I spend a lot of time reading, unfortunately it’s almost always for the under 10 crowd. And it’s not that I don’t love reading to and for my kids, but sometimes it’s nice to read something that is more geared towards my own interests, life and reading abilities.
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I don’t get to read for pleasure a lot anymore (and even when I do have time, I’m usually just too tired!) but when I do have the opportunity to read for fun, these are the books I reach for:
My favorite fiction authors for grown ups
I first discovered Ms. Reynolds when her book The Rapture of Canaan
was featured in the Oprah Book Club which my mommy was a member of at the time (I was in high school). I read the book, mesmerized by her style and the way she brought people and places to life. I’ve since read every single one of her books (seriously, I own every.single.one) and eagerly await the publication of new ones (which is usually years and years between!) I even used a passage from my favorite book of hers, A Gracious Plenty
, as inspiration for a dance piece I choreographed years ago. Her words resonate with me as I am pulled into the familiar yet somehow faraway places of her books (mostly set in the Southern US) and her characters have a realistic depth that isn’t always easy to create in written words.
So, technically Lois Lowry is a young adult author but she’s still one of my favorites and as an award winning writer, she’s worth reading even for grown ups. I was introduced to Ms. Lowry when I read Number the Stars
in late elementary school and also read her most famous book, The Giver, (both Newbery Medal winning books) back in high school. Both books left such an impression on me I decided to re-read The Giver along with the other three books in The Giver Quartet
earlier this year while I spent my evenings nursing sweet Pipsqueak to sleep each night. I honestly can’t say which book in the series I like the most, each transports you to a fantastical yet somehow realistic place where you feel like you could fit right in.
I haven’t read a lot of books by Jodi Picoult, I only just discovered her a few years ago, but those that I have read have really resonated with me, my favorite being Plain Truth
(which I just discovered was turned into a Lifetime movie I now need to watch!)
I randomly picked up Ms. Swerling’s first novel, City of Dreams
, for a few bucks when visiting my college book store many years ago. A lover of historical fiction (the American Girls books were my favorite growing up!), City of Dreams immediately jumped off the shelf at me. I quickly read through the book, unable to put it down at times (luckily I didn’t have two crazy boys to force me to!), transported to the time and place of America’s beginnings. I haven’t yet read the other books in the series, which build upon the families in the first book, but will definitely be adding them to my library list.
Ms. Courter is another great historical fiction writer. I came across her novel, The Midwife
, when I was reading on my Kindle before bed each night in Dublin. The story of a Jewish woman navigating the Russian Imperial Medical School at the turn of the century before immigrating to New York City immediately drew me in and the sequel, The Midwife’s Advice
, was no less exciting.
