“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! — When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.” ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
How true those words are in my life…though my “library” is Amazon, sites like Goodreads and the multitude of bookstores within a 15-minute drive of my home.
We all deserve to take a break from the daily grind and to immerse ourselves in a captivating story. This Mother’s Day, I offer some of the books that have made me laugh and cry — stories that keep me up reading late into the night.
Depending on my mood, I enjoy a good biography, romance, historical fiction, or fantasy novel, as well as a smattering of Civil War narratives. I’ve listed some perennial favorites as well as a few new titles at the top of my reading list.
What books make your all-time favorite list? Share them here.
Biography
- Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
- Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi with J. R. Moehringer, Jr. (Read my book review.)
- Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
- Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson
Romance Classic / Contemporary
- Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
- Green Darkness by Anya Seton
- Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundarsan
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
- The Orchard by Jeffrey Stepakoff (read author interview.)
- Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypus
Historical Fiction
- The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War by Michael Shaara (This Pulitzer Prize winner topped my list of three must-reads of the war-time experience.)
- 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
- Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
- The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
- The Dovekeepers: A Novel by Alice Hoffman
- The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe
- One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus
Fantasy
- The Talisman by Stephen King
- A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
- The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Sherrilyn is quoted in my 2010 and 2011 DragonCon posts.)
Other Fiction
- Midwives A Novel by Chris Bohjalian
- The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
- The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner (out July 2012)