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Kristen Convery, Web editor

Posted on | January 20, 2010 | 1,229 views |

Kristen Convery, Web editor for Marketing Communications, writes and edits content for osu.edu.

What are five books you loved and why?
Brother, I’m Dying by Edwidge Danticat
Danticat’s memoir was one of the best books I read last year. Her memoir is fascinating both as the story of a fragmented childhood and as a glimpse into life in Haiti. (For more on Haiti and Danticat’s reading recommendations, see her Wall Street Journal blog entry.)

Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
Or really anything by Jhumpa Lahiri. Her stories of Bengali-Americans capture the tensions of clashing cultures, assimilation and parent/child relationships.

House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus
Dubus develops vivid and complex characters, at once sympathetic and flawed. As a reader, I felt it was impossible to decide who was “right” and who was “wrong.”

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Recommended to me because I loved Donna Tartt’s The Secret History, this novel stood up to the comparison. It also was intriguing in its own right, with an ending that made me want to compare notes with other readers.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
I could read this book over and over again. Who could disagree, except a bunch of crooks and phonies?

What is the last book you’ve bought?
The Septembers of Shiraz by Dalia Sofer, a semi-autobiographical novel about a Jewish family in post-revolutionary Iran. It was a great purchase, which I’ve already peer-pressured several friends into reading it.

Booktalk features the literary likes (and dislikes) of an Ohio State staff or faculty member. To nominate someone for a future column, e-mail harris.587@osu.edu.

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