Where do I start to find a great book?

 Good morning fellow readers!!!!

 

I have heard many people say, "I would love to read, but I just don't know where to start".  

 My friend Kelly was asked just the other day to help her friend discover that next great book.  In typical "Kelly" fashion, she went one step above the dilemma and created a "Find your next great book" starter pack.   You can download Kelly's guide here.

I would like to give you a  little back story on Kelly.  I am not sure where or when I met her, all I know it was an instant bond.  We began discussing books and have never stopped.  Our reading styles parallel in many ways, but then there are times when our style divert into complete opposite directions.  Kelly has encouraged me to think outside of the box and I am pretty sure she got me into WWII (and now I can't get out :) and I know she has made me read things I never would have had we not been friends. 

Recently (in the last few years),  Kelly started a Bookworms Facebook group, where all the members share bookish things.  Our little club, under Kelly's leadership, has started having bi-weekly book club meetings  (via Zoom) and we have even taken a field trip.  I have enjoyed our meetings, learned a lot, and made new friends.  Our book club is without a doubt the best thing to come out of Covid.  We have topics assigned to us, but not an assigned book.  Everyone just talks about what they are reading and what book we are loving right now.  We then discuss our topic and it is over (it is also the fastest meeting I have ever been a part of).  We get a list of the books discussed after the meetings is complete and we can then go add all the new books to our TBR list. 

P.S. I have added a few things too, in purple. 

Kelly’s Book Recommendations

Historical Fiction:

·        Anything by Susan Meissner---My favorite is Secrets of a Charmed Life, but most people’s favorite is The Fall of Marigolds. Also very good is As Bright as Heaven (about the Spanish Flu pandemic, very good). A Fall of Marigolds is my third favorite book of all time.

·        Anything by Fiona Davis---All of her books are set in an iconic building in New York City. I completely agree with this.  Fiona does an excellent job of capturing both today and yesterday's NYC. 

·        The Storyteller by Jodi Picoult

·        The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

·        America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray

·        My Dear Hamilton by Stephanie Dray

·        Anything by Kristin Harmel---When We Meet Again is my new favorite. Kristin is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. 

·        The Gown by Jennifer Robson Jennifer's books will transport you back to a time gone by.

·        If I Were You by Lynn Austin

·        Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

·        A View Across the Rooftops by Suzanne Kelman

·        Where the Lost Wonder by Amy Harmon

·        Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

·        The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate

·        Her Last Flight by Beatriz Williams

·        A Fire Sparkling by Julianne MacLean

·        The Glittering Hour by Iona Grey WOW!! Just WOW!

·        This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger

·        All the Flowers in Paris by Sarah Jio

·        The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

·        Mistress of the Ritz by Melanie Benjamin

·        The Girl They Left Behind by Roxanne Veletzos

·        Annelies by David Gillham

·        The War Bride’s Scrapbook by Caroline Preston

·        A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

·        Goodnight from London by Jennifer Robson

·        The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

·        The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

·        The Help by Kathryn Stockett

·        The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

 

Biographies/Memoirs:

·        The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

·        Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls

·        Me by Elton John I enjoyed this too!! I recommend it all the time :)

·        The Reading Promise by Alice Ozma

·        The Killing series by Bill O’Reilly (Reagan, Kennedy, Lincoln are all good)

·        Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand

·        Stories I Only Tell My Friends by Rob Lowe (the audio is great)

Young Adult:

·        “The Selection” series by Kiera Cass

·        Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

·        “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” series by Jenny Han

·        The “Divergent” series by Veronica Roth

·        Fault in Our Stars by John Green

·        Just One Day by Gale Foreman

·        Just One Year by Gale Foreman

 

General Fiction:

·        The Dutch House by Ann Prachett (I recommend this one on audio with Tom Hanks reading it. Ann Prachett is from Nashville and owns a bookstore there).

·        Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (I recommend this one on audio)

·        Camino Island by John Grisham

·        Anything by Kristin Hannah

·        Anything by Mary Kay Andrews (beachy reads)

·        The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald This book warms my heart.  Also try the illustrated version released in 2020. 

·        To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

·        The Brethren by John Grisham

·        The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah This book made Alaska a character.

·        A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron

·        Me Before You by JoJo Moyes

 

Children’s:

·        The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

·        The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

·        Wonder by R. J. Palacio

·        The Lions of Little Rock by Kristin Levine

·        Upside Down in the Middle of Nowhere by Julie T. Lamana

·        Words on Fire by Jennifer Nielsen

·        The Sky at Our Feet by Nadia Hashimi

·        Ban This Book by Alan Gratz

·        Maxi’s Secrets by Lynn Plourde

·        The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

 

 

Reading Podcasts:

·        He Read She Read

·        What Should I Read Next?

·        From the Front Porch