Any suggestions for a 19 year old college student

Looking for a specific book recommendation? Need help finding your next great read? Tell us a little about you, your preferences, and other books you enjoy. Tell us a little about what kind of books you want to read. Our helpful community of avid readers will gladly help you. :)

If you are looking for general recommendations rather than personalized recommendations, please check out the exclusive reviews from our official review team.
Post Reply
User avatar
S_lovely99
Posts: 1
Joined: 31 Jan 2019, 15:46
Bookshelf Size: 0

Any suggestions for a 19 year old college student

Post by S_lovely99 »

I am not entirely sure what genre of literature I like the most. If it has a great theme and reels my attention, I’m game. Are there any suggestions you guys might have? I would love to get some reccommendations along with a little description. Thanks in advance.
User avatar
Letora
Posts: 992
Joined: 06 Oct 2016, 09:58
Favorite Book: Wicked Saints
Currently Reading: the air between
Bookshelf Size: 251
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-letora.html
Latest Review: Burn Zones by Jorge P. Newbery

Post by Letora »

What do you look for in a book? Do you prefer a quick read with lots of action? Something with a murder mystery/who did it vibe? Is there a certain point of view you prefer, first person vs third? What were the last few books you read?
"Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope." - Dr. Seuss
User avatar
Cleis
Posts: 70
Joined: 30 May 2015, 15:24
Favorite Book: Garments Against Women
Currently Reading: Americanah
Bookshelf Size: 50
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-indepaintence.html
Latest Review: Ironbark Hill by Jennie Linnane

Post by Cleis »

The book that I'm reading right now is amazing and I'm recommending it to everyone. I don't know what kinds of things you do and don't like, but it sounds like you don't either! I would recommend you give The Secret History by Donna Tartt a try.

The story is set in the 1980s or 1990s (it's hard to tell) on a college campus in Vermont, but it feels like it could be the 1940s because of the portrayal of the characters and their interests. The book opens with the narrator contemplating a murder he was involved in, but quickly flips to his youth. The narrative is told from the point of view of Richard Papen, who attends a semi-exclusive college in rural Vermont. He falls in with a mysterious group of students studying ancient texts and Latin, and then things start to get strange as he learns more about the people he's befriended. It's written in a really indulgent and beautiful tone. Though it can be dark, with some scenes inching toward horror, the book doesn't fit any of the stereotypes of that genre. I'll give you an example of one of Tartt's great paragraphs:

"Those first days before classes started I spent alone in my whitewashed room, in the bright meadows of Hampden. And I was happy in those first days as really I'd never been before, roaming like a sleepwalker, stunned and drunk with beauty. A group of red-cheeked girls playing soccer, ponytails flying, their shouts and laughter carrying faintly over the velvety, twilit field. Trees creaking with apples, fallen apples red on the grass beneath, the heavy sweet smell of them rotting on the ground and the steady thrumming of wasps around them. Commons clock tower: ivied brick, white spire, spellbound in the hazy distance. The shock of first seeing a birch tree at night, rising up in the dark as cool and slim as a ghost. And the nights, bigger than imagining: black and gusty and enormous, disordered and wild with stars."

I hope you're able to find some books that you really like! Good luck!
User avatar
scook17
Posts: 2
Joined: 04 Feb 2019, 11:58
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by scook17 »

I just read "The Descendant" by Dakota Cook on amazon. I think it's fairly new. A couple of my friends read it and suggested it to me!

It's young adult fiction so if that's not your scene then you won't like it. But it was quick paced and really action packed! I enjoyed it a good bit!
User avatar
BelleReadsNietzsche
Posts: 472
Joined: 28 Jan 2019, 19:07
Currently Reading: The Handmaid's Tale
Bookshelf Size: 300
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-bellereadsnietzsche.html
Latest Review: I Can See Peace by Julie Penshorn
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by BelleReadsNietzsche »

indepaintence wrote: 01 Feb 2019, 14:19 The book that I'm reading right now is amazing and I'm recommending it to everyone. I don't know what kinds of things you do and don't like, but it sounds like you don't either! I would recommend you give The Secret History by Donna Tartt a try.

