The Good Books

I’ve never minded the term “bookworm” and “nerd” doesn’t offend me one bit.  From the time I was young, I’ve loved the doors that reading can open for me.

Check out those sweet kicks!  No idea what is up with the margarine tub though…

No matter how busy I am, or what I am doing, I find time to read for fun.  When I work out on our exercise bike, I read.  When I eat lunch at work, I read.  When I have a free moment that isn’t taken up by cooking, cleaning, gardening, or the other projects, I read.  I also “read” books while I’m driving in that I download free audiobooks from our library to my ipod and listen to them for the 10 minutes at a time I am alone in the car.  I am greedy with my alone car time, and will do The Dance of Joy any time I get to go anywhere by myself.

So, basically, I love books.  A lot.  I’m going to share a few with you that I have read and loved.  Now, the point of this post is to discuss books.  However, the links will take you to Amazon and I am an Amazon Affiliate which means I get the tiniest percentage if you purchase through my link (even other things you’re planning to buy).  That being said, I highly recommend the library as your first option.  Our library even lends ebooks that download right to your Kindle.

1) A Fault In Our Stars
Oh dearie me, this book made me sob.  I’m not a sobber in my daily life, but this book did me in.  Troy found me in a puddle on the couch clutching this book and sobbing.  He dared to ask the stupid question “why don’t you just stop reading that book”?  Because I literally couldn’t stop.  Not if my life depended on it.  This book could not be ignored.

Even though this book made me cry – hello, kids with cancer – but I’m still better off because I read it.  You know that feeling?  So hard to read, but you can’t imagine these characters not being in your life.  Hazel Grace and Augustus Waters are people that will bewitch your life.

2) The Power of One
A story about a little boy who is pretty much tortured at boarding school in South Africa.  It sucks to read the first part.  You want to slap everyone this child comes in to contact with.

Then he takes a train trip to his new home which changes his life.  Eventually, good things happen, and you root your ass off (it’s a thing) for this kid.  A bit more tragedy, an amazing friendship, some more tragedy, happy times, sad times, clean ending.  Oh, and there is a bit of racism mixed in because you know, it’s South Africa during the rise of apartheid.

I loved this book so much that I want to read it again, and again!  I love this book so much, that I named one of my chicken’s after a character, Grandpa Chook.

3) What Alice Forgot
If you’re married, or have been together with anyone for a period of time, chances are you take them for granted (and if you don’t, you’re a damned liar).  This is the book that you need to read to remind yourself why you’re still with this person.

The book is funny, sweet, sad, and pretty thought-provoking.

4) The Slap
A friend recommended this book, and even though I have a wee bit of a potty mouth, even my eyebrows raised a bit with some of the language in this book.  That being said, it is the story of a person who slaps a kid that is not their kid during a BBQ.  You then read about what happens next from the angle of most of the individuals who are at the party.  It’s supah interesting and good.

5) The Fall of Giants
I “read” this one via audiobook and wanted to cry when it was over.  I’ve loved everything I’ve read by Ken Follet ever since I read Pillars of the Earth when I was pregnant.  I had horrible pregnancy insomnia, and Pillars of the Earth came in to my life when I desperately needed it.

The Fall of Giants tells about the ramp up to World War One from the perspective of English gentry, English non-gentry, Americans, Germans, and Russians.  I absolutely loved it.

6) Winter of the World
Didn’t get enough of world war in The Fall of Giants?  You’re in luck, cause World War II is covered in this book!  I can’t get enough of this series.  Thankfully it is a trilogy, and hopefully the third book will be released soon.

7) Winters Bone
If you are depressed and sad, read about a 16 year old girl in the Ozarks who is trying to keep her family together and fed, all while searching for her father who is a meth cook and has disappeared.  :confetti:

Depressing as hell, but well-written, and will make you thankful for your own life.

8) Crashed
The first book in the Junior Bender series, this book is about a burglar who ends up helping a mobster try to make a porn movie with a washed up former child star.  Basically, if this book became a movie, Lindsay Lohan might get a project.

The plot itself sounds super shady, but he’s a good guy (ignore the fact that he is a burglar of course), and you end up getting super invested in these people.  And the humor and wit is funny as hell.

9) Little Elvises
This is the second book in the Junior Bender series, and I’m only technically halfway through the book, I’m loving it as much as Crashed.

10) At Home
If you are a giant nerd who has always wondered why the British seem to eat more sugar than most other people, or how the term “sleep tight” came to be, this book is for you.

The author tells you the history of how ever room in your house came to be.  Sounds like a super weird premise, but it was fascinating and I loved it!

11) Elizabeth Street
I was on a mob kick for a bit, and this was part of that period in my life.  This tells the story about how and why so many people left Sicily in the early 1900’s, and what life was like when they got to America.  It includes pre-mafia “Black Hand” stories and experiences.

12) The Things They Carried
This was recommend by a friend, and it’s an amazing perspective of the Vietnam War from an angle I’ve never heard from.  To be honest, it was kind of like a car accident, in that even though I’ve read it, I couldn’t really tell you what happened.  The writing made it seem like it was a voice in your head telling you a story.

13) Gone Girl
I saw the plot twist coming a mile away, but I was extremely entertained and found the writing and characters fascinating.

14) The Family Corleone
Another part of my mob kick, this is the “prequel” to The Godfather and it captivated me while I was reading it.

I’ve read more books than the above, but not all of them are “recommendable”, and I don’t want to pass on crap to you.

I adore getting book recommendations from friends, so please leave a comment on a book that you have loved!  I don’t do anything chicklit, syfy, etc.