August 9 is World Book Lover’s Day. I have enjoyed reading since I was a small child. I frequently got in trouble with my parents for staying up to read via flashlight, and I once had the highest number of Accelerated Reader points in my middle school.

I still love to read, but I find that I don’t often have time to read as often as I’d like. I’ve begun to try to read at least 20 minutes a day. I don’t always make it, but I am reading more than I was, so I count that as a victory. I’m also a middle school English teacher, so I’ve been able to recommend some great books to my students and read some of their recommendations as well.

Today, I’d like to share some of my all-time favorite books with you (in no particular order).

October Sky, also known as Rocket Boys, is my all-time favorite memoir. The author Homer Hickam’s hometown is about 40 miles from my own hometown. The novel is about his childhood in a West Virginia coal town, his struggle to find a future of his own choosing, and his and his friends’ National science fair victory. It’s an incredible story of tenacity, hard work and family. See the movie too, but read the book first.

My Antonia is a book about an immigrant family and the struggles they face on the American prairie. I read this book in my eleventh grade English class, under the direction of one of my favorite teachers. This book is an excellent picture of life in Early America, and is equally sad, moving, and inspiring.

I have a good friend who is an avid reader. She is a hearing impaired specialist for our school system and reads more than 10 books a month. She recommended this book to me. It’s about two sisters, one hearing and one hearing impaired, who are living in Nazi Germany during World War II. It’s a wonderful story and I loved it so much I finished it in two days.

This book will change your life. I don’t use they phrase lightly. Rachel Hollis’ very honest and mostly hilarious book will make you laugh, cry, think, and change how you think about yourself. This book is about all the little lies we tell ourselves that are damaging to us. You won’t be sorry you read it.

This book will change your relationship for the better. Each one of us has a love language: something that makes us feel loved and valued. This book will help you and your partner discover each other’s love language, and also “speak” each other’s love language. I learned a lot from it.

This is the only fiction book on my list, and while I read it years ago, I can honestly say the book stuck with me. It’s a book you think about even after you finish it. This story is beautifully written in the voice of the daughter of a convicted murderer, her struggles and experiences with foster care, and her life as an adult.

What are your all-time favorite books?