The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Blurb submitted by Mara C.
The Bell Jar is fiction

Ester Greenwood is an extraordinary talented young woman, always receiving high marks from teachers, and having a hunger for knowledge. She moves from her hometown to pursue a career in journalism, accepted into an internship in New York City. The Ladies Day magazine is a paid internship aimed to encourage young woman to join the workforce, and Ester is seemingly the perfect candidate. Yet in 1953 she finds her self slowly going under, while being pulled in an infinite amount of different directions in her life. One by one she sees the options in her life disappear like figs turning black and dropping dead off the tree, simply because she didn't know which one to pick. Her mental health slowly begins to deteriorate as she finds herself torn apart by who she wants to be and who she thinks the should be.

The Bell Jar is what many believe to be Plath's own chilling story of her deteriorating mental state, starting as a young adult. Plath transports you into Ester's mind and blurs the lines between perception and reality.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Blurb submitted by Coach Fromme
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World is nonfiction

Deep work as the ability to focus without distraction on an intellectually demanding task. According to Cal Newport, a computer science professor at Georgetown University, this is the type of work that allows us to be our most productive. Unfortunately, our distracting, always-online culture makes accomplishing deep work harder than it has ever been. Instead, we engage in shallow work peppered by distractions like email, instant messaging, social media, and endless meetings.

 In the first part of this book, Newport explains the importance of deep work and how it can be used in almost any profession. The second part of the book teaches you how to achieve a state of deep work through a series of rules that will help transform your work routine to prioritize deep work.

Using real-world examples of successful academics and entrepreneurs as proof that deep work has many benefits, this book will serve as a guide to help professionals and students alike achieve success that their more distracted peers will not.

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois

Blurb submitted by Khalil W.
The Souls of Black Folk is nonfiction

The Souls of Black Folk is an important book within the African-American community. It is considered one of the most important contributions to African-American social history. W.E.B. Du Bois, a Harvard scholar, spent the majority of his life fighting and documenting racial injustice.  The book is a collection of essays that give information on black spirituality, great black leaders like Booker T. Washington, poor treatment of darker skinned black people, slavery and freedom, the reconstruction period, the training of black men by slave masters, and the robbing of slave black families of their first-born sons. We are still to this day dealing with racial tension towards black men. I think it is important for everyone to read this book, but I would highly recommend this book to any teenage African-American male who is entering adulthood. The challenges that we face on a day to day basis can’t be compared to any other race. I think the book can help to guide us and is a great start to learning your black history.

Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets by Sudhir Venkatesh

Blurb submitted by Kris C.
Gang Leader for a Day: A Rogue Sociologist Takes to the Streets is nonfiction

Have you ever wondered what it would actually be like to be in a gang? If you read Sudhir Venkatesh's story, Gang Leader For a Day, you will find out. In Sudhir's story, you will hear first hand how he went from a college graduate and sociologist to being in a gang. You probably have seen gang members on TV before and heard stories about gangs and wondered what it is like to live like that every single day. Sudhir Venkatesh wondered the same thing, so he decided to go interview gang members to ask them about it. The gang members were not pleased with his curiosity and he actually ended up getting held hostage. That is just where his adventure begins. In Sudhir's book, you will read about crazy stories of what happens on a daily basis, how others in the neighborhood treat you, and what it is like to be the actual leader of a gang. If you want to know what it is like to be in a gang without getting held hostage, go check out Gang Leader For a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh.

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth

Blurb submitted by Amy K.
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance is nonfiction

The book's author, Angela Duckworth, argues that there is one distinct quality found in all successful people: grit. Grit is the will to keep moving forward even when you run into an obstacle. Grit surpasses innate qualities such as talent and intelligence. Duckworth supports her claim using evidence she acquired from interviews and research she had done on successful people. Thomas Edison, for example, had conducted hundreds of experiments to create the light bulb but had failed hundreds of time. If he had given up back then, we would not have light bulb today. Duckworth emphasizes the importance of passion and perseverance in success. All successful people had passion in their profession, whether it was art, business, or sports, and had the perseverance to keep going even if they failed.

I really enjoyed the book. This book encouraged me to keep doing what I am doing without comparing myself to others. This book also made me realize that passion is what is important. I was so focused on talent that I could not see the most important quality. I would recommend this book to anyone who feels discouraged or hopeless in what they are currently doing.

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Blurb submitted by Tucker H.
When Breath Becomes Air is nonfiction

The self-written story of dying doctor Paul Kalanithi, titled When Breath Becomes Air, was a way for Kalanithi to say goodbye to this loved ones because he knew he didn't have much time left. Newly married and with a young child, saying goodbye was the hardest thing to do once he was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic lung cancer, so he decided that leaving a book behind as his legacy would be the best idea. The story of Paul Kalanithi’s life was a very heartwarming one and until the very end. The reader is rooting on Kalanithi to overcome his death sentence. I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for an amazing story of an amazing person whose life ended too soon.

Younger Than That Now: The Collected Interviews with Bob Dylan by Jim Ellison (Editor)

Blurb submitted by Camille B.
Younger Than That Now: The Collected Interviews with Bob Dylan is nonfiction

Over five generations of music and changing times, there's one name that always seems to stay relevant: Bob Dylan. A man of wisdom and someone who doesn't just notice problems but speaks out too. He has inspired millions with his music and his activism in the world.  You may think you know Dylan now, but see him a way that's never been seen before. See how much he did for the music industry and the world. See a new side. See a new world, all changed by one man: Bob Dylan.