Happy Friday!!

I am looking outside the window at snow right now — I’m so glad it’s the end of April, haha. This was a good week though! I finished a couple of books (but still have a bunch on the go – as always), looking forward to a few family activities this weekend, and Brian and I watched Wonder (SO good – almost as good as the book imho!)

This week for 14 Things Friday I wanted to share 14 random book recommendations. These are some I would recommend to someone as long as they tell me what genre they like. Unfortunately, most of my choices here are pretty popular so many people have probably already read them but I’m just using this as an excuse to share a bunch of books I’ve loved over the years.

I also had some colouring time with Molly yesterday in which I made some word art including a lot of my favourite books :

1) Classic: Persuasion by Jane Austen Although Pride & Prejudice is my favourite Austen novel, Persuasion is second and it is shorter and maybe a BIT more approachable and less widely read than P&P. And it is SO worth the read. ❤ Runner up: Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

2) Thriller: Angels and Demons by Dan Brown I love Dan Brown’s books and I gobbled this one up in less than 24 hours 15 years ago. A bit gruesome in places though…Runner up: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

3) Mystery: A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny (the 4th in the series and where it “gets really good”) It’s not a secret that I am obsessed with the Inspector Gamache series and my favourites are probably #8, #9, and #12, but I really got super invested in these books around #4. Runner up: The Dry by Jane Harper

4) Romance: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne which was one of my favourites last year Runner up: The Knitting in the City series by Penny Reid OR The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata

5) General Fiction: Beartown and the upcoming Us Against You by Fredrik Backman I know not everyone loves A Man Called Ove but Beartown is 100% worth the read, in my opinion. Runner up: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin

6) Historical Fiction: Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah I loved The Nightingale and The Great Alone, and Winter Garden was excellent too. Check it out if you enjoyed her other books…I liked the setting. 🙂 Runner up: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

7) Science Fiction: The Martian by Andy Weir <– this was my very first audiobook and it was SO excellent. The movie is also quite well done. Runner up: Red Rising by Pierce Brown <–I really need to read the other books in this series…

8) Memoir: Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal by Amy Krouse Rosenthal. I love the thoughts in this book. Runner up: When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalinithi on audio

9) Non-fiction: Better than Before by Gretchen Rubin this book still makes me think all the time. I have a whole post I’m working on about life as an Obliger 😉 Runner up: The Secrets of Happy Families by Bruce Feiler <–I still think about this book all the time.

10) Children’s Picture book: Waiting is Not Easy by Mo Willems <– one of my favourite children’s authors 100%. Runner up: Press Here by Herve Tullet

11) Children’s Chapter book: The Magical Animal Adoption Agency trilogy by Kallie George I love this trilogy. Runner up: Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White <– I am dying to read this to Molly.

12) Middle Grade: Greenglass House by Kate Milford and The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

13) YA/NA fiction: The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay This book was incredible and I am way overdue for a re-read. Runner up: Tell me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum this book was sad but such a fun concept.

14) Humor: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah – particularly on audio. This book was awesome. Runner up: Talking as Fast as I can by Lauren Graham

Read any of these?! What do you think of them?

Happy weekend everyone!!