8 Books for National Book Lovers Day

Hey, hey, what do you say! Guess what? It’s National Book Lovers Day! Sure, we have these “national” days for everything under the sun, but this is books, people! For book lovers like me, it’s a great day to celebrate all that we love about books. I’m thinking back at some of my recent reads to craft a list of 8 books that will make your National Book Lovers Day. And hopefully, you will share a few of your favorites with me.

8 books for National Book Lovers Day? Yes! Finally a National Day I can get behind! Makes me want to race to Barnes and Noble to buy something. Or better yet, I should grab a copy at the local library. That’s the cheapskate in me talking. 🙂 Here’s a list of books (in no particular order) that I really adore that would be the prefect way to celebrate National Book Lovers Day.

8 Books in Honor of National Book Lovers Day

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Simply stunning writing. I haven’t felt this way about a book since I found The Book Thief (see below) a few years back. I loved the storytelling and the characters so much. My biggest takeaway: I felt such a mixture of pity and sadness for those who lived this time period in Europe during World War II and the few choices they had in their lives. This one will break your heart, but you must read it anyway. You will be forever changed and haunted by it.

The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

Get ready for this one–it’s a romantic comedy in the making. Actually, I think TriStar is trying to get it off the ground again after Jennifer Lawrence backed out by casting Ryan Reynolds. I think he would draw in huge box office numbers as Don Tillman, a genetics professor who thinks he can create the formula to finding a wife. Dubbed the Wife Project, Tillman crosses paths with Rosie Jarman, the barmaid who helps him on his quest. You will laugh and possibly even snort out loud. Or is that just me? Oh well. You get the picture…lots of humor in this one. And perhaps Ryan Reynolds in the movie once you finish the book. P.S. This was one of our Book Club favorites!

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

My beach read from 2 years ago, and it’s still showing up on must read lists for a reason. Alice wakes up on the gym floor thinking she’s 29, blissfully in love with her husband, and expecting her first baby. Reality: she’s 39, getting divorced, and the mom of 3 kids. We follow along as Alice struggles to remember the past 10 years and come to terms with who she has become. I flew through this one, and then chose her next novel The Husband’s Secret to read a few months later.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

Suspenseful and nailbiting for sure. I definitely didn’t see some of the plot twists coming, which is refreshing because many in this genre are quite predictable. Of course, I’m the weirdo that DIDN’T love Gone Girl, and the critics compare The Girl on the Train to Gone Girl. Narrated by 3 of the characters, including a drunk divorcee who spies something while traveling on the train that brings her into a police investigation, this ride will leave you breathless. (Again, another pick from our Book Club).

The Art of Social Media by Guy Kawasaki and Peg Fitzpatrick

This is a goldmine for bloggers and social media fans alike to get tips from the “big dogs.” Guy and Peg are so knowledgeable, even the most savvy can learn a trick or two from this book. This falls outside the novel category, but maybe exactly what you need to change things up.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I adore this book. Young Adult category be damned! It’s truly a treasure to read about a young girl who steals books to escape the atrocities of World War II. In a total curveball, Zusak has Death narrate the book. Now that’s a new one! This book is heartwrenching and brutiful, and yet you will be changed for good by this reading experience.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

When I grow up, I want to be Sue Monk Kidd. She weaves storytelling and words like an ornate tapestry you want to crawl under and take a nap. Call me partial to a tale set in South Carolina, but I loved the characters and Kidd’s writing took me back to 1964 as if I lived it. Extremely timely too given the racial tensions rippling through out country.

Love Does by Bob Goff

I got this book as a gift from my friend Ashlee when my husband was in the hospital with pneumonia, and it lifted my spirits higher than the balloons on the cover. Maybe it’s because Bob Goff is a lawyer and a Disney fan like me, but I really believe that he may also be my spirit animal only in human form. He sees majesty and God’s grace in the everyday and reminds me how important that is. Each chapter is a beautiful story into itself, which makes it very easy to spread out the reading. But you’ll want to devour this one. I would love to hang out with Goff over drinks just to be able to say, “I KNOW this guy.”

What’s on your nightstand or Nook/Kindle? I’m looking for new reads….

And for those of you wanting to read some great book quotes, head over to my buddy Shannan’s post.