FMF's Favorite Books

Our extended stay at home has granted us the time to divulge into our other interests and passions we may have back-burned in the past. If you are anything like me, you may be reading now more than ever with this newfound amount of free time and isolation. With a bookshelf full of incredible works of literature, this has been a great time for me to sit down and really delve into these novels. Books have the ability to transport us to new worlds, times, and places; a momentary escape that can have transcending effects. In honor of World Book Day, we here at FMF have compiled a list of our favorite books that we want to share with you.

Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut

One of the greatest writers of our time, in his second novel, Kurt Vonnegut explores the issues of free will, omniscience, and the overall purpose and meaning of life. An outrageous romp through space, time, and morality told in a way that only Vonnegut could.

Man’s Search for Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl

Psychologist Viktor E. Frankl’s memoir recounting his days in a Nazi concentration camp and the spiritual lessons he learned during his time there. Referencing his own personal experiences and experiences of his patients, Frankl explains how suffering is inevitable but we can choose how to cope with it. The second half explores his own theory, logotherapy, how the primary human drive is not pleasure but the pursuit of what we find meaningful. A personal favorite of mine.

The SCrewtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

A master of satire, C.S. Lewis has entertained and enlightened readers with his sly and ironic look at human life, temptation, and the triumph over it. Written from the perspective of a senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, Wormwood, who is in charge of securing the damnation of an ordinary young man. A wildly comic, deadly serious, and strikingly original read.

Ishmael - Daniel Quinn

“‘TEACHER SEEKS PUPIL. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person.’
It was just a three-line ad in the personals section, but it launched the adventure of a lifetime...” One of the most beloved and praised novels about the adventure of spirituality. Ishmael is a brilliant and captivating novel gaining a mass following from readers and critics alike.

Lolita - Vladmir Nabokov

The story of a scholar, aesthete, and romantic - Humbert Hubert falling utterly and completely in love with his landlady’s daughter, Lolita Haze and what he will do in order to be with her. A flamboyant, hilarious, and heart-wrenching tale of obsession, delusion, and lust.

Flowers For Algernon - Daniel Keyes

The story of a mentally disabled man, Charlie, who is taken on an experimental quest to restore his intelligence, mirroring the procedure done to Algernon, an exceptional lab rat. A brain operation restores his IQ and it later surpasses that of the scientists who developed and performed the procedure. A remarkable scientific breakthrough for the world until it is observed that Algernon has begun a sudden deterioration. Will the same happen to Charlie?

1984 - George Orwell

A prophetic, nightmarish vision of society in 1984. Orwell’s 1984 is becoming timelier than ever, a “negative-utopia” Orwell is able to grasp the imagination of entire generations from the first world to the last. A novel that wields a power that seems to grow, rather than weaken, with time. A power of admonitions.

The Sun Also Rises - Ernest Hemingway

A poignant look at disillusion and angst of a post WWI generation, “The Sun Also Rises” is one of Hemingway’s masterpieces. Following the journey of Jake Barnes and Lady Brett Ashley from the flamboyant nightlife of 1920s Paris to the brutal, rough bullfighting rings of Spain. “It is an age of moral bankruptcy, spiritual dissolution, unrealized love, and vanishing illusions.” A beautiful example of Hemingway's sparse yet powerful writing style.

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures of the CULINARY UNDERBELLY - Anthony Bourdain

The late Anthony Bourdain gives us his inspiring memoir and secrets of the culinary world in this wickedly comical expose. Laying out what really goes on behind the scenes of our favorite restaurants, letting us peer into a world we may have never known existed. Kitchen Confidential gives us “twenty-five years of sex, drugs, bad behavior, and haute-cuisine.”

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself - Michael a. singer

A book to transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you. Understanding that we have the ability to put an end to habitual thoughts and emotions that limit our consciousness. “Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.”