Looking for new books to read?
By: Gaby Moryoussef
If you’ve run out of shows and movies to watch on all your streaming platforms, Here are 10 books that will get you to fall back in love with reading. ⬇️
1. Over the Top
From a previous headliner from an SSU event, Johnathan Van Ness gets up close and personal in this memoir about his life. Over the Top uncovers the pain and passion it took to end up becoming the model of self-love and acceptance that Jonathan is today. In this revelatory, raw, and rambunctious memoir, Jonathan shares never-before-told secrets and reveal sides of himself that the public has never seen. JVN fans may think they know the man behind the stiletto heels, the crop tops, and the iconic sayings, but there is much more to him than meets the Queer Eye.
You will laugh, you will cry, and you will come away knowing that no matter how broken or lost you may be, you are a Kelly Clarkson song, you are strong, and you got this.
2. Hits and Misses by Simon Rich
If you are into more dry-humoured comedy, this one is for you! Inspired by Simon Rich's real experiences in Hollywood, Hits and Misses chronicles all the absurdity of fame and success alongside the heartbreaking humanity of failure. From a bitter tell-all by the horse Paul Revere rode to greatness to a gushing magazine profile of everyone's favourite World War II dictator.
3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice have remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud beau, Mr. Darcy, is a splendid performance of civilized sparring. And Jane Austen's radiant wit sparkles as her characters dance a delicate quadrille of flirtation and intrigue, making this book a superb comedy of manners of Regency England.
4. The Skin We’re In by Desmond Cole
The Skin We’re In gives a voice and permanent home to the heartbreaking reality faced by Black and POCs in Canada. Cole opens the novel remembering how badly he wanted to escape the year 2016, only to be once again met with countless stories of white supremacy, police brutality in 2017. As a notable journalist, Desmond Cole finds a way to combine the investigative style of journalism with an emotive and personalized account of documentary to highlight the impact and power of anti-Black resistance. Earlier this year, Desmond spoke with Sheridan College. Tune into the recording of live Q&A discussion with Desmond, where he discussed race, discrimination, and his novel.
5. Defining Decade by Meg Jay
In this enlightening book, Dr. Meg Jay reveals how many twenty-somethings have been caught in a swirl of hype and misinformation that has trivialized what are the most defining years of adulthood. Drawing from more than ten years of work with hundreds of twenty-something clients and students, Dr. Jay weaves the science of the twenty-something years with compelling, behind-closed-doors stories from twenty-somethings themselves. She shares what psychologists, sociologists, neurologists, reproductive specialists, human resources executives, and economists know about the unique power of our twenties and how they change our lives. The result is a provocative and sometimes poignant read that shows us why our twenties do matter.
8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
Ken Kesey's extraordinary first novel is an exuberant, ribald, and devastatingly honest portrayal of the boundaries between sanity and madness. Tyrannical Nurse Ratched rules her ward in an Oregon State mental hospital with a strict and unbending routine, unopposed by her patients, who remain cowed by mind-numbing medication and the threat of electric shock therapy. But her regime is disrupted by the arrival of McMurphy; the swaggering, fun-loving trickster with a devilish grin who resolves to oppose her rules on behalf of his fellow inmates. For those who loved Ratched on Netflix this year, the show is based on this book.
6. Midnight Library by Matt Haig
In The Midnight Library, Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. The possibility of changing her life for a new one. Following a different career, undoing old breakups, realizing her dreams of becoming a glaciologist. She must search within herself as she travels through the Midnight Library to decide what is truly fulfilling in life and what makes it worth living in the first place.
9. Ant Farm and Other Desperate Situations by Simon Rich
Armed with a sharp eye for the absurd and an overwhelming sense of doom, Rich explores the ridiculousness of our everyday lives. The world, he concludes, is a hopelessly terrifying place–with endless comic potential.
7. Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
Atomic Habits will reshape the way you think about progress and success and give you the tools and strategies you need to transform your habits. Whether you are a team looking to win a championship, an organization hoping to redefine an industry, or simply an individual who wishes to quit smoking, lose weight, reduce stress or achieve any other goal.
Learn how to make time for new habits (even when life gets crazy), overcome a lack of motivation and willpower, design your environment to make success easier, get back on track when you fall off course and much more.
10. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
France, 1714: in a moment of desperation, a young woman makes a Faustian bargain to live forever and is cursed to be forgotten by everyone she meets. Thus begins the extraordinary life of Addie LaRue and dazzling adventure that will play out across centuries and continents, across history and art, as a young woman learns how far she will go to leave her mark on the world. But everything changes when, after nearly 300 years, Addie stumbles across a young man in a hidden bookstore and he remembers her name.
MORE OF OUR FAVOURITE READs
As students a lot of time is spent reading textbooks, but we hope you will find time to enjoy books for leisure too. If you’re looking for more recommendations, here are a few more blog posts to help you along the way.
Your Sheridan Pride Club has put together a list of books that highlight and celebrate the 2SLGBTQ+ community, including the 2020 Stonewall Award Winners!