Books To Bring To Heaven: Editorial Edition
As the issue comes to a close, the editorial team would like to leave you with more than just a magazine, but insight into the minds behind it. What better way to do that than a good old-fashioned book rec? Without further ado, welcome to our book club.
These books have been selected as our writers’ very favorite, held closely to our hearts and minds.
Elise Archer: Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass by Lana Del Rey
Image Courtesy: Goodreads / Violet Bent Backwards Over The Grass by Lana Del Rey
“It’s a collection of all of her work, some with the edits still on the page, and you can feel the raw emotions written through it. It’s poetry mixed with manuscripts and original photography that define her experiences and her as an artist. This was some of the first poetry I ever read, and it will always be special to me.”
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43554866-violet-bent-backwards-over-the-grass?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=N4N77XgBTO&rank=1
Kaden Horn: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Image Courtesy: Random House UK / Amazon
“Little Women will always be special to me. Growing up with all sisters, I resonate with the relationships that empower loyalty and love, and trying to figure out who we were individually. It’s a book of dreams, family ties, rivalry, ambition, and true expression of femininity. I love how different the characters were, and how they could still come together and love each other for whoever they wanted to be and whatever their desires consisted of. It spared the perfect amount of heartbreak and love, alongside rivalry and devotion.”
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1934.Little_Women?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=e63Ex6Qqtb&rank=1
Johann Jonnasaint: The Yellow Boat by David Saar
Image Courtesy: childsplayaz.org / The Yellow Boat by David Saar
“The Yellow Boat, is one of those books that leave you pondering for days. It’s about an 8-year-old boy named Benjamin, who eventually died from AIDS. But during his time alive, he uses his imagination, play, and drawings to escape to a new reality where he isn’t sick. Benjamin’s drawings show how he preserves his childlike innocence while his world seems to be falling apart. It touches on many themes like family, friendships, and the influence that each and every human has on their short time on earth.”
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/680340.The_Yellow_Boat?ref=nav_sb_ss_1
Sol Moyano: Six of Crows Duology by Leigh Bardugo
Image Courtesy: Barnes and Nobles
“Six of Crows is a character-driven high fantasy novel that has you at the edge of your seat the entire time. You fall in love with the characters, each of them having their own POV and complex backstory. All six of the main characters have their own way of thinking and doing things, which makes it even more chaotic when they come together for an impossible heist. Even though the plot had me biting every single one of my fingernails off, the romance and bonds built throughout the novel are what made me fall in love with the book and the world built within. Although they all started the heist as foes, strangers, or barely even acquaintances, they ended it as a family. Leigh Bardugo’s writing reads like classic literature; It’s unique in a way that makes you want to read the rest of her bibliography back to back.”
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/30327173-the-six-of-crows-duology-boxed-set?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=zKraADg1E0&rank=3
Alara Altman: Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, The Flesh, and L.A. by Eve Babitz
Image Courtesy: nyrb.com
“Reading this book changed my life, no exaggeration. When I discovered this short book of personal tales by Eve Babitz, I devoured it in a week, lying by the sea. Here I was reading about a woman as wild and unconventional as me, finding artistry and true happiness leaning into this side of herself rather than leaning away from it, describing the heaven that can be found in hedonistic joys such as food and love, and partying. This book taught me a lesson. There is a way to be young and wild and free endlessly and be fulfilled. I honestly could read about her adventures over and over and still find new things to marvel at. It’s a must-read for all of the beautiful wild women in the world.”
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/206318561-slow-days-fast-company?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_9
Rosemary Aziz: Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Image Courtesy: Penguin Random House
“This book has unmistakably become my favorite, and while there have been close seconds, this is the only one to have effectively made me cry while finishing its pages at my neighborhood coffee shop. It is a book of ‘almosts’, of ‘nevers’, and ‘finallys’. Zevin writes of two students who feel so real on the page, you could almost touch them. Who pliet on the border of lovers but instead, settle as partners in the greatest video-game design venture of all time. While I have never picked up a video game in my life, nor did this book beckon me to do so, I found it to be a string that tied the entire story together. As things fell apart as they inevitably would, this nearly invisible string held venial properties for the characters. Interlaced with certain demise, as good must know evil to moderate a tale, designing and playing video games acted as a haven for them when nowhere else in the world felt safe. While you may not relate to the video game aspect, you can undoubtedly relate to finding respite in a world of your own design, that is perception, after all.”
Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58784475-tomorrow-and-tomorrow-and-tomorrow?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_12
A book is a tale of the soul that reveals so much in its own nuanced way. What a privilege to be at the pages’ mercy, where one is neither a citizen of reality nor imagination, but somewhere transcendentally in between.
“A truly good book teaches me better than to read it. I must soon lay it down, and commence living on its hint. What I began by reading, I must finish by acting.” – Henry David Thoreau
Strike Out,
The Editorial Team,
Rosemary Aziz