You know those books you randomly think about during the day? You may have read them years ago, or you may have just closed the cover last night. Some books make you fall in love with the characters, some books take you to another time or place, some books cause tears to stream down your face while you are sitting on an airplane…either way, these books just stick with you. Here are 5 books that I cannot stop thinking about.
1.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Genre: Fantasy
Author: Erin Morgenstern. Her website made me chuckle a few times and I love her authenticity. https://erinmorgenstern.com/about/
Mr. A.H. and Hector are two magicians that compete indirectly against each other in special “games”. Each magician must train a student of their choosing. When the instructors think their student is ready, they will be put into a “game”. Mr. A.H. won the last competition so Hector is out for revenge. Mr. A.H. chooses Marco, a child from an orphanage-someone who is inconsequential to him if he loses the game. Mr. A.H. teaches Marco everything a true magician should know. Hector chooses his own daughter, who showed promise as a magician from a very young age. Hector is so confident in his daughter that he is willing to risk her life for the sake of winning a game. Neither Marco or Celia know the rules or how the game is scored. As Celia and Marco go back and forth with their illusions and shows, they end up falling in love, something their instructors did not foresee. The narrators of the story are circus patrons, performers, love interests, and people who help design the circus or help Celia and Marco with their magic. Only a few understand that the circus is a backdrop for a high stakes game. The circus appears without warning, it is simply there and then the games begin.
Why I love it: This book is so creative. The characters and story are so well developed you feel as though you are actually a part of the circus and their competition. This story also addresses family and their complicated relationships. I cannot believe this was Erin Morgenstern’s debut novel. I am so impressed with her mind and her story telling. Go read it. You will not regret it.
2.
Genre: contemporary fiction
Author: Lisa Genova https://www.lisagenova.com Visit her website to read about Lisa (she has a degree in Biopsychology from Bates College and a PhD from Harvard in Neuroscience).
Alice and her husband are both well educated and successful with 3 grown children. The story is told from Alice’s point of view as she is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease and the effect it has on herself, her career and her family. The story shows how quickly the disease can take hold and how everyone deals with it.
Why I love it: Sometimes life sucks, throws you a curve ball and you have to pick yourself up and deal with it. It is never easy to have a disease change your life/lives around you. We all like to think we are in control until we definitely are not. This story not only educated me about a disease I know little about, but it also let me peak into the households of those who are actually experiencing it. Her novel connects neuroscience and emotion and opens the floor for discussion.
3.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Genre: historical drama
Author: Kristin Hannah. Read about the former lawyer-turned author here https://kristinhannah.com/about-kristin-bio. Kristin Hannah has written over 20 novels (word on the web: her book Firefly Lane is coming to Netflix and will star Katherine Heigl).
The Nightingale is about love, loss, and war. It is about standing up for your beliefs versus staying quiet and protecting yourself and others. The central theme of this book is around Vianne and Isabelle, two sisters who each play a role in the war. One is a housewife that helps hide Jewish children and one is a spy. This book spotlights some of the many roles women played helping the soldiers, children and each other.
“Men tell stories. Women get on with it. For us it was a shadow war. There were no parades for us when it was over, no medals or mentions in history books. We did what we had to during the war, and when it was over, we picked up the pieces and started our lives over.”
Vianne (The Nightingale)
Why I love it: The unfairness, hunger, violence, humiliation, and loss people went through during WWII is so heartbreaking I wonder how people could stand by and let it happen. Resistance to malfeasance is difficult when you are tethered to fear. I found myself holding my breath when Isabelle was on one of her missions, or when an SS officer takes residence in Vianna’s house. I felt angry as they blocked city streets and forced people onto buses to go to the concentration camps. As a mother I can identify with Vianne’s need to keep her daughter safe. If I did not have children I think I would identify more with Isabelle’s desire to be a spy and counteract the enemy. Either way, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. The characters are so well developed I felt as if Vianne and Isabelle were my own sisters.
When Breath Becomes Air by Dr. Paul Kalanithi
Genre: nonfiction, autobiography
Author: Dr. Paul Kalanithi, published posthumously
Dr. Paul Kalanithi is about to enter his last year as a neurosurgeon when he is diagnosed with Stage lV Metastatic Lung Cancer. His memoir follows his life as a young medical student to a brilliant surgeon. He is forced to answer “what makes life worth living in the face of death?”
Why I love it: This book describes ‘how to live’ by a brilliant doctor while he is dying. His memory will live on through this book, his wife and the daughter he left behind. Emotional and well written. You will laugh while you are crying.
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Genre: historical fiction
Author: Anthony Doerr. Visit his website here: http://anthonydoerr.com/books/all-the-light-we-cannot-see/
This book tells the story of two teenagers during World War II. One is a blind girl from Paris, one is an orphan boy from Germany. The book goes back and forth between the two until their lives intersect.
Why I love it: This book is the kind you stay up reading way too late as you whisper “just one more chapter” to yourself. Then you will finally put the book down just to loose sleep thinking about it.
