Here are 85 books that The Awakening fans have personally recommended if you like
The Awakening.
Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
My passion for whimsy is assuredly the result of my mama’s efforts to cultivate an environment where imaginative play and creativity were nurtured. I was raised on a steady diet of whimsical children’s literature—green eggs and ham in a box with a fox, pots of hunny with a silly old bear, and forbidden radishes with a naughty rabbit. As I grew up, I drank raspberry cordial with bosom friends and sipped tea with a fawn I met by a lamppost. Now, I’m still drawn to whimsy of all sorts because along with imaginative scope, I find it also broadens one’s joy. May these books bring you much joy, dear reader!
When curating a list of whimsical book recommendations, one must surely start with the epitome of whimsy herself, Miss Anne Shirley!
With her big words, vast scope for imagination, and appreciation for nature's marvels, Anne with an E is one of my favorite fictional bosom friends. A true kindred spirit, I could visit daily without tiring of her poetical musings.
I love how Anne matures as a character while still maintaining her sense of wonder, and I love how her wonder—her whimsical ability to see a simple lake as an enchanting Lake of Shining Waters—inspires me to romance my own life and search for the wondrous cloaked in the familiar.
Anne of Green Gables is the classic children's book by L M Montgomery, the inspiration for the Netflix Original series Anne with an E. Watch it now!
Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert are in for a big surprise. They are waiting for an orphan boy to help with the work at Green Gables - but a skinny, red-haired girl turns up instead. Feisty and full of spirit, Anne Shirley charms her way into the Cuthberts' affection with her vivid imagination and constant chatter. It's not long before Anne finds herself in trouble, but soon it becomes impossible for the Cuthberts to…
The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.
On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…
I like fiction which makes a character confront what the poet Thom Gunn called ‘the blackmail of his circumstances’: where you are born, the expectations of you. I like to think I am very much a self-created individual, but I can never escape what I was born into; the self is a prison that the will is trying to break out of. I like literature which reflects that challenge.
I first read Lolita when I was 14 and have read it every few decades since, learning something new each time.
I love the first-person immediacy of it and the way it is a crime novel in reverse: the narrator is already imprisoned but not for the crime he describes. It is a love story turned on its head: what the narrator says is love is in fact abuse.
It is a road trip across the vastness of the US, like one I took when I was a student.
'Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of my tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.'
Humbert Humbert is a middle-aged, frustrated college professor. In love with his landlady's twelve-year-old daughter Lolita, he'll do anything to possess her. Unable and unwilling to stop himself, he is prepared to commit any crime to get what he wants.
Is he in love or insane? A silver-tongued poet or a pervert? A tortured soul or a monster? Or is he all…
I am passionate about in-depth character development because it’s something I strive for in my own writing. Humans are very complex creatures who are capable of a full range of responses on any given day, moment, or set of circumstances. Offering readers an opportunity to consider what motivates characters to behave in the ways they do makes a story worth sinking your teeth into. I think making these kinds of considerations about characters who are not real also opens up our collective ability to exercise our empathy muscles in real life. These days, we need that more than ever.
I cannot say enough about this book. I’m a huge fan of anything written by Buck, but this is probably my favorite, primarily for the empowering feminist themes. I love how Buck allows the characters in this story to interact with one another in ways that are subtle but powerful.
This book invites readers to come along with the main character, Madame Wu, as she challenges a rigid set of societal expectations with a clarity that is as unapologetic as it is downright refreshing. Humans are complex creatures, capable of a full range of desires and thinking, and I love it when writers explore this deeply.
Jake Sledge, a rugged ex-cop turned private eye, teams up with his colossal partner Bobo to navigate the gritty streets of River City.
A murdered lawyer drags them into a web of political intrigue, neo-Nazi thugs, and bloody showdowns. With sharp wit and hard-hitting action, Jake tackles scumbags the only…
When I was little, I would draw for hours, captivated by the female experience. Art, film, and literature focused on women’s lives have always felt the most compelling to me. Whether it’s gazing at a woman painted centuries ago, watching a film about a woman navigating her time, or reading a book that delves into her inner world, I’m drawn to their stories. Their complexities and imperfections are often what I love most. This lifelong fascination has shaped my career. Whether illustrating fashion, designing book covers, or authoring my own books, the emotions and experiences of female characters inspire me, fuel my creativity, and remind me of the power and importance of their stories.
It’s devastating to reconcile a world that could treat anyone, especially children, the way Pecola Breedlove is treated in The Bluest Eye. The cruelty of racism and oppression, both historical and ongoing, feels unbearable to confront. The idea that worth, beauty, and love could be tied to a single, narrow ideal is profoundly heartbreaking. I want to reach through the pages, take Pecola in my arms, and tell her she is beautiful, that her self-worth is inherent, and free her from the horrors she endures.
Throughout the book, I yearn for someone in her world to lift her up, hold her, and tell her it will be okay. But they, too, are trapped in cycles of pain and suffering. Morrison’s writing is unflinchingly honest and achingly beautiful, taking me to a raw, vulnerable place where pain demands confrontation.
