There are few things I like more than spending my free time wrapped up with a great book. When I am not walking my dog, Coco, meditating, or cooking some yummy vegan meals, I can usually be found curled up on my couch lost within a novel. Living on the coast, I like to spend much of my time outside, but as anyone who lives in the UK knows, a cloudy day is never far away – and makes the best reading weather.
I like to change up my reading, from fiction to non, adventure to humour, and anything in between. Here is a list of some of my favorites that I have read, as well as a few that are next on my list.
How Do You Like Me Now? By Holly Bourne
A hilarious, addicting, and brilliantly written adult fiction novel, Bourne provides readers with an inside look into the life of Tori Bailey. Bailey is a famously successful author with a huge online following, loving boyfriend, and seemingly perfect life. Bourne offers an inside, and sometimes uncomfortable, look at the inner workings of Tori’s mind. It is here that we read her true thoughts of her consciousness that is often too unrestrained to say aloud. I lost sleep over this book, I just couldn’t put it down. A must-read for women everywhere!
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
This large novel offers over 900 pages packed full of adventure that I found entertaining from one page to the next. Roberts writes a fictionalized tale of his own life’s adventure. After being sentenced to a 19-year prison term for robbery in Australia, Roberts escapes to India. Here, he spent 10 years living in flight until he was finally caught and sent back to Australia. The story tells the tale of how he made a second life for himself in India, gained a sidekick, a hut in the slums, fell in love, and overcome new obstacles. I read this while on an adventure of my own in Africa and could not put it down.
12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson
Peterson is a Canadian clinical psychologist. He combines practical advice from within his practice with real-life narratives from his personal life into his first self-help book. He references his academic work as well as historically renowned books and explains each of the 12 truths of life in essay formats. I love the human mind and any kind of psychological reading so this was a great read for me!
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
This biography of Dolly’s life details memoirs from every awkward and exciting stage of it, from her early childhood, to her first love, to navigating an adult career. It is a great balance between a serious biography and a humorous coming-of-age tale. She even includes text transcripts, recipes, and more to serve as an inside look at her life. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for that relatable read.