What You Should Reach For...When It's Raining

Book-loving cat by bibliothekarin

Besides listening to music or catching up on some zZz's, what's better to do on a rainy day than to read a good ole book?

Like I mentioned in a previous post, my favorite place to venture into an alternate universe is curled up in my comfy little corner chair. I always have a hot mug of tea handy--preferably chai in the colder months--and either a book removed from my bookshelf, or my trusty Kindle in my hands. (I swear, that gadget gets so much use, every time I turn it on I'm scared to death it's going to finally die.)

I. love. reading.

If I'm not reading, I'm reading to others, or trying to convince them to read--usually by helping them find a book that suits them. (Should I have gone to school to be a librarian instead...?)

When there's nothing really worth doing, and you're too sluggish from the rain (or lazy) to do it anyhow, reading is the bee's knees.

I read a wide range of genres, and my favorites have changed as I've grown into myself, but horror/thrillers have remained a true friend of mine. I read Stephen King's "It" when I was in fourth grade--I was hardcore. I still love fiction as a whole, however, and recently, non-fiction has become a favorite. Who would have guessed?

Here's a diverse list I've compiled of books I would recommend to readers on a rainy day, and why. You might not finish them, but you'll certainly be spellbound for the time you would have otherwise spent probably pretending to clean or lying on your bed, ruminating over your college years.

• "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" by Neil Gaiman 

This book has such a magical quality to it, you know at once who the author is (if you are familiar with Neil Gaiman's work). You feel quite like a child once more, reading a fairy tale that is hard to decipher between reality and make-believe. It's beautiful.

• "The Mouse-Proof Kitchen" by Saira Shah 

In this incredible novel about a couple figuring out how to raise their disabled newborn, all while newly relocated to France in a house that's not really fit for a mouse, you will cry and laugh and gasp and--well, I won't spoil anything. The author gives the characters an edge about them when it comes to the baby's disability, and I liked that. Being labeled disabled myself, I was nervous about how this book would handle a disabled character and the characters around her; I'll let you decide for yourselves how "well" she did this.

• "Why Can't I Be You" by Allie Larkin

This book is so funny and so charming. It's easily a book that can be finished quickly and read without any thinking really going on--which isn't a bad thing! It's still really well-written, I promise. Let's go over this again: funny, quick read, you can be lazy, and ooh some romance in the mix too? Get to the bookstore and have the cashier plop this paperback in your hands now!

I'm going to lead the way and pick up where I've left off in the book I'm reading now, a ~zombie~ novel which I'll have a review up for soon. Now get out there (or stay in?) and enjoy some one-on-one with someone you truly love--a book.