Month: April 2019

For today’s post, I want to provide you guys with my top five classic-book recommendations! These are a few of the classics that have always stood out to me, and I think everyone should try to give them a read.

I know that for a lot of people it can be hard to stay interested in classic novel due to obscure language or outdated scenarios, so I am introducing some of my favorite page-turners. These texts have coherent and rich plots that will not bore you. From the East Egg of New York to the Mississippi River, these books are layered with memorable messages and beautiful language.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Even if you’ve seen the Leonardo Dicaprio movie, it does not compare to the original 1925 text. It charms you with some of the most elegant English prose ever published, making it difficult to discuss the novel without the urge to stammer awestruck about its beauty. If you haven’t already read the tale of a mysterious man, a love triangle, and the biggest 1922 parties, then you need to get your copy here, Old Sport.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

Hemingway said American fiction begins and ends with Huck Finn, and he’s right. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn dives into issues such as racism, friendship, identity, religion, and freedom. There are several moments in this coming-of-age story that are hilarious, but when I finished the book, I knew I had read something profound. This is a book that everyone should read. Purchase Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, here.

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

Front to back, this is one of the more mournful novels I’ve read. It’s about Henry, an ambulance driver in World War I. He is wounded and falls in love with Catherine, a nurse. Henry is captured by military police and in danger of being executed, but he manages to escape. Things are idyllic for awhile. But then, of course, life intervenes. The tragic novel is heartbreaking, but nothing short of Brilliant. Purchase A Farewell to Arms, here.

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Road is an excellent book, as it is gripping, terrifying, utterly heart-wrenching, and completely beautiful all at the same time. The Road stands out from McCarthy’s other works. I think it is the best in terms of prose, plot, and brilliant storytelling of a father and his young son struggling in a post-apocalyptic world. McCarthy nails the dialog in this book, making the reader feel as though they are walking down the never-ending road as well. Purchase The Road by Cormac McCarthy, here.

1984 by George Orwell

1984 describes a Utopia. Imagine living in a country whose leaders apply a totalitarian system of the most extreme. Any hint of obedience or dislike can be detected by Thought Police, telescreen, or even your children, who will not hesitate to betray you. Even language is modified in such ways that you cannot express yourself, since individualism is a crime. 1984 is a revolutionary novel that will have you turning pages and questioning where our society stands. Buy 1984, here.

By Dr. Meg Jay

Why your twenties matter— and how to make the most of them now

Dr. Meg Jay has. PhD in clinical psychology and teaches at UC Berkeley. She reflects on her many years of private practice and research with adults in their 20s to compose a book filled with helpful advice. I chose this book to recommend for Books for the Busy because as college students, there is no better time to use this advice.

Dr. Jay provides insight on four major sections of life: work, love, and the brain and body. Dr. Jay takes from her work as a psychologist to provide real life examples. She challenges the “thirty-is-the-new-twenty” culture and argues that your years in your 20s are the most important ones yet. You are no longer an emerging adult or an extended adolescent.

Dr. Jay does not say that young people in their twenties who don’t have a steady job are doing it wrong, or that thinking about a career or love later in life is a bad thing. She merely emphasizes that all our actions have consequences, and if you want a career and children in your thirties –You should start preparing now. In order to get to where you want yourself to be in ten years, you have to start now, there’s no way around it. You don’t turn thirty and become an experienced professional by magic. 

She also offers solid concrete advice on dating, marriage, finding a job, health, hobbies, and the rest. I found her straightforward approach not off-putting, but motivating. Overall an extremely useful book for adults entering their twenties and are about to form decisions that will impact their lives for the future.

Purchase The Defining Decade, here.

Happy Reading!

By Stephen King

Four short stories in one book

“Full Dark, No Stars” by Stephen King is a collection of four short stories compiled into one large book. Although it looks intimidating, the short stories are only about 100 pages each. The short stories included in “Full Dark, No Stars” are 1922, Big Driver, Fair Extensions and A Good Marriage.

1922 is a dark, eerie and unsettling tale about greed, murder, guilt and comeuppance. It is a story about crime and punishment. A typical Stephen King story that you surely will not want to read before bed.

Before reading Big Driver, I wanted to emphasize that this particular short story may be sensitive for some readers. Big Driver by is a bit of a cross between a horror and thriller as the events involved are certainly very real. It is a brutal revenge story of a woman who was raped. King holds nothing back in this story.

Fair Extentions is about a cancer stricken man who comes across a business to extend your life, but it comes with a cost. This short story is loaded with dark humor, the delivery is seamless, and the outcome appears effortless. King takes the reader into one of his rabbit-hole storylines, where the impossible can happen at the drop of a hat.

Lastly, A Good Marriage. This short story is my favorite out of the collection. Darcy Anderson looks for batteries in the garage while her husband is away. Instead, she makes a horrifying discovery. This story is rendered with bristling intensity, and it definitively ends a good marriage. This one will surely keep you on the edge of your chair.

Purchase Full Dark, No Stars, here.

Happy Reading!