I just found this Coffee Book tag over at Comma Hangover and couldn’t resist because it combines two of my favorite things – coffee and books. I’m a simple creature guys. Give me a hot cup of coffee (or you know a soy caramel macchiato, but, really, simple guys, I swear) and a good book and I don’t really need much else. Except, like, wifi and a nap.
If you are also a lover of coffee and books, totally play along at your blog (or the comments section) and lemme know so I can see your answers!
The Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde is one of my favorites but the books are so complex between the plot and the characters and Fforde’s tendency to change all the rules of the universe he has created means that it usually takes me a few chapters to ease back in. But if you can hold on tight, you’ll be in for a treat bookworms, because the series is a bookish dream where you can dive into the world of books and things like plot devices and genres come to life.
NOTE: the first book in the series appears to be on sale for $1.99 in the kindle store right now
I know there are all these great fiction travel books out there like Eat Pray Love and anything by Bill Bryson but the first one that came to mind was 13 Little Blue Envelopes. In the novel, Ginny’s aunt leaves her 13 little blue envelopes that turn into a world-wide scavenger hunt of sorts. It’s got all those sweet young adult coming of age tropes with a backdrop of all the places my wanderlust heart dreams of.
It was a tad predicable but the sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope totally makes it all worth it. You definitely have to read both, kay?
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins was so intense. It’s a book I might never have picked up if my book club hadn’t nominated it because I’m so not about “thrillers” but I really loved this one. The narrator really draws you in and the mystery definitely kept me up late on multiple occasions hoping I could figure everything out. And even better, I didn’t see the ending coming at all.
The movie is coming out soon and if you haven’t read this one, I really recommend reading it before seeing the movie. It’s totally deserving of the Bestseller List.
Call me cliche, but Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is definitely a favorite. I love the book, the movies, the mini series, the newer modernized adaptations and web series (seriously it’s a must watch). It’s a story I never get tired of and one of my favorite love stories of all time.
I love a lot of Austen’s other novels but this one continues to be my favorite. Buy a beautiful edition or download a free copy from Amazon onto your kindle. You won’t be disappointed.
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is another book I read with my book club. While this book certainly isn’t quiet in the sense of being low on the radar, I think there is a quiet beauty to the writing. It doesn’t scream at you, it isn’t flashy. It’s slow and deliberate and real. It’s a book that will make you pause and linger over sentences and ready slowly and think deeply.
I have read a lot of books in the past couple of years that deal with World War II but this one was by far the best.
I think Ladybug Girl by David Soman and Jacky Davis is one of the best picture books that I’ve read in a long time. We own three of the books in the series now and it’s officially achieved the “buy it immediately” status that most hardcover picture books won’t achieve with me, especially as my children are growing older. Soman’s illustrations just tug at all of my heart strings and the stories perfectly depict childhood. Lulu is an excellent role model for kids and this series has my read out loud seal of approval.
I was really excited to read The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald. It sounds right up my alley on paper, but to be honest, it fell flat for me. I always felt slightly at arms length away from everyone. For a book full of internal dialogue, it still felt like it was slightly emotionally removed and the end of the book wrapped up almost too quickly and left me feeling unresolved even though all the plot points were mostly tied up.
At the core of this story is an idea that intrigued me, but the execution just wasn’t there.
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott always makes me think of Christmas. It really is a great story to curl up with by a big fireplace – and the movie adaptations are all really good, too. This actually might be one of those rare instances where I kind of liked watching the movies better than reading the book, I’m not sure why.
Which Little Woman do you relate to the most? Are you still irritated that Jo didn’t end up with Laurie?
I think the fanfare for The Lunar Chronicles is starting to die down a little now that the series is finished but, in the blogging circles especially, the series is still mentioned with reverence pretty much everywhere. Maybe I see it mentioned more because I’m also obsessed, but I really do see it mentioned still all the time.
It might sound strange that the world is this enamored with what started out as a cyborg Cinderella story, but this series is all the things and quickly earned a spot in my mental “favorite books” list.
I wasn’t really sure where to begin with this one – I wouldn’t know which books are “indie” you know? But I took a look at Melville House’s website after Comma Hangover mentioned it in her post. And I noticed Gnarr! by Jon Gnarr and said, “Hey, I read that book! It was really good!” He writes about how he founded the Best Party in 2009 to satirize his country’s political system and somehow won the election and became the mayor of Reykjavík, Iceland’s capital. I saw him in an interview on Craig Ferguson’s late late show a couple of years ago and liked the interview so much that I bought the book.
Mommablogsalot 