Nothing beats a good book. Everybody knows and loves the feeling of finishing an interesting book and wanting to share it with others. While we are quarantined, we can take this opportunity to explore some new literature. The Bookworm Club has used their new-found free time to delve into new novels.  

Sofia Centeno (‘22) has recently enjoyed the historical fiction novel, A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. The breathtaking novel tells the story of two young women, Laila and Mariam, who are married to the same man, Rasheed, with the backdrop of the last thirty years of Afghanistan’s history.  

Sofia also newly enjoyed the romance novel, Achilles by Madeline Miller. The profound novel revolves around a relationship between Achilles, “best of all the Greeks,” and Patroclus, an awkward prince, as they face Achilles’s mother’s disapproval of their relationship while fighting in the Trojan war.  

Sunny Yu (‘22) recommends the book Hiroshima by Pulitzer Prize-winning author, John Hershey. The non-fiction novel is narrated by Hershey who tells the story of six individuals who survived the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6th,1945. Hershey brings the reader through six very different perspectives of the bombing and how it affected them individually. 

Shuci Zhang (‘23) newly enjoyed the book entitled, On Bullsh*t by Harry Frankfurt. Frankfurt is a philosopher who published this essay in 1986. 

Zhang describes the essay as, “A best seller exploring the philosophical meaning of truths, lies, and prevalence of bullsh*t in our society,”Shuci said. 

Another member of the Book Worm Club Taya Sibichenkova (‘24) recommends the historical fiction novel, A Gentleman in Moscow, by Amor Towles, the New York Times best-selling author of Rules of Civility. A Gentleman in Moscow tells the story of a Russian aristocrat who is ordered to spend the rest of his life in a luxury hotel by the Soviets.  

Sibichenkova (‘24) said the novel has, “beautiful language, and the characters are developed so well [It also] portrays the atmosphere in Russia at the time really well [and] not in the stereotypical way that a lot of other writers do,” Taya said. 

The Bookworm Club met on the day after Halloween and shared spooky and gothic books with each other. One of the spooky season books recommended at their recent meeting was Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The classic novel written in 1818 tells the story of a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who creates a human-like creature in an unconventional experiment.  

Another book recommendation inspired by the recent spooky season is the gothic horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. The famous 1897 novel introduced the now well-known character, Count Dracula, and established the future conventions of the vampire fantasy. 

The gothic fiction novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë was also recommended at the Bookworm Club’s latest meeting. The controversial novel of 1847 is the only finished publication of Brontë’s career, and challenges Victorian ideas about a woman’s place in society, religion, class, and morality.  

The Bookworm Club’s recommendations are highly enjoyed by their members and they encourage you to check them out. These eight novels are exciting ways you can spice up your reading intake while in quarantine. Have fun reading! 

Note: Dr. Mark Dzula, the adviser of the Webb Canyon Chronicle, also serves as the Bookworm’s club adviser. In addition, Sunny Yu (‘22) and Laura Haushalter (‘21) serve as officers.