Whether you have your eye on a great novel, a sci-fi thriller (or 3!), or some good advice on how to make your attitude more positive, we’ve got a book recommendation for you. Check out the CFP (that’s Center for Publishing, of course!) picks for holiday reading. Like them? Tell us more and share your own picks in the comments below!
Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff
Who really knows what’s behind a marriage? What are the secrets? What are the hidden depths of emotion—and fury—and how do the fates transform young love into mature angst on multiple levels? Lauren Groff’s Fates and Furies is an exquisitely crafted novel with as many twists and turns as a good thriller. Told from each spouse’s perspective, the nuanced story line captures young love, impoverished early years, and sudden, glorious success as the (at times) bumbling, good natured husband Lancelot (“Lotto”) Satterwhite becomes a famous playwright. And then the plot thickens: Lotto’s secrets unfold, as do those of his calculating wife Mathilde, who desperately attempts to conceal from her husband a shocking past and Faustian bargain. As the disclosures reveal themselves, Groff manages to tidy them up with prose that is sometimes searing, other times staccato, but always stunning. Her talents are extraordinary, and the results a special gift to the reader.
Andrea Chambers
Director, Center for Publishing: Digital and Print Media
Golden Son by Pierce Brown
If you haven’t read the first two books of the adrenaline-pumping Red Rising Trilogy by Pierce Brown, you can still binge read the first two and get ready for the third. In the first book, Red Rising, Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future, mining for helium below the surface of Mars to make the planet livable. But when Darrow discovers that the upper echelons of humanity reached the surface generations ago, keeping him and the rest of his Red class below the ground as slaves, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the ruling class—and bring it down from the inside. In the second book, Golden Son, the stakes are higher and the action more intense as Darrow continues his life-or-death quest for revenge. Half Ender’s Game, half The Hunger Games, the story succeeds on creative plot twists that are matched only by Brown’s deft, clever prose. The final installment, Morning Star, comes out in February; start now so you’re at peak fandom for the epic conclusion.
Elizabeth Parks
Assistant Director, Programs
The Power of I Am by Joel Osteen
Do you suffer from a defeated attitude? Are you guilty of constantly saying negative things about yourself and therefore potentially preventing you from reaching your goals? New York Times bestselling author and Lakewood Church Senior Pastor Joel Osteen explains in The Power of I Am how you have the ability to control your destiny by declaring daily positive affirmations. In this book, Osteen shares stories of people he has met throughout his ministry who took control of their lives. They did so by releasing negativity and learning the importance of the “I am” and what follows the “I am.” Statements like “I am weak” vs. “I am strong” or “I am so unattractive” vs. “I am beautifully made” are examples of ridding negative thoughts and identifying the positive. In The Power of I Am, readers learn how to invite the right “I am’s” into their lives. Osteen advises, “Words are like seeds. When you speak something out, you give life to what you are saying.” If you struggle with identifying the wonderful attributes that make you who you are, then The Power of I Am will encourage you to recognize the influence of your words and help you manifest positive outcomes in your life.
Lindsey Allen
Assistant Director, M.S. in Publishing: Digital and Print Media
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