If you have been reading my past monthly book reviews, you know that I love books, and I love giving recommendations. Sometimes, people ask me to recommend them my favorite book, but asking me to pick a favorite book is like asking a mother to pick her favorite child — a real Sophie’s choice (which, by the way, has been on my reading list for a very long time). I think the only way I can pick a favorite book is to pick a favorite book within a genre, each of these books I could read over and over again and never get bored. Honestly, even within categories I have a hard time choosing, but I’ve come up with a list of a few very special ones.
So, here are my favorites that I think are all must-reads:
Romance
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
The Time Traveler’s Wife is the story of Clare, an artist, and Henry, a librarian. They are a relatively normal couple, except that Henry can time travel, an ability that causes him to be misplaced in time. Clare meets Henry when she is 6, and he is 36. She marries him when she is 23 and he is 31. The chapters alternate between the “present” day and episodes of Henry time traveling to the “past.” The book tells a story of unconventional love and a couple’s attempt to live normal lives despite uncontrollable factors pulling them apart.
I love this book because it is not the typical sappy romance novel. Most cliché romance novels have the typical “boy meets girl, girl and boy fight, girl and boy make up, girl and boy end happily ever after,” but this plot does not allow for this to happen. Sure, there is boy meets girl, but girl meets the boy at the age of six and boy meets the girl many years later. It is beautifully written and a truly loving story. Plus, the fantasy side of it adds extra fun. (But, I would not recommend the movie version, which is pretty weird even though its stars Rachel McAdams, the queen of romance movies.)
Mystery/Nonfiction
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
In 1959 in a small town in Kansas, the Clutter family is murdered. With no apparent motive for the crime and no clues, the police are left to investigate what looks to be an unsolvable crime.
I am not sure if this would really be considered in the mystery genre since I don’t read a whole lot of mystery. But what you do get from In Cold Blood is the suspense that a good mystery would give you. I love that Capote puts a lot of detail into uncovering the mystery of the Clutter family. The book is chilling, as Capote retells the story of the investigation, capture, and trial of the killers. It is even more unsettling how Capote leads the readers to eventually feel empathy towards the killers. If you are someone who wants a suspenseful story, this is the book to pick up; you will not be able to put it down until the very end.
The Classics
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
To Kill a Mockingbird is a story about coming of age in Alabama. Scout Finch retells the story of the summer when her father, a lawyer, defends a Black man in trial. Scout shares her memories of growing up, learning big lessons, and what racism looks like from a child’s point of view.
I had a very hard time deciding what to pick as my absolute favorite for the classics category (there are so many good ones, The Great Gatsby, To the Lighthouse, Little Women), but I decided that To Kill a Mockingbird has always been a favorite of mine. Since the first time I read it in fifth grade, I knew it was a story I would keep with me for life. Most people have read it by now (except for a select few who should really get on it!), but I think it is a very important book in American literature. Unfortunately, I was not as wowed by Go Set a Watchman.
Non-Fiction/Memoir
The Other Wes Moore: Two Names One Fate by Wes Moore
The Other Wes Moore is a story of two boys born within streets of each other in Baltimore, both fatherless and both named Wes Moore. One Wes Moore grows up to be a Rhodes Scholar, a decorated combat veteran, and a White House Fellow. The other Wes Moore is serving a life sentence in prison for murder. After Wes Moore discovers that he shares a name and some surprising other coincidences with a man who is serving a life sentence, he sets out to uncover the story of the life of the other Wes Moore. As Wes Moore intertwines their two stories together, you watch their lives connect and pull apart in a truly heart-breaking memoir.
This is one of those books that, once you read it, it truly changes your life. When you are reading this book you start to ask yourself big life-changing questions, like “what is it that makes me, me?” The Other Wes Moore also examines nature versus nurture and takes a deep look at how society shapes us.
And those are my favorites! Be sure to let me know which books you prefer in the comments.
Image credits: Amazon, Goodreads