I love books and I love to read! I have been so nervous to put together a book list, because it’s intimidating and lot of work. Once I got started on it though, I had so much fun putting it together. I hope you’ve read a few of these, or will give them a try; but most importantly, I hope you enjoy what I’ve put together! I’ll split the books up into a few different categories, so you can skip to topics that interest you.
Romance Books
1. Persuasion, by Jane Austen
Personally, this is my favorite Jane Austen, and I feel like it’s so underrated. I’ve read it so many times and it is an absolute favorite of mine. The story follows Anne Elliot, a young Englishwoman of 27 years, whose family is moving to lower their expenses and get out of debt, at the same time as the wars come to an end, putting sailors on shore. Navy Captain Frederick Wentworth, had been engaged to Anne in 1806, and now they meet again, both single and unattached, after no contact in more than seven years. This sets the scene for many humorous encounters as well as a second, well-considered chance at love and marriage.
2. Edenbrook, by Julianne Donaldson
A regency era romance, that’s exhilarating and easy to read. From a terrifying run-in with a highwayman to a seemingly harmless flirtation, Marianne finds herself embroiled in an unexpected adventure filled with enough romance and intrigue to keep her mind racing. Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke.
3. Blackmoore, by Julianne Donaldson
Another great regency era romance, by the same author of Edenbrook. I wish she would write more! Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate’s mother makes a bargain with her: India, but only after Kate has secured and rejected three marriage proposals.Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain sooner rather than later and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?
4. Dear Mr. Knightly, by Katherine Reay
A romance with a lot more to the story than just falling in love. Bookish Samantha hides behind the words of her favorite characters in literature. But life for the twenty-three-year-old orphan changes, when an anonymous, Dickensian benefactor (calling himself Mr. Knightley) offers to put Sam through Northwestern University’s prestigious Medill School of Journalism. In exchange, Sam is required to write frequent letters to the mysterious donor, detailing her progress. Her letters become a therapeutic practice for her and she journals her past experiences, as well as a budding romance in her present day life.
5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffers and Annie Barrows
Like most everyone else, I absolutely loved this book! The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all. Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.
6. The Masterpiece, by Francine Rivers
An interesting and engaging read, I finished this one in a few days and really enjoyed it! A successful LA artist, Roman Velasco appears to have everything he could possibly want―money, women, fame. Only Grace Moore, his reluctant, newly hired personal assistant, knows how little he truly has. Like Roman, Grace is wrestling with ghosts and secrets of her own. After a disastrous marriage threw her life completely off course, she vowed never to let love steal her dreams again.
7. Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
I’ve always known the general story of Jane Eyre and have seen it performed live, but just read it for the first time this year. I loved it! This impassioned novel is the love story of Jane Eyre, a plain yet spirited governess, and her arrogant, brooding Mr. Rochester. An orphan who endures a harsh childhood, Jane Eyre becomes governess at Thornfield Hall in the employment of the mysterious Mr. Rochester.
Historical & Historical Fiction
8. Alexander Hamilton, by Robert Chernow
Kurt and I love the music from Lin-Manual Miranda’s Broadway phenomenon inspired by this biography. In preparation for the Disney+ release of this musical performed by the original cast, scheduled for July 3rd, we’ve been reading this fascinating history. Few figures in American history have been more hotly debated or more grossly misunderstood than Alexander Hamilton. Chernow’s biography gives Hamilton his due and sets the record straight, deftly illustrating that the political and economic greatness of today’s America is the result of Hamilton’s countless sacrifices to champion ideas that were often wildly disputed during his time.
9. The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris
This one is on my “to read” list for this summer. I’ve read such great reviews, and it seems really good. Based on the real-life experiences of Holocaust survivor Ludwig (Lale) Sokolov. Once at Auschwitz, Lale, is given the job of tätowierer, inking numbers into the arms of frightened prisoners. One of these prisoners is a young woman named Gita. Despite the passing of years and the ever present threat of death, Lale and Gita never stop believing in a future together where they can live as husband and wife.
10. The Indigo Girl, by Natasha Boyd
I was just introduced to this book by a good friend, and I loved it! Based on historical documents, including Eliza’s letters, this is a historical fiction account of how a teenage girl produced indigo dye, which became one of the largest exports out of South Carolina. Largely overlooked by historians, the accomplishments of Eliza Lucas influenced the course of US history.
Fascinating Memoirs
11. Save Me the Plums, by Ruth Reichl
As a foodie, this book was incredible to read!! When Condé Nast offered Ruth Reichl the top position at America’s oldest epicurean magazine, she declined. She was a New York Times restaurant critique writer, and wasn’t interested in being anyone’s boss. Yet Reichl had been reading Gourmet since she was eight; it had inspired her career. It is the story of the moment restaurants became an important part of popular culture, a time when the rise of the farm-to-table movement changed, forever, the way we eat.
12. Funny in Farsi, by Firoozeh Dumas
Such a quick, interesting, and funny read. In 1972, when she was seven, Firoozeh Dumas and her family moved from Iran to Southern California, arriving with no firsthand knowledge of this country. In humorous rhetoric the family grapples with American English (hot dogs and hush puppies?—a complete mystery), American traditions (Thanksgiving turkey?—an even greater mystery, since it tastes like nothing), and American culture.
13. Becoming, by Michelle Obama
An inspiring, captivating, and interesting read! In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.
14. Educated, by Tara Westover
I felt like this was one of the most enlightening books from the perspective of a victim of abuse. The narrative of her thoughts and feelings, and confusion about her desire to be a part of her family and her desire to get away. Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Her family was so isolated from mainstream society that there was no one to ensure the children received an education, and no one to intervene when one of Tara’s older brothers became violent. When another brother got himself into college, Tara decided to try a new kind of life. Her quest for knowledge transformed her, taking her over oceans and across continents, to Harvard and to Cambridge University.
15. When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi
As the wife of a doctor, this had additional meaning to me, but the lessons shared are applicable to anyone. At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve medical student “possessed,” as he wrote, “by the question of what, given that all organisms die, makes a virtuous and meaningful life” into a neurosurgeon at Stanford working in the brain, the most critical place for human identity, and finally into a patient and new father confronting his own mortality.
Anti-Racist Recommendation
16. Just Mercy, by Bryan Stevenson
Kurt and I watched the movie that just came out and I read the book. Bryan Stevenson was a young lawyer when he founded the Equal Justice Initiative, a legal practice dedicated to defending those most desperate and in need: the poor, the wrongly condemned, and women and children trapped in the farthest reaches of our criminal justice system. One of his first cases was that of Walter McMillian, a young man who was sentenced to die for a notorious murder he insisted he didn’t commit. The case drew Bryan into a tangle of conspiracy, political machination, and legal brinksmanship—and transformed his understanding of mercy and justice forever.
Some of these are my favorite books! As always, I would love to know any of your favorite books too. I’m constantly adding to my list, and I love getting recommendations from friends!
Sincerely,
