I’ve had the pleasure of reading a lot of good books lately. Thank you Pasadena Public Library (especially for your ebook collection)! Since people will from time to time ask me for book recommendations (clearly everyone knows that my only real hobby is reading), I figured I’d curate a little list here. Because reading is known for making people better. #science
Trying to divide these books into a reasonable number of categories was a real challenge, but I persevered and this is the result.
First, here are some books that you really just have to read. They’re a mix of books that will either help you learn something about the world or experience empathy, and plenty of them do both!
- Homegoing
- Between the World and Me
- Just Mercy
- Evicted
- Why We Can’t Wait
- Mountains Beyond Mountains
- We Should All Be Feminists
- Half of a Yellow Sun
- Brain on Fire
- Americanah
- Madness: A Bipolar Life
- Missoula
- The Glass Castle
- Bad Feminist
- The Journal of Best Practices
- The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- Hillbilly Elegy
- When Breath Becomes Air
- Shrill
- Destiny Disrupted
- You Can’t Touch My Hair
- The Mothers
- The Underground Railroad
- Notorious RBG
Next up we have books that are just fun. That could mean “fun” in terms of light and a good, quick read. Or it could be “fun” in the sense that they are just amazing and will change your life and you have to read them but they didn’t quite fit into the category above.
The “Best Writing and Character Development and Some Could Potentially Change Your Life” Types:
- Till We Have Faces
- Peace Like a River
- East of Eden
- The Brothers K
- In the Time of the Butterflies
- The Grapes of Wrath
- A Prayer for Owen Meany
- Shantaram
Really Good and also True:
Funny, Light, Quick, Suspenseful, or Just Plain Good:
- Snow Falling on Cedars
- Why Not Me?
- Norwegian by Night
- Between Shades of Gray
- All the Light We Cannot See
- Everyone Brave is Forgiven
- Trail of Broken Wings
- The Trespasser
- In a Dark, Dark Wood
- Ordinary Grace
- The Woman in Cabin 10
Last, but certainly not least, we have books that are important if you have any interest in personal growth. And I hope that you do.
- Rising Strong
- Let Your Life Speak
- The Road Back to You
- Big Magic
- Finding God in the Waves
- I Thought It Was Just Me