Top 5 Favorites – Books

Greetings! And welcome to my little corner of the world. Thank you for stopping by and spending a moment or two here with me. I truly appreciate it.

Today I will be reviewing my top five books, but I must be honest. I could not narrow it down to five. I am a chronic reader, and I tried and tried, but could only hone it down to eight. So here are my top five (not) favorite books. I have read them all, more than once, and highly recommend them all. They have become staples in my library and I could pick any of these up at any time and read them again. I will just give an overview without any spoiler alerts necessary.

BURY MY HEART AT WOUNDED KNEE BY DEE BROWN

This book is one of the most interesting “history” books I believe I have ever read. This is a major scar on American history. It is the story of the holocaust of the Native American. It is written tribe by tribe, event by event, and leader by leader. It is heart wrenching but real.

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE BY MITCH ALBOM

This book has literally become my bible. I remember years ago when my kids were in bed, I was washing dishes with the tv on in the background, and Ted Coppel was on. This was a late night news kind of show. I remember being drawn to this interview with an old man in a bed, and he was dying. He knew he was dying and what he spoke of was literally profound. This is the story of second chances. His favorite student, and author of this book, Mitch Albom (Morrie was a college Professor) met up again years later, and they ended up meeting every Tuesday so Mitch Albom could write his story. It was one final class. It was a lesson on how to live. I HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend this one. My number one favorite book of all time and I read it at least twice a year.

EAST OF EDEN BY JOHN STEINBECK

John Steinbeck. A classic and fantastic American author. This is a deep novel about morals, right and wrong, good vs evil, family, and redemption. This is hands down, a must read. It has so much interwoven into the story, that if you read it again, it gives a whole new perspective.

WRONG PLACE WRONG TIME BY DAVID PERLMUTTER

This was a random find. I started writing my first novel in 2014 and was on a frenzy finding other novice authors on the infamous Twitter. I found this book and literally could not put it down. I contacted the author, who was very helpful and we became friends. Since then, this book has been promoted and bought worldwide and is currently being made into a film. It’s a true story and is mesmerizing. Highly recommend.

SAPIENS BY YUVAL NOAH HARARI

You would think that a book written about the history of humankind would be……well……kinda boring. Not in the slightest! I have never read a book about such in depth subject matter that was so reader friendly. It is one of those “surprises” that you had a difficult time putting down. I learned so much from reading this that it would take me a week to explain. An added bonus was the pages were shiny and different, and I loved that! If you are ever drawn to read this book, do NOT hesitate, just do it. I have one word for this brilliant work. WOW!

FLOWERS FOR ALGERNON BY DANIEL KEYES

A definite must read. This isn’t a terribly long book and you can get through it in a couple  of days, but oh my! Does it have a lot to say and make you think. The story is about Charlie, who is mentally retarded but is reasonably functional. He has a job at a bakery as a janitor and delivery person. He was chosen for an experimental surgery to enhance his intelligence and befriends a mouse who had the same procedure done. The main theme of this story Is; Is it better to be intelligent so you see the harshness of reality in a sometimes cruel world? Or is it better to be simple so everything seems beautiful. Simply a must read.

UNBROKEN BY LAURA HILLENBRAND

This is the story of Louie Zamperini who as a child was always in trouble. His solace was running which he became proficient in and ended up on the 1936 Olympic Team. WWI broke out and he went to war, his plane was shot down, he spent 47 days afloat in a rubber raft and was captured by the Japanese and ended up in a labor camp full of injustice and terrible abuse because of his notoriety. This is a story of redemption and strength. It was simply amazing. A true survivor story.

LIFE IN A JAR BY JACK MYER

I have always been a little obsessed with the Holocaust and the stories of survival that came from that horrific time. This is one of those stories. It is about four school girls who had to do a history project somewhere in Kansas when they ran across a little blurb in one of their history books about a woman named Irene Sandler and how she had saved 2500 children from their demise from that time in history. Very little information was available about this person so they went on an information hunt. Ended up writing a play performing it, and found Irena Sandler over in Poland. Who, indeed, had saved over 2500 children. She wrote each of their names on a slip of paper, put it in a jar and buried it under an apple tree in hopes of someday reuniting them with their families after the war. The girls were able to get to Poland and meet this amazing woman. She died nine days after this, she was 98. Poland declared 2018 as “The Year of Irena Sandler”. This is an absolute must read.

Honestly? I could have a list of a hundred must reads. But for now, these are my top eight. I say “top” as I could pick any one of these books up, at any time, and read them again without hesitation. I promise you, you will feel the same.

Until next time……..be kind……always,

Polley93