Diplomatic Language Services is certainly a company that prides itself on continuous learning and self-improvement. It’s likely that you are experiencing more downtime at home than ever. With more downtime, it is easy to lose hours to mindless scrolling. We probably don’t have to argue that reading is a great way to spend your time. It’s an enjoyable activity that also happens to have a plethora of positive effects on the brain. So, in this blog, our staff has provided their top book recommendations for your enjoyment – and benefit.
Aimee und Jaguar (Aimee and Jaguar) by Erica Fischer
Originally published in German, translated into 20 languages, and made into a film. The story follows Aimee, who was a housewife, mother of four, married to a Nazi officer and Jaguar, who was a Jewish woman living underground in Berlin during World War II. This book is Aimee’s remembrance of their unlikely romance.
El Amor en los Tiempos del Cólera (Love in the Time of Cholera) by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Originally published in Spanish, this International Bestseller by a Nobel Prize-winning author is considered a modern literary classic. This novel tells the “tale of love, illusions, and life’s possibilities.”
Ciao, America by Beppe Severgnini
“In the wry but affectionate tradition of Bill Bryson, Ciao, America! is a delightful look at America through the eyes of a fiercely funny guest—one of Italy’s favorite authors who spent a year in Washington, D.C.”
The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp
“Whether you are a painter, musician, businessperson, or simply an individual yearning to put your creativity to use, The Creative Habit provides you with 32 practical exercises based on the lessons Twyla Tharp has learned in her remarkable 35-year career.”
Design For The Real World by Victor Papanek
“Victor Papanek examines the attempts by designers to combat the tawdry, the unsafe, the frivolous, the useless product, once again providing a blueprint for sensible, responsible design in this world which is deficient in resources and energy.”
A Farewell To Arms by Ernest Hemingway
“A Farewell to Arms is a novel set during the Italian campaign of World War I. First published in 1929, it is a first-person account of an American, Frederic Henry, serving as a lieutenant in the ambulance corps of the Italian Army.”
The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy by Michael Lewis
“This 2018 non-fiction book by Michael Lewis examines the transition and political appointments of the Donald Trump presidency, especially with respect to three government agencies: the Department of Energy, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Commerce.”
Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Qing Li
“The definitive guide to the therapeutic Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or the art and science of how trees can promote health and happiness.”
Fox Girl by Nora Okja Keller
Acclaimed author, Nora Okja Keller, tells the “shocking story of a group of young people abandoned after the Korean War.”
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson
“A humor memoir tinged with just enough tragedy and pathos to make it worthwhile. Jenny Lawson examines her own experience with severe depression and a host of other conditions, and explains how it has led her to live life to the fullest.”
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
“A young New Yorker grieving his mother’s death is pulled into a gritty underworld of art and wealth in this ‘extraordinary’ and beloved Pulitzer Prize winner that ‘connects with the heart as well as the mind.'”
The Invisible Enemy: A Natural History of Viruses by Dorothy H. Crawford
“Dorothy Crawford describes all aspects of the natural history of these deadly parasites, explaining how they differ from other microorganisms. She looks at the havoc viruses have caused in the past, where they have come from, and the detective work involved in uncovering them.”
Lost In Translation: An Illustrated Compendium of Untranslatable Words from Around the World by Ella Frances Sanders
This New York Times bestseller brings the “nuanced beauty of language to life with over 50 beautiful ink illustrations.”
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
David Sedaris has mastered the art of self-deprecating humor in this New York Times best-selling collection of humorous, autobiographical essays.
Multipliers, Revised and Updated: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter by Liz Wiseman
“A revised and updated edition of the acclaimed Wall Street Journal bestseller that explores why some leaders drain capability and intelligence from their teams while others amplify it to produce better results.”
Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante
Italian author by the pen name of Elena Ferrante wrote this series about hardship and female friendship in postwar Naples. “Beginning with My Brilliant Friend, the four Neapolitan Novels follow Elena and Lila, from their rough-edged upbringing in Italy, not long after WWII, through the many stages of their lives—and along paths that diverge wildly.”
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
This novel tells the stories of two sisters, “separated by years and experience, by ideals, passion, and circumstance, each embarking on her own dangerous path toward survival, love, and freedom in German-occupied, war-torn France.”
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
“Beginning in 1910 during the time of Japanese colonialization and ending many decades later in 1989, Pachinko is the epic saga of a Korean family told over four generations.”
Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
First published in English and French in April 1943, this novella is by a French aristocrat, writer, and aviator. The story follows a young prince who visits various planets, including Earth. His journey addresses themes of loneliness, friendship, love, and loss
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
“With almost 4 million copies sold more than 50 years after its original publication, generations of readers have now journeyed with Milo to the Lands Beyond in this beloved classic. Enriched by Jules Feiffer’s splendid illustrations, the wit, wisdom, and wordplay of Norton Juster’s offbeat fantasy are as beguiling as ever.”
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari
This book by Yuval Noah Harari was first published in Hebrew in Israel in 2011. This book is based on a series of lectures Harari taught at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
“Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries.”
Sonechka: A Novella and Stories by Ludmila Ulitskaya
Originally published in Russian, this collection of stories shares love and life “lived under the radar of oppression, in want of material comfort, in obeisance to or matter-of-fact rejection of the pervasive restrictions of Soviet rule.”
The Undoing Project: A Friendship That Changed Our Minds by Michael Lewis
“The Undoing Project is about a compelling collaboration between two men who have the dimensions of great literary figures. They became heroes in the university and on the battlefield―both had important careers in the Israeli military―and their research was deeply linked to their extraordinary life experiences.”
You and I Eat The Same: On The Countless Ways Food and Cooking Connect Us by Chris Ying
“In nineteen thoughtful and engaging essays and stories, You and I Eat the Same explores the ways in which cooking and eating connect us across cultural and political borders, making the case that we should think about cuisine as a collective human effort in which we all benefit from the movement of people, ingredients, and ideas.”
Series: Blood and Treachery, The Killing Code, Thicker Than Water, A Litter of Bones by JD Kirk
Death and dark humor combine in this fast-paced Tartan Noir crime thriller series set in the Highlands of Scotland. (Otherwise known as the DCI Logan Crime Series.)
Have you read any of our recommended books? Furthermore, do you have other suggestions for reading to fill our free time with? Let us know by leaving us a comment or emailing us at marketing@dlsdc.com.
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