It has been about ten years since I last wrote a list of books that have stuck with me. That’s a long time for a list to stay the same. People change, and so must the books that stay with them. So here, in no particular order, are the books that are on the list now.
Squire (Protector of the Small Quartet #3) by Tamora Pierce
This one I come back to again and again and again. There’s general advice for growing up (and being a grown-up) buried in there, and sometimes I need the reminder of a young adult novel to bring this back.
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
This one sometimes surprises people. I have seen a lot of people say that they didn’t like this book – and I can understand why. For me though? This book absolutely wrecked me. I was devastated when it ended, but also it was amazing. What Erin Morgenstern is absolutely amazing at is world building. So if you want to pick up a book and be sucked into a new world, this one is for you.
Fortune’s Lady by Evelyn Richardson
Have I since read many, many more romance novels – some of which are arguably better than Fortune’s Lady? Yes. But this is my first one, and not only that, but the first one with a strong female lead. One that dared to strike out on her own. In a regency era novel! And I re-read it every year or so.
The Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey
I love a lot of the Dragonriders of Pern books. But this one sticks with me more than any of them. Do I know why? Not really. Part of it is probably Tai and F’lessan’s banter. But regardless, this is another book I re-read often. (So often that I’ve had to tape pages back in.)
Good Inside: A Guide to Becoming the Parent You Want to Be by Dr. Becky Kennedy
This has become something of a parenting bible for me. This is not gentle parenting, but it is a lot closer. The basic tenets are as follows: that two things can be true, and that your kid is essentially good inside. (Hence the name of the book.) If you start with looking at your kid through the lens of being a good kid having a hard time, it’s just that much easier to see your kid having a hard time and helps you reframe whatever it is as you and your kid being on the same team.
Promised Land by Barack Obama
This hits home on a couple of different levels. I started reading this while I was pregnant, but had only made it about a quarter of the way through by the time my baby was born. And then, because I had the audiobook, I started listening to it while trying to get the new baby to sleep. And as a result, during my baby’s first year of life, we listened to this book a lot. It turns out Barack Obama has a great voice for calming newborns. Also, as a fan of The West Wing – it reads like watching The West Wing – only it’s actually true.
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
I don’t really know what I was expecting when I first picked this up. Probably something that was a lot more adventureful – something like some of the fantasy novels I read when I was younger. And I really haven’t been in that mind-space for a while now. I haven’t gotten through many fantasy books recently. BUT that all said – one reviewer had said it was like a warm hug, and I needed that warm hug when I picked this up. And it was that in so many ways that I could not put it down. If you need a warm hug, this is it.
The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by EL Konigsburg
I remember when I first read this book as a kid being entranced with the mystery of it. Claudia and Jamie looking for clues as to whether or not the statue was really by Michaelangelo while living in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Of course, when I was a kid, I hadn’t been to the Met, so in my mind I replaced a lot of the rooms and imaginings with what I knew of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. I re-read The Mixed-Up Files this past year and while the mystery element was still there, I suddenly understood that this was really a book about Claudia growing up and becoming her own person. I somehow glossed over that in my mind as a child. But also – child me didn’t know what an Automat was, and now I wish I could go to one.
Bloomability by Sharon Creech
This book is one that I haven’t actually picked up recently, partly because for some reason, every time the urge to read it hits, I can’t seem to find a copy. I know I had one. I also know that it sat next to A View from Saturday on my bookshelf, and for some reason the image of the two covers have blurred together in my memory. But what I remember most about Bloomability was the sense of leaving home, of learning Italian, the unrootedness of being in a new place, and that sense of trying to make the best. This book made me want to learn Italian (as short-lived as that was).