February 8, 2016

Books That Don't Get Enough Love

Today's post is Valentine's Day related. it is about books that don't get enough love. These are books that I thought were great, but I don't hear people talking about them. More people need to realize how fabulous these are.

Behind the Beautiful Forever by Katherine Boo - This book had great critical reviews, but I never hear any regular people talking about it. The author tells the story of some people in a tent city in Mumbai, India. It's heartbreaking and beautiful.

Hark! a Vagrant - by Kate Beaton - It's a book of cartoons, but they are hilarious and make you feel smart when you get the references. If you liked Texts from Jane Eyre, you'll love this.

The Jane Austen Mysteries by Stephanie Barron - I love these smart, witty mysteries in which Jane Austen is an amateur sleuth. She maintains ladylike propriety while not shying away from decidedly unladylike situations. Nothing fazes her.

The Most Beautiful Book in the World by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt - This is a book of novellas. And they really are beautiful. I'm not a huge fan of short stories, but I loved these.

All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith - I loved this book. I love anything Jane Austen related, but this was so different. The author took an extended trip to South America to lead book discussion groups about Jane Austen's books to see how women in other cultures related to them. It was so well-written and fascinating.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Won't Stop Talking by Susan Cain - More people are discovering this book. I read it four years ago (!) and it still sticks with me. Stop feeling like your introversion is bad. Introverts have value, too!

So Many Books So Little Time by Sara Nelson - I read this book every year or two. Granted, it is a little dated, now. The author has changed jobs twice since she wrote this. But the emotions still resonate. She had a goal to read a book a week and write about it. She talks about how books interact with her personal life. She writes about discovering books and putting books down when they don't resonate with her.

The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova - Everyone knows about Kostova's novel The Historian, but I thought The Swan Thieves was even better.

Zoo City by Lauren Beukes - Everyone talks about Beukes' later novels like The Shining Girls and Broken Monsters, but those were too violent and brutal for me. I prefer Zoo City. It's still pretty brutal, but it lets you get into the story first. It takes place in a future Johannesburg, South Africa in which criminals are saddled with an animal that they have to carry around all the time.

The Gracekeepers by Kirsty Logan - So many more people need to read this. It's beautiful and weird and so amazing.

The Book Lust Books by Nancy Pearl - This set of books is perfect for the book lover that can't decide what to read next.

So, that's 10 books. Got any to add?