There are some books that just stick with you… books that you find yourself constantly recommending or referring to in conversation or maybe, books you just can’t get out of your head or want to re-read over and over again. While I love a good non fiction or business book, most of those don’t compel me to read them over and over (the exception is below).
I am also leaving out some of my most beloved books, namely the Harry Potter and Anne of Green Gables series … but you’ve likely heard of these before and maybe these you haven’t.
Better than Before
This is Gretchen Rubin’s (The Happiness Project) book on habits. Not only does it contain info on why habits are important, but also practical tips and strategies to implement good habits and get rid of bad ones as well as things that you can do to help ensure you don’t sabotage yourself.
Pro Tip: Gretchen Rubin has a great podcast called Happier and it’s one I never miss.
Ready Player One
I have recommended this book to so many people and almost universally to great reception. Set in the not too distant future, humans have retreated into the virtual confines of The Oasis, a computer generated world. And why wouldn’t they? The outside world is kind of a mess. Wade Watts, a kid from a trailer park in Oklahoma City is no exception. He spends his days going to school online and avoiding his crummy life with his abusive guardian. Then one day, an amazing announcement, the reclusive, eccentric creator of The Oasis has died and left a crazy puzzle of “Easter Eggs” in his virtual world and whoever should solve them will win the keys to the kingdom and untold wealth. Wade joins the hunt along with most of the rest of the world and there the story begins.
With tons of pop culture references (mostly from the 80s), fun dialogue, interesting characters and a good pace of plot with some interesting points on what our future holds, this is one I enjoy over and over.
Pro Tip: The movie bears no resemblance to the book and personally, I wouldn’t bother.
Pro Tip 2: The Audio book, narrated by Wil Wheaton, is a gem.
A Girl of the Limberlost
Raised in the Limberlost, a now-all-but-extinct swampland in Indiana, Elnora Comstock loves two things: nature and learning. Neglected by her mother, who has been grieving since Elnora’s birth prevented her from saving her husband from drowning in the swamp, Elnora has found comfort in the arms of the nearest neighbors and her beloved Limberlost. As the story begins, Elnora is heading to high school for the first time and while she may be a model pupil, there are many challenges that must be surmounted.
Off to Be the Wizard
Martin is your average computer geek. Well maybe a bit above average. In the midst of one jolt-fueled hacking session, he discovers THE FILE. It’s a simple text file, but it appears to contain the parameters of … well the whole world, confirming that we are, in fact, living in a simulation.
Of course he can’t just let sleeping files lie … he starts manipulating the data and lands himself in some very hot water. Pretty soon he decides he needs to escape back to a time when his special “powers” will be appreciated, or at least properly feared, and transports himself back to medieval England. Things just get better from there.
The first in a still evolving series, this one is the best, IMO, but they’re all fun.
Pro Tip: The audio book is very very well done. Definitely worth a listen.
The Blue Castle
This is by the author of the Anne of Green Gables series and though I read it for the first time just a couple of years ago, it’s become a favorite and one of my go-to comfort reads.
Valancey Sterling is almost 30 and decidedly an old maid. Living a miserable existence where she is equally cowed and overlooked by her formidable family, each new day is an exercise in death by inches.
Then one day she receives a diagnosis and learns she will have just a year to live and Valancey realizes it’s time to live. And you will cheer her on as she does just that.
Landline
Georgie is a successful TV Writer in LA and though she has the career she’s always wanted, she has been drifting from her husband Neal for some time. So when Neal packs up the kids to head to his parents’ house in Omaha for Christmas and Georgie has to bail at the last minute, she thinks she’s really done it this time.
So imagine her surprise when she learns that she can call her husband … in the past on the landline in his parents’ house. And now she has the chance to fix everything … or does she?
Rainbow Rowell is a brilliant writer and this is one of my favorites of the sadly just four full-length novels she’s written.
Bright Side
Though Kate’s life has been anything but perfect, she’s managed to keep an optimistic, sunny outlook on life, hence her best friend, Gus’s (admittedly kinda cheesy) nickname for her, Bright Side. And though she is funny, smart and musically gifted, she’s never believed in love. So when she leaves Sunny San Diego to attend college in a tiny town in Minnesota, she is more than a little surprised to fall in love with Keller Banks.
Though their love story seems epic, Kate has a secret … one that will challenge the bounds of Keller’s love for her.
Harry’s Trees
This winsome book, full of everyday magic, is a more recent favorite – one I found just this past fall. It is the story of two people – one a middle aged man and one a young girl, both dealing with life-changing grief.
They find each other through serendipitous events in the forests of Pennsylvania and embark upon a magical journey together.
Animal Vegetable Miracle
Though this book can be a bit heavy-handed on the underlying political agenda, the story of author Barbara Kingsolver and her family’s move from Arizona to rural Appalachia is charming.
In an effort to eat only things grown within a 100 mile radius, they take up farming and animal raising and get to know the neighbors who can supply them with things like flour … and all that that ensues. The food makes your mouth water; the anecdotes on turkey animal husbandry will make your eyes water (with laughter!) and it will give you an appreciation for American’s agrarian roots and where our food comes from.
A Town Like Alice
This is one of those books my mom recommended to me that took me years to get around to reading, but once I did, I fell in love.
Jean is a young Englishwoman living in Malaya and is captured by the invading Japanese. She is forced on a 7-month march with other women and children through the most impossible conditions imaginable.
Once back in England with the ordeal behind her, she wants to give back to the people who saved her life and this begins the transformation of her life once again.
Birds, Beasts and Relatives
This charming book follows the English Durrell family and their crazy and amazing life in the Greek island of Corfu. Told from the perspective of the baby of the family, animal-crazy Gerry but with tons of the other members of his family mixed in. The book is a wonderful mix of anecdotes about the locals and about the cool and crazy animals Gerry encounters and adopts … a feel good novel for sure.
I have committed to reading 70 new books this year but I’m hoping that I can fit in a few of these to enjoy all over again.