Book Recommendations Based on Your Major
photo credit: iStock / Calvindexter
by Adrian Mendoza ‘25
Looking for a new read? Here’s a list of book recommendations perfectly tailored to your USC major.
History
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
If you’re in the market for historical fiction, The Book Thief is one of the most well-written and human-oriented books you’ll find. Narrated by Death himself, readers are given an exceptionally intimate perspective into the life of a young German girl during World War II. The juxtaposition of the narrator being a seasoned and powerful entity while the focus being on a kid allows for both a micro and macro perspective of the tragedies experienced at this time period. Whether you’re looking for further insight into the historical events of the novel or you’re already well-versed in its context, this novel is well-suited for anyone with an interest in history.
Art
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
This book is all art and intimacy. Following a photographer and a dancer in London as they grow in their friendship and romance, the beauty of this book would be best appreciated by an artist. Art majors will particularly appreciate the project undertaken by the main characters to spotlight Black artists and creators in London – a project that brings them closer together. Furthermore, though the professions of the main characters are minor components of the narrative, their artistic inclinations shape their character, allowing artists to connect with them on a deep level.
Creative Writing
Yellowface by R.F Kuang
Yellowface is an unabashed insight into the writing process of novels and the publishing industry. If you hope to pursue a career in writing, this book strips the profession bare and explores the biases and injustices of the industry whilst maintaining a constant respect for the practice of writing. This is done through the perspective of a white author who steals the manuscript of a deceased Asian author whom the protagonist was acquainted with. From there, a series of lies and manipulation unfolds, exposing the extent that a white author can exploit the work of a person of color and continuously avoid accountability.
American Studies and Ethnicity
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet
Not only is The Vanishing Half an insightful piece of historical fiction, but it also intimately explores the effect of colorism and family ties. The novel follows two twin sisters from a predominantly Black town obsessed with their colorist bias. Both sisters are white-passing, but choose drastically different paths in life as one chooses to live her life as a white woman while the other maintains her connection to her Blackness. The book continues over the course of decades into the next generation with unique experiences stemming from the choices made by their parents. This is a must-read for those who are interested in racial dynamics and societal impacts on personal identity.
Literature
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
Based on Edgar Allen Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher, this retelling would be greatly appreciated by a reader familiar with the source material. Like the original story, the narrator, now named Alex Easton, receives a letter asking them to come visit their dying friend Madeline Usher and is attended to by her twin brother Rodrick Usher. The similarities end there as new characters are introduced and seeds are planted in order to explain the events of the classic short horror story. Those interested in literature may enjoy dissecting this new take on an old story.
Narrative Studies
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
The non-linear structure of The Starless Sea, interspersed with short stories that slowly begin to tie together, may be best appreciated – and understood – by a Narrative Studies major. They can also relate to the main character, Zachary Ezra Rawlins’s, pursuit of a graduate degree in video game narrative. Ultimately, Zachary is interested in any form of narrative – whether in the form of the video games he studies or the books he reads – which gets him entangled in a fight to protect a magical library that he only just learned of.
Archaeology
A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
There really is something heartening about consuming media with characters of similar interests and professions as you. So, if you’re interested in archeology – or bugs – you will appreciate the archaeoentomologist main character, Sam Montgomery. After her archeology dig gets delayed, Sam returns to her childhood home where she’s met with odd behavior from her mother and a disturbing lack of bugs in the garden. Naturally, as a perfectly logical and concerned daughter, Sam fears her mother is going through mental struggles as she ages, but the longer Sam stays there, the more unexplainable things become.
Gender & Sexuality Studies
Nevada by Imogen Binnie
Nevada is one of the most notable examples of contemporary trans fiction. Though there are elements of transmedicalism, intercommunity discourse, and invalidation of nonbinary identities, Nevada is an excellent story when read with the critical lens of a Gender & Sexuality Studies major. Written by and about a trans woman, this book allows trans characters to be flawed and human while still maintaining that they are valid in their gender identity, even if they are not valid in all of their actions. This is the kind of own-voices representation that you can learn a lot from.
Mechanical Engineering
Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee
If you love machines, naturally, you’ll love magic machines, specifically a giant talking dragon automaton. The main character of this book, Jebi, is an artist who is tasked with painting the symbols that program this dragon as well as the humanoid automatons of an invading country’s defense ministry. Jebi didn’t set out to be a collaborator, nor did they choose to become a rebel, but after seeing the horrors done by the invading country, they have to act to protect their family and help their new friend.
Game Development
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow will make you swing back and forth between eagerly wanting to break into the game development industry and being wary of all that comes with it. Ultimately though, it’s an exciting story about ambition and friendship as two childhood friends are reunited in college, setting into motion a lifetime of intertwined paths, success, and failures. For anyone interested in game development, this gives an in-depth insight into the creative process and the industry.
Political Science
If Beale Street Could Talk by James Baldwin
The fact that I am a Political Science major and this is one of my favorite books absolutely factored into this pairing, but it’s also paired this way because this book focuses on humanity in a way that should be highlighted more in the study of Political Science. Following the early formation of a young Black, couple’s relationship, the book is tender and heartbreaking as you follow the struggles they and their families undergo. After reading this book, a Political Science major should be reminded of the political and legal systems in place that disadvantage certain groups and are in need of reconstruction.
Sociology
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
You can learn so much through a well-researched fiction book, which is precisely what Last Night at the Telegraph Club is. For a reader interested in history and culture, this book gives a vibrant insight into extremely specific experiences of various marginalized groups in the 1950s, told through the lens of a young lesbian girl growing up in San Francisco’s Chinatown. You get to follow the coming out journey of a queer person from an immigrant family, the threat of the Red Scare on Chinese Americans, and lesbian club culture in the 1950s.
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