Skeptickle

For the past 10 months I found myself with a lot of time on my hands to read the books I wanted to read instead of the stuff that was assigned to me. I was able to devour about 30-40 books in that time span. Reading has always been more than just a hobby to me; it’s more like an obsession. My favorite place to go when I was young was the library, where I’d check out as many books as can fit between my skinny arms and my chin. I wouldn’t eat or sleep because books were food and rest enough for my soul. I still have trouble putting down a good book and sleeping, and would instead stay up all night to finish it. Here are five books that I highly recommend if you’re looking for something to read that’s worth sacrificing sleep over. They cover all sorts of deeper issues, like the different kinds of love, loss, forgiveness, fear, betrayal, and hope- that make you keep pondering well past the last page.

1.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Nonfiction. This book is the one that inspired me to be a locavore and to look at food in a very different way than I did before. Kingsolver was able to weave her and her family’s story with facts, recipes, and other anecdotes throughout the book, which made it both entertaining and educational. She writes with the kind of honesty and common sense that anyone can appreciate. It gives the reader a look at the trials and joys of growing a sustainable farm, enough to feed a family of four, for an entire year. What a great experiment!

2.

Peony in Love by Lisa See. Fiction, inspired by true stories. This book really revealed to me a lot about Chinese history and cultural beliefs. I have to admit that I’m a little behind on learning about my own people and there are some traditions and rituals that continue to elude me. For example, Chinese ancestral worship is something most Chinese families still practice. There are complicated rituals attached to these duties and I never fully understood what most of them were for. A good part of it was explained in this book, along with a detailed snapshot of what life was like in 17th century China. You can tell that the author did her research and I’m looking forward to learning more from her other novels.

3.

The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Fiction. I’m so glad to find an author who understands (aka is obsessed) with books as much as I am. The circumstances are puzzling until the main character starts uncovering the truth piecemeal. This book read like a good mystery movie with a delicious plot twist towards the end. The characters are well-developed and original. I can’t rave enough about this one!

4.

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Fiction. I really enjoyed reading this book because of the underlying topic of love but with the added twist of time travel to stir things up a bit. It was very well written and not hard to follow as the main character jumps forwards and backwards in time. I think a lot of people can relate to the characters because even in those inconvenient circumstances, we all still want the same things- love, family, good friends, a home, to be really good at something, etc. They recently made a movie based on the book and it’s coming out in August. I’m looking forward to watching it .

5.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks. Fiction, inspired by the real-life Sarajevo Haggadah. Yes, it’s a book about a book, but before you call an intervention on further book-reading for this bookworm, hear me out. The fact that stood out to me the most was the mention of periods of time in Europe and the Middle East where people of the three main Western religions- Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in peace. Of course, when the Spanish Inquisition swept through it all went away. I think that there has been so much religious tension in that region that no one remembers there being anything but war and destruction. This is very relevant today. Just a couple of weeks ago, Obama outlined a plan in the Middle East for this exact hope that peace can be actualized if only the worshippers of all three religions found commonality between themselves rather than differences. This book had a little of everything: world history, book conservation, Western religions, and (a first for me) an Aussie narrator.