Tell Me What to Read: Spring 2018
Tell Me What to Read is quite possibly my very favorite thing on my entire blog.
It usually takes me FOR-ever to get through the three books because I have book ADHD, but I absolutely love seeing all the recommendations and I’ve read so many amazing new authors and titles over the past eight years (eight years I’ve been doing this! I still remember when I had this idea, when I was traveling with my mom and visiting a local library – the whole thing started with this book!).
I’ve just finished up the three books from the fall edition and I’m ready to roll with a new set of three for this spring!
You know the drill – suggest something fun (although that doesn’t need to mean chick-lit – I’m up for non-fiction, memoirs, young adult, middle grade, AND chick-lit), and I’ll pick three to read in April, May, and June!
Your job: Comment with the title of a book you think I should read.
My job: Choose three from the suggestions and announce which ones I’ll be reading.
I’ll read one a month (ish) between now and the end of June (hopefully). Feel free to read along and check back every month for my reviews.
And, as always, even if I hate the book, I will not hate you.
And go!
“Tattoos on the Heart” by Gregory boyle. Hands down, the book that has changed my life the most, his follow up “Barking to the Choir” was just as good. It’s written by a Jesuit Priest who has spent his time serving in Los Angeles with gang members. It’s not the type of book I would normally choose, but it’s the most beautiful book I think I’ve ever read! If i knew where you lived i would leave a copy on your doorstep because that it how much i love it Haha.
I just finished Apollo 8: The Thrilling Story of the First Mission to the Moon, by Jeffrey Kluger and Brian Troxell and thought it was SO fascinating.
I recommend How to Write a Novel by Melanie Sumner and The Hopefuls by Jennifer Close .
Jasper and the Riddle of Riley’s Mine by Caroline Starr Rose and May B. by the same author are so good! May B. is a mix between The Crossover and Little House on the Prairie.
I also highly recommend The Edge of Extinction by Laura Martin – especially on audio!
And Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton. This one sounds weird but I’m on a personal mission to get people to read this book because it is so unusual and wonderful. Think dragons acting out a jane Austen plot – but SO GOOD!
Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Born a Crime was great!
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman. One of the best books I read in 2017.
You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me by Sarra Manning. One of my all-time fav books. It’s only $2.99 on Kindle! Fake dating! Scrabble! Max and his dog Keith! In my dream film adaptation, Max is played by Tom Hardy.
(Manning also writes great YA, I would recommend Adorkable and London Belongs to Us.)
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. One of the best rom-com debuts I’ve read.
Homegoing by Yaa Girasol. So thought provoking. Also, obviously A Wrinkle in time. 😉
Gyasi, not girasol. My bad
#1 Highly recommend Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. Sweeping family saga, I guess, beginning maybe around 1900 in Korea and continuing to the present. Includes lots of time in Japan and their Korean expat community (who knew?). Loved it. I listened to it, but reading it would have been equally good.
#2 The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead. Oh my. I just read this yesterday in one day. It needs to end up in HS curricula. It’s so good. Hard at times (subject matter) because it depicts slavery as it truly was. But the writing. So gorgeous. The story. So good. I can’t say enough good about this book.
tell the truth, shame the devil. It’s rather intense and gut-wrenching, with an ending that might not jive, but the characters are strong.
I have to second some of the suggestions: The Great Alone and We were the Lucky Ones, really enjoyed both of these. Currently listening to Women in the Window, it’s good. Just ordered Educated by Tara Westover. Hope you pick one of these.
The Guernsey Potato Peel Society by Mary Ann Shaffer or Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah or Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly or Dad is Fat by Jim Gaffigan or The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton is my recommendation! It won the Goodreads debut book of the year a few years back and the finale of the trilogy was just released this week. It’s a YA book that mixes a western and Arabian desert setting in a way that makes it feel like another character! It features great friendships, swoonworthy romance, and really interesting world building and plot (and djinnis!). It’s so fun!
Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging – Louise Rennison
The Rent Collector – Camron Wright
She Got Up Off the Couch and Other Heroic Acts from Mooreland, Indiana – Haven Kimmel
The Girl Who Wrote in Silk – Kelli Estes
My suggestions are a bit random and so very different from each other but I truly enjoyed both this year. My suggestions are Stef Soto, Taco Queen by Jennifer Torres and An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.
Carnegie’s Maid by Marie Benedict – fascinating perspective on Andrew Carnegie and solid historical fiction with a strong female protagonist. I second the other recommendation for The Hate U Give – it is timely and thought provoking.
Navigating Early by Clare Vanderpool and The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto by Mitch Albom.
I really enjoyed The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck, it is a different perspective on WWII than most of the WWII books I have read. So thought provoking.
I loved A Piece of the World by Christina Baker Kline, not a book I would’ve picked on my own but one I truly loved. I was sad when I reached the end, I wanted to stay immersed in the story
A couple of my favorite books are Secrets of a Charmed Life and A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner.
I just read “As Bright As Heaven” by Susan Meissner about a family in Philadelphia during the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic. I love historical fiction and this one was brilliant in my opinion!
Agreed! I second this suggestion!
The Gate to Women’s Country, War Brides, Tell Me Lies, Daughters of the Night Sky, The Silver Music Box