Books

Little Women

Louisa May Alcott

I always thought I was Jo. Re-reading it this winter, I found myself just as drawn to Amy, Beth and Meg.

Babel

R. F. Kuang

Dark academia about the beauty and deceit of translation, with a seething critique of colonialism underneath. I felt too much of what these characters go through.

I, Medusa

Ayana Gray

Before this book I never saw Medusa as anything more than a monster. Gray gives her her story back, and I cried for her and her sisters.

The Metamorphosis

Franz Kafka

I think I finally understand what Kafkaesque means, and I wasn't ready. I have never had a book affect me so physically.

Annihilation

Jeff VanderMeer

Beautifully written climate fiction that I could not put down. At moments I couldn't breathe or blink, and it left me asking what the world would look like without humans, or with nature-blended organisms.

Rendezvous with Rama

Arthur C. Clarke

One of the best sci-fi books I have read.

The Code Breaker

Walter Isaacson

Curiosity-driven research, told honestly. Isaacson lets his subjects be imperfect and remarkable at the same time, which is hard to pull off.

The Gene: An Intimate History

Siddhartha Mukherjee

This is the book that brought me to science. A must-read for any student of science.

The Genome Odyssey

Euan Angus Ashley

Ashley is a great storyteller, but it was the patients and their resilience that stayed with me longer than the technology did.

Empire of Pain

Patrick Radden Keefe

A meticulous account of the Sacklers, Purdue and the opioid crisis. It made me sick to my stomach thinking about how much power these people had.

The Year of Magical Thinking

Joan Didion

Didion dissects grief almost clinically. It scared me, because I found myself grappling with the mortality of everyone I love.

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

Jung Chang

At times I wished this were fiction, because the events were so painful I kept thinking they couldn't be real. The strength and resilience of these three women made me cry, smile, and most of all, inspired me.

Gone with the Wind

Margaret Mitchell

Scarlett O'Hara is the most fascinating and unexpected woman I have read about. I never thought a book about war could be this alive.

Remarkably Bright Creatures

Shelby Van Pelt

Unusual friendships, old age, and a remarkably bright octopus. I listened to it walking to and from the greenhouses, tending nematodes and plants, which are also remarkably bright and annoyingly demanding.

The Lion Women of Tehran

Marjan Kamali

A warm book about rebellion, female friendship, and the endless fight for justice and for women's right to exist in Iran.