What is The Poly reading?

In the digital age, sometimes we need to remember the simple pleasure of reading a good book. The Polytechnic has you covered, as each staff member recommends one book they enjoyed reading and want to share with others. With the plethora of genres listed, something will definitely catch your interest.

Soma Patra:

• Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo

Anna Stubbs:

• A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
  • I’ve reread this book several times and although it's very sad, it highlights many themes about family, love, hardships and growing up.

Ryan Hickey:

• Lord of the Mysteries
  • This story is a steampunk-esque fantasy following a reincarnated man exploring a new world. In an ever-expanding world, there is always something new to learn or discover.

Anna Zuniga:

• Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
  • The book follows eight families struggling due to the financial troubles in Milwaukee during the 2008 economic crisis.

Megan Waller:

• A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas
  • This series is my current read. It’s popular right now, but for good reason. I’d recommend this to anyone who likes fantasy books. The story follows a girl named Feyre, and her experiences in a new and unfamiliar faerie world.

Alexander Orr:

• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
  • There are so many great fantasies that sometimes we can forget how wild reality can be. A Tale of Two Cities is set during the French Revolution and isn’t afraid to show how terrifying that time was. My favorite part is the characters' inspirational journeys throughout the story.

Angelica Izuwah:

• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
  • I enjoy Dan Brown's writing and how he brings the character of Robert Langdon, a recurring character in his books, to life. I also like the various puzzles and twists in this book.

Danlong Zhang:

• The Happy Couple by Naoise Dolan
  • It’s a melancholy story told in a very insightful and transparent way. The situation is strange enough that the morals and ethics of the characters become muddied and foggy, and you find yourself in a peculiar situation of knowing how the novel will end but unsure as to why.

Riley Sobel:

• The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett
  • If you like high fantasy, you must read the Discworld series, and the first book published is a great way to start (though not the only way)! This book is a super fun parody of the fantasy genre, told in a few fast-paced comedic vignettes that feel like playing a Dungeons and Dragons game with a few close friends. I love Monty Python and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, and Pratchett's witty, somewhat existentialist humor style is reminiscent of both.

John Molloy:

• Misery by Stephen King
  • Misery is one of the few books I’ve read twice, and King excels at pulling the reader into the protagonist’s perspective, making you feel every bit of claustrophobia and tension. Being under 400 pages, it’s one of King’s shorter novels, but the tight narrative only raises the intensity. The realistic fiction combined with the psychological horror between just two characters makes Misery one of King’s most memorable stories.

Marissa Ho:

• The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
  • The Invention of Hugo Cabret mixes vivid illustration with writing to portray different points of view and flashbacks in time of the set of main characters. This story blends early 1900s history and fiction, and while not very deep, has some interesting themes, so I highly recommend it.

Theo Olinkiewicz:

• House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
  • The way the book is written is intriguing. Additionally, I had always been second-guessing myself on the correct interpretation of the novel.

Anisha Biswas:

• The Foxhole Court by Nora Sakavic
  • The Foxhole Court is a book that would be great for sports manga fans who want to give prose a try. Sakavic manages to detail characters with a rather realistic reaction to trauma and hardship despite her crafted outlandish setting. Though there are many hard moments to read, and it’s certainly not the type of story for everyone, I find it a great read and believe the main couple to be incredibly captivating.

Sophie March:

• The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
  • Donna Tartt is my favorite author, and The Little Friend is my favorite of her works. The Little Friend is not as popular as some of her other books, given its length and unabashed attention to detail, but it clearly illustrates Tartt’s talent as a writer. The book took me months to finish, but the journey was deeply enjoyable. Tartt tempts readers with a thrilling and tragic mystery yet leaves readers just as in the dark as her twelve-year-old protagonist. Although this can be frustrating, it allows readers to experience the events of the book all the more intimately.

Meher Randeria:

• Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
  • If you’re interested in a read that would wrench and warm your heart simultaneously, try Kitchen. I was introduced to this book as a required reading but it quickly became one of my favorites for exactly that reason. It follows protagonist Mikage as she explores the intricacies of grief after losing the last of her relatives, through her love for kitchens and cooking. Yoshimoto took the fragility of grief, to create beautiful writing and present some interesting philosophies on existence.

Princess Urama:

• If Tomorrow Comes by Sidney Sheldon
  • This book is among the few I’ve read and one I’d always recommend. It follows a woman who loses everything, and I mean everything when she gets involved with the mafia. After serving time in prison, she vows to get revenge on the people who did this to her and, as a result, becomes a con artist.

Mary O’Brien:

• Violeta by Isabel Allende
  • This book follows the life of Violeta, a young woman born in South America during the 1920s. Violeta and the reader witness some of history’s greatest triumphs and most horrific events. I recommend this book to anyone looking to be captivated by a story of intense hardship, perseverance, and the realistic struggle of being a woman during this time. You’ll shed a few tears by the end.

Moiz Steenhuis:

• Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson
  • This book, and the trilogy named after it, has some of the most unique and interesting worldbuilding I have ever read. I cannot think of another book that has kept me so glued with its pages and interested in its world than Mistborn.

Siddarth Nandakishore:

• The Dark Half by Stephen King
  • This book combines a serial killer story with a battle of the wills of two halves. It keeps you on your toes constantly, and the ending does not disappoint.

Eurydice Molina:

• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
  • Macbeth is a book that everyone has heard of and, more often than not, has been forced to read. However, I’d still recommend that anyone attempt reading this because it’s genuinely a cool story. Analyzing the dynamics of all players in this story is awesome, and could make you feel like a mastermind in a war story. If you do go forward with reading this, I’d recommend reading the “No Fear Shakespeare” version of the text to better help with comprehension.

Ryan Gibeau:

• Atomic Habits by James Clear
  • Atomic Habits is a book I’d recommend to nearly everyone, especially those in a period of self-reflection and personal growth like I have been for the past couple of years. Personal progress is a direction, and what’s most important are the little things you do or don’t do in your daily life. Have a bad habit (or even addiction) you want to break? Do you have a good habit you’d like to build but have struggled to? This book is a great place to start to understand how.

Annelise Eggen-McElmurry:

• Wildwood by Colin Meloy
  • Wildwood has been one of my favorite books since I read it in my childhood. Classical fantasy novels and folk tales inspired it, and the imagery created by Meloy’s writing is fantastic. I recommend it to anyone wanting a fun read and a classic story they’ll never forget.

Xenia Khusid:

• Firestarter by Stephen King
  • Joining the Stephen King theme, Firestarter follows a young girl and her father as they suffer the consequences of the government’s unethical experimentation. The immersive reality of New York State and the focus on familial connection blends with unpredictable magic and the ever-present anxiety of being hunted for it.

Kyra Ancone:

• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
  • Suspense, horror, and a plot twist for the ages, this book has everything a murder mystery fan would desire, along with a very insightful debate on morality that is still relevant today. If you enjoy reading about complicated murder plots or reading through the perspective of amoral characters, this book is for you.

Naveena Godfrey:

• This is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
  • This novel presents a unique and powerful story about how love can be found between two people on opposite sides of an intergalactic war.

Matthew Treanor:

• Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
  • Salt to the Sea chronicles the story of four characters during the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff, the largest maritime disaster in history. This book makes interesting use of perspective, as every four chapters are from the point of view of a different character. If you enjoy historical fiction and interesting storytelling, this is a must-read!