Arts & Culture

Seven Magical Books to Get Lost in this Fall

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The season of reading is upon us as Ithaca transforms into a canvas of scarlet and gold redolent of crisp air and foggy mornings. There is no better time to get lost in the enchanting, and sometimes spooky worlds of fantasy — so here are seven must-read fantasy books to add to your list this fall. House of Salt and Sorrows by Erin A. Craig

House of Salt and Sorrows was one of my favorite fall reads from last year. Craig crafts an eerie, atmospheric tale based on the “Twelve Dancing Princesses” which contorts opulent balls into horrifying vestiges of beauty, blurring the line between reality and nightmares. Annaleigh Thaumas and her remaining sisters live at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, which is haunted by the mysterious and increasingly tragic deaths of their four sisters.

Arts & Culture

The Art of Adaptation as Seen in Two Autumnal Films

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As the year progresses further in autumn and summer fades into the distance, I find myself reflecting on the media I’ve consumed during this seasonal transition. Two pieces that I find myself returning back to are Jeffrey Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides and Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, both of which I read for the first time in recent months, although I initially watched their movie adaptations years ago. They are both critically acclaimed novels, focused on sets of sisters, possessing at least somewhat autumnal atmospheres, and adapted around the turn of the century by two burgeoning directors who later found great success. So what makes Joe Wright’s Pride and Prejudice (2005) click for me, and Sofia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999) disappoint? Considering this question means entering into the contentious debate about what a movie adaptation should aim to do.

Arts & Culture

Who is Han Kang, Winner of the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature?

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According to the Nobel Prize website, Han Kang was born on Nov. 27, 1970; she currently resides in Seoul, South Korea; she was the sole recipient of the prize; and she was awarded the prize “for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical traumas and exposes the fragility of human life.” She has written eight novels, The Vegetarian being one of her more well known pieces. She has also written some short stories and poetry. She is obviously a popular novelist, incredibly talented and apparently, deserving of the Nobel Prize. This begs the question:

Why haven’t I heard of her before?

Arts & Culture

On Walden

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Last February, I picked up Walden on a Saturday morning and hoped to get through the first chapter. But by evening, I had not started any work, had not eaten and had torn halfway through the book. On my walk back from the library, I felt that I was holding something sacred in my bag.

Arts & Culture

Falling for Plath: Embracing the Season with Poetry, Reflection and Change

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As the season shifts from summer to fall, we see other elements around us shifting. Our peers’ clothes shift as more skin is covered to protect from the cool breeze entering campus. Tanned skin from the summer fades away as we spend more time in the confines of the library, completing and utterly dedicated to the task due at 11:59 p.m. 

We are no different from the poets, writers, and brilliant academics who came well before us. We are always in a constant state of revising, editing, shifting, and evolving. Slyvia Plath is a perfect person to reference and learn more about in the upcoming fall weather. 

Poetry in the fall, especially when Cornell’s campus is filled with fall foliage, is a great and enriching pastime.

Arts & Culture

Lazy Yet Lovable: Coco Mellors’ ‘Blue Sisters’

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This season, after a  warm welcome to the writing world with her debut novel Cleopatra and Frankenstein, Coco Mellors launched her sophomore work, Blue Sisters. Mellors maintains her focus on intimacy and strained bonds as she transitions from the marriage story in Cleopatra and Frankenstein to sibling dynamics in Blue Sisters. The novel follows three sisters, Avery, Bonnie and Lucky, as they come together after the death of their sister, Nicky, to pack up their Upper West Side childhood home. Sisterhood is the axis on which the novel rotates, but romance, addiction, parental relationships and grief are key components of the composition. 

Arts & Culture

A Journey Through Bookish Ithaca

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Ithaca: a place where the gorges echo with stories, the trees whisper tales of the past and the libraries brim with wisdom. Stories weave together to form a tapestry of rich creative culture that invites all to get lost in the pages of imagination. Being surrounded by natural beauty, a thriving arts and culture scene and intellectual discourse, it seems only natural Ithaca would become a haven for booklovers. As fall is settling in, it is the perfect time to review all the wondrous offerings of bookish Ithaca. The most obvious place to start is to explore all of the independent bookstores scattered throughout Ithaca.

Arts & Culture

Reading Annabel Monaghen

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The book world is arguably oversaturated with romance reads. Many of them offer entertainment with little literary depth, making it increasingly difficult to find a novel that both captures my attention and offers some level of emotional engagement. One author that is able to do both of these things successfully is Annabel Monaghen. Her books have recently risen in popularity in the literary world so I gave them a try this summer. Her three most popular books were all published in the past three years.