Book recommendations from the Biblioracle

John Warner tells you what to read based on the last five books you’ve read.

1. “The Exiles” by Christina Baker Kline

2. “The Poetics of Space” by Gaston Bachelard

3. “The Wonder Garden” by Lauren Acampora

4. “The Pull of the Stars” by Emma Donoghue

5. “With You or Without You” by Caroline Leavitt

— Leslie L., Aurora

Books come out that get a lot of attention and you’re not skeptical, exactly, but it might put your guard up just a bit, and then the book demolishes any doubt. That book is my recommendation for Leslie: “Luster” by Raven Leilani.

1. “The Second Founding” by Eric Foner

2. “A Private Cathedral” by James Lee Burke

3. “The Pioneers” by David McCullough

4. “The Impeachers” by Brenda Wineapple

5. “Educated” by Tara Westover

— Richard W., Dekalb

The book I’m recommending is a kind of nonfiction, historical noir, if that makes sense. Whatever you want to call it, it’s a terrifically fascinating read: “The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America’s Forgotten Capital of Vice” by David Hill. 1. “Alienated America: Why Some Places Thrive While Others Collapse” by Timothy Carney

2. “Greenwood” by Michael Christie

3. “Living in the Long Emergency” by James Howard Kunstler

4. “The Motion of the Body through Space” by Lionel Shriver

5. “The Plays of Anton Chekhov,” translated by Paul Schmidt

— Dan B., Holland, Michigan

For Dan I’m recommending a novel with a central character struggling with a personal alienation. It manages to be both a good, cerebral read and something of a page-turner: “Red Pill” by Hari Kunzru.