For the love of good books

Have you ever noticed how a book can change your life?

Maybe it helped you become a better person or improved your family life.

Maybe it made you laugh, cry, or lifted your mood.

Maybe you learned something you didn’t know before. Or you looked at the world a little differently, a little more empathically.

Or…you learned something about yourself!

Books can do all that and more.

It’s enchanting to be carried away by a story, whether to imaginary worlds or inside the heart and mind of a character that you identify with.

200 years ago, reading was THE entertainment and the only way to spread information besides talking to your neighbors. Literacy was high, most people were well-read.

Their vocabulary level makes me jealous! (Read a book or newspaper from 100+ years ago, you’ll see.)

What a different world we live in today, where social media, video games, and streaming services are the preferred methods of entertainment.

To many people, reading is boring.

How sad! 😢

As you can see, I LOVE BOOKS!!!

But you might wonder, are all books worth reading?

There are millions of books out there.

How do you choose what to read?

Who wants to waste precious time reading a less-than-stellar book? (Well, if you’re a writer you might want to read bad books anyway to learn what not to do.)

I read a book by Timothy Park that would have horrified my younger self.

He said he never reads endings; says there’s no need to. What?

Well, I guess it’s a thing now. There are even memes about it.

You don’t have to finish a novel if you don’t want to and now that I’m middle age, I get it. Life is short and we are limited on time. So, it’s understandable. (By the way, I do this with movies now too.)

Most people buy books based on recommendations from friends or other trusted sources.

That’s what I do unless I’m browsing a used bookstore for unknown treasures.

What makes a book good?

I’m guessing your standards are high like mine. You want good, clean literature.

Now, how you classify good, clean literature might not be the same way I do. Totally understandable! Everyone has their own conscience they need to obey.

Just like every woman has her own standard for what constitutes a clean house, so too we have personal standards for what makes a book good or clean.

For me a clean book is one without swearing, explicit sex, or violence.

Unfortunately, it’s getting more and more difficult to find modern books that don’t include some of those things. This is the main reason that I stick to the classics.

My list of books

Below, in a table format, you’ll find books that I’ve read listed by genre. For the sake of simplicity, I will only list major genres.

If I list a book that offends you for some reason, please don’t judge me! I will give you a heads up if there’s any questionable content and you can make your own decision about whether to read it or not.

Stop by from time-to-time because I’ll be continually updating the list.

Happy Reading!