One Mother's List of Must-Reads

“I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of any thing than of a book! -- When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library.”                                             ― Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice 

How true those words are in my life...though my "library" is Amazon, sites like Goodreads and the multitude of bookstores within a 15-minute drive of my home.

We all deserve to take a break from the daily grind and to immerse ourselves in a captivating story. This Mother's Day, I offer some of the books that have made me laugh and cry -- stories that keep me up reading late into the night.

Depending on my mood, I enjoy a good biography, romance, historical fiction, or fantasy novel, as well as a smattering of Civil War narratives. I've listed some perennial favorites as well as a few new titles at the top of my reading list.

What books make your all-time favorite list? Share them here. 

Biography

• Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
• Open: An Autobiography by Andre Agassi with J. R. Moehringer, Jr. (Read my book review.)
• Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin 
• Shadow of the Titanic: The Extraordinary Stories of Those Who Survived by Andrew Wilson 

Romance  Classic / Contemporary

•  Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers  
• Green Darkness by Anya Seton 
• Splendor of Silence by Indu Sundarsan  
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin
• The Orchard by Jeffrey Stepakoff (read author interview.)
• Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypus

 

 

Historical Fiction 

• The Killer Angels: A Novel of the Civil War by Michael Shaara (This Pulitzer Prize winner topped my list of three must-reads of the war-time experience.)
• 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King
• Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  
• The Postmistress by Sarah Blake 
• The Dovekeepers: A Novel by Alice Hoffman
• The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe
• One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus 

Fantasy   

• The Talisman by Stephen King 
• A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin 
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 
• Night Play by Sherrilyn Kenyon (Sherrilyn is quoted in my 2010 and 2011 DragonCon posts.)

Other Fiction

• Midwives A Novel by Chris Bohjalian
• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
• The Next Best Thing by Jennifer Weiner (out July 2012)