Top Ten Tuesday| Books I Recommend the Most

This week’s Top Ten Tuesday, brought to you by The Broke and the Bookish, will be all about the top 10 books I recommend the most. I don’t know that I would call these books my favorites, but they are definitely up there. I usually recommend these books to different kinds of people: friends, family, and random people in bookstores. These are also the books I recommend whenever a poor soul asks me to give them some “book recs” on Facebook.

10. The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

My husband and I were in a LDR for a little more than a year before we were married. Whenever we were on the phone or Skyping, we would sometimes lose stuff to talk about it. I scoured the internet for ideas on things we could do together when we weren’t together. One suggestion was to read a book at the same time and then talk about it. The book we picked was Mitch Albom’s The Five People You Meet in Heaven. I am not a Christian, but I still enjoyed this book so much. Albom doesn’t choke the book with a religious agenda; instead of focusing on the fact that there is a heaven or a God, it focuses on the background characters in your life. It’s a wonderful book and is usually the first book I suggest to random customers.

9. Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill

I would like to start off by saying this: I love Joe Hill. I have read most of his books and have yet to be disappointed. They are some of the best horror books I have ever read. Most horror authors get carried away with their writings so that they confuse the reader. Hill’s father, the famous Stephen King, does that to me sometimes. Yes, Joe Hill has the blood of Stephen King running through his veins. His talent is his own though. If you’re looking to be scared by a book, this is the one for you.

8. The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo
I bought The Alchemist for my husband. He always complained that I never bought books he’d want to read, so I saw this one and thought, “That looks pretty unisex.” It’s a small book, so when my husband finished it in a day, I wasn’t surprised. I was surprised, however, when he smacked it down in front of me and said, “Put everything down and read this. I know you can finish it in a day, so do it.” I had never seen him so excited over a book before. I finished it in a few hours and oh my. I loved it. It’s a wonderful story for anyone who might not feel like their life is headed in the right direction.

7. Any books by Jodi Picoult

One day, I came home and my husband asked me if Jodi was my favorite author. I said no, and asked why he’d ask. “I swear, you have fifteen of her books.” At this point, I had only had two. By now I have eight, five of which are unread. Picoult’s books can’t be read one after the other, unless you have a stone heart. They always have a law story involved, including a court room and everything, so the stories are definitely heart-wrenching. I am a huge fan of Legally Blonde, so I really enjoy these court books.

6. Letters from Home by Kristina McMorris

As a fan of WWII stories, McMorris’ was the first to introduce me to them. This book follows the story of four women whose lives are changed by the war in different ways. Each story is beautifully written, the characters well thought out and the writing spectacular. I screamed, I cried, I absolutely loved it. If you are a fan of WWII Historical Fiction, I highly suggest reading any and all Kristina McMorris’ books.

5. Ex-Heroes Series by Peter Clines

Zombies. Superheroes. Military. POC characters. Well-written women. Well-written characters in general. Characters with disabilities. This series has it all. I usually get goosebumps from reading corny, cheesy romance stuff. This series gave me goosebumps just from the dialogue. One of my favorite female characters is in this series. Her name is Stealth and she is an ex-supermodel/contestant from Jeopardy who won like a million dollars. She is super smart, super-fast, and her dad was an assassin who trained her from a young age. There is a character in a wheel chair and a character who loses her memory every day. I can not rave about these books more. They are so good. Plus, the zombies are not the main story. Sure, it kind of is in the first book, but it’s not just zombies, it’s something else entirely and it’s just so good.

4. The All-Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

Part historical fiction,  part fantasy, part paranormal romance. These books are wonderful. Some parts of the first book were a little cheesy and boring, but I absolutely devoured the second book. It has vampires, demons, witches, dragons, all kinds of fun fantasy stuff and a really good romance. Thank goodness there’s no love triangle, or else I might shoot myself. Also, lesbian witches!

3. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle

If you know me at all, you know this is my ultimate favorite book. The reason it isn’t number one on this list is because I know a lot of people aren’t very interested in reading about unicorns, no matter how absolutely fucking gorgeous this book is. Still, I recommend this book all the damn time. Most of my favorite quotes are from this book. The graphic novel version of this is only better because beautiful pictuuuuuuures. I mean it. Go check it out.

2. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

This is one of the most visually appealing book covers out there. It’s definitely the reason I actually ended up buying it, but the story is just as wonderful. All in all, it is a love story and it is a wonderful love story. It’s about two magical people pitted against each other by two old men and we, the reader, are invited to watch their lives unfold. The background characters are a great addition to the story and I can’t wait to re-read this.

1. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

Whenever I passed this book in the bookstore, I would point to it and say, “Oh, this looks so good! I want to read it so bad!” One day, my husband said, “Just buy it. You always say something when you pass it, so just buy it.” So I did. He read it before me and, when he was done, he could not stop talking about it. I had to finish it in a day just to avoid spoilers! There is so many pop-culture 80 references that I don’t even know where to start. I ended up giving my copy to my dad, who devoured it and then passed it on to my uncle. This is a book every geek or nerd should read because it is such a wonderful, crazy sci-fi ride.

And there you have it! What are some of your book recommendations?