My 10 Favorite Reads

It's hard to have a favorite book and I hate it when someone asks me what my favorite is! 

So, I made a collection of my top 10 favorite books.

//Caddie Woodlawn by Carol Ryrie Brink// 

Probably my favorite book if I were to narrow the field. Primarily due to childhood nostalgia. I love everything about Caddie and her lively Wisconsin family. Her relationship with her father is my favorite aspect of the book, not to mention her constant shenanigans with her brothers and her friends. Caddie's character development from wild tomboy, to the possibility of a young lady comes so softly, you hardly see it.

//Not A Swan//A Little Love Song by Michelle Magorian//

I just fell in love with this book! It was beautiful, romantic, humorous and so many other things! There is a definite realness about this story and the author didn't shy away from the social attitudes put on women and girls prior to and during the second world war. The loss of innocence that leads to the world of adulthood is explored, questioned and left for the reader to determine the end. 

//The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows//

This book! In many ways Guernsey is similar to Not A Swan as it deals with the effects of WWII, strange little towns and endearing townspeople and of course heroines who love writing and are trying to find their place and their purpose in the world. Guernsey deals with a history in WWII that many may not have known about. A small group of people who came together under Nazi occupation and founded a community of friendship. This community reaches out to a young women searching for inspiration, but finds so much more.

//The Last Midwife by Sandra Dallas//

Now this was a tough book. As in the content was raw, real and very true to the time. An aging midwife who has spent her life caring for young mothers and their newborns is accused of the murder of a newborn baby. The Last Midwife was gripping and delightful, but it doesn't deter from the historic reality of life in the 1880's. 

//True Colors by Kristin Hannah//

A story of sisters and their bond of friendship that is threatened by jealousy and revenge. While I prefer historical fiction, True Colors was an exception. The themes of family, prejudice, forbidden love and ultimate forgiveness are timeless and span the decades. This story could have taken place in Colonial America or Edwardian England and that's why I found it so intriguing. 

//Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith//

The third book in the Cormoran Strike series that is by far the best. Strike must recount four harrowing cases and face the men he accused, including his stepfather he believes killed his mother. Going through Strike's past was fascinating and terrifying at the same time. And it definitely left one case wide open for revisiting. 

//The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas//

I grew up with the story of The Three Musketeers, primarily from the 1993 Disney film and the BBC series both of which I love. I read the book for the first time several years ago and was amazed that I could actually enjoy classical literature. The Three Musketeers is hysterical and points out the good, the bad and the crazy of 17th century Parisian life, while trying to avoid war with England.

//The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by Terry Ryan//

The wonderful true story of Evelyn Ryan who provided for her family of 11 with her creative writing. During the 1950's when wives and mothers didn't work outside the home, they managed to bring in a little extra income by entering poems and jingles for ads and commercials. Known as contesting, Evelyn Ryan was a master at it. Her daughter, Terry, recounts her mother's incredible writing talent that she was able to hone as a frugal housewife and mother.

//Angels & Demons by Dan Brown//

The first of Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series Angels & Demons is a race against the clock thriller to save the lives of four holy men and all of Vatican City. Growing up, I was discouraged from reading Dan Brown's (supposed) anti-religious novels, but after I read Angels & Demons, I found very little anti-religious content at all. This book (and the following novels) deals with secret cults and the possible ideas of what they could lead to if placed in the wrong hands. 

//The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne// 

I read this book back in high school and it's been a favorite ever since. Hester Pryne was a heroine ahead of her time and a woman who refused to allow society to bring her to despair. She rose above her shameful circumstances and proved to be a dutiful mother and charitable worker that had a profound affect on all who knew her. Meanwhile two men from Hester's past compete to either ruin or save her.