LibGuides: April 2025 Staff Book Recommendations: April Book Display

Staff Book Recommendations

Thank you for taking a look at our April Book Display! On this page, you can find information about each of the books displayed, in addition to a short paragraph from the person who suggested it. Want to talk about the book? You can find our email addresses to the left.

As always, if you see a book you're interested in, please don't hesitate to pick it up and check it out at the Services Desk!

Book Recommendations

Poetry

April is National Poetry Month, among other themes, so we are highlighting those staff picks at the top of our list!

The Best of It by Kay Ryan
Call Number: PS3568.Y38 B47 2009 (General Collection)
Publication Date: 2010
Elizabeth: Kay Ryan is just incredible. Her poems are generally short, but they hit so hard. I love the precision of lanugage, the economy, and the care that goes into each one of them. I still return to this book even after first reading it years ago and am always amazed.
Day's Fortune / Fortuna Del Día by Carlo Acevedo; Kelsi Vanada (Translator)
Call Number: PQ8180.41.C44 A6 2025
Publication Date: 2025
Elizabeth: UC Merced's very own Carlo Acevedo wrote this book of poems, which is his debut! You can also see Carlo give a talk on April 16 -- check this link for more information: https://centerforhumanities.ucmerced.edu/events/time-pause-let%E2%80%99s-talk-about-poetry
Essential Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe by Edgar Allen Poe; Introduction and Notes by Benjamin F. Fisher
Call Number: PS2600 .F27 2004 (General Collection)
Publication Date: 2004
Maria: I just love the deep, depressing, and thought-provoking poems of Edgar Allan Poe :)
Letters to a Young Poet by Mark Harman (Translator); Rainer Maria Rilke
Call Number: PT2635.I65 Z488 2011 (General Collection)
Publication Date: 2011
Emily: I read this when I was in college, and recommend it to anyone who is an aspiring writer, artist, or simply looking for human connection. I hope it inspires and touches you, too! A more recent translation was published after the other set of letters (from the "Young Poet") was found in Germany--an example of the importance of archives!
The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
Call Number: PR9199.4.K377 A6 20017 vol.2
Publication Date: 2017
Paulina: I've been following Rupi Kaur's journey since her Instagram adventures into visual poetry, and I'm delighted to have witnessed her growing popularity and success. This collection is an exploration of themes like loss, grief, self-discovery, healing, and love.
Salt by nayyirah waheed
Call Number: PS3623.A35645 S25 2013
Publication Date: 2013
"This collection of poetry explores the realities of multiple identities, language, diasporic life and pain, the self, community, healing, celebration, and love."
Bronwen: A friend gave me this book and it helped me through a difficult time.

