Sections
Shop
I’m ready to start chipping away at my before 30 list and I’m going to start with one that SHOULD be easy. Unfortunately I feel like it’s not going to be as easy as it sounds. I’m going to find my love of reading again. It’s not so much that I don’t love reading anymore, I’m sure I still love to read. I just need to make the time to sit down and enjoy a book. I feel like time slips through my fingers and I think the last time I finished a book and had that bittersweet feeling (happy to have a new favorite, but sad that it’s over) was during a summer break in college. I miss getting lost in a book.
It’s time to make this change. I need to make it a priority in my moment’s of free time. I need a new book. Something so good that I won’t be able to put it down. So I turn to you. What have you read that totally sucked you in? I have always loved historic fiction (Sure, some of it’s not great literature or accurate but I love it. Sue me.) but I’m willing to give anything a try. It helps if I can somehow connect to the main character.
Please insert book recommendations here. <3
26 Responses to Before 30 List: Help me learn to love reading again
Bonlook Ambassador
Affiliates
The Help!
Oh! I have heard good things about that one but I totally forgot about it. I must put that on reserve at the library. Thank you!
I read Magical Thinking by Augusten Burroughs in a DAY because I could not stop reading it. He’s a hilarious writer, and the fact that he tells stories based on his own life makes him so relatable. I own Magical Thinking and also Dry by him and both are great.
Comedy is not something I’ve really given a fighting chance. Maybe it will do the trick though. Putting these on my list.
I’m thinking maybe I should spend a Saturday afternoon at the library and sample a bunch of things. See what takes hold.
Definitely Fingersmith by Sarah Waters! So good. I remember reading that book through all hours of the night knowing I should be sleeping but unable to put it down. It is one of my top five books. Also read Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. The Thirteenth Tale is also awesome. I could actually go on forever here so I’ll stop before I bore you to death! lol
Trust me, you are NOT boring me! I’m loving this! So many wonderful real recommendations! I’m going to have an amazing list by the end of this!
Fingersmith seems to be highly talked of. Adding that to my list for sure.
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card is one of my favorites; it’s science fiction but one of the best science fiction books ever written and it’s not terribly long, either. I also recommend The Art of Racing in the Rain, which is told from the perspective of a dog as his life is ending and he’s looking back on his life and his people in it.
How funny. Ender’s Game is my husband’s all time favorite book. Probably the only thing he has ever read more than once and has on his Ipod. If he had the chance he would name our future son Ender.
The Art of Racing in the Rain sounds really interesting. I’m always wondering what our Logan is thinking.
Thank you!
I recommend The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield!
Thank you for the link! This sounds right up my alley!
I second Fingersmith by Sarah Waters. I was thinking about it for weeks afterwards. I’m also a huge fan of historical fiction and my favorite book is Little Women (which I see in your picture!). I highly recommend I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith (author of 101 Dalmatians). It has a wonderful female narrator, a beautiful atmosphere to get lost in, and thoughtful period details. A quirky cast of characters, too. It’s an old fashioned book in so many ways but it has a surprisingly modern voice. I really think you’d like it. Huge fan of your blog. Thanks for everything you share!
I Capture the Castle sounds wonderful. Thank you!
Little Women is one of my all time favorites. My mom gave me a paperback edition when I was little and I remember totally loosing myself in it and how I found little bits of my self in every one of the March sisters. Then I remember finding out Louisa May Alcott had died almost 100 years ago and feeling so sad. I was a very sensitive child. Haha.
Thanks for taking the time to comment! <3
Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth and World Without End!! Both are super fantastic and I’ve read them one billion times. Well actually just twice. But you should read them. Medieval love and architecture — super super interesting.
I also really liked The Tenderness of Wolves (about the Canadian North — kind of a murder mystery but not in genre). I have many recommendations. :)
Oh my goodness. Love and architecture in one story? I’m there.
And keep the recommendations coming. I’ve only just read the synopsis of Pillars of the Earth and World Without End and you seem to have nailed it!
I second The Help recommendation and also add The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks and Devil in the White City by Erik Larson if you like nonfiction.
I remember my mom reading Devil in the White City years ago and being intrigued by the cover. It may be time to read it myself. Thank you!
I highly recommend I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (author of 101 Dalmatians). It has so many wonderful period details and a fresh, unique female narrator. It’s an old-fashioned book in so many ways, but it has a surprisingly modern voice. I also second Fingersmith — it stayed with me for weeks. I adore historical fiction (and Little Women is my favorite book — nice photo!) and these two books are in my top five.
I absolutely devoured The Reader by Bernhard Schlink… I started it as a “something to read during lunch break” book and found myself so wrapped up in it, I was even reading it on the bus. This is a big deal, Lindsey – I get pretty sick when I try to read ANYTHING on the bus, even texts on my phone, but I COULD NOT put the book down!
What else.
I also read Beloved by Toni Morrison this year; it was kind of creepy/chilling but just beautifully written. English major though I may have been, this was my first taste of Morrison, and hopefully not my last!
For super easy reading, I really enjoyed Eat, Pray, Love. I know, totally cliche. But I liked it. I might have to revoke my diploma for that admission, but whatever… it’s not like my degree got me a job or anything! =P
With the holidays approaching, I highly recommend you pick up Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris. It’s a collection of holiday related essays of his, and they’re absolutely hysterical. I first heard him read “Six to Eight Black Men” on NPR a few years ago… my husband and I were spending a lazy Sunday morning listening to This American Life, and we were totally cracking up. It’s a story about the myth of Santa Claus… He’s amazing, I highly recommend him. Here’s a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCUHTDrca4s
I’ll see if I can think of anything else. What else do you like besides Historical Fiction? Do you have any favorite authors? Any books that you still adore? Characters you love in particular?
A seasonal book! Genius! And essays! Something I can read a portion of on my lunch break or when I have a fleeting moment. I will certainly be picking up Holidays on Ice.
I have heard The Reader is a must read.
I love new takes on old stories or imagined lives of historical figures. Margaret George’s The Memoirs of Cleopatra had my attention for over a month (it’s a HUGE fictional memoir). Gregory Maguire’s retelling of classic fairy tales for adults have always been wonderful. Even Orson Scott Card’s “Women of Genesis” series where he imagined the lives of some of the women of the Bible was very interesting (even though I’m not religious).
Keep them coming!
I second Ken Follett’s Pillars of the Earth. Don’t be scared by its size. It’s fantastic! Especially since you like historical fiction.
Large books don’t scare me! It means I’ll be able to enjoy it for longer! That one is more certainly on my list! Thanks!
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen is one of my all-time favorites. It’s historical fiction (by way of the circus) and throws in amazing animals, a great love story and a mystery for good measure. It’s being made into a movie, but read the book first!
Oh I love this book. It was probably one of the last books are read almost cover to cover. The story was beautiful.
Pingback: Book Recommendations from L&F Readers « Lost & Fawned
You can never go wrong with Tom Robbins, especially Jitterbug Perfume, and Skinny Legs and All.
Even Cowgirls and Another Roadside Attraction…
Hi! I know this post was from a while back, but you and I sound similar and I adore historical fiction so I would recommend… the Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Society! It’s set post-WW2 in England. It pays some tributes to venerated writing geniuses, which is always so cool (reading about a reader with his/her own literary heroes as well). Very ‘Midnight in Paris’-esque. Which, btw you MUST see if you haven’t yet! Enjoy! Reading is the best.
http://www.amazon.com/Guernsey-Literary-Potato-Peel-Society/dp/0385340990