Back to School Reading and Campus Novels
Plus anticipated fall releases and fictional dream libraries
Hey, readers!
Barring a single outlier, this year marks the first time since I started kindergarten that I haven’t been going back to school in the fall. To be honest, I thought I’d miss it a little bit more! It certainly helps that I’m currently at the beach with my husband and pup (we drove across the country to visit family, but are quarantining for two weeks before we see anyone) and that this school year is undoubtedly exhausting and difficult for students and teachers alike.
But I’m also embracing the realization that in many ways it’s easier to foster my passions—even my passions for teaching and learning—outside of the classroom. Developing a bookish community here, on Instagram, and through Patreon has been extremely fulfilling, and my weekly recordings with Chelsey for Novel Pairings satisfy my need for nerdy book talk.
Additionally, now that I’m not returning to a school, I actually get to feel some nostalgia for campus life! Today, Michelle is indulging that fall feeling so many of us have by sharing some of her favorite books from her coursework. Plus I’m offering you five campus novels that just scream fall!
We hope today’s newsletter fills you with fall vibes and bookish nostalgia!
Michelle’s Syllabus of Superlatives
My final year of college starts on Monday and this has me reflecting on all of the wonderful works I have read over the course of my undergraduate education. Here are some of the most memorable things I have read during college so far…
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. I read this novel for my English 101 class. I remember wondering why we were reading it at first—it’s a pretty unusual story—but then I fell in love with it for its unique characters and unexpected plot twists. Mary Katherine and Constance live an isolated life in their large house. The rest of their neighborhood judges them harshly. Throughout this gothic novel, the sisters deal with various tragedies and try to maintain their private lifestyle. Amazon | Bookshop
Hard-Boiled Wonderland and The End of the World by Haruki Murakami. Another unusual one, this sci-fi novel took me on one of the strangest journeys I’ve ever been on. The main character ends up in a fantastical world where he is separated from his soul and must read dreams for a living. His one goal is to figure out a way to escape from this realm back into the “real” world. Murakami is such an amazing writer and he never ceases to astonish me with his works. Amazon | Bookshop
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. I read this play for a class on modern works of drama. The entirety of the story is focused on Estragon and Vladimir, two friends who are waiting for a man named Godot. Neither the audience nor the men have any concept of how long Estragon and Vladimir have been waiting, when Godot said he would meet them, or what he will even do for them. Again, I didn’t quite understand the point of it from the get-go, but after watching clips of live productions and discussing it with classmates, I appreciated the plot’s message about how humans relate to time. Amazon | Bookshop
Real Happiness by Sharon Salzberg. Salzberg does an amazing job simplifying meditation and making it approachable with a 28-day program. I was able to read this in one of my wellness classes and having in-person instruction alongside the text was invaluable. Amazon | Bookshop
Total Eclipse by Annie Dillard. The professor whose creative writing class I read this for made Dillard’s short story memorable. I remember reading the story and then going to class the next day where I wrote my own short story using the same techniques Dillard used in Total Eclipse. I had so much fun and wrote a piece I still cherish today. Read the Short Story
Zone One by Colson Whitehead. Whitehead does an amazing job creating an immersive sci-fi novel while also facing racial injustice head-on. I thought it was very inventive of him to imagine what it would be like for minorities if there was a zombie apocalypse. The plot focuses on a team of people who have been tasked with clearing New York City of any remaining zombies post-apocalypse. Meanwhile, privileged citizens are living in refugee camps and will be the ones to enjoy the refurbished city. Amazon | Bookshop
Bluets by Maggie Nelson. Again, I read this series of poems for my creative writing class. Calling them poems is a bit of a misnomer because they are really more vignettes or a short story broken down into small pieces. Nelson looks at memorable moments in her life as they relate to the color blue—very unique! This work made me realize that there are other genres of writing besides poetry, short story, books, etc. Amazon | Bookshop
Brick Lane by Monica Ali. When I read A Burning by Megha Mejumdar this week (and loved it!), I was reminded of this wonderful novel because both of these books look at what it is like to be a poor Indian or Bangladeshi woman. Brick Lane follows Nazneen, a woman from Bangladesh, as she marries a man she does not love and moves to Britain with him and her two daughters. She feels out of place until she meets a man she actually loves and begins an illicit affair with him. Amazon | Bookshop
Campus novels that capture the spirit of fall.
Readers, I love a good campus novel. And while it’s something of a sub-genre of its own, I find there are many sub-sub-genres of books that take place on campuses. There are campus mysteries, coming-of-age stories, magical campuses, and the list goes on. Today I thought about the campus novels that feel most like fall to me and came up with five that inspire those fall feelings for me.
Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas. For an eerie coming-of-age novel set at a strange and secretive college. Amazon | Bookshop
The Likeness by Tana French. For an Dublin campus mystery with a perfectly chilling Gothic vibe. Amazon | Bookshop
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey. For a noir-ish murder mystery set on a magical campus. Amazon | Bookshop
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. For all the literary callbacks and nerdy references. Amazon | Bookshop
The Virgins by Pamela Erens. For the unbearable isolation and ennui that come with being an outsider. Amazon | Bookshop
Bookish reading.
Vulture’s 19 Books We’re Excited to Read This Fall
Bibliolifstyle shared their 12 most anticipated romance reads
With kids still learning either partially or fully through virtual methods, take a look at this article about creating a home library for your children.
During a pandemic, the rules of the TBR pile don’t have to remain the same.
Who hasn’t wished they could visit an amazing bookshop described in the pages of a novel?
How the Black Lives Matter Protests Impacted Book Media
Novel Pairings.
This week Chelsey and I are sharing our most anticipated fall releases and pairing them with some backlist books that might be easier to get your hands on from the library! Following that, we’ll be discussing Louise Erdrich’s Love Medicine.
And if you’re anxious for even more book chat, you can catch Chelsey and I discussing Nancy Drew #4: Mystery at the Lilac Inn on the SSR Podcast this Tuesday. This book is so wild, and we had a blast discussing it and all things Nancy with our friend Alli.
End notes.
Watching: Get Organized with The Home Edit. I was so excited for this show to drop on Netflix! I love The Home Edit’s containers and their show makes getting organized fun when they visit celebrities’ homes.
Listening: Dreaming in the Dark. It’s a new podcast about Black fantasy from two literature and cultural studies scholars. The first episode was so good and I can’t wait for more.
Making: This delicious spicy coconut and corn soup. We added shrimp, which I highly recommend.
Loving: Daily beach walks. I’m really going to miss them when we leave next week!
Readers, I’m so glad we got to head back to campus together today. For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. Michelle and I love hearing from you!
If you want even more bookish goodness, head over to the FictionMatters Patreon to join my book club and get lots of extra book lists and recommendations. This month we’re reading Zadie Smith’s campus novel, On Beauty. I’d love for you to join us!
And if you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please forward it to a book-loving friend. That’s a great way to spread bookish cheer and support the newsletter!
Happy reading!
Sara
This email contains affiliate links. When you make a purchase through an affiliate link, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for supporting FictionMatters!