5 Books I Can’t Live Without: Caroline McGraw

Happy Wednesday, everyone!  Welcome my second guest poster, Caroline McGraw.  Caroline and I have been friends and writing partners since college, when we would meet for coffee to edit each other’s English papers.  We’ve continued the trend by exchanging drafts of books we’re writing.  I’m thrilled to welcome her to Books Distilled to share the five books she can’t live without!

1. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. You may have been forced to read this too early in life. If so, I am sorry that your teachers had so little foresight, and I say: give it another chance. The first time I read Jane Eyre, I kept gasping aloud; it amazed me that a fictional heroine from another era could seem so much akin to me. Jane’s journey is epic, but it’s told in an introspective, intimate way. And the love story between her and Edward Rochester?  Romantic in the best and truest sense.

2. His Dark Materials Trilogy by Phillip Pullman. Perhaps I shouldn’t have used the word epic earlier…because these novels certainly fit the bill. The trilogy is comprised of The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, and The Amber Spyglass. The novels feature two main characters (the young Lyra and Will) whose separate quests through parallel worlds bring them together and ultimately alter the fabric of the universe. This modern retelling of Milton’s Paradise Lost is part metaphysical fantasy, part action-thriller and part bittersweet love story.

3. Traveling Mercies by Anne Lamott. My copy is wearing out, but that’s because it’s been a faithful traveling companion on the road of life.  The essays cover everything from drug addiction to motherhood, and the narrative voice is vulnerable and compelling. The author is a self-described ‘darling neurotic’ who will have you alternately laughing and crying. I’d prescribe this as therapy; it’s that good.

4. A Ring Of Endless Light by Madeleine L’Engle. It’s difficult to choose a favorite Madeleine L’Engle book, but this novel is a winner. Narrator Vicky Austin (who is, in her way, a modern-day Jane Eyre) spends the summer with her family on Seven Bay Island to be with Vicky’s grandfather, who is dying of leukemia. Vicky finds comfort and inspiration in her friendship with Adam, a young scientist who enlists her help in connecting with the island’s dolphins. What follows is nothing short of magic.

5. A Little Love Story by Roland Merullo. This is a subtle gem, more intense and poetic than the title lets on. The narrator, Jake, is a construction-worker-by-day, painter-by-night who doesn’t expect to fall in love with Janet, the woman who crashes into his truck…but, of course, he does. Along the way, he uncovers the sadness behind her smile, and she learns the grief he’s been bearing alone. I’ll read anything Merullo writes; his prose is elegiac and elegant. He blends humor, grief and truth in this picture of a modern-yet-timeless love.

Caroline McGraw is the writer behind A Wish Come Clear, a site created to help you find meaning in your most challenging relationships. You can also follow on Twitter or visit on Facebook.