With the start of school, leisure reading can quickly become a low-priority for many, myself included. I don’t know how many early mornings on the bus when I opted to zone out and look out the window instead of using the time to read. Recently though, I finally decided to pick up a book I’d wanted to read for a long time, mostly because it was about to be due at the library soon, and I rediscovered how calming it can be to read and escape from the stress of school. If you are looking to do the same and want a list of books to kick you off, here are my top 5 recommendations with 5 more to come soon.

1. Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk 

“She’s a fashion model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden freeway “accident” leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she goes from being the beautiful center of attention to being an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge that she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing your past and making up something better. And that salvation hides in the last places you’ll ever want to look.”

—Amazon 

Some people have a hard time pinpointing what their favourite book is. That was me — until I read Invisible Monsters. When even the back of the book is enough to draw you in, you know it will be good. I like to say that you can find a piece of wisdom in every page of this novel. Everyone who has ever read this book at my insistence have given similar reviews as well. Filled with plot twists that no one could never see coming, this novel made me fall in love with the satirical voice and writing style of Chuck Palahniuk so much that I’ve read 17 of his books to-date.

2. Atonement by Ian McEwan

“On a hot summer day in 1934, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’s incomplete grasp of adult motives—together with her precocious literary gifts—brings about a crime that will change all their lives. As it follows that crime’s repercussions through the chaos and carnage of World War II and into the close of the twentieth century, Atonement engages the reader on every conceivable level, with an ease and authority that mark it as a genuine masterpiece.”

— Goodreads

I talked about Atonement in my Film & Novel duos post a while back and raved about the book. Nothing has changed since then and this book still remains one of my favourites. A brilliant and poignant telling of the more personal side of war and the impacts of naivety, this is a book that constantly sits on my desk. Ian McEwan is another author of whom I’ve read several of their works, and this is the story that started me off.

3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

“On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy’s diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?”

— Amazon

The praise surrounding this book and its film counterpart is not false. Gillian Flynn writes with realism and creates interesting and believable characters to make this incredible story unforgettable. Gone Girl is truly a terrific novel for those interested in human motives, mystery, and a novel so good that it will make you forget about everything else.

4. Survivor by Chuck Palahniuk

“Tender Branson―last surviving member of the Creedish Death Cult―is dictating his life story into Flight 2039’s recorder. He is all alone in the airplane, which will crash shortly into the vast Australian outback. But before it does, he will unfold the tale of his journey from an obedient Creedish child to an ultra-buffed, steroid- and collagen-packed media messiah. Unpredictable and unforgettable, Survivor is Chuck Palahniuk at his deadpan peak: a mesmerizing, unnerving, and hilarious satire on the wages of fame and the bedrock lunacy of the modern world.”

— Amazon

You didn’t think I would read 17 books by the same author without loving more than one, did you? Another novel that shows off the voice of Palahniuk, it begins on chapter 2o something and ends on chapter 1 as the main character counts down to his inevitable death in a plane crash. A brilliant commentary on pop culture and human nature, it is guaranteed to stun.

5. Us Conductors

“In a finely woven series of flashbacks and correspondence, Lev Termen, the Russian scientist, inventor, and spy, tells the story of his life to his “one true love,” Clara Rockmore, the finest theremin player in the world. In the first half of the book, we learn of Termen’s early days as a scientist in Leningrad during the Bolshevik Revolution, the acclaim he receives as the inventor of the theremin, and his arrival in 1930s New York under the aegis of the Russian state. In the United States he makes a name for himself teaching the theremin to eager music students and marketing his inventions to American companies. In the second half, the novel builds to a crescendo as Termen returns to Russia, where he is imprisoned in a Siberian gulag and later brought to Moscow, tasked with eavesdropping on Stalin himself. Throughout all this, his love for Clara remains constant and unflagging, traveling through the ether much like a theremin’s notes. Us Conductors is steeped in beauty, wonder, and looping heartbreak, a sublime debut that inhabits the idea of invention on every level.”

— Goodreads

I absolutely adore this book. Having picked it up on impulse while waiting at the library checkout because it had won the Scotiaband Giller Prize in 2014, I soon understood why it had captivated enough people for it to earn the distinction. A story that combines a lesser-known part of history with an even more obscure instrument, Canadian author Sean Michaels is able to weave these aspects together in an unforgettable love story that resonates over decades.

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