30 Books for a 30th Birthday
Books aren’t just about the story and what’s inside the pages. They can also be a memory of what you were going through and where you were when you read them. They provide an escape from the hard times. Books can be like old friends there to comfort you if you need something familiar. They bring people together to talk about their favorite parts and challenge you to open your eyes to consider things you would never have considered before.
Since it's my 30th birthday, I decided to reflect on 30 books that have done all of these things for me and shaped me into the reader that I am today.
A Corner of the Universe by Ann M. Martin
While I’ve loved books for as long as I can remember, Corner of the Universe was the first book that made me look at reading differently. My fifth-grade teacher recommended it to me (I felt so special that she singled me out) and I read it with my mom. It made such an impact. For the first time, I fell in love with the characters, appreciated the setting and story, and experienced emotions I had never had while reading. It opened me up to the potential of what a book could do to a person. It can bond people (like my mom, my teacher, and me) with only words written on paper. It can open the door to a hobby that I would not be whole without. It’s a special book and I would be amiss if I didn’t have it on my list.
This is another special one for so many different reasons. It was the first Stephen King book I have ever read. I instantly fell in love with the story, characters, and writing style. It felt comfy and exciting and I couldn’t put it down. I have revisited it many times over the years and still have that same feeling of comfort and enjoyment just like the first read-through. It also happened to be the book my husband was reading when I first met him. It was meant to be! Our wonderful friend and officiant, Joe even gave it a shout-out during our wedding ceremony. It’ll always be one of my favorite books.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
The first gift my husband ever gave me was a gift card to my favorite bookstore Dolly’s Bookstore in Park City. He was leaving for a few months and thought I could use some new books while he was away. It also just so happened to be where we had our second date. We loved browsing the books while the cat Dolly, roamed around begging for pets. It also didn’t hurt that it was attached to an ice cream/chocolate store. I purchased A Little Life with this gift card and laid in my bed every night after work and read and read and read and read. The minutes and hours slipped away from me as I got to know these beautiful characters in this heart-wrenching story, sobbing and sobbing after finishing it. (I’m realizing many of the books on this list have made me cry). Making my husband promise to read it when he returns. Since then, I have made so many people read it and I think (unless they are lying) that they have loved it as well. Just mention A Little Life in a conversation and you won’t shut me up.
The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert
This book is so well-executed and one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. As you can guess by the title, Kolbert breaks down how we are in the very beginnings of The Sixth Extinction and details just how mankind is the metaphorical fiery asteroid that has altered life on Earth in a way that’s never been done before. Yes, I know, a depressing climate change book is an odd choice for the most influential books in my life thus far, but it made a huge impact on me. It was the first book I had read about that goes in-depth into the disastrous effects of what we are doing to this planet and these beautiful, innocent creatures. Reading it was an act of pure masochism and I couldn’t put it down. I think it’s an important read for everyone living on this planet.
They’re Going to Love You by Meg Howrey
This book had me underlining prose while laughing and crying. It was a book club book for my book club in Atlanta and a book I probably wouldn’t have picked up on my own. (Don’t you just love that part about book clubs?) It’s filled with rich emotion and examines the flaws in all of us. I enjoyed reading every page and thought about it for days after finishing. Honestly, it's practically the perfect book. I think everyone reading it can find a little piece of it to relate to.
I ate up this hefty 771-page book in three sittings. I was at a cabin for the weekend with nothing to do and no place to be and thank god because I couldn’t put the book down even if I wanted to. I sat at a picnic bench from sun up to sun down and devoured it. The writing was beautiful, the story engrossing, and the characters so frustratingly lovable.
The Code Breaker: Jennifer Doudna, Gene Editing, and the Future of the Human Race by Walter Isaacson
I wouldn’t exactly qualify this one as a beach read but that’s exactly where I read it, on the beach in Hawaii on my honeymoon. I’ve been a big Walter Isaacson fan for years, reading nearly everything he has ever published. On every trip I take, I bring an Isaacson book with me. They are long enough so that I don't have to pack another book and engaging enough that I'm not running to an airport bookstore in search of something more exciting. I’m not sure if it was the sound of gentle waves crashing on the shore or the honeymoon bliss that made it so perfect but I ended up finishing it in a matter of days and loving every chapter.
The Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
This book has it all: a beautiful story, the most lovable characters, and exceptional writing. I was fortunate enough to attend a book talk with Towles before reading the book. I think that made me love this book so much more. He’s a passionate writer who obviously loves what he does and it shows in his novels. It’s a book that I never wanted to end and recommend it to anyone who asks. Rules of Civility is also excellent.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
One of my favorite things is when someone recommends a book they love and you end up loving it just as much. It’s such an intimate exchange that you can’t really get in many other mediums, at least not in the same way. This happened to me when my husband shared One Hundred Years of Solitude. I fell in love with its beautiful prose and wacky storyline. Again, it’s a book I wouldn’t have ever picked up on my own (not a huge magical realism fan) but, this stuck with me. And the line, “It’s enough for me to be sure that you and I exist at this moment.” will forever be one of my favorites.
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
This book was in the same tone and feel as A Little Life. While it didn’t make me sob at the end, it did give me that feeling of being close friends with the characters and never wanting our journey together to end. Each character was so fleshed out that I understood each of their desires and motivations. It was one where I knew from page 50 it was going to stay with me forever. I will forever be chasing the high of this one.
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
As many of you may know, I have a weird obsession with Mount Everest. There’s a mystique that draws me not only to the mountain range itself but also to the people who have climbed it and the overall culture surrounding the mountain. I would say this all started with Into Thin Air. I love that a book can introduce you to a random topic you wouldn’t have ever thought about or been interested in. The story was absolutely palm-sweating, nerve-wracking, and exciting. You felt like you were on the mountain with Krakauer. One of the most exciting nonfiction books I have read to this day. Yet, oh so tragic.
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
What an absolutely charming series. I know this style of cozy Japanese writing has since become pretty popular but Kawaguchi is the OG. This was a blind buy at an airport bookstore in New Zealand. It’s nothing like I’d ever read. It made me fall in love with Japanese novels. The other books in the series are wonderful as well. Whenever you need a sweet and thought-provoking story, reach for this series.
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
I immensely enjoyed my time with this book. The detail and storytelling were next level. It's another long one where I enjoyed every sentence and page of the journey. It’s one that I will want to revisit if I’m in the need to escape reality for a while.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Richard Powers is a lot like cilantro. You either love or hate his novels. His writing style is distinctive, and his stories are often long. However, I'm on the pro-Powers side. I love everything about his novels. His storytelling is so polished. I eat up every page and detail. I also enjoy how the themes in his books are mostly centered around the connection between humans and nature. It gives the reader things to ponder long after finishing. The Overstory was the first book of his I read, turning me into a huge Powers fan. He's consistently good and in my top five favorite authors.
What a creepy, engaging story. The best part of this series is the overall tone and feeling you get while reading it. I haven't experienced that in many other books. They tried to translate this feeling into a movie but failed miserably. With a series like this, you just have to read it, feel it, sit in that eeriness, and let yourself experience the story. This makes me want to re-read all of them right now.
Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk
That ending, wow. Her books always make me feel a little bit weird in the best possible way. This was a book club book and again, something I wouldn’t have read myself. It opened me up to Olga and her beautiful writing. And for that, I'm forever grateful.
I’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid
This is a book my family, husband, and I obsessed over. So much so that when my mom and I drove my things to Atlanta, where I was moving, we listened to this book and tried to guess if we could discover more clues that we hadn't discovered on our first two read-throughs. The movie however was a fever dream of nonsense, not in a good way. This was another story that you can't translate to the big screen. It just has to be felt.
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee
This is one of my all-time favorite science nonfiction books. This was the first book I read of his that made me realize a 608-nonfiction book about cancer can be just as exciting as a novel if done correctly. Mukherjee's writing is so eloquent. He is one of my favorite science authors. I've read almost all of his books and each is just as engrossing as The Emperor of All Maladies.
