My Top Five Fiction Books – plus my favorite two classics (Read a Book Day Part 2)

I love to read, I always have. As a child I would always be up late reading, often sneaking a flashlight in bed to finish an extra chapter or two. While I don’t have nearly as much time I used to read, I try to sneak in a good book here and there between the craziness of life.  I know finding the time can be difficult, but it’s so relaxing to curl up with a good book, whether it’s lying in bed unwinding after a tough day, or in the morning with a warm of cup coffee there really is no wrong time to read a book.

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Here are a few of my favorite fiction books, I hope that you too will find a book that you love as well.

  1. Little Earthquakes by Jennifer Weiner

This one is so perfect for us moms, as it follows the story of three moms living very different lives, with different struggles who all end up with their lives intertwined. It covers so many life topics such as marriage, work, children, and of course balancing it all.

  1. Commencement by J. Courtney Sullivan20160902_213503

This is story about four friends who went to college together and are brought back together for one of the friend’s weddings. The characters are all extremely diverse, but the book shows that even though life took the girls in very different directions the bond of friendship is a strong one.

 

  1. Maine by J. Courtney Sullivan

I know I have two books by the same author, but J. Courtney Sullivan writes with such detail that she has become one of my favorites. Her attention to character detail is amazing. This book is similar to Commencement in the sense that it has different storylines that are intertwined and told by different character viewpoints. The book focus on four women within the same family, at various stages of their lives.

 

  1. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Gath Stein

This is a unique story told by the point of view of Enzo the dog –anyone who loves animals will absolutely love this one. I will warn it is tear-jerker (and I found myself on a flight crying while reading it), but it is so worth it. The book focusing on compassion and the bond between dogs and humans. (Bonus if you love this book – A Dog’s Purpose is another one told by a dog’s point of view).

 

  1. Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

This is actual the first book in a five book series, that I have read so many times that I have lost count. You may have seen previews for the made for television movie version a year or two ago, but I promise the book is so much better. The basis for the story is about a woman who loses her husband and takes her four children to live with her parents; however, her father is unaware that she has children, so she must hide them away in the attic of the home. The story has many unexpected plot twists.

And, just for fun my top two classic books are: The Great Gatsby and To Kill a Mockingbird 20160819_111628

Here’s a little secret, I hated The Great Gatsby in high school, and I thought Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird was a boy for at least the first two chapters of the book, I also thought the Finch family was black for about half the book –so it’s a book that went much better the second (and the third and fourth..) time around. As for the The Great Gatsby it wasn’t until a co-worker of mine selected it for a High School Book Club we were sponsoring that I re-read it, and let me just say, it was so much better than I ever remembered it. Moral of the story, even if you hated a book back in high school, I suggest giving it another try, you just might be pleasantly surprised.

 

What is your favorite that you could read again and again?

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Nicole G.
Nicole is a mom to two children each with big personalities - Reagan is currently 4 and Tyler is 2, they are exactly 26 months apart to the day, and ever since Tyler was born life has been non-stop! She's a stay-at-home/work-at-home mom who works full time as a virtual Social Studies teacher for middle and high school students. Although she was originally from the North Hills, 10 days before Reagan was born her and her husband relocated to the South Hills. (However, within the year they will be heading back North of the city to be closer to family). Nicole would rather spend time outdoors, preferably in the fall with a good book and a cup of coffee (or glass of wine), but realistically she is generally multi-tasking between work and the kids. She does love cooking and can often be seen having dance parties in the kitchen (usually with Reagan) while making dinner.