3 Random Books from My Shelf: YA, Butts, and Hurricane Katrina 📚✨

Hey y’all — happy Fourth of July! 🇺🇸

I was going through my books and grabbed three totally random picks from my personal library that I just had to share. Ready for a little literary detour?

📖 1. Fade by Robert Cormier

I read this one back in middle school. Cormier used to be the top dog in YA fiction. This book? Absolutely wild.

Imagine if you could turn invisible — now imagine every moral dilemma that comes with that. It gets real dark, real fast. I remember thinking, Oh my god, he really went there. It’s a book that dares to ask what you’d do if no one could see you — and whether you could live with the consequences. Not sure if it’s still in print, but it left a lasting impression on me.

📘 2. The Rear View: A Brief and Elegant History of Bottoms Through the Ages by Jean-Luc Hennig

Yes, it’s a whole book about butts — and I love it.

Surprisingly informative and smart, this nonfiction gem takes a historical jaunt through art, culture, and anatomy. It’s short, cheeky (pun intended), and honestly, great summer reading if you’re into quirky history or cultural studies.

🌊 3. The Great Deluge by Douglas Brinkley

I’m from New Orleans, so this one hits close to home.

Everyone remembers Hurricane Katrina, but not everyone knows the whole story — the systemic failures, the botched emergency responses, and the heartbreaking human toll. Brinkley, a Tulane historian, digs deep. What’s especially eerie is how the worst flooding didn’t happen during the storm — it was the next day, when man-made levees failed.

This is a book I’ve read multiple times. It’s worn, dog-eared, and one of the most important works about a tragedy that shaped my life and my city.

Anyway — those are my three picks! Hope you find something new to read.

And yes, I’m wearing my Dionysus T-shirt. 🍷😎

#BookshelfTour #YAfiction #NonfictionNerd #NewOrleansHistory #FourthOfJulyReads #StonesofErasmus