By the Book: Hannah Breithaupt, '26
Hannah Breithaupt is a current sophomore at Swarthmore studying Sociology & Anthropology and Peace Education. They are a student researcher with BarrioEd Project and the PEPL lab, alongside working and spending countless hours in the libraries on campus. Hannah is the current social media intern for Swarthmore Libraries, which you can check out on Instagram @swatlibrary. Beyond Swarthmore, Hannah loves their dog, used book shopping, collaging, and Fiona Apple.
What are you reading these days? Currently reading Assata: An Autobiography by Assat Shakur and Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi for myself. For class, I'm reading Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf (shoutout to Professor Patnaik and our Virginia Woolf class!)
Is there a book you've read multiple times? I love to go back into my books and read them out of order once I'm finished. I am also constantly returning to S/He by Minnie Bruce Pratt and Gloria Anzaldúa's prose.
Is there a book you pretend to have read? When I was younger, I pretended to have finished the Percy Jackson books. I really just couldn't get into it like that. This will probably disappoint my friends and my girlfriend, but I had to say it.
Who is your favorite author? I love Carmen Maria Machado, Sayaka Murata, James Baldwin, Leslie Feinberg... way too many to list out.
Do you have a literary nemesis? James Joyce is my literary nemesis... also Camus.
What is your favorite reading genre? I love reading narrative non-fiction, memoirs, and short-story collections. I'm also obsessed with absurdist lesbian feminist horror.
What book do you recommend most often? Recently I've recommended Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa and Mean by Myriam Gurba to literally everyone. The former is the best book I have ever read in my entire life and an incredible testament to Palestinian liberation, and Gurba's memoir is scathing, hilarious, and nauseating in the best way possible.
What's the best movie adaptation of a book you've read? Orlando (1992)! Not entirely faithful to the novel, but the costuming, set design, and Tilda Swinton's performance are incredible.
What book made an early impact on you and why? I was obsessed with ghosts as a kid, so I would go into the paranormal nonfiction section of my elementary school library and read all of the ghost books I could find. For better or worse, this morphed into my current horror obsession.
