read, read, and read some more

“Many African societies divide humans into three categories: those still alive on the earth, the sasha, and the zamani. The recently departed whose time on earth overlapped with people still here are the sasha, the living-dead. They are not wholly dead, for they still live in the memories of the living, who can call them to mind, create their likeness in art, and bring them to life in anecdote. When the last person to know an ancestor dies, that ancestor leaves the sasha for the zamani, the dead. As generalized ancestors, the zamani are not forgotten but revered. Many…can be recalled by name. But they are not living dead. There is a difference.”

-James Loewen. Lies My Teacher Told Me

Imagine dying, and finding yourself in a strange city. It’s not heaven or hell; It’s not even purgatory. You live there much like you do on Earth, except you don’t age. And finally, when the last person to know you personally during your lifetime dies, you disappear.

The Truth About Celia (also by Brockmeier) is definitely worth looking up as well.

I tend to gravitate toward sad books. And this one definitely applies. It’s about a woman who gives one son up for adoption and keeps the other. It sounds like a really stereotypical plot, but it isn’t. And I love the way he writes from multiple points of view.

My friend brought this short story back for me from a literary conference she went to in Texas. I absolutely love the ending, which is slightly disturbing (I think I’m beginning to see a trend in my reading habits). Even a book that is absolute crap can be saved if it ends well. Luckily, the whole story was good in this case. I don’t want to give anything away, because it’s so short, but you should definitely read this!

Great collection of short stories about the lives of immigrants. The first story, A Temporary Matter, was my favorite. It follows the relationship of a husband and wife as they confess secrets to each other during neighborhood power outages. The stories are all simple and haunting.

Also recommended: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

I found this book incredibly disturbing, but in a good way. I think I need to take another look at all of the books I thought I didn’t like from my dystopian literature unit in high school.

-I don’t know if anyone will ever look at these recommendations, but at least I’ll have compiled all of my favorite books… which, actually, could be another goal to add to my list.