The Dog Ear: Post-midterm books to read

It’s that time of year again: midterm season. Whether you’ve already taken your exams or they are quickly approaching, you might need something to look forward to. Are you stuck in a class that you hate? The topic too hard, the professor too boring, lectures too confusing? If the semester is stressing you out or if you’re at a loss as to what to read when you actually have free time, here are some books whose upcoming releases I found noteworthy.

If your midterms are done and you’re looking for a way to relax, go to the bookstore and purchase a copy of Jodi Picoult’s newest novel, “The Storyteller.” Released today, Picoult writes another gripping novel dealing with a variety of relationships and complex, thought provoking issues. Typical of her other books, the narration cycles between the different characters’ perspectives but this time, they tell a Holocaust story. Sage, a baker, befriends an elderly man who then asks her to kill him because he was a Nazi. Further adding to the complications of this request is that Sage’s grandmother is a Holocaust survivor. Picoult never fails to captivate readers and leave them shocked by an unexpected ending. “The Storyteller” should be no different.

“Virus Thirteen” is the debut novel by Joshua Alan Parry. Reminiscent of the film, “Contagion,” “Virus Thirteen” is a scientific thriller. It is a fictional account of a married couple, James and Linda, who work at a biotech company together. When a bioterrorist attack releases a superflu that becomes a pandemic, the two must separate in their lines of work. Linda retreats to underground labs to help develop a vaccine while James, out in the world, realizes the company is facing a major threat. Having recently changed my major to Pathobiology, this topic is extremely interesting to me. When “Virus Thirteen” hits stores on March 26, hopefully a pandemic won’t hit with it.

Almost four years have passed since the last Robert Langdon adventure written by Dan Brown. On May 14, Brown is back with a new journey for this popular character. Titled “Inferno,” Langdon must use Dante’s epic poem, also called “Inferno,” to save the day while in Italy. For a professor of symbology at Harvard, Langdon consistently manages to find himself in convoluted situations. Brown’s novels always display the extensive research he has conducted to produce such factual mysteries. His books teach you something new, like how to write a secret code or inspire you to travel to another part of the world. Based on past experiences, I know that the minute I get my hands on Brown’s newest work; I won’t be able to put it down.

I find the release of a new book to be exciting, especially if it is a book written by an author whose novels I regularly read. Counting down the days until a copy of the book can be mine to read, I then revel in the first time I crack open the book, releasing that new book smell. These are only a small handful of the dozens of books that will be published in the next few months. Find something you’re interested in to help motivate and relax you when the semester is wearing you down.