Super Six Sunday: Super 6 Favorite Books To Recommend to Others

4

January 18, 2014 by Bernadette ~ The Bumbling Bookworm

Super Six Sunday is a weekly bookish meme hosted by the lovely ladies at Bewitched Bookworms 🙂

My first Super Six Sunday! And what a great topic to start on… I love recommending books to others; for me it’s one of the best parts about reading so much. It’s all about getting to share the love for ALL THE BOOKS! But with such great power comes great responsibility – I’m always worried that people aren’t going to enjoy the books I recommend, or that I’ll hype them up too much and they’ll just have a big letdown when they finally read the book. Does anyone else have this problem?

That aside, I do have a few books that I recommend most often to other people. Allow me to recommend you six of my favourite 🙂

On the Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta: This book is one of my all-time faves, the one I reread multiple times a year because I just can’t get enough of it. Marchetta has a gift, and I’ve yet to read one of her books that I haven’t loved at first glance. She writes amazing characters and wonderful prose that hooks me in, no matter the subject of her novel. Jellicoe Road, as it’s known elsewhere, brings all the FEELS; it makes me CRY LIKE A BABY every time I read it. HOWEVER, I always give the following disclaimer when I recommend it to a newbie: it will be slow to begin with and you probably won’t understand much of what’s going on, but STICK WITH IT! It will all come together and I promise you won’t regret it 😀 (see what I mean about all the hype…)

Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson: This was the first of Matson’s books that I’ve read and it remains my favourite (so far!).  I always steer away from any cancer stories like the PLAGUE – having known friends and family to have been taken by the disease, cancer’s not a topic I usually like to read about in my off time.  Having said that, this book was recommended to me and I’m SO glad that read it.  Speaking from my own experience, I found this book to be such a realistic portrayal of living life with a family member with cancer – as cruel as it sounds, life goes on around us no matter which stage the disease is at.  The sub-story between Taylor, her former best friend Anna and her first crush Henry is also really enjoyable, as is Matson’s ‘flashback-y’ style of writing.

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell: I saw so many good reviews of this book by many bloggers that I respect, so I had to do everything possible to get my hands on this one.  Here’s a tip: so should you! This book was so refreshing, I love that it’s set in the late 1990’s around the whole Y2K craziness! I totally remember that and what a letdown it all was 🙂  Beth and Jennifer are so witty in their emails, I was literally laughing aloud half the time (which isn’t usual for me when I read, even if I find something funny) and you will too. They’re such great friends even when they’re not getting along, and I think that’s really important. Lincoln was adorable and it was great to see him address the things he didn’t particularly like much about his life at the time.  If you like unconventional romances, great writing and realistic characters, this is one for you.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: There’s not much that I can say about Pride and Prejudice which hasn’t already been said! If you’re a fan of classics, then this is definitely a book for you (although, if you’re a fan of classics you’ve probably already read it!).  There is a reason why Austen’s book remains such a staple some 201 years after it was first published, it is one of those books that transcends time and continues to remain a commentary on current social norms.  It helps that it is continually remade into movies and miniseries, so newer generations remain aware of this great piece of writing.  I myself first became aware of Pride and Prejudice after watching the 1995 BBC miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and it’s led to a lifetime of love for Austen’s prose.  I mean really, who doesn’t love Mr Darcy!

Lucky Man: A Memoir by Michael J. Fox: This one’s a bit of strange choice if you don’t know me, but I LOVE Michael J. Fox. My favourite childhood movies are the Back to the Future trilogy, I’ve literally seen each film at least 100 times, easily!  When this book was first released in 2002 my mum surprised me by bringing it home for me one day – she knew how much I’d want to read it and I did not disappoint.  It’s an interesting look at facing the crap life throws at you, and how he made through adversity even though he didn’t deal with it so well to begin with.  This is something we all could learn from, and it’s a lesson I try to take with me throughout my daily life.  It’s well written, it’s funny, and it’s not just about Parkinson’s Disease.  The sequel (Always Looking Up) is also a great read, picking up where Lucky Man ends.  The journey still isn’t over for Michael J. Fox, and I hope we hear more from him in the future.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: I have confession to make… I’ve only just read this book for the first time on Christmas Day – that’s 2013, not 2008 when the book was first published!  WHOOPS… I quickly realised that I shouldn’t have procrastinated so long on this series and I finished all three books by 28 December 2013 (it would’ve been quicker if we hadn’t had family over on Boxing Day and also if I hadn’t had to work on the 27th!). I guess I waited so long to read this because I was afraid it wouldn’t live up to the hype, but I’m glad I was wrong.  I’ve since been recommending it to everyone I know – surprisingly enough there are still people who haven’t read it!  If you haven’t read it yet, take my advice and get your hands on it as quickly as possible.

There you have it!  A list that’s inevitably geared towards romance and young adult, with a few of my other favourites thrown in.  What books would you recommend?