As it is the joyous day of love *vomits*, I thought I’d share with you five books that will make you fall in love with life and feel all those happy love related endorphins. You can love a person, but they may disappear, so why not make sure you love your life even more? Have you had enough cheese yet? Shall I get into the recommendations now?
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The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafón
This is one of my favourite books, but the reason it is on this list is that it shows a hidden beauty to life. The characters in this book love words, stories, fiction, they feel a passion for them that can’t help but seep into the mind of the reader. Set in Barcelona, this writing takes on a beautiful air of exploration, magic and intrigue. This book will make you fall in love with life because it will remind you of what to appreciate, or who. It will transport you somewhere you may have never been and show the beauty of some of the world around you. And it will further your love of reading, and is reading not life?
Read my review of The Shadow of the Wind here.
The Immortalists, Chloe Benjamin
This is a book about the opposite of life… death. It is about four children who find out the day they will die and must go on with their lives with this knowledge. The reason The Immortalists will make you fall in love with life is because of how the characters go on to live. They all have different ages they will die at, they all have different priorities. Chloe Benjamin’s writing will make you think about your life, the moments you experience and how much you savour each second. It reminds you not to take anything for granted and to live each day to the full as if you know the date you will die.
Read my review of The Immortalists here.
The Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern
I don’t know what I can say about this book that isn’t a spoiler, but it’s about a man who walks through a magical door and into a world of books, cats, time and fate. There’s a lot in this book, there really is, but my is it beautiful. Each fleck of detail, each moment of magic, reminds you of the beauty to be noticed in the little things around you. This story is about timing and finding people at the right time and how our paths are fated. It takes a very different approach to life and makes you see things slightly differently, so for this reason, it is on my list.
Read my review of The Starless Sea here.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Taylor Jenkins Reid
How could I not include this book on such a list as this? When I think of life, I think of Evelyn, because my god did she live! The experiences she shares in this book over her seven husbands across the span of her life is just mesmerising. I’m not saying everything that happens to her is good because it certainly isn’t, but if you want a reminder of some of the things you could be out there doing, give this book a read. Evelyn is a killer main character that has such beauty and elegance, you will fall in love with her as well as life!
Read my review of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo here.
Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden
If you want a stunning setting, with incredibly driven characters and a story to remember forever, read Memoirs of a Geisha. This book does what it says on the cover and tells the story of a young girl turned Geisha. It’s made this list because not only is the writing a wonder to read, but the harrowing story and the historical Japanese setting make you see a new side to our world and what it once was before and after the war. I adore this book and film for that matter and will always think of the beauty it made me see in our world.
Evelyn certainly did live. That book was a sleeper for me, and I did not expect to love it as much as I did! Great surprise
I LOVE The Shadow of the Wind!! <3
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by E.V. Schwab will definitely make an impact on how you think about life. Have you read that one?
Memoirs of a Geisha is the only one I have read from the list, but it seems s be of my 2 most favorite books ever. The other is The Diary of Ann Frank because I read it at 12 and the emotions that it evoked were overwhelming. It was the first book that I read that made me LOVE reading. I am going to tackle the other four on your list. If I love them 1/2 as much as I did Memoirs, they will be worth reading!
So funny the difference where you are in life makes on your perspective! My book club group had an entirely different take on Evelyn Hugo.
Great list Beth! Have not yet read The Shadow the Wind and I was intimidated by the size of The Starless Sea! Both are now on my “To Read” list. The others have been read and were fantastic! So true….so many books, not enough time. But it’s a goal 🙂
May I add to your list…The Rent Collector by Cameron Wright, The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer and Unbroken by Lauran Hillenbrand. I think after reading them you will expand your list! Enjoy!
Sorry….you’ve got a typo in your ‘About Beth’ description. 🥹
I knew you’d want to know!