One of the ladies in the On the Same Page Ladies Book Club recently asked if I’ve ever given a book 5 stars. The question came about because I have yet to rate of our book club reads higher than a 3 on a 1-to-5 scale. I never thought of myself as a picky reader, but I’ve definitely become more, shall we say, discerning in the past few years. I believe that is a sign of aging… I feel as if there are far too many books for me to ever read, so I should choose the ones I really want to read. This is a variation of the “I’m on top of the food chain, so why should I eat broccoli?” argument.
Seriously? It’s because I’m as lazy as an old cat and I don’t want to bother with those literary tomes that make me think too much. Most of the time, I read to escape, so why agonize over Dostoevsky when I can romance with Devereaux? Why slug through Rousseau when I can fly with Rowling? Why wrestle with Joyce when I can joust with Jecks? Okay, that was fun, but back to the point.
Here are just a few of the many books that I have rated as deserving 5 stars (alpha by author).
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin [Duh!]
A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson [The title says it all.]
Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St John De Crevecoeur [Early American history]
Tarzan of the Apes (free) by Edgar Rice Burroughs [Pulp fiction from the early 20th century]
A Supremely Bad Idea: Three Mad Birders and Their Quest to See It All by Luke Dempsey [non-fiction]
A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux [Yes, even romance]
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons [Great fiction]
The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann [History adventure]
Wool Omnibus Edition by Hugh Howey (Wool Part 1 is free) [Science-fiction]
West with the Night by Beryl Markham [Classic non-fiction]
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron [Aww, kitties!]
The Face of a Stranger by Anne Perry [Victorian-era historical mystery]
Faded Coat of Blue by Owen Parry [American Civil War historical mystery]
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel by Diane Setterfield [Gothic novel]
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis [Science-fiction/romance/humor]
So, what do you think? Have you read any of these and do you agree (or disagree) with my ratings? Let me know!
FTC Disclosure: I have an affiliate relationship with Amazon.com. Some of the links in this post may go to their site. If you purchase something using that link, I may receive a small compensation. I am never paid to review books and am always brazenly honest (ask my husband). Thank you!
