Read Like A Longhorn: Book Recommendations

Recommended by Lydia, UT staff​: A beautiful and haunting collection of short stories by Moroccan writer Malika Moustadraf. It confronts the Western ideal of feminism with the reality of what it means to be a woman, LGBTQ+, and/or disabled in a country where "feminism" looks and behaves very differently.

Recommended by Caroline, UT junior: I love this book because it first introduced me to the realities and horrors of migrant border crossing. It walks you through the process and journey that migrants take when trying to arrive into the United States.I recommend it to all of my friends because it is so real and devastating.

Recommended by Tyler, UT senior: A book where the author pulls the same twist on you seven times in a row, but still somehow makes it hit harder each time. The severed head is your own as you lose your mind through each reveal.

Recommended by Mary, UT Libraries staff​: Winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize, the first book from any Indian language to win the prize. It's a long book, I'm still working my way through it, but the skill of the translation is truly awe-inspiriting. As the London Review of Books says, "rhymes and puns and other wordplay abound, lending a feeling of spritzy frivolity."

Recommended by Larayne, UT Libraries staff: The threads of the story are woven together in such a wonderful way!

Recommended by Sarah, UT Libraries staff: I loved this book! When Margo unexpectedly gets pregnant, she has to figure out how to support herself and her new baby, despite the titular money troubles. This book is a totally engrossing look at influencer culture (from wrestling to today) and at a life that is precarious, but ultimately pretty joyful. I was really struck by how much of our current moment Rufi Thorpe is able to capture in this book. Rufi Thorpe is one of the authors who will be at Texas Book Festival this year, so you can go see her!

Recommended by Geoffrey, UT junior: This is the best capture of human emotion I have ever seen expressed on paper. The only book I have ever found myself literally yelling out in frustration, which is a good thing. You become so frustrated with the protagonist's actions, yet are completely engaged the entire time. No glorification or romanticism, one of the most realistic depictions of suffering I've ever read.

Recommended by Tony, UT faculty​: It's a novel that explores Asian American representation but it's written as a forensic crime show screenplay.

Recommended by Elizabeth, UT Libraries staff:​ I read this collection in the original Spanish, so I can’t speak to the quality of the translation, but I am recommending it anyway because UTL doesn’t have it in Spanish (yet!) & I’m convinced that Mariana Enriquez should be as big as a name as Carmen María Machado for feminist horror fans. This collection twists and turns through worlds just between the supernatural & our own—houses that bend space & time, deadly forested roads, noisy city neighborhoods that in their density hide countless ghosts. Her writing will captivate you to the point where you won’t realize what is truly happening until her carefully crafted last-second reveal; her last & the titular) story made me audibly gasp. And, once you make it through the uncanny valley, it’s clear that Enriquez knows where the true horror lies—that the women at the center of her stories are more relatable than you’d like to admit. ​
TL;DR: a collection in translation of short fiction from Argentina’s biggest feminist horror powerhouse

Recommended by Kayla, UT Libraries staff: I have no words great enough to describe how I felt the first time I read this book. This gripping story follows an underrepresented grad student and her struggles with her family and faith. I feel that any student can relate to the main character and will get something out of this book. And it's an Own Voices story, so even better! Trigger Warnings: depression, addiction, suicidal tendencies

Recommended by Brock, UT freshman: It’s probably the funniest book I’ve ever read. Abbey combines satiric narration with exaggerated characters to deliver his social commentary through the lens of four misfit Southwesterners.