M23 I would like to find something that gets me out of a rut. Self help books I’ve find to be cheesy however I’m sure they help a lot of people. Want to read more but not feeling motivated too and just very lethargic heading into the holidays. Thank you 🙂
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I’d like to help but you don’t anything at all about your preferred genres, interests, etc – so what is a ‘cheer-up’ book to you? Give me a rough idea and I’ll find you a book!
* ***Educated*** **(2018) by Tara Westover** – A memoir recounting Tara Westover’s journey from growing up in a strict and abusive household in rural Idaho to eventually earning a PhD from Cambridge University. This gal’s tale is a harrowing one, and she tells it so well.
* ***Between the World and Me*** **(2015) by Ta-Nehisi Coates** – A letter from the author to his teenage son, exploring the realities of being Black in the United States and reflecting on the history of racism. I found it well-written and inspiring, though I could understand why someone would call this one a downer.
* ***A Tree Grows in Brooklyn*** **(1943) by Betty Smith** – A classic novel that follows the coming-of-age story of Francie Nolan in Brooklyn at the turn of the 20th century. I got around to this title because I was reading a lot about WWII at the time and learned that a lot of U.S. soldiers were reading this book on the front lines. They wrote letters to the author saying how it gave them a lot of comfort and fulfillment. So I read the book imagining I was a homesick cold wet soldier in a trench looking to distract myself. The book has a lot of feelgood familial wisdom.
* ***Tattoos on the Heart*** **(2010) by Gregory Boyle** – A memoir by Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest, about his work with gang-involved youth in Los Angeles and the transformative power of compassion. This book made me cry several times. It is a serious look into opportunities for compassion in a harsh world.