I was an avid reader growing up. I was always reminded not to strain my eyes reading in the dark, when it’s past my bedtime. As I got older, however, I started reading less and less. University life got in the way, my course materials took precedence, and I had less time for leisure reading.
If you’re like me, and you want to get back into the habit of reading for pleasure or you want to start nurturing a love for reading this year, look no further! Here are 5 interesting books to start a reading habit.
1. DAISY JONES AND THE SIX BY TAYLOR JENKINS REID
355 pages
Daisy Jones and the Six details the rise and fall of a legendary 1970s rock & roll band, and their beautiful lead singer. This book is told in a series of tell-all interviews, and is the first time the band is talking about why they broke up at the absolute height of their career. It’s such a fun, enjoyable read. Truly unputdownable! It feels like you’re transported to the late 1960s and you’re there for it all – the drugs and alcohol, the music, and everything! If I were you, I’d rush to the nearest bookstore to see what the hype is all about before the book’s TV adaptation, starring Sam Claflin and Suki Waterhouse, premieres this year
2. CONVERSATIONS WITH FRIENDS BY SALLY ROONEY
294 pages
Conversations with Friends is about college besties, Frances and Bobbi and the connection they forge with married couple, Melissa and Nick. It’s an authentic, emotional portrayal of what it’s like to be 21 years old with the self-awareness and confidence to take on the world. But some things in life, especially when it comes to love, resist your control. It’s as Frances says in the book, “You live through certain things before you understand them. You can’t always take the analytical position.”
3. FOR ONE MORE DAY BY MITCH ALBOM
208 pages
Charley is a depressed, suicidal alcoholic who lost his job and just found out his only daughter wants him out of her wedding. He goes back to his hometown and decides to take his own life. Failing to do that, he finds himself at his childhood home and there, he finds his mother, who passed away years ago and yet, there she is, welcoming him home, almost as if nothing ever happened. The biggest philosophical question you’d ask yourself after finishing this book is, “What would I do if I could spend one more day with a lost loved one?”
4. SWEET BEAN PASTE BY DURIAN SUKEGAWA
213 pages
Sweet Bean Paste is a heartwarming story about the power of friendship, told through two unlikely friends, Sentaro and Tokue. Sentaro has a criminal past. He’s depressed, he drinks too much and he’s in debt. He’s stuck working at a confectionery shop, where he makes dorayaki, a Japanese pancake filled with sweet bean paste. An elderly woman with disfigured hands, named Tokue comes by one day and asks to work at the shop. Sentaro learns how to make bean paste as sweet and rich as hers as she helps him through the journey of self-discovery and finding his passion.
5. GHOSTS BY DOLLY ALDERTON
320 pages
In Ghosts, we meet Nina Dean who is a successful food writer in her early thirties. She has been voluntarily single for a few years now and surprisingly, she’s still good friends with her last ex-boyfriend! At her friend, Lola’s suggestion, she decides to set up an online dating profile. She meets Max, who tells her he wants to marry her only after one date. Her life couldn’t be more perfect, or so she thought. Nina honestly felt like an older sister giving me big girl advice about online dating and being ghosted for the first time, seeing your ex move on, drifting apart from your childhood bestie and dealing with a parent’s declining health. This book was insightful, witty, funny, heartwarming and extremely relatable!
There you have it, these are the five books you should read to cultivate a reading habit!
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