Do you have times where it seems difficult to focus on a book? Perhaps you are feeling foggy from illness, or you're tired, or there is just too much going on in your life. If that’s the case, here are six books that Katia recommends with short chapters to help you stay on track. And, to make things even easier, they are all great reads!
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
The story is about a young girl, Rose Edlestein, who has the ability to taste the emotions of the foods she eats. The wondrous Aimee Bender conjures the lush and moving story of a girl whose magical gift is really a devastating curse.
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
In a work that beautifully demonstrates the rewards of closely observing nature, Elisabeth Tova Bailey shares an inspiring and intimate story of her encounter with a Neohelix albolabris--a common woodland snail.
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The House on Mango Street is the remarkable story of Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl growing up in Chicago, inventing for herself who and what she will become. Told in a series of vignettes-sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous-Sandra Cisneros' masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery.
The Summer Book by Tove Jansson
In The Summer Book Tove Jansson distills the essence of the summer--its sunlight and storms--into twenty-two crystalline vignettes. Jansson creates her own complete world, full of the varied joys and sorrows of life.
The Woman in the Purple Skirt by Natsuko Imamura
Studiously deadpan and chillingly voyeuristic, The Woman in the Purple Skirt explores envy, loneliness, power dynamics, and the vulnerability of unmarried women in a taut, suspenseful narrative about the sometimes desperate desire to be seen.
Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami
Strange Weather in Tokyo is a moving, funny, and immersive tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance.