National Read A Book Day

Well well well. This is a day almost meant for me! Y’all know how much I love to read. I’ll read just about anything, although my least favorite genre is probably young adult fantasy. So yes, today is National Read A Book Day and there have been a lot of requests coming my way for my faves after my shout out on social media asking for your faves. I thought the best way to see my favorite books in the past six months would be to list them here on the blog.

Now I will say that I’ve been reading a few classics this year but I didn’t add those to this list even though a few did make my favorite list (hello To Kill a Mockingbird). I just didn’t think it would be fair to put a debut novel against Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. So with that caveat, here is the list of my top six books from the last six months.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman. This is my top book of the year so far. I’m so so so glad I read it after having it recommended by so many friends. I’m a sucker for old men and this sweet story about this particular curmudgeon made me laugh out loud and cry in the first chapter. This is a definite 5/5 from me.

The Paris Library by Janet Skeslien Charles. My second-favorite of the year so far. Set in the 1940s in France and the 1980s in the Midwest this book focuses on the life of an aged Parisian and a young teenager going through extremely hard life circumstances.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. Honestly? I probably wouldn’t have finished this book if I wasn’t reading it with friends. It’s hard to get into at first (or at least was for me) but it’s just a lovely, lovely story of a life well-lived. It’s written beautifully and has that epic feel I love - following a character throughout his or her life. I believe it’s also being made into a series which will be amazing I bet!

Eating to Extinction by Dan Saladino was recommended by a friend who lives in agriculture as well as practices medicine. Being honest, it’s pretty dry, but because I’m interested in things like knowing where my food comes from and why nutrition is important this was very interesting to me. If you’re into those things as well I recommend this book!

Codependent No More by Melody Beattie has helped to change me for the better. I’m an Enneagram type 2 and feel like I need to help everybody with all their stuff. I take responsibility for too many things (and people) too quickly and this book helped me see that my actions don’t always help and sometimes actually hurt. It helped me see a lot more, too, but those were lessons I needed to learn. If you’re like me and hold on to things that aren’t yours to hold onto I recommend this to you.

The Club by Ellery Lloyd was a wild ride for sure. It had me guessing the whole way through the book. It was a quick weekend read for me that had a lot of travel, hijinks, mystery, drama and a good twist at the end. I’m a sucker for a good plot twist, especially those I don’t see coming!

So those are some of my favorite books this year. This list isn’t complete and I debated about a few of them (the last one for sure) but it’s a pretty good snapshot of what I’ve read in the last six months.

What are you reading and loving? Please leave a message here or tag me on the social channels.

Happy reading!

Aliceson