5 Spring Reads

It’s almost Spring!

Weather wise, it personally doesn’t feel like spring where I am. It’s hot, muggy, oppressive and the only “animals” giving birth in this heat are mosquitoes.

Is it obvious I’m in the tropics?

But seasons aren’t just defined by the change of weather they bring. Seasons can stir feelings and emotions in us—like how summer enacts idleness or winter intensifies our desire for affection. In the case of spring, this season offers us a clean canvas in which we feel like we can start afresh.

I’m ɢʀᴀᴅᴜᴀᴛɪɴɢ from university in a few weeks, so while the weather doesn’t align with the scientific definition of spring, my state of mind and wary eagerness for new beginnings is definitely clinging to the idea of spring.

For this *Top 5 Wednesday, I tried to choose books that inspired me to change in any way or taught me something that I was able to utilize to enhance some part of my life. In retrospect, it seems that self-help books and coming of age stories scream spring to me 🙂:

*Top 5 Wednesday (#T5W) is a bookish meme created by Lainey (Gingerreadslainey) in 2013. You can learn more about it by visiting the group’s goodreads page.

What I Know for Sure by Oprah Winfrey

[Goodreads / My Review]

What I Know for Sure is a compilation of life lessons that Oprah has conveniently compacted into a short and sweet read. It was comforting to have her affirm the belief that we should stay true to our core as I’m facing an interesting, but daunting, crossroad in my life right now. This book definitely possessed that quality of gentle, spring breezes I needed to carry me in the right direction.

I just read this paragraph back, and it sounded kinda dramatic hahaha 😂. But, Oprah truly does have a soothing written voice. In other words, 🅑🅞🅞🅚 🅘🅢 🅒🅐🅛🅜🅘🅝🅖 🅕🅞🅡 🅝🅘🅒🅔 🅢🅟🅡🅘🅝🅖 🅦🅔🅐🅣🅗🅔🅡 👍👍.

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

[Goodreads]

Starfish was a relatable, young adult novel about an Asian american teenager trying to break free from her emotionally abusive mother in order to live her passion—art. Probably my most favorite quote right now comes from this story, and it goes:

We only get one life to live—live it for yourself, not anyone else. Because when you’re on your deathbed, you’re going to be wishing you had. When everyone else is on theirs, I guarantee they aren’t going to be thinking about your life.

Can you tell how existential I’ve been feeling lately 😅?

The story is an inspiring reminder to appreciate the talents we’ve been given, work hard to build upon them, and maximize every opportunity that puts us in the position to reach our goals.

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

[Goodreads]

I usually don’t reread books, but I’ve read this Flowers for Algernon on two separate occasions, once for school and years later on my own accord.
This book is about a mentally disabled man who has a brain surgery to increase his IQ after an experimental trial with a mouse, Algernon, is successful. The operation transforms him from a gullible, happy-go-lucky man to a hardened genius determined to learn everything he can. However, through unfortunate circumstances, he comes to the realization that intelligence without human love and affection is worthless.

The Sun Is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon

[Goodreads / My Review]

The Sun Is Also a Star is another relatable, young adult book about two teenagers, a Jamaican girl who is about to be deported with her family and a Korean american boy with an upcoming interview with Yale (I love my Asian american representation). Through a series of causes and effects, the couple ends up meeting each other and decides to spend a whole day together.

I remember this book caught me in one of my funks, so my reaction to it (as in bawling my eyes out when I read the last sentence of the story) may have been a bit exaggerated. Nevertheless, it’s a comforting coming-of-age story that’s sure to speak to first generation Americans (like me) ~𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘴~.

~cue the chorus of Eminem’s Going Through Changes~

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

[Goodreads]

Take a shot every time I mention The Alchemist in a blog post.

The Alchemist is the story of a Shepard boy who goes on a journey to the pyramids of Giza in search of a treasure that he feels is calling for him. It’s a short, uplifting read that I think about often when I feel like I’m straying off the path I wish to be on.

Thanks for reading! This is the first T5W post that I’ve done in over a year and I’m just 😦. How did this happen? Anyways, have you read any of these books? What are some books you consider spring reads? What does spring mean to you? Let me know below 🙂.