I blame my friend for this article.
I am not one for writing much about book recommendations, mostly because I feel everyone’s taste varies and I worry about people squinting at my sophisticated – hides cringey romance novels – bookshelf in despair.
I am a picky reader. My friend will throw book recommendation after book recommendation at me and pitch plots in every possible way, and I’d look at him blankly until he’d sigh and give up. I am used to walking around the same books in a store hundreds of times before reaching a decision, a reason why no one comes book shopping with me.
Yet, at times I’d feel the most unexpected pull towards a book. A click, like the satisfaction of putting in the last puzzle piece. I’d see the book and realize, “Yes, this was the one I wanted.”
A series of whispers would sound from the pages, and I’d feel finally at home.
I don’t place all my books at the same level, even in my picky library, some books stand out more than the others. Their songs more haunting, and captivating than the rest. Let me tell you about ones that have a permanent place in my mental library.
Onward brave soldier!
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Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Genre: Magic Realism, Fantasy Fiction
Length: 505 pages
Rating: 4.1/5 on Goodreads
Sometimes I feel certain authors have ascended quite a few levels of humanity in order to be able to write this way or at least sold a part of their soul to Satan, not a bad deal if I get to keep reading something so amazing.
It has a boy named Kafka running away from a prophecy, an old cat lover named Nakata whom we all love and talking cats. Their destinies are entwined, and fishes are literally falling from the skies. An unfulfilled prophecy and mystical happenings await you on this journey.
What more could we want?
Why do I like it?
When I read Kafka the word melancholic beauty comes to mind. Simply put Kafka on the Shore isn’t just a book, it’s an experience. Murakami paints stunning pictures within our mindscape with just metaphors. There are so many strings floating through this book and each one attaches itself and reels you in.
In the end you are so wrapped up, you don’t want to let go. In certain pages the words leap out and form vivid images that you can almost touch and melodies you can hear.
It is definitely a journey worth taking.
“And once the storm is over, you won’t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won’t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won’t be the same person who walked in. That’s what this storm’s all about.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
“Every one of us is losing something precious to us. Lost opportunities, lost possibilities, feelings we can never get back again. That’s part of what it means to be alive.”
― Haruki Murakami, Kafka on the Shore
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A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
Genre: Historical Fiction
Length: 384 pages
Rating: 4.4/5 on Goodreads
On a sunny day during 9th grade, I had come across this book in the dusty shelves of my school library. Curious, I checked it out and read it. I couldn’t make much sense of it, the next day I traded it with my friend for a copy of Twilight. Never have I regretted a decision more.
The tale is spun upon the war-ravaged streets of Afghanistan where the lives of Mariam and Laila cross one another. There’s love, despair, and hope, so much hope. It’s two generations brought together in inexplicable ways.
Why do I like it?
It’s beautiful, breathtakingly beautiful. I could never get this book out of my mind. Even though I put it aside, I could never forget it. When I came back to it, I couldn’t put it down.
Hosseini writes as though he is reaching out to something within you, he drags you through his words and leaves you to live through the eyes of his characters. And it’s beautiful, this book changes you, it leaves you shattered and builds you up in a different way.
“One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs,
Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls.”
― Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns“You see, some things I can teach you. Some you learn from books. But there are things that, well, you just have to see and feel.”
― Khaled Hosseini, A Thousand Splendid Suns
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The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Genre: Fantasy Fiction
Length: 357 pages
Rating: 4.5/5 on Goodreads
This was one of those book recommendations from my friend that I spent quite the time ignoring, until he got frustrated with my picky self and gifted it to me on my birthday. I honestly cannot thank him enough. I had put it off for some time but once I picked it up, I could not stop reading it.
It was perfect.
A loyal and shy employee plots violence for six orphans and their amazing caretaker. Enough said.
It has a magical island wrapped in secrets that one Linus Baker must uncover. Prepare for adventure, drama, and a whole lot of ooooh mama!
This is the book that you’ll need on any given day.
Why do I like it?
When the words feel good were made, they were made with this book in mind. Hope, this book gives you so much hope. Hope that you are not alone, hope that you’ll be accepted just as you are, hope that it’s never too late, and hope that you’ll find your own people.
I am never one for feel good books but this one makes it all seem so effortless. The words fall into place like they were meant to be.
I have never regretted reading it more than once.
“We should always make time for the things we like. If we don’t, we might forget how to be happy.”
― T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea“You’re too precious to put into words. I think … it’s like one of Theodore’s buttons. If you asked him why he cared about them so, he would tell you it’s because they exist at all.”
― T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea“A home isn’t always the house we live in. It’s also the people we choose to surround ourselves with. You may not live on the island, but you can’t tell me it’s not your home. Your bubble, Mr. Baker. It’s been popped. Why would you allow it to grow around you again?”
― T.J. Klune, The House in the Cerulean Sea