The story is set in the 1980s or 1990s (it's hard to tell) on a college campus in Vermont, but it feels like it could be the 1940s because of the portrayal of the characters and their interests. The book opens with the narrator contemplating a murder he was involved in, but quickly flips to his youth. The narrative is told from the point of view of Richard Papen, who attends a semi-exclusive college in rural Vermont. He falls in with a mysterious group of students studying ancient texts and Latin, and then things start to get strange as he learns more about the people he's befriended. It's written in a really indulgent and beautiful tone. Though it can be dark, with some scenes inching toward horror, the book doesn't fit any of the stereotypes of that genre. I'll give you an example of one of Tartt's great paragraphs:

"Those first days before classes started I spent alone in my whitewashed room, in the bright meadows of Hampden. And I was happy in those first days as really I'd never been before, roaming like a sleepwalker, stunned and drunk with beauty. A group of red-cheeked girls playing soccer, ponytails flying, their shouts and laughter carrying faintly over the velvety, twilit field. Trees creaking with apples, fallen apples red on the grass beneath, the heavy sweet smell of them rotting on the ground and the steady thrumming of wasps around them. Commons clock tower: ivied brick, white spire, spellbound in the hazy distance. The shock of first seeing a birch tree at night, rising up in the dark as cool and slim as a ghost. And the nights, bigger than imagining: black and gusty and enormous, disordered and wild with stars."

I hope you're able to find some books that you really like! Good luck!
Donna Tartt is just a solid bet all-around. The Secret History is really great, and I've not been able to read The Goldfinch yet but literally everyone I've ever spoken to who has read it has said it's a must.

If you like murder mysteries at all, I really enjoy Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series.

The Color Purple by Alice Walker if you haven't read it yet. (Classic but for a reason/worth it.) Currently in the middle of Margaret Atwood's Handmaid's Tale and just floored by how good it is....
"The bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so." -Ratatouille (2007)
User avatar
Akifah123
Posts: 1
Joined: 13 Mar 2019, 16:42
Bookshelf Size: 0

Post by Akifah123 »

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini is an AMAZING book. Highly recommend it!!!!!
User avatar
Ak1412
Posts: 216
Joined: 05 Jun 2018, 19:14
Currently Reading: Reawakened
Bookshelf Size: 22
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ak1412.html
Latest Review: The Watchmaker’s Doctor by G. M. T. Schuilling

Post by Ak1412 »

There are a lot of ways you could go with this so I'm going to give you a few of my favorite authors based on my favorite genres. Most of these are YA.
Fantasy: Colleen Houck or Marie Lu
Realistic Fiction: Laurie Halse Anderson
Romance: John Green or Colleen Houck
EllieLieberman
Posts: 81
Joined: 03 Mar 2019, 12:37
Currently Reading: The Girl Who Drank the Moon
Bookshelf Size: 42
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ellielieberman.html
Latest Review: Adrift by Charlie Sheldon

Post by EllieLieberman »

Right now I'm currently reading Y'Keta by Sandra Hurst. It is a fantasy book. It's inspired by the thunderbird mythology. It's a really fun read. I'm enjoying the world building and the ways the communities work.

I'm also reading The Girl Who Drank The Moon by Kelly Barnhill. It's an easy read, but draws you in on the first page. There's a dystopian-esque society that sacrifices a baby in the woods for a witch that the people in charge don't believe actually exists. Only, a witch does exist. I'm not that far into the book yet, but, boy is great! It is YA fantasy.

A book I read a while ago but adore is The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier. I think it's brilliant because it takes these huge concepts such as disturbing the universe, psychological warfare, manipulation and corruption, the power of fear and scare tactics, and sets it all in the midst of a high school chocolate fundraiser.
Post Reply

Return to “Personalized Reading Recommendations”