I love books. Whether I am curled up reading before bed, listening to an audiobook while working on a jigsaw puzzle, or reading books aloud with my partner, I adore exploring different perspectives and narratives through the written word. Here are my suggestions for the assorted activities above!
Books to read aloud with your partner
Watership Down
Yes, it’s about rabbits. But it’s also an amazing adventure story that has plenty of allegory and social commentary to sink your teeth into. Plus it’s really fun to come up with voices for all of the different characters and to decide who in your friend/family circles are most like each of the rabbits.
Into the Beautiful North
A young woman goes on a quest to bring the men back to her small town in Mexico after watching The Magnificent Seven. A fun and light feeling read that has some really important perspectives on issues of the US/Mexico border.
The Count of Monte Cristo
An epic tale of love, obsession, murder, and revenge. One that you will not be able to put down and will mourn once you have finished the last page.
Jim the Boy
A sweet and quaint coming-of-age Americana story about a boy growing up in North Carolina during the Great Depression. This and the sequel The Blue Star, somehow find a way to be heartfelt and poignant while avoiding going too far into kitschy, and while delving into issues of race, gender, and class.
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
A timeless classic, the Hitchhiker’s Guide will keep you giggling (and stammering your way through pronunciations) together plus give you some quite handy advice. Don’t Panic!!!
Audiobooks
A Tale for the Time Being
A great story that bounces back and forth between a teenage girl in Japan and a novelist in Hawaii who finds the girls diary washed up after a tsunami. Read by the author, it examines the relationship between writer and reader, past and present, fact and fiction, quantum physics, history, and myth.
The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
A fun murder mystery that replays the death of a woman from the angle of everyone in the house. The premise is delightfully unique and will keep you guessing until the end.
The Cuckoo’s Calling
A totally addicting series of detective fiction by J.K. Rowling under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Once I started the series, I couldn’t stop, and found myself looking for any excuse to continue. I can’t wait for the next one to come out!
Exit West
Magical realism about a couple and the journey of their relationship in a country that is devolving into a civil war. Read by the author, it has a feeling of timelessness and authenticity.
The Death of Mrs. Westaway
The first book I listened to of Ruth Ware’s, this one is an enjoyable suspense novel, about a woman who tries to pretend to be someone she’s not in order to collect on an inheritance. The narrator, Imogen Church, does a great job of making you feel the emotions of the protagonist.
Bedtime or Beach Reads
Bone Gap
A mystical mystery, a coming-of-age story, a tale that will transport you to the in-between. It’s fun, quirky, and also introspective. Has the same feeling of simultaneous reality and impossibility as your dreams.
Dark Matter
A fun and engrossing ‘sci-fi lite’ story that you will not be able to put down. The only problem with calling this a bed-time read is that it may keep you up turning those pages late into the night to find out what happens.
The Plotters
A delightful South Korean noir about a hitman who breaks the rules, and starts poking around in the underbelly of the underbelly of South Korea’s string-pullers and plotters.
My Sister, The Serial Killer
The title says it all except how darkly fun this story is. Korede wants to believe her sister when she says that she had to kill her boyfriend in self-defense, until it happens again. And again. And again.
The Serpent King
A sweet and sometimes heart-breaking tale of growing up in the Bible Belt. Three misfit friends quickly approaching graduation in their small Tennessee town try to navigate who they are, who they are becoming, and where they will go from here.
Did I miss any of the best books you have read or listened to lately? Post it in the comments so I can read it next!!