Books

Browse books recommendations from people with great taste on Rec League — the whisper network for great recs.

Samantha Culp

Libby: The Library App

Probably everybody knows this, but: countless free ebooks via your local library

Nina Williams

Owning A Library Card

you mean I can just read all these books for free? !!

‘Advanced Copy’ Book Hack

I must like you, this is a huuuuge Rec Alert 🚨. If you want to be part of early conversations around books, more than ever before, publishers are working directly with readers to get the word out about soon-to-be-released titles. Net Galley is a reader hub for those publishers. Here’s the deal: as a (free!) member, I peruse, I request, I stack my shelf and—when approved by a publisher— I download titles to my kindle. Read, review and share. This is for all of you creative people with ‘notes.’ Enjoy.

Coco Quizon

The Dawn of Everything (David Graeber & David Wengrow)

It’s hard to describe how much I love this book. I grew up as a pop non-fiction reader, thinking about histories as linear and how we got to the proverbial “here” was simply a progression of “this happened, and so this happened, and that’s why this exists.” And, this book flips that.

even*cleveland

Shopping by publisher (but also, anything by Bernadette Mayer)

One thing that transformed my life as a reader/book hoarder is learning to pay attention to publishers/imprints vs. authors. Publishers have clear sensibilities and aims, and once you key into the ones that align with yours, a whole world of new works open right up b/c they are usually sourcing stuff that's adjacent to other work you like, but in a human, non-algorithmic way (publishers + editors tend to be an idiosyncratic bunch with specific tastes). You also have the joy of digging into a publisher's back catalog (all the books they've published in the past) for treasures. I could make a whole collection of my favorite small + independent publishers (not a short list), but the easiest thing to do is to look over the books you've loved, see who publishes them, and start there. Even if a publisher is no more, looking for their titles on places like Thirftbooks can turn up gems. The very first publisher I followed was New Directions, which was founded in 1936 by a 22-year-old interested in new writing. That focus eventually broadened to include work in translation; and through the years, they've resisted being subsumed into the maw of corporate publishing to remain small and specific and weird and excellent. Also: they are having a sale right now, so it's a good time to stock up on brainy and ambitious vacation and pool reads (I am going to snag this Bernadette Mayer).

Lena Dunham

Autobiography Of A Face

Lucy Grealy was diagnosed, at 9 months old, with aggressive cancer that led to the removal of her jawbone. For the rest of her short life, she would grapple with the ripple effects: a slew of reconstructive surgeries, chronic pain which led to her heroin use, low self regard that played out in dead end sexual dynamics with men and- can you blame her- rolling black clouds of depression. In this memoir, she analyzes the multi-car pileup of conditions that created both her dark view of the world and the Roman candle glee with which she careened into pleasure, into friendship and- thankfully- into words.

Sarah Cooney

The Grolier Club

I love all the suggestions made already, but I'd also suggest the Grolier Club, a private club for book collectors and bibliophiles. HOWEVER, the first two floors are open to the public and they have fabulous exhibitions--June is "Risings: The Irish Literary Revival and the Making of a Nation" and "New Members Collect," a sampling of the collections of new Grolier members. All of these are wildly fascinating! You can also make an appointment to see their beautiful library.

Coco Quizon

The Innocent and Modest Vibiana

I recently found out Los Angeles had a Patron Saint who looks after nobodies. I’m obsessed with her.

Steven Weill

No Bad Parts by Richard Schwartz (2021)

While actually doing IFS therapy with a licensed professional will undoubtedly be more 'shit rocking', reading Dick Schwartz's foundational text on what I (imho) consider to be the most effective talk therapy modality is your next best bet. The gist is that while we’ve been taught to believe we have a single identity that often fails to match the ideal of who we think we should be, Dr. Schwartz’s claims we born with many sub-minds or parts. “These parts are not imaginary or symbolic. They are individuals who exist as an internal family within us and the key to health and happiness is to honor, understand, and love every part.” IFS has proven to be not only (comparatively) extraordinarily effective but also simply a much easier way to visualize and engage with our own psychological selves. I couldn't imagine my adult life without it.

Julianna Strickland

Making Things

This book is such a gem. It has lots of projects that are both useful and beautiful. I especially love the origami boxes.

