Congratulations to everyone who participated in the July Reading Challenge! Our July winner is Abhigna Police, who won a Paws READ poster. To be eligible for a prize drawing, make sure to read a book that fits the month’s theme and then tell us about it.
This month, we challenged you to read a book of short stories, essays, or poetry. Here are a few of the books you read! (Comments may have been edited for length or clarity.)
What You Read in July
The Hill We Climb: An Inaugural Poem for the Country, Amanda Gorman
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book
“This poem reminds me that even in the darkest times, there’s always a spark of light. Gorman’s voice is powerful but gentle, commanding attention without shouting.” — Aanshi
Bad Feminist: Essays, Roxanne Gay
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library
“Some of the essays felt a little contradictory. I did like the book, as it gave me a new perspective, but I was hoping for more data than opinion.” — Brooke
The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Read the e-book | Listen to the audiobook
“This is the newest of Dr. Kimmerer’s books, and I really needed the message of reciprocity, mutual flourishing, and abundance right now. Dr. Kimmerer’s writing is absolute artistry. She clearly notices and appreciates the connectedness of life. I read this right after reading Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson’s Abundance, and I really needed something that was less policy-minded and more dedicated to beauty. This was the perfect companion!” — Sam
I, Robot, Isaac Asimov
Find it at F.W. Olin Library
“I had a really fun time reading I, Robot. It explores technology and ethics through fun little machine stories. One of my favorites was about a robot named Cutie, who decides that humans couldn’t have built him, and instead creates his own belief system centered around a greater power. As someone in tech and engineering, these stories really made me think about robots and how they can reflect human nature.” — Shree
Unaccustomed Earth, Jhumpa Lahiri
Find it at F.W. Olin Library
“I typically don’t enjoy short stories, but I will read anything by Jhumpa Lahiri, and this book made me consider reading more short stories. Lahiri is a master storyteller and keeps culture at the forefront of it all.” — Rachel
Suggested Reads for August
Your August challenge is to read a book translated from another language. Check out our recommended e-book and audiobook titles in Libby, or stop by the Snell Library lobby from 1 – 3 p.m. on Wednesday, August 20, and Thursday, August 21, to browse print books and pick up Reading Challenge swag!
Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder, Asako Yukuzi (translated by Polly Barton)
Find it at Snell Library | Read the e-book
Gourmet cook Manako Kajii sits in the Tokyo Detention House convicted of the serial murders of lonely businessmen. The case has captured the nation’s imagination, but Kajii refuses to speak with the press, entertaining no visitors. That is until journalist Rika Machida writes a letter asking for her recipe for beef stew, and Kajii can’t resist writing back. As visits unfold between Rika and the steely Kajii, Rika begins to wonder: do she and Kajii have more in common than she once thought?
The Café with No Name, Robert Seethaler (translated by Katy Derbyshire)
Listen to the audiobook
Summer 1966. Raised in a home for war orphans, Robert Simon has grown into a warm-hearted, hard-working, and determined man. When the former owners of the corner café in Vienna’s Carmelite market square shutter the business, Robert sees that the chance to realize his dream has arrived. The place, dark and dilapidated, is in a poor neighborhood of the Austrian capital, but the air is filled with a desire for renewal. Robert refurbishes the café and customers arrive. Some are in search of company, others long for love, and some seek a place where they can feel understood. As the city is transformed, Robert’s café becomes at once a place of refuge and one from which to observe, mourn, and rejoice.
The Empusium: A Health Resort Horror Story, Olga Tokarczuk (translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones)
Find it at Snell Library | Find it at F.W. Olin Library | Listen to the audiobook
September 1913. A young Pole suffering from tuberculosis arrives at Wilhelm Opitz’s Guesthouse for Gentlemen in the village of Görbersdorf, a health resort in the Silesian mountains. Every evening, the residents gather in imbibe the hallucinogenic local liqueur and debate the great issues of the day. Meanwhile, disturbing things are happening in the guesthouse and the surrounding hills. Someone—or something— seems to be watching, attempting to infiltrate this cloistered world. Little does the newcomer realize, as he tries to unravel both the truths within himself and the mystery of the sinister forces beyond, that they have already chosen their next target.
My Name is Emilia del Valle, Isabel Allende (translated by Frances Riddle)
Listen to the audiobook
In San Francisco in 1866, an Irish nun, abandoned following a torrid relationship with a Chilean aristocrat, gives birth to a daughter named Emilia del Valle. Raised by a loving stepfather, Emilia grows into an independent thinker and a self-sufficient young woman. As an adult, Emilia becomes a journalist, convincing an editor at The Daily Examiner to hire her. When an opportunity arises to cover a brewing civil war in Chile, she seizes it, and as the war escalates, Emilia finds herself in extreme danger, fearing for her life and questioning her identity and her destiny.
The Morning Star, Karl Ove Knausgaard (translated by Martin Aitkin)
Read the e-book
One long night in August, Arne and Tove are staying with their children in their summer house in southern Norway. Their friend Egil has his own place nearby. Kathrine, a priest, is flying home from a Bible seminar, questioning her marriage. Journalist Jostein is out drinking for the night, while his wife Turid, a nurse at a psychiatric care unit, is on a night shift when one of her patients escapes. Above them all, a huge star suddenly appears blazing in the sky. It brings with it a mysterious sense of foreboding. Strange things start to happen as nine lives come together under the star.
Whatever you read, make sure to tell us about it to enter the August prize drawing. Good luck, and happy reading!