Why am I passionate about this?
I love big books with strong thematic cores, sprawling casts, and curious timelines (from books that take place over four seconds to several decades) that explore what it means to be human on the most primal, unfiltered, and unflinching level. These books feature characters who are trying to reconcile the expectations they had for their lives, with their complicated realties. And yet, they simmer with warmth and hope, all of them reminders that there’s nobility in the struggle, and that there’s still plenty of room for joy, even when things don’t go as planned. Especially if they don’t. Ballsy, wise, and funny, these books speak to my existential comedic heart.
Ali's book list on when you've locked your keys in the car
Why did Ali love this book?
Told from the perspective of a goldfish named Ian as he tumbles from his 27th-floor balcony perch, and observes the lives of the Seville on Roxy’s quirky, complicated, and very real residents, Fishbowl is an intricate, surprising, and impeccably woven tale about who we really are—and aren’t—behind closed doors.
A tale of life, death, and the great in-between with stunning revelation, close calls, and big truths. The perfect read if you’ve ever had to take the stairs. Masterful, fun and inventive.
1 author picked Fishbowl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.
Ian the goldfish has always longed for adventure. So when the opportunity arises, he escapes from his bowl, clears the railing of the 27th-floor balcony, and finds himself airborne. Plummeting toward the street below, he witnesses the lives of the Seville on Roxy residents. There's the handsome grad student, his girlfriend, and his mistress the construction worker who feels trapped by a secret the building's super who feels invisible and alone the pregnant woman on bed rest who craves a forbidden ice cream sandwich the shut-in for whom dirty talk and quiche are a way of life and home-schooled Herman,…
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