The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit by Michael Finkel
Yes, on the surface it is about an extreme hermit who lived in the woods in Maine for 27 years, but it’s so much more than that. It’s a story about a man who was happiest in the company of himself and the trees. There’s a quote from the book that says, “He left because the world is not made to accommodate people like him. He was never happy in his youth – no in high school, not with a job, not being around other people. It made him feel constantly nervous. There was no place for him, and instead of suffering further, he escaped.” Nobody took the time to really see things from his perspective. It is an unexpected page-turner and one I have thought about a lot since finishing.
Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
This is another must-read for anyone living in America. Desmond’s writing writing style is very engaging. Evicted is chalked full of facts and information that anyone else trying to write about this topic would come across as dry, boring, and maybe a little overwhelming. Evicted opened my eyes to the root causes of poverty and eviction. It’s awfully depressing but very engaging, with passion oozing off the page. Along with writing this bestselling book, he also started two nonprofits, Just Shelter which raises awareness for affordable housing, and Eviction Lab which is the first database of reported evictions used to publish studies to find solutions for the homelessness crisis. His most recent book Poverty, By America is also an outstanding.
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
This book is another throwback from my childhood, recommended by my fourth-grade teacher and read with my mom. We blew through the book, each reading chapters together and then on our own, unable to put it down. We both cried at the end and were desperate to find another book that could live up to the sweet characters we had just spent 200 pages with. I cherish this book and the memories I still have with my mom. Mom, if you’re reading this, huzza, huzza.
I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life by Ed Yong
Ed Yong! Another talented nonfiction author. I love a book that can open up your eyes to the wonders of the world. Who knew the world of microbes could be so interesting?
She Has Her Mother’s Laugh: The Powers, Perversions and Potential of Heredity by Carl Zimmer
This book made me fall in love with Carl Zimmer. Much like Siddhartha Mukherjee, he’s able to write exciting 300+ page books about otherwise dull-ish topics in science. I also loved his Life’s Edge: The Search for What It Means to Be Alive. I am slowly making my way through all of his books.
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Another long one, but Verghese’s storytelling is next level. I loved hanging in this story. He’s the master of multigenerational storytelling. His prose is simplistic yet effective. Not only is this book on my list because it's simply so great, but it's also one of the first books my good friend Lynn and I bonded over.
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
If you haven't read a Charlotte McConaghy book, let me tell you, you are missing out. Her books are some of my favorites. If this were a list of the top 40 books, then all of her books would be on here. She has it all: strong characters, beautiful writing, and impactful stories that stick with you for a long time. Migrations was another book that hurt my heart in all of the best ways. This book has a lot going on. It explores themes of climate change, self-discovery, and loss. A little on the heavier side but fantastic nonetheless.
Claire Keegan is the absolute master at complex, well-developed stories in under 100 pages. I don’t know how she does it. Her writing is so well thought out and precise that not a word is out of place. She opened my eyes to how a simple story can be packed with so much action and emotion. I will read everything that she publishes.
Bewilderment by Richard Powers
Yes, Richard Powers is on here twice. What can I say, I love the guy’s writing! Bewilderment is not an uplifting book by any means but it sure was impactful. I still think about the ending and the characters.
Beautyland by Marie-Helene Bertino
You may have read my review, in which I raved about how much I adore this book. The poignant observations of weird human behavior will make you laugh, and the tender moments will tug at your heartstrings.
Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
This has the best ending of possibly any book I’ve ever read. The beginning and middle were great as well, but man, that ending blew me away.
The Upside of Abandoned Roads by Matt DiGennaro
This list simply wouldn’t be complete without this book. It’s special to me for many reasons (I’ll let you read it to figure out why). It's a moving book that perfectly encapsulates the feelings of taking those scary chances in life because you never know what you’ll be missing out on if you don’t. I just so happen to know the talented author very well, and was lucky enough to watch him pour everything into this book. It shows in each one of his poems. It's one that I wish I could read again for the first time.
I hope I’m lucky enough to experience 30 more books like these in my lifetime. And I hope you can too. Until next time, happy reading!
