Reading Suggestions for the Characters of "How to Get Away with Murder"

How to Get Away with Murder is hands down my favorite show on television right now. If you enjoy a twisted, character-driven mystery that plays with non-linear storytelling (flashbacks into the future), you should go watch the first season right now because I wouldn't want to spoil a minute. If you're up to date on the first episode of the second season, you're safe to read on with no spoilers.

When it comes to reading suggestions for the characters of HtGAwM, almost every character could benefit from browsing the books shelved under 646.77 (aka Dating & Relationships).

Professor Annalise Keating: I wouldn't dare to give Professor Keating any sort of advice on anything ever.

Wes: Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke. Enough said.

Rebecca: Stiff: the curious lives of human cadavers by Mary Roach. Too soon?

Nate: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher by Kate Summerscale. The story of the Victorian detective who inspired Arthur Conan Doyle to write Sherlock Holmes, and the case that destroyed his career.

Laurel: The Secret History by Donna Tartt. Someone needs to read this book. Seriously guys, murder is never a good extra-curricular.

Connor: Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan. Connor deserves the escape of an upbeat, whimsical love story.

Asher: The Trophy Kids Grow Up by Ronald Alsop. Honestly? I picked this for the title. I don't think Asher is likely to read anything.

Michaela: I've Got Your Number by Sophie Kinsella. An upbeat, romantic tale about a lost wedding ring and an engagement to the wrong man that has absolutely no murders and a happy ending? Just what Michaela needs.

Bonnie: Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas. An exploration of the traits used to identify psychopaths, including a helpful checklist.

Frank: The Psychopath Test by Jon Ronson. In fact, maybe Frank and Bonnie should just start a book club. Seriously, those two scare me.

If you enjoyed reading this, you should check out Aisha's reading suggestions for the characters of Scandal.

~Sarah, Adult Services

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Staff Review: Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

I love short stories. They are the perfect thing for a busy schedule. Short enough to read in a single sitting, but in the hands of a skilled writer still complex enough for character development and a satisfying plot arc. Jhumpa Lahiri is an incredibly skilled author of short stories, and she has the Pulitzer Prize to prove it.

The Interpreter of Maladies, her first collection of short stories, was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2000, and it is one of the five books I'd take with me to a desert island.

Lahiri writes characters that feel so real to me as a reader, it's almost as if they are people I met once at an airport or a party. These are characters who feel out of place in their own lives, in homes they do not recognize. Many are immigrants in a foreign land, perhaps returning home after years abroad, or maybe they never left but have watched the world around them change into something unfamiliar.

Lahiri's second collection, Unaccustomed Earth, while still powerful, is somewhat less of a personal favorite. There's a stronger focus on the ties and changing pressures of family relationships, and three of the stories revisit two characters at different points in their lives. While I love how she explores similar themes in her story collections, I prefer the focus of her standalone pieces over the linked stories or her longer novels where I sometimes become lost in the details of her beautiful descriptions.

~Sarah, Adult Services