Fall 2022 Book List

With fall coming to an end and winter creeping in I wanted to share and unpack my Fall 2022 reading list. This Fall I pushed myself out of my reading comfort zone and read non-fiction. For most of my life, I stayed away from the non-fiction section and found myself wanting to escape into a fictional world. I always enjoyed an inviting, fictional story that pulled me in from the start. They provided me a source of comfort and pleasure. When I wanted to relax and get away I knew I could slip away and engross myself into another world. But with my Fall semester schedule packed with design courses, I found myself craving to critically think and learn about culture, history, and current affairs. I leaned towards non-fiction books as the solution. I did still read a couple of fiction books of course; I just couldn’t resist! I got a unique, rewarding experience from each book I read this fall.

Here is what I read this Fall 2022:

Eat The Buddha

Genre: non-fiction

Browsing through the Barnes and Noble social science section I came across a book with an intriguing title, Eat the Buddha. Curious about what it could be about I began reading the book’s description. My eye instantly caught the description “award-winning journalist Barbara Demick explores one of the most hidden corners of the world.” The book revolves around the story of Ngaba, a Tibetan Town known as one of the most difficult places in all of China for foreigners to visit. It’s one of the first places where the Chinese Communists and Tibetans interacted. Unfamiliar with this history, I found myself learning something new on each page I read. Demick effortlessly curates a beautiful, engaging narrative that unfolds an untold history. She tells an intimate story, focused on the people of Ngaba and their stories. Eat the Buddha shares an important but often ignored history. It helped me have a better understanding of and critically think about the world around me.

Eat Pray Love

Genre: non-fiction

My mom had bought me this book in a charming, cozy bookstore in Santa Fe, New Mexico last Christmas break. She told me, “You’re going to love it.” She was right. My mom is usually right when she tells me “You’re going to love it,” but for some reason, I sometimes doubt that I will. Now I’m learning: if she says you’re going to love it, trust her. She’s right and you will. Anyways, due to this hesitancy, I didn’t read this book until many months later. When I finally cracked the book open I found myself completely engrossed. It was a true page-turner. While, sometimes the narrator, Elizabeth Gilbert, comes off as conceited and annoying, she is a wonderful, entertaining storyteller whose writing felt truly genuine. Her words drew me in like a big hug and I laughed, smiled, and frowned alongside her. It felt as if she was talking to an old friend as she wrote. As a travel lover, I couldn’t resist reading her story about her solo journey through Italy, India, and Indonesia. I found myself transcending into the places she described. Eat Pray Love was a fabulous, fun, and adventurous memoir that I loved! Once again, my mom was certainly right.

A Burning

Genre: fiction

This is another book I got in that charming New Mexico bookstore. Its bright orange, yellow, and red cover caught my eye on the shelf full of books. I plucked it off the shelf and turned it over to read the back. I was instantly intrigued and engaged. Its storyline revolved around three characters in contemporary India in the aftermath of a terrorist attack on a train. The story bounced between the different character’s perspectives and the author effortlessly and interestingly intertwined their stories together. A Burning covered relevant social and political topics in a strikingly fresh and emotional manner. I’m glad the book’s vibrant cover caught my eye on the shelf.

My Life on the Road

Genre: non-fiction

I have always been a huge Gloria Steinem fan. Due to this, my brother even drew me a portrait of her to hang up on my wall. When I came across her memoir, My Life on the Road, in the Barnes and Noble I knew I had to read it. Steinem recounts how her childhood caused her to “live an on-the-road kind of life.” She covers the experiences she gained from her life on the road traveling, learning, listening, creating change, and fighting for equality. While reading My Life on the Road I learned personal and endearing things about this iconic woman. I learned about the experiences that helped make her who she is. I always find it interesting to know and understand how someone ended up where they are. Beyond that, Steinem intertwined important history and information about inequality into her narrative. I became more aware of topics such as the intricacies of gender roles in Native American communities and about legalized prostitution in Las Vegas. Steinem shared these stories through the intimate, personalized stories of the people she had met along the road. Steinem presented a personal but information-filled story with her book My Life on the Road.

Book Lovers

Genre: fiction

This is another book my mom suggested to me. We had gone to a book talk last spring where this book was included. The author's, Emily Henry, description of her fun, gushy book inspired us to buy a signed copy at the event for us to read. Henry had explained she had been inspired by how in the typical, cheesy hallmark movie the uptight, city woman is left for the laid-back, country girl. Book Lovers tells the story from the perspective of the uptight, city girl, Nora Stephens. This November, I finally picked it up and dove into it. When I first began the book I immediately pegged it as overly cheesy and found that Henry was trying too hard to be funny, quirky, and relatable. Despite this, I found myself unable to put it down and finished it within days. Book Lovers was simply extremely relaxing, enjoyable, and easy to read. It was a fun and romantic story that I found myself becoming addicted to. When I wasn’t reading the book I craved to pick it up and absorb myself into the storyline. I needed to know what was going to happen next to Nora! The book touched on relatable topics in an easygoing manner. The storyline covered grief, balancing a job and ambition with personal and family time, and compromises in a relationship. While the book certainly wasn’t a complex, outstanding piece of literature, it was a fun, enjoyable, and heartwarming story.