Books open doors to new, exciting worlds. In this way we get to know inspiring personalities or discover life stories that move us. We present 15 of our favorite books to you here. Of course, this assessment remains subjective, after all there are countless books and it is always in the eye of the beholder which of them are worth reading. Our list is for inspiration only. The featured books are also available in Kindle versions, so you can even read them online.
Maya Angelou is one of the greatest icons in African American literature. The book I Know Why the Captive Bird Sings covers Angelou's life story. She grew up as a black girl in the 1930s in the southern states of America. She often encountered resistance and had to assert herself against prejudice and violence. Her narrative perspective is that of an innocent child. This is what makes the autobiography so approachable and moving.
The book "The Little Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry is considered a classic. When the author wrote his work in 1943, he probably had no idea that it would become a timeless story that is still read around the world today. At its core, the story is about friendship and love. Sentences like "One can only see clearly with the heart, what is essential is invisible to the eye" or "It is much more difficult to judge oneself than to judge others" show how reflective the author wrote about life.
"Fragebogen" by Max Frisch does not tell a story in the traditional sense, but allows its readers to recognize and reflect on their own life story. Frisch asks clever questions like "Are you convinced by your self-criticism?" or "Do you consider yourself a good friend?". The questionnaire is thought-provoking and gives readers ideas they didn't have before. The book consists of different categories and covers topics such as marriage, women, hope, humor, money, fatherhood, homeland, property, death and the preservation of humanity.
The story of Thor Heyerdahl, a Norwegian explorer, resembles an adventure novel. That's why, when reading his autobiographical work Kon-Tiki: A Raft Across the Pacific, it's hard to believe that real people experienced and survived this adventure. Heyerdahl and five other crew members risked their lives to prove Heyerdahl's theory that Western Pacific Polynesia was settled by South Americans from the east, not from Asia, as researchers had thought up until then. Contrary to the advice of renowned experts, in 1947 a simple balsa raft set sail from Peru with six men and a parrot.
Heyerdahl describes the course of the voyage in his book and states that long ago man and the sea had a special bond. As a reader, you have the feeling of traveling together with the crew of the "Kon-Tiki" and encountering sharks and the notorious giant octopuses together. With the daring journey, Heyerdahl established experimental archeology and set new standards in research.
There is no question: Anne Frank's fate is still touching today. The Jewish girl Anne spent her youth in hiding in Amsterdam with her family to avoid being deported by the Nazis. Anne dreamed of becoming a writer from an early age and wrote diaries while in hiding. She documented her life in secret and gives us insights into a time that seems so unimaginable today. Anne's father made a book of her words after her death and called it "Anne Frank Diary". Anyone who is interested in moving and inspiring life stories from the Nazi era should definitely also read stories by contemporary witnesses such as "Alodia, you are Alice now!: Child kidnapping and forced adoption under National Socialism" or "I survived the angel of death: A Mengele victim told". .
At least since the film adaptation of the classic starring Leonardo DiCaprio, most people should be familiar with "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald. During his lifetime, the author received little praise for his work. Only later did the story about the upstart Jay Gatsby inspire people and more and more people immersed themselves in a world of great emotions and a longing love story.
Can you imagine that the author George Orwell with his work "1984", which he published in 1949, can also describe our present and future in an oppressively realistic way? Orwell must have been ahead of his time, otherwise there is no other way to explain why his novel, which describes a dystopian surveillance state in 1984, is still relevant today. Orwell's classic is timeless and definitely a book to read.
The book "Wüstenblume" is Waris Dirie's autobiography. As a young girl she lived as a nomad in Somalia. Only through a courageous escape was she able to escape from marriage to an older man. As a refugee, she lived for a long time in the Somali embassy in London and was treated like a slave there. Her fate began to change when she met fashion photographer Terry Donaldson. The book "Wüstenblume" tells Dirie's story in much more detail and moving than the film of the same name does and is therefore a clear reading recommendation.
In his work The Old Man and the Sea, Hemingway has the Cuban fisherman Santiago set out to sea alone in a rowboat. He hasn't caught anything for 84 days and the old man feels bad luck. Suddenly, a very large fish bites and pulls Santiago out to sea in his boat.
Tip: Many readers write in the reviews that the foreword already anticipates the content of the story. It is therefore worth looking at the foreword only after reading the novella.
Granted, Harry Potter isn't just one book, it's seven books. The story of young Harry finding out he's a wizard has not only been devoured by readers around the world, but has also been made into a successful film. The books by J.K. Rowling take the reader into a magical world where friends Harry, Hermione and Ron are. Together they grow up and face the dark menace known as Lord Voldemort. Since the publication of the successful books, many children may wish that they would soon receive the letter from Hogwarts and start the long journey with the Hogwarts Express.
In his novel "Nothing New in the West" the author Erich Maria Remarque tells of the life of a soldier during the First World War. The book deals with the horrors of war and the consequences for the "lost generation". The story is told from the perspective of young front-line soldier Paul Bäumer. For him and his generation, it went straight from school to the front. None of them could develop their own perspective on life and suddenly had to grow up at too young an age.
In Frank Schätzing's work "The Swarm" nature turns against humanity. Various sea creatures attack people. The attacks don't seem to follow any logic and seem inexplicable. This is how whales sink pleasure boats off the Canadian coast. In his novel, Schätzing deals with topics such as marine biology, pollution of the seas and philosophical questions. The story is very informative and exciting. If you like the interweaving of many storylines, you will love this montage novel.
The dystopian novel by Margaret Atwood "The Handmaid's Report" has already been successfully filmed as the HBO series of the same name. The plot focuses on the new state of Gilead created by religious fatalists. It tells the story of a world in which environmental disasters have left many people infertile. Hardly any children are born anymore and women of child-bearing age are only slaves of the new society. Their sole purpose is to bring children to the ruling elites. A fact that Desfred in particular, a maid of a high commander, does not want to accept.
Did you know that the classic "Alice in Wonderland" has been around since 1856? The author behind the name "Lewis Carroll" is actually Charles Lutwidge Dodgson and was a talented mathematician. The focus of his story is the girl Alice. She enters the magical wonderland through a rabbit hole. There she meets interesting characters who present her with new challenges.
How would you commit the perfect murder? This is exactly the question that Patricia Highsmith's "Two Strangers on a Train" tries to answer. The story gained worldwide fame after Alfred Hitchcock filmed it. The psychological thriller tells the story of two strangers who meet on a train in the USA. Both have people in their lives who want them dead for different reasons. So they make a pact, but it turns out differently than expected.
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