More Staff Picks

The Attention Merchants by Tim Wu
Call Number: HF5811 .W82 2016
Publication Date: 2016
Sara: Focuses on what is vying for our attention and how this isn't necessarily just a recent phenonmenon. Fun fact, Tim Wu coined the phrase "net neutrality". This topic continues to be hugely relevant!
Barbarian Days by William Finnegan
Call Number: GV838.F57 A3 2015
Publication Date: 2015
Elizabeth: I am not a surfer but I love reading surfing memoirs. William Finnegan (who went on to become a successful writer and war reporter)'s account of his lifetime of surfing around the world (and around the US) is fascinating and made me think about the ocean -- and life -- in a new way.
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
Call Number: GV796 .B76 2013b
Publication Date: 2013
Emily: A friend gave this book to me, and while I had little knowledge of the sport of rowing, I found this gripping, beautifully written, and also a fitting mirror to reflect on our times.
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre. Dumas
Call Number: PQ2226 .A31 1996
Publication Date: 1996
Ross: The literary classic tale of wrongful imprisonment, adventure and revenge. Edmond Dantès is accused of treason and imprisoned. He escapes the island jail, retrieves a hidden treasure and sets off for revenge. And the best part: our copy of the book is basically brand new because I replaced it after our old copy got destroyed by a hotel swimming pool!
Emma by Jane Austen
Call Number: PR4034 .E5 2005b
Publication Date: 2005
Paulina: Every year, I find myself escaping to revisit Jane Austen's literary world, and the characters that she created feel like old friends. The writing is delightful, Emma is a refreshing heroine, and her adventures in matchmaking are always entertaining.
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich
Call Number: PS3555.R42 L37 2002 (General Collection)
Publication Date: 2002
Nathan: Louise Erdrich writes a beautiful story full of magic, pain, and funny interactions with dying people. It's an amazing tale of passing in a community that is ok with secrets and accepting of differences in others. This book has everything: romance, violence, ghosts, despair, happiness, it is full of characters you follow from birth to death. If you enjoy Gabriel Garcia Marques, you will find a kindred spirit in Erdrich, but I recommend this book to everyone.
My First Summer in the Sierra by John Muir
Call Number: QH31.M9 A34 1998
Publication Date: 1998
Ross: John Muir authors his thoughts and experiences in the Sierra Nevada Mountains during the summer of 1869. I read this book last summer over a series of camping and backpacking trips in the same region and got a lot of enjoyment in seeing/hearing/smelling the same things he did over 150 years ago. Yosemite is our backyard and I firmly support getting into nature as often as possible.
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Call Number: PS3561.I496 P65 1998 & PS3561.I496 P65 1999 (General Collection)
Publication Date: 1998/1999
Amy: A seriously misguided missionary family sets up a church in the Belgian Congo, with thoroughly anticipatable results. Absolutely brilliant.
Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Call Number: HV4046.N6 L43 2003
Publication Date: 2003
Elizabeth: I have come back to this book multiple times and I always get more out of it. The story of the connections between various people living in the Bronx and how their lives change over time. Every time I start looking at this book again I get sucked back in.
Smile When You're Lying by Chuck Thompson
Call Number: G465 .T59 2007
Publication Date: 2007
Joe: This series of humorous essays focuses on what travel writers "can't say". The author shares his true feelings about multiple locations and trips. It's a light, fun read and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson
Call Number: PS3569.T3868 S65 1992
Publication Date: 1992
Ross: Snow Crash is very enjoyable sci-fi and is a pretty easy read. I think this one of of the first science fiction books I read and I thouroughly enjoyed it. I think it holds up well to our modern world.
Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman
Call Number: RA418.5.T73 F33 1998
Publication Date: 1998
Amy: Anne Fadiman describes how cultural and language barriers inhibit communiation between a Merced Hmong family and the medical system when dealing with their daughter's epilepsy diagnosis. Enlightening and heart-breaking.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Call Number: PR9199.4.S727 S73 2014 (General Collection)
Publication Date: 2015
Elizabeth: This is my always recommendation. I have read it multiple times and I also loved the (very different!) TV series. I find the message about art in difficult times to be really powerful & the images are so haunting. I have actually had dreams about it. One year I gave it to at least 5 different people for Christmas. I love it.
Stay True by Hua Hsu
Call Number: F868.S156 H78 2022
Publication Date: 2023
Elizabeth: This book recounts the college life and friendships of the author in the late nineties and is part memoir, part philosophical examination, and part examination of grief. It's beautiful.
The Story of a New Name by Elena Ferrante; Ann Goldstein (Translator)
Call Number: PQ4866.E6345 S7713 2013
Publication Date: 2013
Amy: Second in a series of books called The Neopolitan Series, by Elena Ferrante, set outside of Naples, Italy, in the mid-1900s, it follows two friends through trials and tribulations. Ferrante is brilliant at capturing women's complicated relationships with one another.
Then We Came to the End by Joshua Ferris
Call Number: PS3606.E774 T47 2007
Publication Date: 2007
Amy: Hilarious and dark, a story of the absurdities of office life.
Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Call Number: CT1828.C478 A3 1991 (General Collection)
Publication Date: 1991
Amy: About three generations of women in China, from the Kuomintang regime through the Communist take-over. Read many many years ago, but found absolutely devestating
Young Men and Fire by Norman Maclean
Call Number: SD421.32.M9 M33 1992
Publication Date: 1992
Olivia: Given recent events in Southern California, and being an Arizonan, I thought I'd recommend some books on wildfire fighting and the young folks who do it. This one is a classic.