The International Literacy Day which falls on September 8th, is a global occasion to celebrate and encourage the development of a more literate society. In the spirit of this novel-friendly UNESCO- marked occasion, Gafencu has shortlisted five riveting and thought-provoking bestsellers worth a read. From a dystopian, sci-fi novel that will change the way you see the world of artificial intelligence to an eye-opening exploration into the multinational conglomerate Amazon, let our list dictate the must-reads of the season.

Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Acclaimed Nobel Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro puts out another compelling fiction that takes readers on a journey through a futuristic dystopian sci-fi story of love, loneliness and how artificial intelligence weaves into the future of human beings. Following humanoid Klara, an artificial friend to 14-year-old Josie, Ishiguro’s novel touches on themes of life with AI, obsolescence and more — changing the way readers view the tech-driven world they live in today.

Educated by Tara Westover
A riveting no.1 New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe Bestseller that recounts the harrowing memoir of the author Tara Westover’s upbringing in a survivalist family in rural Idaho, United States. Here, it is where Westover takes her readers through the extremities of her childhood, from working in her father’s junkyard from a young age to never having entered a classroom until the age of 17 to her eventually breaking away from the teachings and ideals of her father to pursue a formal education and PhD. Yet throughout the book, her voice reveals emotions deeply rooted in loyalty, guilt, shame and love.

Also Read: Ten hottest books to pick up this season

Poet Warrior: A Memoir by Joy Harjo
An inspiring journey through adversity, abuse and loss, Poet Warriors is a memoir presented in the form of a vivid lyrical body of poetry and prose that recounts Joy Harjo’s, the 3-term Native American Poet Laurete, life with her Creek Nation family; the hardships that shaped her literary path and the triumphant recognition of her “poet-warrior” journey as she, throughout the retelling of her trailblazing life, calls for love and justice for all.

Everything and Less: The Novel in the Age of Amazon by Mark McGurl
Amazon has transformed the way people consume the world. The online store that has virtually everything you need also dictates everything you read, as literary critic and author Mark McGurl explains. In this provocative literary history, McGurl delineates just how Amazon’s distribution model and algorithm has dissolution the boundaries of the fiction genre, dictating what and why we read fiction.

Palmares by Gayl Jones
Stirring your sights onto alternative narrations of western culture, ne of the most anticipated American literature this fall is a compelling novel that follows Almeyda, a slave girl, set in 17th-century colonial Brazil as she braves through slavery and liberation to find her husband. This heroic mythology and magical rendering of a black slave girl marks the  first (out of 5 book) new works by a major voice in American literature in over 20 years, Gayl Jones, who has been described as one of the greatest literary writers of the 20th century. 

Also Read: New Netflix shows to binge in 2021