{"id":23505,"date":"2025-10-22T00:00:38","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T08:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=23505"},"modified":"2025-10-22T16:12:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T00:12:35","slug":"shelf-conscious-a-reading-list","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/shelf-conscious-a-reading-list\/","title":{"rendered":"Shelf-conscious: a reading list"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The cover of Malice by Heather Walter. | Photo from @caro.library on Instagram<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oct 22 2025 | Belen Ponce Leal | Lifestyle Editor<\/span><\/p>\n

As university students, time isn\u2019t something that is abundantly available to us. Whether it\u2019s assignments, clubs, sports, work or even just general tiredness, we all have things to do while at Western. However, everyone needs a break from reading that thick textbook sitting on the table. Should time be available, I recommend reading literature of one\u2019s own preference for at least an hour a day. In case the endless amount of books available on the market are overwhelming, I\u2019ve compiled a list below for anyone interested.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cFor Whom the Belle Tolls\u201d by Jaysea Lynn (Adult)<\/b> \u2014 Lily isn\u2019t the type of person to not fight back. So when her cancer diagnosis and financial status lets her know she won\u2019t be able to put up much of a fight, she resigns herself to prepare for death. Yet, when it comes, it ends up being much more fantastical than she ever could have thought it would be. The Afterlife is vast, with many different parts and creatures to it. Despite growing up terrified of it, she finds herself drawn to Hell. Noticing the amount of souls that overwhelm the demons working there, she offers to run a Hellp desk \u2014 pun intended. Years of customer service prepared her for this, but there is a positive to this job: she can talk back. Filled with puns, humor and a bit of demonic romance, Lily is determined to put the life in afterlife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Content warning:<\/b> this book contains adult themes, suicidal thoughts, sexual content, sexual abuse, abuse, foster care abuse, domestic abuse, religious trauma and graphic descriptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMalice\u201d by Heather Walter (Adult) <\/b>\u2014 The story of this book is a bit of a twist or retelling of the story Sleeping Beauty. The kingdom of Briar has a long history tied to magic. Magical beings, known as the Graces, can provide various forms of magic for those who are willing to pay for the spells. The plot of the book revolves around Alyce, the dark Grace. In the kingdom of Briar, she is seen as the outcast and the source of the curse that is going to claim Princess Aurora\u2019s life should she not find the person who can break it in time. Yet, Aurora doesn\u2019t treat her like the monster Alyce is believed to be. With fantasy elements, tragedy, magic and passion, Malice and its sequel Misrule tell the tale of these two women who will be forever tied to each other. <\/span>
<\/span>Content warning:<\/b> this book contains sexual content and potentially graphic descriptions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Falling Between Us\u201d by Ash Parsons (Teen)<\/b> \u2014 Stardom can be both a blessing and a curse. That\u2019s something that Roxanne Stewart learns as she watches her boyfriend Joshua Blackbird become skyrocketed into the world of being a celebrity overnight. While the money and fame is exciting, it doesn\u2019t take too long to realize the heavy toll that comes with being famous. Constant paparazzi, managers who push limits, crazy fans and even family members all cling to Joshua. Then, the famous star suddenly disappears in the middle of the night, his body never recovered. No one knows if it was murder, an accident or suicide, but Roxanne is determined to figure out what happened to him.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Content warning:<\/b> this book discusses themes of drugs, trauma, suicide and suicidal thoughts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBird by Bird\u201d by Anne Lamott (Teens+)<\/b> \u2014 Written by Anne Lamott, a New York Times bestselling author, \u201cBird by Bird\u201d is a book aimed at helping readers improve their writing skills, knowledge that she learned from her father who was also a writer. Lamott\u2019s musings range from providing helpful tips for accepting criticism of work to telling the story of the time she got super drunk and yelled at her publishing manager for not recognizing how good of a book she wrote was. The book is a mix of advice on being a better writer, lifestyle recommendations and even just confessions. While this book may be aimed more at English majors, anyone who is interested in reading a witty book that provides good information on bettering one\u2019s writing, which is a skill all university students will need, should enjoy it. I highly recommend this book.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe One Day\u201d by Melissa Kantor (Teens+)<\/b> \u2014 Zoe and Olivia are best friends. Both skilled ballet dancers, they were sadly kicked out of their dance school. However, that ends up being the least of Olivia\u2019s problems when her \u201ccold\u201d turns out to be an aggressive form of leukemia. Zoe is determined to help Olivia through the aggressive treatment, putting on a brave face when she herself is mortified. Despite the ups and downs, like Zoe starting to fall for Calvin, Olivia\u2019s crush, Zoe is determined to move forward knowing that everything will go back to normal after Olivia survives, as the alternative is too terrifying to think of.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Content warning:<\/b> this book is depressing. A warning has been given.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cMaus\u201d by Art Spiegelman (Teens+)<\/b> \u2014 This graphic novel depicts the strained relationship between the author, known as Artie in the comic, and his aging father Vladek, a Jewish Holocaust survivor. The story is split in two different frames, one depicting Artie and his father speaking in the present and the other showing what was happening as Vladek explains the events. With the visceral art style, Jewish people drawn as mice and Nazis as menacing cats, and the tragedy of such terrible events in history, this book does a chilling job portraying the horrors experienced by Jewish people in World War II. It does have a sequel, which I highly recommend as well because it finishes off the story completely.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Content warning: <\/b>this book discusses World War II, the Holocaust, torture, graphic violence, death, suicide and racism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThings Fall Apart\u201d by Chinua Achebe (Teens+)<\/b> \u2014 \u201cThings Fall Apart\u201d is a classic narrative about the effects colonialism had on small remote villages in Africa. The novel follows Okonkwo, a fictional Igbo warrior of Umuofia who is well known for being one of the most powerful, honorable and masculine warriors throughout the village. As the reader continues to read about him, the effects of colonialism begin showing up in the latter half of the book. It begins to escalate quickly as Okonkwo struggles with the idea that the traditions he grew up with are slowly being lost to this new political and religious power beginning to influence his people.<\/span><\/p>\n

Putting together this list was more difficult than I thought it would be. Books are one of my favorite things in the world. I love reading stories that completely immerse me, whether it be an informational book on writing or a graphic novel depicting one of the worst times in human history or a spicy demonic romance, I love a good read. I hope that this list at least tempts someone to read something that isn\u2019t a textbook.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1094,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Shelf-conscious: a reading list","_seopress_titles_desc":"In case a break is needed from a textbook","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment"],"modified_by":"saragerrick","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1094"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23505"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23505\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23516,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23505\/revisions\/23516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}