The book cover of the “The Cuckoo’s Calling.”
Courtesy of Mulholland Books I The Daily Mississippian
Thanksgiving is officially over and Ole Miss students are anxiously awaiting the winter break. However, during the six weeks you are free from academic slavery, you may get a little bored with the lazy routine, but then, you are also far too committed to your couch-potato state to get up. What do you do? Here’s a solution: Read a book. You don’t know which book to read? Well, you’re in luck. Here are a few of this break’s “must-read” books:
The “Divergent” series: If you enjoyed “The Hunger Games” series, you definitely need to meet Beatrice Prior of “Divergent.” Veronica Roth’s No. 1 New York Times bestsellers, “Divergent” and “Insurgent,” will get you through the winter break, and at the end you’ll wish you had longer so you could finish “Allegiant,” the finale of the series. A tale that is sure to make you want to read it and then read it again, this book makes you feel as though you, too, just caused a revolution in the world of dystopian injustice.
“The Cuckoo’s Calling”: If you are a die-hard Harry Potter fan and were sorely let down by J.K. Rowling’s “The Casual Vacancy,” then you are in luck. Penned under Rowling’s pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, “The Cuckoo’s Calling” is definitely a book to be read. This book provides very compelling characters and some of the whimsical magic of Harry Potter but is targeted to the more grown-up audience that may feel as if it has outgrown the Harry Potter stage. The story follows the death of a beautiful model and the discoveries that are made afterward. This is definitely one to read.
“I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban”: This book is already very popular on campus. Many students have picked it up and decided to read about the life of this amazing young woman and have utterly enjoyed it.
“This book made me realize just how lucky I am,” freshman history major Katie Lovett said. “I will definitely recommend it to anyone who has the time to read it.”
This novel ultimately shows the power of education, the difference it can make and how we all should be thankful for our time at Ole Miss.
“Rebecca”: If you are the type that wants to clutch a book as the plot twists tighter than your vivacious grip on its pages, pick up “Rebecca” by Daphne Du Maurier. I kid you not, although this book starts off slow, once it hits its climax you will be hooked until the very end. The mystery and suspense in this story are through the roof. So, if you like mystery and want something that is truly riveting, Rebecca might be just what you’re looking for.
“Completely loved this book,” said Kandice Clayton, a recent graduate. “Could not put it down.”
“A Song of Ice and Fire” series, containing “A Game of Thrones”: This series is as long as “The Lord of the Rings” series, if not longer. However, once you pick these novels up, you will not be able to put it them down. It is truly a tale of intrigue and adventure to the very end, or at least, to the end of the current novel. You will not be able to help but form a bond of some kind with the main characters.
“I love this book,” senior Laura Williams said of “A Game of Thrones.” “I could not put it down, and I do not even like to read this type of fiction.”
For readers and nonreaders alike, this will be a busy holiday season. With multiple movie adaptations coming out, not to mention the recent releases adding to the ever-growing pile of books you really want to get through, we won’t have a moment to spare.
-Samantha Abernathy
slaberna@go.olemiss.du
