THE CATCH NEWSLETTER

Two of my recent five star reads were Who Will Run the Frog Hospital by Lorrie Moore and Dear Memory by Victoria Chang.

Who Will Run the Frog Hospital is a novel told by an adult narrator reflecting on her youth and the time she spent with her childhood best friend. It has beautiful reflections on growing up and memory. One in particular I like is: "Still, the house of my childhood is etched in my memory like the shape of the mind itself: a house-shaped mind--why not?" (Moore 25).

Victoria Chang's Dear Memory is a book of essays told through letters addressed to members of Chang's family and other people from her life. I love how Chang takes personal family archives like marriage licenses and photographs to create visual poetry and reflect on the pieces of her family history that she was not fully aware of before coming across these materials.

Recommendations from Sera-Ann Hargrove, Editor-in-Chief

Right now I'm reading The Delight of Being Ordinary by Roland Merullo, which follows the Pope and Dalai Lama as they escape the responsibility of being two of the most monumental figures in the world through a plan to disguise themselves and take a vacation, unrecognizable to the people around them. It's a fun read and takes something as serious as these two religious figures and puts them in a humorous light through the narration of the Pope's cousin. I love the unique premise of the story and adventure-style genre of the book.

Recommendation from Arianna Vargas, Talon Review Reader

The book I would recommend is Binti by Nnedi Okorafor. The book is actually a short trilogy with some master world building and an incredibly unique Afrofuturist Sci-Fi theme.

Recommended by Adis Alic, English major at UNF

I'm currently reading Swordheart by T. Kingfisher. It is a fantasy romance about a middle-aged widow who accidentally summons a body guard from a magical sword (like a Jin). In Kingfisher's work, l admire that her female leads are average women who have some experience in life but are otherwise unremarkable. There is a sense of realness to her characters. They are not chosen to complete epic quests or posses world-saving abilities. They're normal people and they're just trying to get through crazy situations without too much harm.

Recommendation from Christine Roland, Editor-in-Chief

Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh: A sinister fable that exerts gross imagery, keeping the reader entertained with mythical undertones of a lowly goat keepers son rise within high medieval society.

Recommendation from Adam Hepler, UNF English major

Just Stab Me Now by Jill Bearup:

A meta story concurrently about both an author and her characters that just won't follow the outline.

Recommended by Alyssa Schneider, UNF Creative Writing major

The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. Arden's novel about a pair of siblings separated by World War 1 is the best book I've read this year. When Laura Iven is told her younger brother is missing in action and presumed dead, it doesn't make sense to her, because the military was able to send her his dog tags. So despite her career-ending injury, she goes back to the front of the war to find out what happened. Meanwhile, two months earlier, Freddie is doing his best to navigate the war and find his way back to his older sister. The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a beautiful and touching novel about war, and memory, and grief, and trauma, but at its heart, it's a story about love, and what we'll do for the people we care the most about.

Recommended by Kirsten Wright, UNF English Graduate Student

Elena Ferrante's The Days Of Abandonment. As the title suggests, this is a devastating story about a woman who's struggling to learn who she is in the wake of her husband's leaving.

Please note that there is adult content in this book. I'm recommending it because it's a powerful and moving story about womanhood that is beautifully written.

Recommendation from Sara Steffen, PhD, University of North Florida English Department

Matrescence by Lucy Jones––a great, refreshing angle on how we view motherhood in Western society. Honestly deconstructed the taboos of motherhood that we never see represented in popular media.

I'm not the biggest nonfiction reader, but this book and its accessible, first-person storytelling really captured my attention at every point.

Recommendation from Sephora Affa, University of North Florida English major with a minor in marketing

They by Kay Dick—a lost dystopian gem, kind of like 1984 if George Orwell had a goth phase. It's a slim, surreal nightmare, in which "They" erase individuality and destroy art, leaving a world where everyone is polite, boring, and dead inside. It’s messy, brilliant, and just self-aware enough to be dangerous.

Recommendation from Holly Coleman, UNF English Department

Stray by Rachel Vincent is about a werecat looking for independence away from her Pride. When danger lurks around the corner, her Pride demands her return. Not only is the plot fantastic, but the characters are just as unique.

Recommendation from Jean Frydrych, Talon Review Reader

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney

Despite this novel being included in many lists for the best books released this year, I can’t help but recommend it too. While many have complained that the novel drags on, Rooney seems to object to the author-generated ease of consumption popular in the contemporary era, challenging the reader to slow down to fully take in her writing. Unlike her other novels, Rooney experiments with prose, leaning on fragmented language to reflect the thoughts of the narrators, a pair of brothers who just lost their father. The novel explores the depths of grief while following characters who are far from perfect.

Night Sky With Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong

While Ocean Vuong, like Sally Rooney, is frequently praised and recommended by various media platforms, I suggest taking my recommendation here as a sign to read Vuong’s work if you have not already. This collection is a great starting point and one I return to frequently.

Recommendations from Julia Croston, “The Catch” Co-Editor