Slow Your Scroll with These Book-App Pairings
Photo by ROMAN ODINTSOV from Pexels
Looking for more balance in your screen time to reading ratio? We’ve got you covered. It’s National App Day and we’re using it as an excuse to pair some of our favorite apps with some stellar complimentary books. Because it’s very rude that our phones tell us how much screen time we’ve been indulging in – but we should probably read more, just in case.
Crystal Clear by Jaya Saxena
If Headspace and other meditation apps are on heavy rotation on your phone, you’ll want to check out Jaya Saxena’s forthcoming book of personal essays, Crystal Clear: Reflections on Extraordinary Talismans for Everyday Life. In this sharply written collection, Saxena reflects on the history of eleven popular crystals, tying each into her own history. We’re particularly excited about her essays on diamonds, which challenges the traditional concepts of marriage, and obsidian, which explores presentation versus identity.
Preorder the book:
Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Ten Dead Comedians by Fred Van Lente
If you’ve been spending your evenings playing Among Us with friends and strangers, you’ll love Fred Van Lente’s murder mystery Ten Dead Comedians. Because, let’s face it, the stress of being the imposter is enough to make you want to turn your phone off forever. And there aren’t nearly enough jokes in Among Us to cut the tension. Ten Dead Comedians is a contemporary and joke dense homage to the golden age of mystery and the novels of Agatha Christie. And, like Among Us, everyone’s a suspect.
Buy the book:
Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal
If you’re chatting with your best friends on Discord all day, we recommend starting a mini book club so you can read Kristen O’Neal’s forthcoming debut novel Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses together. In Lycanthropy, online pen pals Brigid and Priya chat on Discord, bonding over college and their respective chronic illnesses. But when Brigid goes offline without warning, Priya steals the family car and embarks on a cross country road trip in search of her bestie. The last thing she expects to find in Brigid’s place is a benevolent werewolf.
Preorder the book:
Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Look by Zan Romanoff
If you’re documenting 2020 using the 1 Second Everyday app, you’ll love Lulu from Zan Romanoff’s young adult novel Look. This novel is full of quiet moments, Los Angeles skylines, hidden gems, and big moments of artistic expression. And if Lulu wasn’t already an influencer on her social media platform of choice, we’re pretty confident she’d thrive on the quiet, private project of filming one second of video each day. But then again, if Lulu Shapiro was a private person, we wouldn’t be able to indulge in her incredible story.
Buy the book:
Amazon | Books A Million | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop
Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi
If you’re sending video messages to your friends using Marco Polo, you’ll love Emergency Contact by Mary H. K. Choi, a young adult novel told almost entirely in text messages and shifting perspectives. Like the messages that Sam and Penny share, Marco Polo captures those uncensored and stream of conscious moments – moments that are truly the opposite of curated. Just imagine what Sam and Penny’s relationship would have been like if they recorded all their rambling thoughts visually.
Buy the book:
