10 Books to Exercise Your Brain
Like any other part of your body, you brain needs exercise! Books allow us to experience other people’s perspectives, put together clues to solve a mystery, or learn more about the world (and hopefully ourselves along the way). Check out these ten book recommendations to flex your mental muscles:
1. Imagine: How Creativity Works by Jonah Lehrer. Discover the science of creativity with studies and explorations into the origins of Pixar, the musical genius of Bob Dylan, and more!
2. Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. If you loved the series on Amazon Prime, get ready to read the novel behind the show! Two masters of fantasy created and incredible story about an angel and a demon who are working together in an attempt to prevent the end of the world.
3. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai. Read the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism, of the fight for girls' education, of a father who, himself a school owner, championed and encouraged his daughter to write and attend school, and of brave parents who have a fierce love for their daughter in a society that prizes sons in the inspiring words of the activist who survived.
4. Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Enjoy Sedaris’s trademark hilarity as he chronicles his adventures through speech therapy as a child to a hopeless attempt to learn French. Whether describing the Easter bunny to puzzled classmates or watching a group of men play soccer with a cow, Sedaris brings a view and a voice like no other to every unforgettable encounter.
5. Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie. This book was selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best books of all time and tells the story of Saleem Sinai, born at the stroke of midnight on August 15, 1947, the very moment of India’s independence. Greeted by fireworks displays, cheering crowds, and Prime Minister Nehru himself, Saleem grows up to learn the ominous consequences of this coincidence. His every act is mirrored and magnified in events that sway the course of national affairs; his health and well-being are inextricably bound to those of his nation; his life is inseparable, at times indistinguishable, from the history of his country. Perhaps most remarkable are the telepathic powers linking him with India’s 1,000 other “midnight’s children,” all born in that initial hour and endowed with magical gifts. This book is also soon to be a series on Netflix, so hurry and read the book first!
6. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson. Lawson is beloved around the world for her inimitable humor and honesty, and in Furiously Happy, she is at her snort-inducing funniest. This is a book about embracing everything that makes us who we are - the beautiful and the flawed - and then using it to find joy in fantastic and outrageous ways. Because as Jenny's mom says, "Maybe 'crazy' isn't so bad after all." Sometimes crazy is just right.
7. Night by Elie Wiesel. Wiesel’s incredible masterpiece is a candid, horrific, and deeply poignant autobiographical account of his survival as a teenager in the Nazi death camps. Although difficult at time, it is a necessary truth that must be told and also eloquently addresses many of the philosophical as well as personal questions implicit in any serious consideration of what the Holocaust was, what it meant, and what its legacy is and will be.
8. The United States of Absurdity: Untold Stories from American History by Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds. Prepare yourself to laugh while you learn! The United States of Absurdity presents short, informative, and hilarious stories of the most outlandish (but true) people, events, and more from United States history. Comedians Dave Anthony and Gareth Reynolds cover the weird stories you didn't learn in history class, such as 10-Cent Beer Night, the Jackson Cheese, and the Kentucky Meat Shower.
9. 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Through an inexplicable wormhole in the back of a diner, high school English teacher Jake is given the chance to change history and stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. A stunningly researched tour de force, this book exploring time travel and a love story that spans the ages will keep you happily immersed in its world and equally devastated when you reach the final page.
10. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel. This classic love story takes place on the De la Garza ranch, as the tyrannical owner, Mama Elena, chops onions at the kitchen table in her final days of pregnancy. While still in her mother's womb, her daughter to be weeps so violently she causes an early labor, and little Tita slips out amid the spices and fixings for noodle soup. This early encounter with food soon becomes a way of life, and Tita grows up to be a master chef, using cooking to express herself and sharing recipes with readers along the way. If you have a love for cooking, this book is an excellent choice!
What are your favorite books to read to exercise your mind? Let us know in the comments or tag us on social media!