Lena Dunham

The Collected Schizophrenias

I first discovered Esme Weijun Wang’s work when I was dipping my toe into the world of chronic illness online. She was kind enough to talk to me during the summer of 2017, when I didn’t leave the house because the change to my body was too apparent in my appearance and in the CVS plastic walker I needed to shuffle around. Trapped in a pink bedroom with only my thoughts and the internet, she became a sort of all knowing priestess to me. Her honesty about her life with schizoaffective disorder, coupled with the academic precision with which she writes about how both her body and mind have betrayed her, is unparalleled.

Coco Quizon

Handbook of Consumer Motivations by Ernest Dichter

I’ve been in some form of working in Consumer Marketing since I was 18 years old. My goal in life is to make a discovery as influential to the field as Ernest Dichter, the father of the modern focus group. The man, who through his work, generated the insights that eventually gave us Barbie. I am a student of his work and this book is one of my holy grails. Buy it for me pls.

cole

Men Who Knit and the Dogs Who Love Them

from my boyfriend's bookshelf.

Practica

Radical Candor by Kim Scott

We understand it sounds cliche but it is a stone cold fact that a HUGE majority of any organization or team's ills stem from communication or a lack thereof. Yes the 'kick ass' moniker on the book is cringe. But the contents are indispensable. We need honestly, we need honest feedback and we need to be soliciting it proactively to set an example as leaders. It is not an easy or short road transforming from a place of overwhelming nicety and avoidance but it is a prerequisite journey on the longer path to marked success.

Lena Dunham

Prozac Nation

This is the foundational text on depression, anxiety and young womanhood in a newly medicated 90s, one that has stood the test of time. Elizabeth Wurtzel continued to write, became an unlikely lawyer and a fixture of New York eccentricity, and her voice never lost its tragic, hilarious, sour and prophetic edge.

James Kylstra

Einstein (Walter Isaacson)

A long, clear, and gripping account of an extraordinary life. I love how Isaacson doesn’t shy away from the science parts.

Chris Mueller

Alexander the Great - Philip Freeman

A ripping biography with expansive coverage of the ancient world. I think the contemporary world always underestimates the extent to which the ancient world was already rich with history, connected, civilized, and cultured - this book does much to illuminate those themes. Delightful, educational, provocative.

Traci Fleming

Schott’s Significa

Schott's Significa by Ben Schott is a compendium that decodes the hidden jargon and insider slang of dozens of subcultures—from sommeliers and casino gamblers to gondoliers and graffiti writers. Fascinating book!

Lena Dunham

Dying: A Memoir

Yet another brilliant woman on illness cuz women are brilliant and illness is interesting

Steven Weill

Recs for an Aries Sun, Virgo Moon and Sagittarius Rising

Book: Tracks by Robyn Davidson Austere, independent, physically demanding and freedom-driven. It has Aries courage, Sagittarius scale, and an abundance of Virgo competence: practical, exacting, unsentimental, and allergic to being over-managed. Backup: How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti Film: Morvern Callar Strange, unsentimental, impulsive and kinda haunted. Aries acts first, Sagittarius disappears into motion, and Virgo keeps the emotional mess compartmentalized. Backup: Vagabond Album: Copper Blue — Sugar Propulsive, sharp, melodic, disciplined, and emotionally charged without being sloppy. Big time Aries drive, Sagittarius lift, Virgo craft. Backup: The Woods — Sleater-Kinney

Chris Mueller

The Wide Wide Sea - Hampton Sides

The story of Captain Cook is at once heroic, brilliant, and tragic. The book covers so much, including the first European / Hawaiian interactions - with research coming from both European written material and Hawaiian oral tradition. Great read!

AMB

Libby

Libby might just be the love of my life. Access to your library’s ebooks and audiobooks. Plus you can connect multiple library cards to the app.

Going Analog

Redeeming Your Time

Productivity books all crammed into one through a biblical lens. Practical. Extremely helpful.

Spines, Flicks, and Wax

Lagom: The Swedish Art of Balanced Living

Helpful tips on how to add activities and habits for a more balanced life.

There's so much more to explore

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