5 Books I Recommend Regularly
We all have books that we love, and recommend regularly right? Here are 5 that I bring up at least once a week.
The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons
This is probably the book I recommend the most and consequently get cussed out for…the most. (Even by my own mother.) Why? Because it is BRUTAL! Tatiana and Alexander do not have an easy journey. It is filled with death, abandonment and is written right smack in the middle of a World War. BUT (and that is a really REALLY big but) their story is beautiful, and moving, and will make you question everything you ever learned about love, hope and family. Every time someone approaches me with the phrase “I just can’t get into books” I throw this at them. There is no way you can read this book and not be affected. (PS -they are making this series into a movie. Yay!)
Yet there is light in the darkness. Tatiana meets Alexander, a brave young officer in the Red Army. Strong and self-confident, yet guarding a mysterious and troubled past, he is drawn to Tatiana—and she to him. Starvation, desperation, and fear soon grip their city during the terrible winter of the merciless German siege. Tatiana and Alexander’s impossible love threatens to tear the Metanova family apart and expose the dangerous secret Alexander so carefully protects—a secret as devastating as the war itself—as the lovers are swept up in the brutal tides that will change the world and their lives forever.
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist
The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis
Apparently I’m a glutton for punishment…and adhere to the phrase “misery loves company” because “The Storyteller” is also a book that will leave you in tears. As a matter of fact, there was a point during reading it that my 4 year old daughter took the book away from me and hid it, so that I would stop crying. No joke, she said “I’m taking the bad book away now Mommy.” So why do I recommend it? Because not only is it a unique story (set in two worlds) …it taught me that stories don’t always have to have a happy ending. When I accepted that, I found it easier to pick up other books without getting angry. (ie: Allegiant) There are a slew of complicated family issues addressed throughout the book, and from time to time you will find yourself questioning your own morals. (Is it ok to steal food if it’s for your starving little sister?) But the most intriguing thing of all…the way Micha’s fairy tale starts to take on real life properties. Get it, read it, yell at me later.
It begins the day Anna finds the child’s doll on the floor of the student lounge. When it’s claimed by Abel, the school drug dealer, Anna becomes determined to learn more about this mysterious boy with the military haircut and deep blue eyes. She follows him after school and discovers a secret: Abel is caring for his six-year-old sister, Micha, alone. Anna listens in as he tells her a fairy tale, the story of a little orphan queen pursued by hunters across the oceans for the treasure she carries: her pure, diamond heart.
It’s a story with parallels to reality. Social services and Micha’s abusive father could take her from Abel if they discover the truth. Despite friend’s warnings, Anna is drawn to Abel and Micha, and falls under the spell of the story of the little queen and her desperate voyage. But when people Abel has woven into his tale turns up dead, it’s Anna whose heart is in danger. Is she in love with a killer? And has she set out on a journey from which there is no return?
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Do I even need to explain why I recommend this book? I mean… I talk about it pretty much non-stop. I’m sure you’re sick of hearing about it now. No? You want to hear me fangirl about it again? Awesome! Red Rising is one of my favorite books of all time, but probably not for the reason you’d expect. Yes…I love Science Fiction. Yes, I love it when characters try to overthrow their oppressors. Hell, I even love a good love story. (Which is what initially fuels the entire plot line.) But the reason I constantly tell people to read Red Rising? Because it is an absolutely amazing portrayal of human emotion. Say WHAT? Weaved between all of the fighting and rage, Darrow, Sevro, Victra, Mustang (I could keep going…) are fighting a bigger battle. One within themselves. They constantly straddle the line between necessity and morally bankrupt. They yearn to help and understand each-other but often fail. They get kicked, they get back up. Even though the story focuses on Darrow, everyone is important, and that makes the book incredibly engaging. And well…spaceships and family feuds. Should I keep going?
“I live for you,” I say sadly.
Eo kisses my cheek. “Then you must live for more.”
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.
Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist
The Boxcar Children by Gertrude Chandler Warner
Ok, so I don’t recommend this book to random adults looking for something to read, but I DO tell a fair share of parents about it. When I was in the 3rd grade my teacher had this amazing canoe in her classroom. The only way we were allowed to sit in it is if we had completed all of our work and had free time. Free time, of course, meant extra time to read while everyone else finished their assignment. I wanted to sit in that dang boat. DESPERATELY! But I wasn’t a fan of reading. So one day I trotted down to the library and found THIS book. I figured I could fain interest long enough to experience the splendor of the canoe. Funny thing though…I ended up LOVING it. I read through it in a day and then found myself rushing through my work every day after. NOT to sit in the boat though…to read the next book in the Boxcar Children series. It was equal parts heart and adventure, and it launched my love of reading. I recommend it to every parent who comes my way.
Ambitious and resourceful, the plucky children make a happy life themselves–until Violet gets too sick for her brothers and sister to care for her.
This story will delight any child who has fantasized about being on his or her own and overcoming every obstacle.
Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Oh stop with the groaning. Classic literature is (in my opinion) something everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. If not this book…another one. But please, give it a chance. So why P&P? Because I’m a sap. That’s why. This is my FAVORITE book. Period. I read it at least once a year and I tell everyone under the sun to read it. Here’s the thing (I need to find a new phrase…I use that one too much) this story is much more than just a love story. It’s the result of thinking outside the box. Austen lived in a time where women were little more than decoration. Their sole purpose in life being marriage. But she gave them a voice anyways. Elizabeth Bennet (Austen’s MC in P&P) didn’t follow those rules. She wanted independence. She enjoyed reading, walking, and was determined to marry for love, not money. These are the characteristics that draw Darcy to Izzie. She challenges him in every way and he has no idea how to respond to it. The same can be said for Izzie, who constantly judges people based on their social standing even though she claims not to. Basically it’s a big ol mess, one that Austen helps clear up with a series of letters and chance encounters. I just looooove chance encounters. I also love a woman who is willing to take a chance and go against the norm. Austen wrote the story that she wanted, not the one that her era demanded.
So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen’s witty comedy of manners–one of the most popular novels of all time–that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. Add it to your Goodreads shelf / Amazon wishlist Well…there are my 5. What are yours?
My 5 favourites are: About a Boy by Nick Hornby. Back Roads by Tawni O’Dell. Love Story by Erich Segal. The Bay of Noon by Shirley Hazzard. Goodbye to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood. Can I sneak another one in? … To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I had better finish here before I add more and more! Oh, let me add just one more: After the Fire a Still Small Voice by Evie Wyld.
Oh man…must start googling.