Happy book day!
Reading books have so many benefits! They entertain, relax, enhance your knowledge and writing skills, expand your vocabulary, and even improve your memory.
World Book Day was established on April 23, 1995, by UNESCO. It is the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and prominent Peruvian-Spanish chronicler Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. The first colonial-born writer to find success in Europe in the 1500s.
To honor the date, I'm listing here 10 books I've recommended in my newsletter so far. They are not in any particular ranking.
Dune (Frank Herbert)
Dune is a science-fiction classic. It's filled with fast-paced adventure. A fun book if you are ever in need of one. It tells the story of young Paul Atreides, whose family accepts the stewardship of a desert planet. Their lives completely change in this new world.
Suggested in Oscar Bait
Room (Emma Donoghue)
Room is already 12 years old and even has a movie adaptation, but if you have never read or watched the movie, go for it. The book is much better if you don't know anything about it before reading it.
Suggested in The Korean Wave
Bonus: 12 Must-Read Korean Novels in English
One Hundred Years of Solitude (Gabriel García Márquez)
With rich, imaginative prose that has come to define an entire style known as “magical realism”, this bestselling novel tells the story of the Buendía family against a backdrop of Colombian history - both real and imagined. 100 Years of Solitude is a great book all in all. If you haven't read it yet, you should.
Suggested in How a Disney movie got both family relations and Latin America right?
The Hobbit There and Back Again (J.R.R. Tolkien)
It is much easier to read The Hobbit or There and Back Again than The Lord of the Rings. The book is about Bilbo Baggins and his quest to retrieve the dwarves' treasure from the dragon Smaug and how he discovers the One Ring.
Suggested in Upcoming Series in 2022
Adults (Emma Jane Unsworth)
Adults is quite a page-turner about a 35-year-old-Millenial that is far from having her things together. Jenny is obsessive with social media, self-absorbed, and falling apart from a breakup.
Suggested in On turning 30.
Walt Disney: The triumph of the American imagination (Neal Gabler)
Disney's biography makes for an intriguing read. Gabler reveals a wounded, lonely, and often disappointed man, who, despite his worldwide success, was plagued with financial problems much of his life and suffered a nervous breakdown. Walt Disney showed how one could impose one's will on the world, and that is what his company does, increasingly.
Suggested in The Streaming Wars
A house in the sky (Amanda Lindhout)
One of my favorite books. A house in the sky is an autobiographical book about a Canadian working as a reporter for National Geographic and roaming the world. She works in many countries, including war-ridden Afghanistan and Iraq. When she traveled to Somalia—“the most dangerous place on earth.” - she gets abducted by a group of masked men along a dusty road.
Suggested in Triggering Series
The Bonfire of Vanities (Tom Wolfe)
In The Bonfire of Vanities introduction, the author Tom Wolfe explains that he wanted to write a book about New York. Though it portrays the big apple quite well in the '80s, this book is so much more. It emphasizes the importance of work to the characters. Work shapes their perspectives on the city. It's their ego and how they chase power.
Suggested in Workism.
Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)
In Americanah we follow Ifemelu, transforming into a confident woman through adolescence and early adulthood. Dwelling on her fears and insecurities in a foreign country where she faces cultural differences and is first confronted with being black.
Suggested in Do you know Chimamanda?
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals (Oliver Burkman)
Four thousand weeks is a book to counter-act the need to always be on top of everything, to do the most we can of our lives, and manage every second of our days. It is a book for those of you who have FOMO and are always worried that you haven't accomplished enough in a day.
Suggested in TV #FOMO
This list has a little bit of everything
Biography, non-fiction, science-fiction, fantasy, comedy, and contemporary. I think I'm reading as broad as I can and so can you. Happy book day!