Today is National Book Lover’s Day in the U.S., but, like any other American holiday, I’ll celebrate it if I want to. Today I celebrated by carrying my book, The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent, with me in my purse. I took Seldon and a friend to the movies. I had a few errands to run, but finished before the movie was over. So, while I was waiting, I went to Starbucks, got a strong cup of mediocre coffee and settled into a comfy couch and read while I waited. Okay, to be honest, I did all this before I even realized it was National Book Lover’s Day. I did it because I wanted to.
But, what a perfect opportunity to write about the books I love. 
My all time favourite book is The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. If you haven’t read this book, and you like historical fiction, it’s a must read. It’s an epic novel that spans generations of a church builder and a monk and their families and how their paths and lives intersect. I know, that doesn’t sound interesting, but I promise if you read the prologue, you’ll be hooked.
Suzanne’s Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson is another book that I always recommend to others, especially female readers. It is the book that convinced my mother-in-law at the age of 76, now an avid reader at 83, that reading really was for her. I loved it; many of my female students loved it. 
My daughter, mother and husband all loved it, and it actually got my husband reading too. It’s one of those can’t-put-down books. If you’ve read any of Patterson’s Alex Cross books or his murder-mystery stuff, it’s nothing like those. It is uncharacteristic of most of his work.
Another Patterson title that’s uncharacteristic of his writing is The Jester, a novel he co-authored with Andrew Gross. Before reading The Pillars of the Earth, I would have listed The Jester as my all-time favourite. It’s another great historical fiction read.
Those are a few of my favourites, but I have many others that I love. I’m going to leave you with a few lists of books and authors I recommend.
My last four book club reads:
- The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
- The King’s Speech by Mark Logue and Peter Conradi (I don’t recommend this one)
- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
- Still Alice by Lisa Genova
Four just for fun summer reads:
- Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom
- The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill
- Sister Wife by Shelley Hrdlitschka
- The Heretic’s Daughter by Kathleen Kent
Four of my favourite authors:
Four of my favourite dead authors:
Four of my favourite poets:
“Suddenly I felt the precise body of your poems beneath me,
like a raft, I felt words as something portable again…” ~ Naomi Shihab Nye
Happy National Book Lover’s Day!
wildmudturtle writes 