It's World Book Day! Though many people are finding themselves reading less and less frequently these days with the advent of screens that follow us from bed to work to the living room and back to bed, there's something magical and truly important about reading an actual book.
Reading opens your mind to the stories of people who have lived lives that are vastly different from your own, and it's an amazing way to learn about the world without paying for a plane ticket. More often than not, you'll find something you relate to in the story, even if it's centered around a character that you'd expect to have nothing in common with.
Not only is reading good for the world, but it's also just plain old good for your brain. You'll learn new words without realizing it, it'll improve your writing and speech and, as Dr. Seuss succinctly said, "The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go."
Here are 12 amazing novels to choose from on this World Book Day. Pick one and resolve to finish it in two weeks. They're all incredibly-written stories with serious page-turning factor. Once you get hooked on a good book, the natural impulse is to seek out another one, so come back to this list when you're done. It's an addiction with no negative side effects.
The stories on this list take place in New York, Dominican Republic, California, Chile, London, Turkey, Barcelona, New Delhi, Nigeria, the Virgin Islands, California and on the Internet, so you'll be instantly transported no matter which one you choose. Also, the authors are as diverse as the stories' settings.
1. "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" by Junot Díaz
2. "The Tortilla Curtain" by T.C. Boyle
3. "Ways of Going Home" by Alejandro Zambra
4. "White Teeth" by Zadie Smith
5. "Who Asked You?" by Terry McMillan
6. "A Bad Character" by Deepti Kapoor
7. "The Shadow of the Wind" by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
8. "Luckiest Girl Alive" by Jessica Knoll
9. "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
10. "Land of Love and Drowning" by Tiphanie Yanique
11. "The Circle" by Dave Eggers
12. "The Bastard of Istanbul" by Elif Shafak
