Options Holiday Book Recommendations

Emily, Writing Coach
I’d like to recommend Piranesi↗ by Susanna Clarke. Piranesi is a fantasy novel that explores themes of identity, friendship, magic and memory. Told from a first-person perspective, the novel is written as a number of diary entries. Piranesi’s world is nothing like our own – figuring out its history is equally our and his journey. As a character, Piranesi encapsulates all that is good, and made me think deeply about what is important in life. It is an easy, quick read that packs a memorable, melancholic punch.

Monika, Educational Consultant
Recently, I needed a lot of good, light reading to get me through a rough time. I discovered a bunch of mystery series, which are perfect in that the level of writing isn’t too fancy, and the plots keep readers engaged. 

One series I quite enjoyed are the Maisie Dobbs books↗, by Jacqueline Winspear.  Maisie was a nurse in WWI and then becomes a kind of early forensic psychologist/private investigator. The books consider the impact of the war on British society in interesting ways, and Maisie is an excellent female protagonist.

If you are looking for light reading, try picking up Maisie Dobbs↗, by Jacqueline Winspear, the first in this engaging series.

Melinda, Founder/President
Let’s Eat: 101 Recipes to Fill Your Heart and Home↗, by Dan Pelosi

I have seen this book on everyone’s list of best 2023 cookbooks. I thought I’d see what the all the buzz is about, and the same night I checked it out from the library, I made two recipes: Grossy’s Vodka Sauce and Pistachio Bundt Cake. It is full of easily accessible Italian American recipes chocked full of tips to be efficient in the kitchen. There are so many recipes that I am excited to try. You can follow him on Instagram, too, at: @GrossyPelosi

Kate C, Client Care Specialist
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow↗ by Gabrielle Zevin

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was my book of the year, by a wide margin. I loved how beautifully it was written, with such compelling and complicated characters. The book has such extreme highs and lows, and I was not expecting to be so emotionally invested in the ending when I first picked it up. Despite the subject matter, you do not have to have a love of video games in order to enjoy this “love story”.  

Melodie, Office Manager
The People Smuggler:  The True Story of Ali Al Jenabi, the ‘Oskar Schindler of Asia’↗ by Robin de Crespigny

I recently finished this eye-opening memoir on the incredible life of Ali Al Jenabi.  Ali grew up under Sadam Hussein’s despotic rule and it follows him from childhood to adulthood (as a resistance fighter), and then on to Indonesia & Australia where, as a smuggler, he helped families escape from the middle East.  It was a very poignant, inspirational, and well-written book.  It won the 25^th Human Rights Award for literature, among other literary awards.

Kate W, Writing Coach
I read All the Light We Cannot See↗ by Anthony Doerr when it was first published in 2014. Last month, after watching the Netflix miniseries, I decided to delve back into the world of Werner and Marie-Laure, two children growing up during World War 2. Doerr’s novel remains one of my favorites, and I highly recommend this book to any reader who loves historical fiction.  

Kara, Educational Consultant
I’ve been reading (and re-reading!) Audre Lorde’s Sister Outsider↗—a collection of the author’s masterful essays and speeches first published in 1984 from that are rich in her exploration of identity and self-discovery around gender, race, sexuality, and class that still feel new and relevant today. I am learning much about myself even as I read about this strong, driven Poet Laureate born in 1930s Haarlem who learned to overcome her shyness to become a formidable agent of change in her many communities. “The quality of light by which we scrutinize our lives has direct bearing upon the product which we live, and upon the changes which we hope to bring about through those lives,” she writes. Lorde has inspired me to understand the many identities we inhabit (she was one of the first to advocate for the idea of intersectionality) in new ways and for that I am very grateful.

Jacqueline, Educational Consultant
The Lands of Lost Borders – Out of Bounds on the Silk Road↗ by Kate Harris

With limited travel options in the past few years, I explored the globe vicariously through travel tales. The Land of Lost Borders is a travelogue describing two young Canadians, Kate and her friend Mel, and their bicycle adventure as they set off to travel the route of the Silk Road. This book examines the nature of physical limits and the strength of human commonality. The description of boundless beauty and endless wasteland, all waiting to be conquered on two wheels, excites the reader to venture beyond their comfort zone and, at the same time, instills moments of anxiety and jubilation as the women face threatening situations and unexpected hospitality. The immensity of their undertaking and the power of their friendship compels the reader to travel alongside them.  This is a reflective and contemplative travel narrative.

Gabrielle, Educational Consultant
My recommendation is The Heart’s Invisible Furies↗ by John Boyne. I loved this book because the reader becomes so connected to the main character, Cyril. You see Ireland (and all of its challenges) through his eyes, from age 6 to old age. It’s a historical fiction about prejudice, sense of self, friendship, redemption and so much more!

Lindsey, Writing Coach
Y-Dang Troeung was a much beloved mentor and teacher of mine who passed away at 42 in November of last year. Her posthumous book, one of her final projects, is much more than memoir, weaving together reflections on her and her family’s lives as Cambodian refugees in small-town Canada, history, geopolitics, photography, and letters to her young son. Beyond being deeply personal to me, Landbridge: Life in Fragments↗ is a stunning book that speaks to the complexities of the refugee experience, to violence, both historic and ongoing, and, above all, to love. The book is a gift to those Y-Dang left behind, though, fair warning, it will probably make you cry too.

Michelle, Client Care Specialist/Public Relations
At Options, we recently started a little book swap and I picked up The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo↗ by Taylor Jenkins Reid. It’s been a while since I read a historical fiction book and I honestly forgot how fun it was! This book had me HOOKED because of how intriguing Evelyn path to fame in Hollywood was and the different ups and downs one might have to go through to be famous. I loved the incorporation of the news articles and snarky remarks from Evelyn Hugo. It truly is a wonderful book and if you decide to read it, it will surely keep you on your toes!