There are lots of reasons to read books: escape reality for a little bit, learn more about the world, or go on an adventure without leaving your bedroom. One of my favorite reasons to read is to make myself feel happy and sad at the same time! It sounds masochistic, but really I just like to immerse myself in language so intricate and moving that it makes me feel more than one feeling at a time.
So here are five books that did just that. They range in genre and reading level, so anyone can take a sampling and run with it.
1. "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak 
This is one of my favorite books. It is narrated by Death and set in Germany during the Holocaust. You will fall in love with Liesel, Rudy, and Max as you make your way through the story and will (probably) find yourself crying and smiling by the last page.
2. "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
This postmodern book set during the Vietnam War will take everything you knew about feelings and truth and throw it back in your face. Tim O'Brien narrates the fictional story of Tim O'Brien and his time serving in Vietnam. There is quite a bit of profanity in the book, as well as some violent scenes, so maybe don't read it as a bedtime story. But you should definitely still read it. It's my all-time favorite book.
3. "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
We don't usually take time to consider what life was like in Afghanistan and most of the Middle East before our (college students') generation. "The Kite Runner" paints us a beautiful and heartbreaking picture of pre-war Afghanistan and two boys who grew up together there. I can assure you that tears, sighs, and smiles will come your way as you read this beautifully written novel.
4. "The Invention of Wings" by Sue Monk Kidd
I'm in the process of reading this book now and I've already recommended it to pretty much everyone I know who reads. The story is based in truth and takes place during the lives of two incredible women, a slave girl and the girl to whom she was given as a child. The chapters go back and forth between Sarah, the rich daughter of a South Carolina judge, and Handful, the slave presented to Sarah as a waiting maid. My favorite part of this book is the way Kidd masters the language of the two women and sews together their stories like squares on a quilt.
5. "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
This is probably the easiest read of the five, and is more of a YA novel than the other ones, but that doesn't make it any less wonderful and happy-sad. Stargirl is the new student at a high school in Arizona and shocks everyone with her strange and nonconformist attitudes and behaviors. The story is told from the perspective of a boy named Leo who attends the same school. He and Stargirl journey through high school and try to find their own way. This shouldn't be a surprise by now, but I cried when I first read it, and every time since then.
This list should keep you and your tear ducts busy for a while. Happy happy-sad reading!
