Have you heard??? I'm hosting a COVID-19 Reading Challenge and I want you to join me!!
Click here to get a printable copy of the challenge.
Email the PDF to a friend and invite them to join you as well! Below you'll find the categories plus book suggestions!
Category 1: A Rom Com (Romantic Comedy)
1. The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman: Y'all, I've read this book three times. Nina and I are kindred spirits. Nina is type A, works in an independent LA bookstore, and her life is guided by her planner and to-do lists. When she finds out that she has a huge family (via the father she has never met), Nina's life becomes much less predictable.
2. Waiting for Tom Hanks by Kerra Winfrey: Annie is obsessed with Nora Ephron and all things rom com. She spends her days as a freelance writer (mostly writing about things like hemorrhoid creams) but her dream is to write a screenplay. She's also secretly waiting for her own "meet cute" to happen just like all the ones including Tom Hanks in her beloved Nora Ephron films. This book is an ode to rom coms and such a gem.
3. The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary: This super cute rom com set in London alternates perspectives between Leon and Tiffy who share a flat but don't actually meet face to face for much of the book because Leon works the night shift. This is a great one to listen to on audio. Also, the author has another book coming out at the end of April call The Switch which would also work for the rom com category!
Category 2: A Book You Read as a Kid (if you didn't read much as a kid, just pick any children's book)
1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis: If you've read The Lion the Witch, and the Wardrobe then you know why I've included it here. If you haven't, then NOW IS THE TIME! Set in London, three siblings are sent to live in a old house with a man they call "the professor" during WWII. They travel through a wardrobe within the house to discover another world called Narnia that is stuck in a perpetual winter.
2. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo: This is one of my favorite read alouds of all time! When I was a teacher, I read this to my students every year and have also read it with my five year old. Edward Tulane is a china rabbit who lives a very privileged life and doesn't know the meaning of love. One day the world he knows is taken from him when he is thrown overboard and is lost to his owner. He ends up meeting and traveling with a number of different people and through his pain and loss he learns what it means to love.
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling: If you've read Harry Potter, I highly recommend listening to it this go round. Jim Dale is the narrator and he really brings the story to life.
Category 3: A Memoir
1. Becoming by Michelle Obama: This book has been on my nightstand for a while and I've finally picked it up and started reading it. I also bought the audio version from Libro.fm because I've heard it recommended by a few different people for listening at night when you're having trouble sleeping. Michelle Obama does the narration and her voice is indeed very soothing.
2. The Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes: In my book, Shonda Rhimes is a genius and I am obsessed with all of her television shows (Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, How to Get Away with Murder, and Scandal). In this memoir she decides to spend a year saying yes to things that scare her.
3. How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn: I read this memoir a few years ago and LAUGHED OUT LOUD so many times. Jancee talks about her life after having a child and how it affected her marriage while also sharing how she and her husband worked through the change. Very fitting for a time such as this when many of us are in isolation with our spouses and children. : )
Category 4: A Book of Poetry
1. Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver: This was the first book of poetry that I read by Mary Oliver and it continues to be my favorite. Her poems tend to focus on nature and I find that very soothing during anxious times.
2. Dog Songs by Mary Oliver: This collection of poems by Mary Oliver (can you tell I'm a fan?) is so very beautiful. Even if you don't have a dog or a pet, I think you'll enjoy this collection.
3. The Peace of Wild Things and Other Poems by Wendell Berry: Wendell Berry is another of my favorite poets and this collection does not disappoint. Below you can read "The Peace of Wild Things".
"The Peace of Wild Things" by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Please share what you plan to read on Instagram or in the comments!
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