Happy National Book Lovers Day!

How are you celebrating today? Do you always have a book on hand? What book are you currently reading? What are your favorite books?

When I have been asked to fill out a form or application, and a question asks, “What are your hobbies?,” reading always falls at the top of my list. Through reading, I am introduced to other cultures, my imagination takes flight, and I always learn.

I wanted to take a walk back through time and share my favorite all-time books to recognize and celebrate National Book Lovers Day! Here we go…

During high school, I was introduced to Danish playwright Henrik Ibsen, known as the father of modern drama. His play “An Enemy of the People” spoke to me then, and its relevance continues today. Read it to understand how the challenges of politics repeat again and again.

During high school, I read “The Count of Monte Cristo” by French novelist and playwright Alexandre Dumas. There’s only one word to describe this story: WOW! If you want to take an amazing roller coaster ride through France, Italy, and the islands of the Mediterranean during 1815-1839, then this is the book! According to Lucy Sante, a contributor to The New York Review of Books, “The Count of Monte Cristo has become a fixture of Western civilization’s literature.”

And lastly, during high school, the musical CATS became famous, and as a result, I read T.S. Eliot’s inspiration, a book called “Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.” You certainly don’t have to be an ailurophile (a cat lover) to appreciate the poetry in this book.

Over the years, I’ve read too many business books focused on marketing, leadership, and the customer experience to count as well as works of fiction. However, there are definitely some stories that I will never forget. Here they are:

• “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay
• “P.S., I Love You” by Cecelia Ahern
• “The Wedding” by Nicholas Sparks
• “The Sweetness of Forgetting” by Kristin Harmel
• “The Paris Daughter” by Kristin Harmel
• “Something’s in the Water” by Catherine Steadman
• The “Monk” series of books by Lee Goldberg

No matter which book you consider your favorite, today is a great day to support the writers who take you on unforgettable adventures! Give them a shout-out on Amazon with a positive review or send a DM on Twitter/X, Facebook, or Instagram.

Image Credit: Debbie Laskey’s Library.