Books I Find Myself Recommending Nonstop

Many of my five star reads are those that might only appeal to a few like-minded readers.  Others have tremendous universal appeal and I embarrass myself with how often I recommend them.  I've actually gotten into a bad habit over the years of making unsolicited recommendations and thus, I started a book blog.

You opted in to this!

So- here are five books I'm *always* hyping up (other book bloggers might say "the books I'm always pressing into hands" but I'm more of a library and Kindle reader, so this would involve us taking a quick road trip to the library to select the book that I can then press into your hands, or my downloading the book on your reading device which I would then press into your hands.  Anyway, I'm pressing, okay?)

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce
This book is full of music - the descriptions of musical pieces are unlike anything I've ever read before.  You'll be googling and listening and reading and suddenly you'll realize you just read the best love story EVER.  Look, now you're crying.  SO GOOD.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult
Well, there are tons of Jodi Picoult fans out in the world.  Picoult was what I read when I was making the transition from reading nothing in college to voraciously reading everything.  Picoult was my pit stop and why not?  She's great at examining all sides of an issue (though her writing can get tedious.  I remember the book about whales...my God...so much information about WHALES).  
Of her books, I loved Nineteen Minutes most, by far.  Her trademark is played out best here, where the reader finds themselves truly seeing all sides of ...a school shooting?  Incredible.

The Swans of Fifth Avenue by Melanie Benjamin
I remember loving this book so much when I read it last summer, but I'm amazed at how many times it has come up in conversation (I interjected it into the conversation) since then.  This was the ultimate beach read - glamorous, fun, not too gritty but not brain candy.  Grab it while the pools are still open!

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
Now that I've read this phenomenal peek at the life of a therapist (who goes to a therapist), I've been following Gottlieb online and I have to admit - she's the ultimate advice-giver.  This book is like a therapy session every time you crack it.  I will probably read it again, which I never do.

I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
Speaking of reading again, this is on my list to read again.  I hope I love it just as much as I did the first time.  Did you ever have a re-read that totally fell flat?  I don't think this will.  I recommend it all the time (as it is my current FAVORITE book) but nobody EVER, EVER reads it for me.  It's an excellent book marketed to the high school and college crowd that reveals lessons on the forms of human kindness.  But it's not sappy sweet, it's awesome!

What book do you want to press into my hands?