Celebrate your love of books and enter for the chance to trade your reading chair for the shores of Kauaʻi. Enter on Ko’a Kea’s website by August 21 to win a dream getaway to Ko'a Kea Resort* on Poipu Beach, complete with a 5-night stay, flight stipend, resort credit, and a Reese's Book Club tote featuring a curated selection of their monthly book picks.
Did you know Reese’s Book Club readers are hanging out in the WhatsApp chat? Find your local community and connect over monthly picks, book events, and more. Ready to find your book besties?
*This Contest is sponsored and administered solely by Ko’a Kea Resort on Poi’pu Beach. Neither Be Sunshine, LLC, nor Reese’s Book Club, LLC is a sponsor, co-sponsor, or administrator of this promotion and is not responsible for prize fulfillment or selection of winners. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. See terms of entry at: https://www.koakea.com/experience/turn-the-page-to-paradise-sweepstakes/.
Hello readers!
A few weeks ago, we asked our community a thought-provoking question: what book by a female author changed your life? The answers came in droves.
We know books can make us laugh, cry, spark ideas and inspire action, but some stories impact our lives in the most unexpected way. Some become therapy through life’s biggest hurdles, others provide answers we may not have known we were looking for. Some become the connective tissue between us and other people – even people we don’t know. And some books, either the words themselves or how we read them, become core memories of our own lives.
From children’s favorites that made us into lifelong readers, to fictional stories with endings we can’t stop talking about to memoirs that show us the frailties of life, these are the books, and their impact, you shared with us in our recent survey. After sifting through your responses, we’re sharing some of the most personal reflections on the books that changed your lives in our roundup below.
P.S. Some responses have been edited for length and readability.
P.P.S. This newsletter includes affiliate and retail links, and we may receive compensation if you make a purchase through them.
“I honestly don’t think I would have become a foster parent and adopted my daughter if it wasn’t for White Oleander by Janet Fitch. Her portrayal of Astrid and the various ways the adults she encountered let her down left a lasting impression on me.” — Tricia C.
”Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. I got to read it at the right time I guess; I read it at the start of my mom’s cancer journey, and it helped me cope with it in many ways. Since I had no friends nearby to “help” navigate my emotions, this book became my best friend.” — Jenny J.
“Toni Morrison’s Beloved has never really left me. It changed the way I think about memory, grief, and the stories we inherit from the generations before us. As a writer, it reminded me that fiction can hold difficult truths in ways few other things can. I still find myself thinking about it years later.” — Charlotte S.
“Susan Cain’s book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking absolutely made me finally know what an introvert actually is and gave me an understanding of myself. I’d thought for 40+ years that I was just weird in needing time to myself and needing to go home early from a social gathering and why teaching is so draining to me.” — Angie B.
”When I was 5 and sick with scarlet fever, my mother read Heidi by Johanna Spyri to me. I could “see” the mountains, hear the sheep, see the old grandmother. Eventually I got to see the Alps for myself. Just like the book, I laid on a bed near a window in Switzerland and looked at the stars. I still have the original one (1945) and I have read it many times as an adult. It was that book that turned me on to reading and I still find it a beautiful read.” — Judith H.
Loving these stories? The remaining 9 life-changing books and community reflections are unlocked for our premium members. Upgrade today to read the full roundup and share your own story in the comments!
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.