Megan's Love of Reading Book Recommendations
By Megan Maiden, Assistant Manager at Bookmans Mesa
By some act of voodoo and happenstance, I managed to read several books for Love of Reading month. Being a mom to two kids and several animals, I don’t know how this happened! I won’t question the why, but I will share my new favorite books and some oldies but goodies as my Love of Reading book recommendations.
Yes Please by Amy Poehler
I looked forward to this book for most of 2014. Amy Poehler, whose sitcom Parks and Rec ends this month, wrote a funny, thoughtful, honest and positive book about herself, her marriage, her career and what might happen next. She acknowledges the divisions in parenting (and champions the phrase, “Good for her, not for me,” which I pass along to anyone who listens), while dishing on backstage tidbits from her time at Saturday Night Live as well as her improv background. Poehler has always been one of my spirit animals but when I finished this book I wanted to start it over again immediately. Yes Please is easy to read, fun and not too frothy, but a keeper? Yes, please!
Bossypants by Tina Fey
Because you can’t have Amy without Tina, I re-read Bossypants after Yes Please because it feels like the perfect companion piece. Fey’s book set the stage for other funny but not too serious memoirs. It’s full of personal history (how she got the scar on her face is scary but not exploited) and lots of advice for anyone wanting to take the leap into improv or just doing what they love. Fey’s writing style is conversational and easy to read, but I highly recommend listening to the audiobook for which Fey recorded the reading personally.
Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh
Based on her blog of the same name, Brosh’s book is full of anecdotes about growing up with her sister, her attempts at training her dogs (they are not bright) and also her struggles with depression. This book runs the gamut from amusing, to hilarious, to oddly serious and back, all punctuated by the most silly and rudimentary illustrations drawn by Brosh. It’s not quite a graphic novel but the stories would not be the same without her drawings on every page.
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
I did not re-read this book this month, however that won’t stop me from recommending it. This is Flynn’s third novel and I am a fan for life. I have read Dark Places, which is also excellent, but I haven’t read Sharp Objects yet; it’s on the list! Gone Girl is hard to describe without giving away too much. The story revolves around a married couple and the sacrifices and troubles that couples can go through when their mettle is tested. Spoiler Alert: it does not go well for this couple. The book reads like a who done it crime novel, each chapter flipping between husband and wife. A twist in the middle shakes up the plot and readers are left racing through it to see how it ends. While I can’t recommend the book enough, the film adaptation is excellent and so well done that, if you aren’t a reader, it’s okay to watch the movie instead.
Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney
My love of reading started the moment I learned to read. Imagine my dismay when my 7-year-old is completely indifferent toward reading on his own (although he loves it when we read to him every night). We’ve gone through all the popular titles: Junie B. Jones (entertaining and sassy, kids feel like they are getting away with reading something scandalous), the Magic Tree House series (a little dry for the adults reading it but most kids respond to the adventures and elements of mild danger) and Captain Underpants (Silly with a capital “S” but they break my grown up brain and are not my favorite). However, the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books strike a chord in my son that makes him want to read on his own AND they are entertaining enough for me when we read them together. The diary format makes it easy to read bite sized chunks and the illustrations break the pages up enough so it’s not overwhelming for him to read an entire chapter. Greg, the middle school student narrator, is kind of a jerk, but my son sees how avoidable some of Greg’s problems are if he is just honest or up front to begin with. Now, my only problem is that we have read all nine books in the two months since Christmas, so the hunt begins for another author or series to capture his attention until the next installment!
* Bookmans can not guarantee stock. If there is a specific title mentioned in Megan’s Love of Reading Book Recommendations post that you are interested in, give your favorite Bookmans location a call and a staff member will be happy to assist you.