Below are my top 5 favorite and best books of all time that I strongly recommend for fellow bookworms. If you enjoy reading literature that’s rewarding, thought-provoking, and challenging, these are must-reads. My book recommendations are primarily based in nostalgia and how the story and characters resonated with me, but that’s not to say they aren’t highly celebrated and critically acclaimed works in the literature world.
5. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is an LGBTQ novel about Mexican-American teenager Aristotle and his friendship and eventual romance with his best friend, Dante Quintana. The novel deftly explores themes of sexuality, identity, love, grief, and acceptance throughout its three-part structure.
Written with beautiful and thoughtful prose, this is among one of my favorite books to read for its touching, character-driven story, and positive queer representation.
4. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir and his life growing up in Afghanistan before the Soviet invasion and the bond with his childhood friend, Hassan, before fleeing to the United States. In addition to themes of family and coming-of-age, the novel also explores guilt and redemption following the sexual assault of his friend that he failed to prevent and how he atones for it in the following decades.
While the subject matter in The Kite Runner is dark and mature, it handles these gut-wrenching moments with compassion, care, and nuance through its sophisticated storytelling and prose. With an incredible roster of deeply flawed and relatable characters and a character-centric narrative, The Kite Runner is among the top of my must-read books.
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Loosely based on author Harper Lee’s real life and experiences as a young girl growing up in Alabama, To Kill a Mockingbird focuses on a young girl named Scout, her views of the world, and how her father, Atticus Finch, serves as her moral compass and inspiration. To Kill a Mockingbird explores the injustices of racial inequality and sexual assault through Tom Robinson’s trial and the biased verdict despite Atticus Finch’s staunch efforts to prove his innocence.
Because the novel’s narrator is a young girl, Scout’s naivete and innocence give the novel an honest, warm, and humorous tone that would be impossible to capture with an adult narrator. For all of these reasons, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of my favorite books to read.
2. The Giver, by Lois Lowry
The Giver is a young adult novel that presents the Community, a group of individuals who subscribe to “Sameness” as the ultimate utopia. People no longer experience deep, emotional depth, and the world around them is devoid of color or weather like snow. When a 12-year-old boy named Jonas is selected to be the new Receiver of Memory and begins to absorb memories of the past, their society is revealed for the dystopia it really is.
Jonas struggles with the new emotions and concepts introduced to him through the memories and strives to make a difference in their society. The Giver is an incredibly poignant and interesting book to read as it explores the impacts and costs of the Community’s “Sameness” and what the human connection and experience truly means.
If you have a chance to read the graphic novel adaptation of The Giver by P. Craig Russell, I highly recommend it. Its effective use of linework, storyboarding, and color (or lack thereof in many panels) makes it a great supplemental work to the novel.
1. The Road, by Cormac McCarthy
A bleak, heart-wrenching novel set in a post-apocalyptic world, the heart of The Road lies in the relationship between the unnamed father and son so carefully and painstakingly crafted on each page. The writing style is distinct for its limited use of punctuation, such as quotation marks, creating a complex read that engages the reader with every sentence.
The Road is one of the best books I’ve ever read, and my favorite because of its harrowing depiction of how far people will go to survive and the unbreakable bond between a father and son.
What are your favorite books to read? Let me know in the comments, and thank you for reading!
The Mhelting Pot 