Finding a new book that you can't put down is one of life's simple joys. Unless you hate to read, in which case you need to fix that ASAP #realtalk. Below are my top 3 book picks for this month:
1. All the Light We Cannot See
Full disclosure: I'm a sucker for anything that takes place during WWII and for anything that takes place in France. All the Light We Cannot See combines the two into one remarkable story. Marie-Laure, a young blind girl from Paris, becomes fascinated with the stories of Jules Verne which is perpetuated by the time spent with her father in his office at the Museum of Natural History.
Simultaneously, a German orphan, Werner, grows up with a fascination for radio transmitters, having taught himself how to repair and use them while in an orphanage with his younger sister. Forced into the Nazi Youth Party, his skills become especially handy in furthering Nazi propaganda.
The two, as with nearly everyone of the time, get swept up into the vortex of terror and war. While secretly holed up in her eccentric uncle's home in Brittany having fled Nazi occupied Paris, Marie-Laure discovers a radio receiver hiding in the attic. Her fascination with the machine grows as Werner and the Nazis close in on the small seaside town she is hiding out in and their lives become entwined via radio transmissions.
The story is so beautifully written, allowing the reader to feel the characters' joys and heartbreak so deeply. This book will certainly be one that you can't put down.
2. Goldfinch
I've never heard of a book that people either love or hate more than The Goldfinch. Listen, I get it - it's long and it starts out slow (in my opinion). So slow, in fact, that I almost gave up many times, but I'm glad I stuck with it because I was rewarded handsomely with a brilliant tale.
The book follows the life and story of a boy named Theo who is a victim in a bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where his mother is killed and he pockets a tiny painting of a goldfinch. His life is forever changed with the loss of his mother and the secret he keeps of his new possession. We see Theo grow as a young boy trying to put his life back together to an adolescent getting mixed up with the wrong crowd and to a young man straightening out his life. The one constant is that things always seems to indirectly and directly revolve around painting.
The story is so beyond clever and intriguing that I sometimes found myself grinning at the twists and turns. Stick with it and you'll be happy you did!
3. The Alchemist
There has hands down never been a book that has changed my life more than The Alchemist. If you feel like you're a little lost in life, ready for the next phase of your life, or even if you think you are fulfilled but something deep down feels a little off, you must read this book.
For those who have read it and felt nothing, you're probably saying "but this is just a simple story about a boy who was a shepard." If you're reading it at face value, then you'd be correct. It is indeed about a shepard in Spain who leaves his herd to go to Morocco to sell crystal who then goes on to try and cross the desert in hopes of finding a treasure. However, if you read between the lines, you get much much more than that. It's about listening to your heart and that quiet voice inside of you that knows that you want more out of life and knows how to find it. Every single thing that we do is done on purpose and has a meaning. Quite simply, there are no accidents. Following the shepard's story allows you to look at life in hindsight which forces you to hold up a mirror to your own life. Read it and go forth my friends!