The Reading List

by Sara Nisha Adams

He can feel the story take control of his mind, pulling him away. His own thoughts, his worries, that voice, begin to buzz at the back of his mind, and eventually they become nothing but white noise.

Just in case you need it: To Kill a Mockingbird Rebecca The Kite Runner Life of Pi Pride and Prejudice Little Women Beloved A Suitable Boy

I know this isn’t your usual thing, but I read To Kill a Mockingbird when I was twenty-one and going through a hard time—it taught me a lot back then, and I got to see the world through the eyes of a child once more, the good and the bad. It was an escape for me; I threw myself into the world, into the injustices, into the characters, and it was the respite I needed from my own life—for it helped me care deeply about someone else’s. I hope it can be an escape, a bit of respite, for you too. Sometimes, books just take us away for a little while, and return us to our place with a new perspective.

he struggled to keep up with Priya, skipping along ahead of him. Just watching her somehow made him feel even older, frailer. Once upon a time, he’d held Priya as a newborn. All eyes and ears, and a tiny button nose. How small and breakable she had seemed then. And now look: their roles had already reversed. He was the breakable one now.