Cheryl tells her story of how she hit rock bottom and was struggling to find herself after her mother’s death and the ending of her marriage. With no experience, nothing to lose, and an overpacked backpack she sets out to hike the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) alone. It’s a wonderful and raw retelling of her journey through California and Oregon.

I first read Wild when I was a senior in high school, around the time I finished my cancer treatments unexpectedly and found myself in a dark place. (You can read a little more about my cancer history on my About Me page.) I don’t remember a lot about this time, but I do remember reading this book and feel that if she could hike the PCT by herself then I could pull myself out of my hole and graduate high school. I have no clue how I ended up even having the motivation to start going back to school let alone graduating, but this book holds such a special place in my heart because I know reading it helped me out of my depression.

If you love books, young adult novels, and used bookstores Words in Deep Blue, by Cath Crowley is the book for you! This is one of my favorite feel-good books that I turn to whenever I find myself wanting to smile. It is the type of feel-good book that pulls at your heartstrings with a devastating tragedy and undiscovered love. Find yourself reading about Rachel and her story of the love letter she left stuck between the pages of a book in the Letter Library of her friend’s family’s bookstore.

If you wanted you could easily read this in one sitting and I warn you, even though I have read it multiple times, it still sucks me in every time. I love this book so much that I don’t know what else to write about it, so just go read it and see what I mean! 🙂

Another one of my top book recommendations is The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. It’s all about how the author spent a year trying to be happier. The book is divided into twelve sections, each representing a month of the year about different ways to find happiness. From friendship to your attitude to mindfulness, there’s a section for everyone. Although, I have never tried my own “Happiness Project,” I did find aspects of the book that I ended up incorporating into my life.

This book is amazing just in it’s entirely, but one of my favorite parts is The Happiness Project Manifesto. It’s a declaration that just happens to include some of my favorite quotes including, “One of the best ways to make yourself happy is to make other people happy. One of the best ways to make other people happy is to be happy yourself.” I remember this saying at the most random times, but every time I do remember it I smile because I know it’s true.

I read Again, but Better, a fantastical book this year during quarantine when I was reminiscing about past trips and daydreaming about where I wanted to travel to next. Again, but Better by Christine Riccio is all about Shane who studies abroad for a semester in London. All she wants to do is have a second chance at college and there’s no better way than going to a different country to fix what she should have been doing all along. All about second chances, finding adventure, and The Beatles this book will definitely have you dreaming of Europe!

It was great to read this when I was missing traveling and to hear about the places I visited on my backpacking trip. Check out my post about the first half of my backpacking trip through Europe here! Something I also decided to do this year is to create playlists for a month or a feeling, so I made a playlist about the last week of March that includes every song mentioned in this book because I read it right at the beginning of quarantine in my state!

Grab yourself a coffee and devour this hilarious book by Lauren Graham called Talking as Fast as I Can – From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and everything in between). Taking you through her life leading up to Gilmore Girls and what it was like to play the eccentric Lorelai Gilmore all the way to how it felt to reprise the role again a few years later. I loved learning background secrets about Gilmore Girls and what lead to her getting the role. I have an even bigger appreciation for the show because I read Talking as Fast as I Can!

This year I have rewatched a lot of tv series including Gilmore Girls. I love this series, no matter how many times I watch it because it always puts me in the best mood and lifts my spirits and the same goes for this book.

I also recommend picking up Someday, Someday, Maybe by Lauren Graham. A fictional story about trying to make it on Broadway in New York City.

Well then pick yourself up a copy of Heartless by Marissa Meyer. Set in Wonderland you get to imagine what life was like for the Queen of Hearts, the Mad Hatter, and other characters of Wonderland when they were young. Catherine is a baker who wants to own her own shop one day but is desired by the King to be his bride. At a royal ball, she ends up meeting Jest, the handsome and utterly mysterious jester. They soon find themselves intertwined in each other’s lives and starting a secret relationship.

I didn’t know how to sum up the book any better than the last lines on the inside flap cover, “Cath is determined to choose her own destiny. But in a land thriving with magic, madness, and monsters, fate has other plans.” I am still heartbroken over this book because I knew how it was going to end, but I just kept hoping and wishing that the outcome would be different! If you are a fan of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll, or the original animated Disney movie then I highly recommend reading Heartless because you get to imagine the backstory. Plus the hardcover book is absolutely stunning, both with the cover on and off!