Happy Spring!
If you are of the bookworm-y type or simply want something to do other than homework or a few scrolls on TikTok, I recommend picking up a new fun book to enjoy this semester! I’m a firm believer that a good book can easily replace your usual comfort movie to fill free time. These books were suggested by fellow Biola students, so you know you can trust the recommendations!
Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
A New York Times bestseller and soon-to-be Netflix show, this is an endearing story published in 2022 of friendship between recently-widowed Tova Sullivan, a custodian at the Sowell Bay Aquarium, and an octopus named Marcellus. Tova Sullivan has been taking night shifts at the aquarium to cope with the grief of losing her husband and the mysterious disappearance of her 18-year-old son 30 years prior on a boat. Marcellus decides to deduce the mystery of Tova’s son’s disappearance.
Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
Published in 2001, faith-filled, romantic and heart-wrenching novel that follows 11-year-old Reuban Land and his unusual family. His brother Davy has fled, accused of murdering two men who terrorized the Land family. He is pursued by Reuben, Reuben’s little sister Swede and their father, Jeremiah, whose faith is the strongest of any man Reuben knows.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
This 2007 winner of the Pulitzer Prize is a novel that grapples with apocalyptic themes and a search for the divine, all wrapped up in an eclectic science-fiction genre that is indicative ofCormac McCarthy’s talent. A father and son travel through the deserted remains of an apocalyptic America, where life is almost completely snuffed out. They fight to defend their lives, scramble for scraps of food, strengthened to endure only by their love for one another.
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Marylinne Robinson’s first story published in 1980, this classic novel follows young Ruth and her sister Lucille. They spend their childhood traveling from guardian to guardian– first with their grandmother, then with their eclectic aunts, and finally with their mysteriously odd and lovely aunt Sylvie. Sylvie raises Ruth and Lucille in this far-removed town set on a lake which holds immense history for their family, in this beautifully painful and vulnerable story.
East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Published in 1952, this Nobel Prize Winning novel follows a unique adaptation of Cain and Abel, through the intertwined stories of two families at odds with one another. It covers the messy lives of humans in a beautifully raw and painful way, through the lens of a loosely Genesis-inspired story.
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
First published in 1953, this is a classic dystopian, science-fiction novel that follows the perspective of Guy Montag, a fireman whose job is to destroy all printed books. He does not question this destruction as he goes through the same motions each day and comes home to his wife, Mildred, who is immersed in the television. However, after Guy meets Clarisse, his eccentric neighbor who tells him of the past when people read the illegal books that he destroys, his world begins to turn upside down.
Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
Published in1955, this is the story of Much-Afraid and her faith journey to the High Places, led by the Good Shepherd every step of the way. Hannah Hurnard’s allegory represents the spiritual walk of Christians and the call to walk with childlike faith, looking to Christ for guidance and help.