This book captures the depth of human experience, reminding me that…
Read the searing first novel from the celebrated author of Beloved, which immerses us in the tragic, torn lives of a poor black family in post-Depression 1940s Ohio.
Unlovely and unloved, Pecola prays each night for blue eyes like those of her privileged white schoolfellows. At once intimate and expansive, unsparing in its truth-telling, The Bluest Eye shows how the past savagely defines the present. A powerful examination of our obsession with beauty and conformity, Toni Morrison's virtuosic first novel asks powerful questions about race, class, and gender with the subtlety and grace that have always characterised her writing.
I’m not an expert on witchcraft or the Salem Witch Trials. However, I am a historian of women’s history and a writer of historical fiction. I’m particularly drawn to stories that try to explain the inexplicable, and these five books are written by people with a similar fascination. In my opinion, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Greg Houle wrote their stories as a way to understand themselves and their family history. Stacy Schiff looked for a factual explanation of the frenzy. Frances Hill and Lucretia Grindle wove facts into stories. And I think that their differing interpretations of the same events give readers a better understanding of the past.
This book by Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850, is considered an American classic.
I think Hawthorne wrote this story as an attempt to understand the witchcraft frenzy of 1692 without bringing up what was still a painful topic. He was a lifelong resident of Salem, Massachusetts. His great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, was one of the magistrates overseeing the trials. I think Hawthorne wondered how an educated magistrate could be complicit in such events, and The Scarlet Letter was his answer.
The story focuses on prejudice rather than witchcraft, but the themes of humiliation, fear, and social ostracism parallel the witchcraft frenzy. Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter over a hundred years after the Salem Witch Trials, but their impact could still be felt.
An "A" for "adultery" marks Hester Prynne as an outcast from the society of colonial Boston. Although forced by the puritanical town fathers to wear a bright red badge of shame, Hester steadfastly resists their efforts to discover the identity of her baby's father. The return of her long-absent spouse brings new pressure on the young mother, as the aggrieved husband undertakes a long-term plot to reveal Hester's partner in adultery and force him to share her disgrace. Masterful in its symbolism and compelling in its character studies, Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of punishment and reconciliation examines the concepts of sin,…
I am passionate about in-depth character development because it’s something I strive for in my own writing. Humans are very complex creatures who are capable of a full range of responses on any given day, moment, or set of circumstances. Offering readers an opportunity to consider what motivates characters to behave in the ways they do makes a story worth sinking your teeth into. I think making these kinds of considerations about characters who are not real also opens up our collective ability to exercise our empathy muscles in real life. These days, we need that more than ever.
The masculine voice in this novel is absolutely masterful. It’s tender, nuanced, earnest, and intelligent. Stegner offers a sweeping, unflinching story about friendships, marriage, the human ego, and the passage of time with a set of characters who are flawed, fragile, and therefore, very believable.
I’ve read this book more than once, and discover something new and lovely each time. This book honors a reader’s intelligence and heart. Again, the complexity in the characters and how they relate to one another gets me every time.
A novel of the friendships and woes of two couples, which tells the story of their lives in lyrical, evocative prose by one of the finest American writers of the late 20th century.
When two young couples meet for the first time during the Great Depression, they quickly find they have much in common: Charity Lang and Sally Morgan are both pregnant, while their husbands Sid and Larry both have jobs in the English department at the University of Wisconsin. Immediately a lifelong friendship is born, which becomes increasingly complex as they share decades of love, loyalty, vulnerability and conflict.…
Caroline Herschel has always lived in the shadows. Beholden to her wildly popular older brother, William, who rescued her from servitude, she's worked hard to build a life for herself – one where she can go unnoticed and repay the debt she believes she owes him. But when her brother…
I am passionate about in-depth character development because it’s something I strive for in my own writing. Humans are very complex creatures who are capable of a full range of responses on any given day, moment, or set of circumstances. Offering readers an opportunity to consider what motivates characters to behave in the ways they do makes a story worth sinking your teeth into. I think making these kinds of considerations about characters who are not real also opens up our collective ability to exercise our empathy muscles in real life. These days, we need that more than ever.
I just love this book, and frankly, everything Anne Tyler writes. Her stories are always driven by characters who are just delicious in their complexity.
Being drawn into these characters as their complex relationships evolve is what I find most satisfying about all of Tyler’s work. The characters are quirky, but believable; complicated, but lovable. Tyler is a master at character development.
Discover a beautiful story of what it is to be human from Pulitzer prize-winning Sunday Times bestselling Anne Tyler
How does a man addicted to routine - a man who flosses his teeth before love-making - cope with the chaos of everyday life?
With the loss of his son, the departure of his wife and the arrival of Muriel, a dog trainer from the Meow-Bow dog clinic, Macon's attempts at ordinary life are tragically and comically undone.
