Recommendations for… books where you’ll learn something

Happy Monday, everyone! Quick update: I have new blog headings! I was feeling depressed and overwhelmed last week, so to further suppress my emotions, I decided to make new headers. I think they’re pretty, but let me know what you think!

Onto today’s post! Even though I participate in giving Monthly Recommendations, I thought I would start my own where every couple weeks I give recommendations for a specific topic. Today I’m doing recommendations for books where you’ll learn something but it won’t feel like learning!

Pachinko by Min Jin Lee: about Koreans in Japan around WWII

This book takes place  around World War II and follows a Korean family living in Japan. I love Japan and reading about the history there. I’d never read anything about how Koreans were treated in Japan during this time, and it’s really interesting.

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys: about the biggest nautical disaster ever

This book also takes place during WWII, but in Europe and focuses on the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff. When I was younger, I was obsessed with the Titanic (oddly, I’ve never actually seen the movie). And everyone (myself included) always assumes the Titanic was the worst nautical disaster, when really it was the Wilhelm Gustloff. But it was covered up during the war, which is why no one knows about it. But this book follows several characters on their way to and aboard this ship. It’s super interesting, but also incredibly heart breaking.

The Name of This Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch: about synesthesia

I am,,,,,, obsessed with synesthesia and it’s all because of this book. I read it when I was in like grade 8 (which was like 10 years ago now) and thought synesthesia was just about the most interesting thing ever. And this book is also a lot of fun, so if you want to learn about a really cool mental thing (?) and have a lot of fun doing it, I cannot recommend this book enough.

Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen: about mental health and institutionalization

I think there are a lot of misconceptions about institutionalization and hospitalization re: mental health. While I know the system is still flawed and people still seriously suffer, it’s not as bad or nearly as taboo as it used to be. This is a memoir about Kaysen’s time being hospitalized for suicide, and it’s really interesting. I definitely recommend it.

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi: the Islamic revolution

I didn’t really know a lot about the Islamic revolution before I read this book (call me ignorant, but I was never taught it). This is a graphic memoir about Satrapi’s life during the Islamic revolution, and it’s so interesting and empowering. Satrapi is such a great character/person, and I loved following her.

So those are some books where you’ll learn something reading them! Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? What’s a book where you learned something? Let me know!!

Thanks for reading! xx

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