Here’s a list of some of the cool books I’ve read lately, to inspire those who are looking for something to read this year.
Photos from my Instagram. To see what I’m reading, follow #livrosdacintia.
Wonder (R. J. Palacio)
Being different is hard. Auggie, a boy with a facial abnormality that seems to be the only thing people can see in him. The book is about his first year at regular school after being homeschooled. The more we know Auggie, the more he seems like everyone else. And that gets us thinking about how cruel we can be with people who are different from us.
The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
This is one of those we read for a good cry. Death itself is the narrator of this book about a little girl with a though past and a strong mind caught in the middle of the war at a nazi occupied German city.
Budapest (Chico Buarque)
Chico Buarque is a Brazilian artist best know for his music, with brilliant lyrics. That was enough reason to get me curious to check his ability as a book writer. I started with this one after watching the movie (Budapest, 2009). It’s the story of a ghost writer that falls in love with the Hungarian capital and, trying to walk away from his personal and relationship issues, decides to move there and try to learn the local language. Full of complex characters and complicated relations, Chico’s books always get me thinking about the great mess we all are inside and how nothing is as simple and binary as black and white, good or bad in this life.
The Fault in our Stars (John Green)
Such a cute book, this one. It’s about the friendship of a girl who lives with cancer and some guys (also living with the disease) she meets in a support group. There’s romance, family drama and feet-sweeping moments in it. At some point, it makes you wanna hop on the first plane and go make that trip you’ve always wanted to. It’s an easy to read, feel-good book, and I loved it.
The Animal Farm (George Orwell)
Orwell, this genius, uses a very interest metaphor to talk about politics: once upon a time, a group of farm animals decided to stand up against the way humans were enslaving them, kicked them out and took power to themselves. This community oriented administration starts getting weird after some of the animals preach that “all animals are equal, but some are more equal than others”. Great read to think about utopia, oppressive systems and so on.
Murder in the Orient Express (Agatha Christie)
In this classic book, a murder takes place in a train that’s stuck in a snow storm. Detective Hercule Poirot (a famous character of Christie’s) has to solve the mystery and find out who did it by interviewing all passengers and putting the pieces together. I use to love the author’s style when younger: her books used to leave me wondering “who’s the murderer?” even when taking a shower. Nowadays, I don’t get as much obsessed about her books, but still find them a good read.
The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)
When I was leaving Switzerland, a friend presented me with The Little Prince, to encourage me to keep practicing my French and to never forget her, whom I have befriended. It’s a kids book, and yet, gets you thinking all sort os philosophical stuff, like the meaning of friendship, happiness, hurry, life and death. Plus, it has beautiful illustrations.