Bliss Montage by Ling Ma (Short stories, Magical realism)

Be warned: creepy stories inside! Ling Ma’s collection of short stories in Bliss Montage are anything but blissful. In one, a woman lives with her husband and 100 ex-boyfriends, who slowly drop away; in another, a culture’s ritual of burying people alive is held once more; among other chilling and captivating stories. Perfect for the cold days of winter.
 

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Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino (Magical realism)

In this short novel, Marco Polo, famed explorer, and Kublai Khan, fifth-khagan emperor of the Mongols, talk and dream about the wonders of other cities. Each city has no more than a few pages of description, but these descriptions are deep and full of life. Marco Polo and Kublai Khan take you on a tour of all of the magical cities there are to see.
 

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Beasts of A Little Land by Juhea Kim (Historical fiction)

The story begins in the snow-covered mountains of Korea. It’s 1917, and someone saves another from the claws of a hungry tiger. They part ways, but in this one shared moment, set the scene for the lives of countless individuals that will forever be intertwined throughout the turmoil that is to come.
 

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Winter Recipes from the Collective: Poems by Louise Glück (Poetry)

Louise Glück is certainly a masterful writer, and in her new book of poetry, the inner workings of her mind shine through. These poems are full of wit, verging into the realm of dreams and magical realism, and are the kind of poems that you have to read multiple times over (and maybe more) because they carry such heavy meaning.
 

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Mansfield Park by Jane Austen (Realistic fiction)

In this 19th century novel, Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle to learn the manners and rules of refined society. But instead, she can’t escape the confines of her background, and is always seen as less worthy than her cousins. Years later, she travels back home, and tries to discover where she fits in in her world of a rigid societal hierarchy. It seems that she might always be floundering between two worlds – but can she find her place?
 

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The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (Fiction)

The Dutch House is a masterful piece of fiction, following the lives of a brother and sister whose house is stolen from them by their classically wicked stepmother. But is there something about their stepmother that sets her apart from fairytales? And how could their father let this happen? Will they ever find their way back into their house?
 

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Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (Memoir)

One of President Obama’s favorite books of 2021, this memoir tells the author’s story of moving to New York City from China when she was only seven years old. Things are different: her parents are no longer professors, but sweatshop workers, school is unwelcoming, and nothing is easy. As Qian grows up, things change, and Ma Ma falls sick. What happens now? Qian Julie Wang’s emotional, honest, and deeply moving story is a must read, for everyone, everywhere.

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