BREAKING NEWS: READING WON’T KILL YOU.

Many of you may be feeling lost at this time, wondering: Where do I start? What is a book? Do I even remember how to read?

Your first instinct may be to check the movie theatres--after all, pretty much every movie produced today was a book first. But as anyone who has read the Twilight saga can tell you, just because a book was made into a movie doesn’t mean it’s worth reading. Lucky for you, I was a librarian for almost two years, and during that time I read my fair share of books. I certainly don’t know what kind of books you like to read--you might not, either. But here’s a few of the incredible books I found which haven’t hit the big screen yet.

Mystery/Suspense

Those Who Wish Me Dead(Michael Koryata)

This is one of those Holy shit what is going to happen I CAN’T STOP READING UNTIL I’M DONE books. It brings together the tales of a couple of murderers, a mountain man, a teenage kid, a traumatized ex-firefighter, and a crooked cop, all on the backdrop of rugged Montana. It’s not funny. It’s not romantic. But damn, is it exciting.

Romance

Great Aunt-Sophia’s Lessons for Bombshells (Lisa Cach)

Follow the story of militant feminist Grace Cavanaugh as she spends the summer with her aged, once drop-dead gorgeous great aunt. Not only is this book funny and full of romantic tension, it also ends with a non-objectifying, positive message on what being beautiful is really about--and I promise it’s more realistic than “It’s what’s inside that counts.”

Fantasy

Shatter Me(Tahereh Mafi)

I know, I know: the description on the back of this book makes it sounds just like another Hunger Games or Divergent. A teenage girl in the dystopic future joins a rebel group trying to overthrow the despotic government. But. The character development in this trilogy will blow your mind. Not only do the protagonist and supporting characters grow and change throughout the story, the villains do too. Between the action, romance, and internal tension, this story stays thrilling from beginning to end.

General Fiction

A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman)

Be prepared to cry. And laugh. And want to slap the main character across the face. All will happen in the novel centered on an aging, crotchety Swedish man as he struggles with loneliness, new neighbors, a BMW, and an ugly cat.

There’s about 1,000 other books out there I could recommend. But I know--reading is scary. So, baby steps. Start with one of these. Then, maybe you’ll realize how amazing reading can actually be. Take it from a librarian.