What We're Reading!
There are many ways to get to know a person, a place, or a community. Over winter break, I visited my nanna in Sydney, Australia. Most mornings, my mom and I would walk around her neighborhood. On our walks, we passed not one, not two, but three little free libraries. Little free libraries are miniature libraries scattered around neighborhoods, the idea being that people take a book and leave a new one in its place. Throughout our many walks, I found it fascinating to see how the libraries changed and grew, and I felt I got to know a bit more about the types of people living in my nanna’s neighborhood. I’ve come to realize that what people in a community read is an excellent indicator of what kind of individuals live in that community, so I have decided to ask a few Tufts students what they are reading; hopefully, their answers will give you an insight into the types of people and their interests here at tufts.
Lillian
Current read: Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Genre(s): Science Fiction, Lesbian Literature
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58659343-our-wives-under-the-sea?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Ul7NplXxnI&rank=1
Emma (me!)
Current read: If We Were Villains by M.L Rio
Genre(s): Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, Literary Fiction
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/30319086
Carmen
Current read: These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
Genre(s): Fantasy Fiction, Historical Fiction
Goodreads link:https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50892212-these-violent-delights?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=weyJ8CGpXp&rank=1
Megan
Current read: True Love: a Practice for Awakening the Heart by Thich Nhat Hanh
Genre: Self-help
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/609614.True_Love?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=Hne515nD2b&rank=1
Chiara
Current read: Tom Lake by Anne Patchett
Genre(s): Romance, Coming-of-Age, Domestic Fiction
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/63241104-tom-lake?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=emPzVePo4k&rank=1
Grace
Current read: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Genre: Psychological Fiction
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29044.The_Secret_History?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18
Isabel
Current read: Chain Gang All Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Genre(s): Dystopian Fiction, Political Fiction
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/61190770-chain-gang-all-stars?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=vEAJF2q4di&rank=1
Sydney
Current read: Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
Genre: Memoir
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54814676-crying-in-h-mart?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=ApsIHgdx7G&rank=1
Lastly, the Tufts English Society chimed in and told me they are reading…
Current read: Northanger Abbey
Genre(s): Gothic novel, Satire, Bildungsroman
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50398.Northanger_Abbey?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=CGVkrhb85y&rank=1
When I set out to write this article, I could have never imagined quite how diverse and interesting the answers would be. From memoirs to science fiction, students at Tufts read widely and diversely. I was excited to hear some favorites of mine, such as The Secret History, and I will be checking out some others from this list that I hadn’t heard of before. If these books made up a little free library at Tufts, I would say that these books lead me to believe that our community is varied and not afraid to read difficult things, whether that be in content or writing style. Our community challenges ourselves and each other and is open to new ideas. Most of all, I would say that our community cannot fit into a box. If these books tell me anything, it's that students at Tufts are unique in who they are, and in what they like to read. I hope that through this article you have gained a little more of an idea about our community here at Tufts, or at least have gotten a few good book recommendations!