About two weeks ago, a blog reader left a comment requesting a blog post highlighting my favorite books from the list that I have on my Books page. (My Books page includes links to all of the PBF Book Club reviews and brief reviews of books I’ve read outside of the book club.)
As someone who is always looking for book recommendations, I thought this was such a fun idea and figured I’d highlight my top five favorite books from the books I’ve previously mentioned on PBF today! I also plan to go back and update this post as I continue to read should any new books blow me away and deserve a spot on this list and will include a link to this post on my Books page.
This emotional book is one of my all-time favorites. Sarah’s Key earns a place on this list not only for the author’s tremendous writing and storytelling, but also for the education the book provides to readers about the round up at the Vélodrome d’Hiver, a truly horrific event in history.
The Kite Runner was one heck of an intense and graphic book. It is powerful, gripping and emotional. Highly recommended!
If you’ve been reading PBF for a while then you know how much I loved this book. If you liked the Hunger Games and enjoy dystopian novels, I cannot recommend this book enough. It’s a page turner!
As someone who generally prefers reading fiction, I was surprised at how much Andre Agassi’s autobiography roped me in. My dad is a huge tennis fan, so I grew up watching Agassi and knew a little bit about his background and some of the other tennis pros mentioned in his book. Agassi’s story doesn’t sugarcoat things and includes real emotion. It was interesting to read about the experiences of a professional athlete who didn’t enjoy playing his sport. (I still think about the “control what you can control” conversation he had with his trainer, Gil.)
The Violets of March wasn’t a whoopsy romance novel like I anticipated. It was a mysterious book about love, loss and finding yourself again when unexpected events interrupt the path you’ve always envisioned for yourself. It is a quick read!
Question of the Day
- What book do you find yourself recommending to people over and over again?
I always recommend Sarah’s Key to those who say they enjoy historical fiction. I recommend Divergent to anyone in the whole wide world.
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Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist. A favorite book that I tend to read annually.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! SO, SO good.
My favorite – was just going to recommend it when I saw that you had already!! A real book lovers book! Absolutely amazing story!
I always recommend reading Divergent. I am currently working on getting my sister to read it!
I just finished reading Divergent and I must say that I was rather disappointed! Honestly, I thought it was a poor knockoff of The Hunger Games series and kept waiting for the plot and characters to develop. Overall, it held my attention and I am glad I read it to satisfy my curiosity, but I am not going to read the following books in the series. Some of my favorite books are: Water for Elephants, Gone Girl (loved it!), The Help, and The Harry Potter Series (of course). A less known book I really enjoyed is Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire. It’s a light, fun read!
I reread To Kill A Mockingbird at least once a year. Amazing book, in my opinion.
I have been meaning to read the Divergent! I loved the Hunger Games and the Maze Runner series. Here are some of my favorites:
1. Three Weeks with my Brother (One of my favorite Nicholas Sparks books!)
2. The Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flammel series
3. Eragon (The whole series)
4. Angels and Demons
5. A Song of Ice and Fire series
I am a sucker for series. I get so attached to characters that I am always craving another book to pick up and read more!
I very rarely re-read books, or re-watch dvds..I feel it’s a waste and don’t like that I know what is going to happen. Though I did re-read the Harry Potter series haha! oh and Twilight Saga 😉
The Story of Edgar Sawtelle is an interesting read; a bit dark but I couldn’t put it down. It’s a mystery about dogs and family. Also Overture by Yael Goldstein really held my interest, possibly because I am a musician but I do think it is really well-written!
Ooh, I also loved The Kite Runner! I actually got the meet the author at a book signing and he was so nice and personable, which just makes me want to recommend the book to everyone even more now! I have not read Divergent but I will get my booty to the library and check it out this week! 🙂
One of my all-time favorites is To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. Every time I read it, I cry at the end. {a good cry}
Did you read the sequel to Divergent, Insurgent? I’m about half way through right now and just super dissapointed. Its not holding my attention at all like Divergent did. What did you think?
Nevermind! I just finished Insurgent last night and LOVED it! I can’t wait to read the 3rd book!
I forgot about Kite Runner! Excellent book. I like to recommend:
~ Life of Pi
~ The Saving Graces
~ Tuesdays with Morrie
~ A Clockwork Orange
They are all very different from each other, but excellent reads.
I LOVE divergent and I’m already excited about the movie coming out. In like 2 years. Also, I read Violets of March after your recommendation and just wanted to make sure you knew that author has a new book out! I haven’t read but it is sitting on my to-read pile.
Right now it’s The Secret Race. It was an excellent, fast and interesting read regarding doping in the sport of cycling. Now I’m reading Rich Roll’s book, he’s a bit craaaaaazy. I love biographies and autobiographies so I am eager to read Andre Agassi’s book too!
The Kite Runner is a great book! I actually mostly read non-fiction books, so it’s great to have such a great list of fiction books to check out. 😀
A couple of favorites
The Shadow of the Wind – by Carlos Ruiz Zafron
Leaving Microsoft to change the World – John Wood
I absolutely LOVE Divergent! I pretty much want to marry Four. 🙂
Some other favorites: 32 Third Graders and One Class Bunny, From Baghdad with Love, and The Rum Diary.
‘A Discovery of Witches’ is incredible. I read it so fast the first time that I had to go back and re-read it! It is has history, mystery, and romance. Also, it is part of a trilogy, and the 2nd book – ‘Shadow of the Night’ – came out this summer, so good!!
I am so glad i found your blog! And then this post. I now have a nice list of books to read. My favourite book of all time is probably The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, and I am another fan of The Help, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series and The Hunger Games trilogy.
Been trying to find a good dystopian novel. Loved the hunger games! Definitely going to check Divergent out! Thanks for posting this!