**ANNE TYLER HAS SOLD OVER 1 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**
I am passionate about in-depth character development because it’s something I strive for in my own writing. Humans are very complex creatures who are capable of a full range of responses on any given day, moment, or set of circumstances. Offering readers an opportunity to consider what motivates characters to behave in the ways they do makes a story worth sinking your teeth into. I think making these kinds of considerations about characters who are not real also opens up our collective ability to exercise our empathy muscles in real life. These days, we need that more than ever.
I love the strong, authentic female voice and the sheer craft of Shreve’s writing style. Honestly, I felt like I’d just eaten a piece of cake when I finished reading this book the first time, and I’ve definitely gone back for seconds and thirds. Each time I’ve reread this book, I find another beautiful facet to appreciate.
The pacing of the storytelling is exceptional, and Shreve doesn’t flinch from describing visceral scenes that are essential to the story. I love how much you need all five of your senses to read this story. This book was my first introduction to this writer, and I’ve read everything of hers that I can get my hands on.
Set 100 years ago in Boston, Fortune's Rocks is a classic of literary and romantic storytelling. Fourteen-year-old Olympic Biddeford is spending the summer with her parents at their seasonal house at Fortune's Rocks. Her father handles her education himself and is in fact a publisher of mildly liberal literature. One author he admires, who also practises as a physician, comes to visit the house. 40 years old, married with four children, he still embarks on an affair with the adolescent girl. They have a swift, passionate summer, torn apart when they are discovered together during Olympic's fifteenth birthday party. She…
In second grade my teacher told me I should be a writer—I haven’t wavered in my path since. I was a voracious reader as a child and regularly snatched books off my mom’s night table. My love for flawed characters grew with each book I devoured. I felt a connection with these characters, which fueled my dream to become a writer. When I was twenty-one years old and studying writing, I wrote in my journal, “I want to write books that make people cry.” I love to explore the gray areas in life, and I’m honored that readers have told me my books do make them cry (and laugh).
I love this book because Edna Pontellier is perhaps the original flawed yet sympathetic heroine—a character ahead of her time and a symbol of the growing stirrings of feminism.
I underlined many passages in my dog-eared copy from college (my professor was the editor), including the line, “Mrs. Pontellier was not a mother-woman,” a contrast with the other mothers summering on Grand Isle who doted on their children. She’s not what a woman and mother was supposed to be in 1899—she’s in love with a man other than her husband; she eschews the trappings of motherhood; and ultimately she escapes in the most heartbreaking way.
This book was so explosive at the time, that it was pulled from shelves and didn’t enjoy success and a rightful place in the literary cannon until it was reissued in 1966. There’s a reason it’s had a treasured place on my bookshelf for nearly…
e Awakening, originally titled A Solitary Soul, is a novel by Kate Chopin, first published in 1899. Set in New Orleans and on the Louisiana Gulf coast at the end of the 19th century, the plot centers on Edna Pontellier and her struggle to reconcile her increasingly unorthodox views on femininity and motherhood with the prevailing social attitudes of the turn-of-the-century American South. It is one of the earliest American novels that focuses on women's issues without condescension. It is also widely seen as a landmark work of early feminism, generating a mixed reaction from contemporary readers and critics.The novel's…
Rodney Bradford comes into Lindsay's restaurant, offers to buy her small house for double its value, eats her brownies, and drops dead on the sidewalk in front. Next, her almost-ex-husband offers to sign the divorce papers, but only if she'll give him her small,…
As an American history major in college, I planned an academic career. But a professor teaching my Civil War seminar said, “You are more interested in history as it affects the present. You should be a journalist.” So I was and am but always viewing current events through history. In my writing, as a journalist and author, I try to place people and places within a time frame, emphasizing links to the past. The Civil War era has loomed large in my work since so much of our story is rooted there. My appetite for historical nonfiction remains undimmed, and wherever I travel, I find that the past is always present.
Imagine a political maverick rejecting the leader and crusade he’d long supported, along with “the Lost Cause,” a credo subscribed to by millions (and generations) of unreconstructed white Southerners. James Longstreet, one of Robert E. Lee’s top generals, I learned, was not one of them.
That surprised me, as he was fully devoted to preserving slavery and supporting secession during the war but became a staunch Unionist afterward, even working with Black officials in his newly adopted home state of Louisiana. If you’ve ever wondered why there are no memorial statues on courthouse lawns to this rebel general, read this book to learn why.
I found this biography of “The Confederate General Who Defied the South” to be well-written, revelatory, and absorbing. It challenges long-held views of the Confederate cause.
Finalist, Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Biography American Battlefield Trust Prize for History Finalist
A "compelling portrait" (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize -winning author) of the controversial Confederate general who later embraced Reconstruction and became an outcast in the South.
It was the most remarkable political about-face in American history. During the Civil War, General James Longstreet fought tenaciously for the Confederacy. He was alongside Lee at Gettysburg (and counseled him not to order the ill-fated attacks on entrenched Union forces there). He won a major Confederate victory at Chickamauga and was seriously wounded during a later battle.
