out to your best buddy during your middle school years. You chuckled at his recollection of your middle-school dance. He seemed not to get over it. (All the sodas were lukewarm, and all the food was cold.) The other kids were dancing to bleeped-out pop hits - and they were weirdly enthusiastic. A chaperone had to remind them to keep a space between two, which he joked about. It was your cue to ask him if he met anyone that fancied him. You were surprised at his response: Further reading.
Further reading would help your buddy understand something in the news. The 2021 Met Gala was trending. An Instagram account documenting Dunkin' orders abandoned around Boston. (It was oddly artistic.) A very special donkey on a Vermont farm. You couldn't make sense out of it, but your bud pressed further.
You Select Your Favorite Fiction and Non-Fiction Books
The best books about... islands. You were expecting "Wild Sargasso Sea", the prequel to "Jane Eyre", but your friend cited "A Wizard of Earthsea". The novel made him curious about Ursula K. Le Guin's other works, and he wasn't disappointed at what he discovered. Le Guin is one of few authors who had written in two or more genres, and not one was less impressive. In fact, "A Wizard of Earthsea" was one of J.K. Rowling's inspirations for the Harry Potter series. (And your friend claimed that Rowling didn't acknowledge Le Guin.) Your bud pictured Earthsea as a modern-day Faeroe Islands, if not one of the remote isles in the Arctic region. (It could be Canada, but you haven't crossed the border. Yet.) You tried to recall past news. (Why John Legend is coming to the Bahamas?) You tried harder. (Why Cuban baseball players fled their country?) And you thought long and hard. (New Zealand abandoned zero-Covid strategy.) You gave up. You asked your buddy about other titles.
The best book about... teenagers. You haven't asked your (middle-school) buddy about "Ready Player Two", the sequel to "Ready Player One". (A must-read, he said. You didn't question him, as you imagined Ernest Cline's bestseller as THE ultimate treat for geeks like your friend.) You didn't expect him to recommend "Aru Shah and the End of Time" to you. You don't know a thing about Hindu mythology (and you weren't curious about it). Your friend thought that (author) Roshani Chokshi's attempts to level down the Mahabharata amused him, prompting you to ask him if Kamala Harris would promote it. (Your friend gave you THAT look. Again.) He admitted that this book taught him that there couldn't be worse things than writing (for long hours). And poets were so dramatic. You were about to counter his claims, but you held your tongue. (Some writers are quite strange.) You were waiting for his next recommendation.
The best travelers' tales for troubled times. You couldn't relate to Jack Kerouac's interactions with hoboes (and how he lived like one), so you were confused about your friend's praise of his travel essays. You reminisced your Hawaii bliss during the pandemic, but your parents were thinking of Cancun. They want to explore "Temple Town" as well. (It might be Cambodia. They saw "Lara Croft: Tomb Raider" not long ago.) And Robert Draper once said that "a wine explains a place in ways that no word or picture can. (He might be thinking of "Sideways", about lonely middle-aged men getting sentimental.) You asked your buddy if there was a place that he wanted to visit. New York, which didn't make your heart skip a beat. But you didn't let it show.
The best books to cheer up teenagers in lockdown. You were writing an essay on Joseph Conrad, and then a thought distracted you. Is there a book that will make the long days feel shorter? You have outgrown the Harry Potter books, so you didn't touch a paperback copy of "The Magicians", which your cousin lent to you. (You couldn't relate to disenchanted college students.) And a C.S. Lewis novella on a drifter's unexpected journey to Mars didn't make you look up to the stars. (The space tourism industry is stuck in its billionaire phase, but you've been daydreaming about Jeff Bozos inviting you to a fantastic voyage.) You study English and History, and you're drawn to "The Secret Commonwealth". Your (middle-school) buddy is clueless, and you didn't attempt to elaborate. (The novel is partly set in the Middle East. And the news affected your mother.) Perhaps comics are the middle-ground for you and your buddy.
The best books about frazzled parents - and their kids. You may not see your (middle-school) buddy eye-to-eye on many things, but you have the same assessment of Roald Dahl. His children's books may be amusing, even outrageous at times, which mask his traumatic experience with his teachers. But it hardly relates to this category. Your friend cited Philippa Perry's "The Book You Wish Your Parents Has Read", which got your attention. He clammed up. You didn't pry. (There would be another time.) Your mother liked "Life With Full Attention", but you were watching football (when she described it). You would ask her.
The Best Books to Celebrate Autumn
"Every leaf speaks bliss to me", Emily Bronte said. You were certain that she was referring to the changing of the colors of the leaves during this season. You have a knowledge of novels and poems in lush autumnal settings: A Robert Frost poem, a Nathaniel Hawthorne novel (set in New England) and a John Irving story (with a distinctly fall feeling). But in October, it's time for a different kind of chill. Your middle-school buddy recommended Walpurgis Night, but you thought about an iron flower that grew in the middle of a remote forest. It could be the Black Forest (in Germany), an ideal setting for tales about chivalry, heroism, and heartache. Fall brings back memories. Your friends were grinning. You blushed.
