Hello, my fellow book-loving friends!

As we all know with winter break, there is time to sit and breathe following finals. We also now have time to read some books over the break! For my holiday, I plan to read quite a bit, and if you are a bookworm but don’t always have time to read during the year, well, now you have some time. 

Here’s a little list of books I plan to read over break, and I recommend to check out as gifts for the holidays, either for yourself or others.

‘Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You’ by Lin Manuel Miranda

During the fall semester, I read this book from Lin Manuel Miranda, both in the morning and night, and it has been helpful going through the days. As college students, we are prone to stress and at times, letting ourselves down. This book is a sweet inspiration each day to keep our heads up as we endure life each day. Waking up in the morning or unwinding to sleep at night, there are sweet blurbs of inspiration dedicated to the time of day. I recommend this book to people who like little inspirations for their days; it is definitely motivating and helps to keep you encouraged.

‘A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry,’ Edited by Czeslaw Milosz

Poetry. I love it, others hate it, and that’s okay. But, it’s one of my favorite things to read and think about, it’s a brilliant way of describing life in a short manner. This specific work has some of the best poetry from across the world, written during various time periods. It captures the “stunning varieties of human experience,” according to the book’s synopsis. I am excited to start this over break, and if you know a poetry lover, or are a poetry lover yourself, I highly recommend this as a holiday gift.

‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ by Georgia Hunter

I haven’t started this novel, but when I found it, it was in a local bookstore in Charlevoix, Michigan and the synopsis sounded intriguing. This book is for the history lovers, and as one myself, I am excited to start it. This book takes place before and after WWII and follows an extended Jewish family through their trials and tribulations of being under the Nazi regime. 

“Unlike many nov­els set dur­ing the Holo­caust, this one sets the right tone with its mat­ter-of-fact descrip­tions and emo­tion­al bal­ance. This approach makes ‘We Were the Lucky Ones’ appro­pri­ate for read­ers knowl­edge­able about the Holo­caust as well as those unfa­mil­iar with the vari­ety of cir­cum­stances indi­vid­u­als faced dur­ing that time, not just in Europe but all over the world, from the Mid­dle East to South Amer­i­ca. By the end, all read­ers will appre­ci­ate the resource­ful­ness and, yes, luck that con­tributed to this family’s survival,” Rachel Sara Rosenthal wrote in a post on the Jewish Book Council site. I am a sucker for WWII novels, and if you or anyone you know are into historical periods, this novel might be a good pick.

‘The Shack’ by William P. Young

I am almost done with this book! It’s been a while since I’ve been able to pick it up, but it’s a good one. The book-turned-movie, has a storyline related to a man struggling with faith and finding his way back to it as he unexpectedly encounters God. As a person of the Christian faith, I find stories based on finding faith encouraging, especially for those questioning faith. I recommend this book, especially during the Christmas season, as Christians around the world are celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ. As a disclaimer, this is not to say you have to be Christian to celebrate the holiday or read this book. However, I encourage those who are curious about the Christian faith, or questioning faith, to check it out. This is a great fictional book to answer basic questions and is a good first step in understanding.

‘Hair Love’ by Matthew A. Cherry

If you’re looking for books for kids, this is one to consider. The last book is not particularly for adults, but it’s a children’s book about love, self-confidence and the relationship between father and daughter; it’s adorable! With the focus on hair, the story is absolutely important for little girls of color, specifically black girls. As a woman of color who was taught to hate her curly hair, the story offers a change to the narrative for the next generation of black girls. Honestly, I recommend this book for young black girls, but also any young girl, no matter the race. It’s important for the next generation to see there are differences between individuals in the world and it’s what makes the world unique.

Happy Holidays, and have the best time reading over the break!