I love books. I love reading. So it’s only natural that I love World Book Day, right?
Well, World Book Day is today. Wahoo!
To celebrate, I thought I’d tell you about a couple of books that you might like to read. Books for grown-ups. Books that I’ve read and enjoyed.
The first one is The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein. This novel is funny. Heart-warming. Bring-a-tear-to-your-eyes-at-times. It’s about Enzo (who happens to be a dog) and how he loves to race cars. To him, there isn’t anything more exhilarating. He learns about racing from his best friend, Denny (who happens to be a human). And he learns that life is like being on a race track and that it isn’t always about going fast. Fabulous book!
Next on my short list is Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple. This book is touching and funny. Bernadette Fox is extremely opinionated. Fellow private-school moms in Seattle think she’s eccentric — weird even. She’s a revolutionary architect but her growing ‘allergy’ to Seattle – and to people in general – has made her so agoraphobic that she has a virtual assistant in India that handles even her most basic errands. And then suddenly, she’s gone. Her fifteen-year-old daughter sets out to figure out what happened to her mom. Fun book!
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr is about Marie-Laure who is blind. She lives with her father in Paris near the Museum of Natural History where he works as the keeper of its locks. When the Nazis take over Paris, Marie-Laure and her father flee to Saint-Malo where Marie-Laure’s reclusive great-uncle lives. Werner, a German orphan, is an expert at building and fixing radios. He is also a member of Hitler’s youth group. His life becomes entwined with Marie-Laure’s when Werner is ordered to go to Saint-Malo. Another great book!
This next book is non-fiction: I Will Always Write You Back by Caitlin Alifirenka. Fourteen-year-old Caitlin, who lives in Pennsylvania, becomes penpals with Martin, who lives in Zimbabwe. Caitlin comes from a middle-class family. Martin’s family is desperately poor. Over several years, Caitlin learns just how poor Martin is. She starts sending him money which enables him to continue his education in Zimbabwe and even buy food for his family. Caitlin and her family then help him get accepted to a university in the United States and receive a scholarship to boot. Awesome book!
Last is Slow Horses by Mick Herron. (I could give TONS of other book suggestions but I don’t want to overwhelm you . . . ) British MI5 agent, River Cartwright, botched up a training mission. Very royally and very publicly. As punishment, he’s sent to Slough House, which is an administrative purgatory for other MI5 agents who have screwed up. Then Cartwright sees an opportunity to redeem himself. It’s a big gamble. Will he succeed? (This is a British novel written by a Briton. Keep in mind that there might be words or phrases that you might not understand — unless you’re British yourself. Don’t let that stop you from reading this great book.)
So there you go. Head out to your local library and check out one of these books. Or, a different book of your choosing. Whatever.
Just get a book and start reading.
Happy World Book Day!
