I think I’ve always been a reader. My love for reading is what led to me taking so many literature courses in college and eventually majoring in professional writing. Being assigned to read a book never felt like homework, so I’ve continued to read past college and into this weird stage of life called adulthood.
In one way or another, literature has always been a part of my life. But recently, it has taken on a much more dominant role. Last year I helped my guy Joe set up his business, Independent Book Review. It’s an amazing site that celebrates small press, indie press, and self-published authors. In the beginning I stuck mostly to doing the design aspects of the website, creating pictures for each post, and writing blog posts from time to time. As the site grew, I started reading more of the books to write book reviews, which I’m really grateful for. It reintroduced me to my love of reading, and significantly upped my reading list.
I’ve read dozens of indie books in the past year, and continue to read on a very regular basis. The coolest part about reading and writing for Independent Book Review is that it made me start reading more modern, contemporary literature. In college, I got to read a lot of the classics. But the books I’m reading now are more current, wildly relatable, and so much fun. I can follow the authors on social media and see that they are just real people, who are also talented writers. I feel like I’m reading in a whole new way.
That’s why I wanted to start a section on my blog to share all the literary aspects of my life. Here, I’ll be highlighting the books I’ve read each month, posting my bookstore blogs from the places I’ve travelled, and any other interesting literary stuff I get to do. So to begin this section, I wanted to highlight some of my favorite books I’ve read. I could definitely add a lot of newer books to this list, but I’ll leave that for my future posts. These few books have been my favorites for years. They helped shape my way of thinking, speaking, and feeling.
The Year of Magical Thinking – Joan Didion
Interpreter of Maladies – Jhumpa Lahiri
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn – Betty Smith
Americanah – Chimimanda Ngozi Adiche
Eating Animals – Jonathan Safran Foer
These are just a few of the books I think fondly of, and always come back to. I’d recommend them to anyone.