Staff Picks: Bryanna Gary’s Favorites

Deliciously dark, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic is a gothic horror treasure. I loved the protagonist Noemí, and was captivated by the dark, mysterious mansion that has inexplicably made her cousin ill. I loved the feeling of discomfort reading this whenever the family of High Place appeared, and the all-around feeling of dread surrounding this strange, small town and the isolated family living on its outskirts.

Kevin Hearne is one of my all-time favorite authors, and a master of urban fantasy. I read the Iron Druid Chronicles just as I was entering college as a computer science major, and it was actually this series that made me realize, “Hey, books are what I love. Speculative fiction is what I love. I think I want that to be my life’s focus.” So I did! So part of why I love these books so much is personal reasons, but it’s also because the main protagonist, Atticus, is an absolute badass who is easy to root for, as well as his magnificent canine companion Oberon, who he can communicate with telepathically. I just love this urban fantasy take on mythologies from all around the world, and each book explores in depths a different set of myths. Just an amazing, super fun series.

This. Book. Had me hooked. It follows the disinherited daughter of a king, Alys, beginning just before a world-altering spell gives the oppressed women of the world a power they never had before: the ability to deny men an heir. I love all of the women in this book, from the determined and protective Alys to her wise and courageous daughter Jinnell, there are few books I can say had me rooting for the protagonists more than this one. And the ending! Whew! Without spoiling it, I’ll just say it left me reeling! I adored this book.

In addition to speculative fiction, I also studied politics. My self-created major was a weird merging of the two. So while I love me some sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, I also love exposé-style books that give readers a whole new perspective into an industry we previously saw as fairly straightforward. I’m thinking Fast Food Nation and Hooked in regards to the food industry, but Velvet Rope Economy is fascinating in that it exposes so much about the purposeful separation of the “haves” and the “have-nots,” creating whole industries out of superfluous features that allow the wealthy to flex that wealth. For example, stadiums having increasingly luxurious and separate sections for the insanely wealthy, charging thousands and thousands of dollars to reserve certain seats. Or luxury cabins on cruise ships. Or the experience of flying on a plane (getting driven to the plane in a luxury vehicle, nicer seats, personal waiting rooms, etc). It’s eye-opening, but at the same time it’s something we see every day. I found this book absolutely fascinating.