Submitted by Annie Schoonover, Oberlin College
Annie Schoonover is a creative writing major at Oberlin College who specializes in prose fiction. She worked as a media intern for The Reading Room in 2018-2019.
Reader Advisory is a series in which community and business leaders and our staff offer their top 5 books on any topic. To contribute, e-mail [email protected].
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemison
In a world plagued by apocalyptic natural disasters, a woman with a troubled past embarks on a journey to find her daughter. This unflinching exploration of oppression and trauma is as gripping as it is difficult, and the worldbuilding alone makes the experience worthwhile.
Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente
In an alternate history where humans travel to space in the 1930's, colonize the solar system, and sustain themselves with the milk of enormous, space-dwelling whales, a documentarian goes missing under mysterious circumstances. The non-linear narrative—which follows the documentarian's life, her journey, and her loved ones' efforts to find her—blends together a wide variety of genres and mediums, and the prose is absolutely gorgeous. This book is a truly immersive experience—it pulls the reader into its world and refuses to let go.
To The River by Olivia Laing
This autobiographical travel narrative follows the author's quest to walk the length of the Ouse River, where Virginia Woolf famously drowned. Much of the book is concerned with a discussion of Woolf's life, but Laing also seamlessly weaves in history, mythology, literature, and her own memories, all told in graceful, lyrical prose.
A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
One dark and stormy night, three mysterious women appear and take a young girl on a journey through time and space to find her missing father. Strange and inventive, with an endearing protagonist whose character arc has inspired young girls for decades, this is a children's books that one can easily enjoy as an adult.
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
This book, which follows a family in the 1930's that migrates to California hoping to find a better life, is rightfully famous for capturing the realities of the Great Depression. Like many people, I read this book for a high school English class, and since then, I've found myself revisiting it again and again. Though the book was written decades ago, Steinbeck's devastating descriptions of the struggles of workers still hit home today.