What to read when you feel like the world is falling apart

Station Eleven

by Emily St. John Mandel

A global pandemic, a traveling Shakespeare troupe, a comic book—and a best-of-2014 pick for so many readers. I was afraid this post-apocalyptic novel would be depressing (or terrifying) but it's neither. It IS a pageturner: I read it in two days.

Between the World and Me

by Ta-Nehisi Coates

This is an incredible book, and a timely one. From Entertainment Weekly: "A work that’s both titanic and timely . . . the latest essential reading in America’s social canon." I listened to the fantastic audio edition myself.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

by Betty Smith

I’ve heard my mom gush about this book for pretty much my whole life, and finally read it in January explicitly for this category in the Reading Challenge. Of course, my only regret was that I’d waited so long: I loved this story from page 1. No description I ever heard before made me want to read it, so I'll spare you the plot synopsis. I'll just say: read it. Wistful, haunting, satisfying. I listened to the audio version, which—barring some infrequent random jazz music—was quite good.

Hannah Coulter

by Wendell Berry

I've talked about Hannah Coulter several times: the books I can't stop recommending, a book I've read more than once, what to read when you feel like the world is falling apart. Hannah's second husband Nathan Coulter (her first died in the war) was reticent to talk about his experience in the Battle of Okinawa. "Ignorant boys, killing each other," is all he would say. In this atmospheric novel, an older Hannah looks back on her life and reflects on what she has lost, and those she has loved. I adore Berry, who writes gorgeous, thoughtful, piercing novels, and this is one of his finest. Contemplative, wistful, and moving.

Half of a Yellow Sun

by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

In 1967 Nigeria, the Igbo people of the East seceded to form their own nation of Biafra, inciting a bloody three-year civil war followed. This novel from the author of the wonderful Americanah tells the story of that conflict, known as the Biafran War—an event largely forgotten outside Nigeria—through the eyes of five diverse characters: a university professor, his privileged girlfriend, their servant boy, her twin sister, and her British journalist boyfriend. This is a story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.

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Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

by Laura Hillenbrand

Unbroken tells the true story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic athlete turned World War II bombardier. Hillenbrand has called Zamp’s life “almost incomprehensibly dramatic,” and she masterfully unfurls his story, which begins with his plane failing and crashing into the Pacific during a routine search mission. (After you finish, pick up Hillenbrand’s previous biography Seabiscuit, which is about so much more than a racehorse.)

The Hiding Place

by Corrie Ten Boom

From the publisher: "In World War II [Corrie Ten Boom] and her family risked their lives to help Jews and underground workers escape from the Nazis, and for their work they were tested in the infamous Nazi death camps. Only Corrie among her family survived to tell the story of how faith ultimately triumphs over evil."

The Wednesday Wars

by Gary Schmidt

This wonderful work of historical fiction revolves around middle school drama, baseball, and the Vietnam War. You may enjoy sharing this one with the kid in your life (if they’re 10 or so or older). Fans of E. L. Konigsburg will love this funny and poignant book.

Everyone Brave is Forgiven

by Chris Cleave

I knew I had to read this when my husband (who beat me to it) couldn't stop sharing Cleave's well-turned sentences aloud, and even many years later, I still think about this book all the time. This tale of four young, warm, wise-cracking friends in wartime England is a standout in the WWII historical genre. Through their characters, Cleave throws issues of wartime morality, race, and class into sharp relief. This is for you if you love a great story and admire a beautifully-rendered, wry turn of phrase. Modern Mrs Darcy Book Club got to chat with Cleave and hearing him discuss his own work made me love the novel even more.

The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

by J.R.R. Tolkien

These stories of epic quest and good vs. evil are part myth, part fairy tale. These books are wonderful, touching, and timeless. In the words of C.S. Lewis: “Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron. Here is a book that will break your heart.” Age 7 and up (The Hobbit). Age 10 and up (LOTR).

The Hotel New Hampshire

by John Irving

Irving is known for writing big Dickensian novels; this is no exception. Irving pulls in some truly wacky plot elements: circus bears, taxidermy, weightlifting, and a run-down hotel. But at its heart this is the story of a messy, unusual family as they grow up and learn about love and death, success and failure, and (this being a John Irving novel) sex. Irving has a knack for distilling wisdom out of the strangest situations, and this exuberant novel gives him ample opportunity to exercise his talent.

The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah

This book disappointed me, not because it was bad, but because it had the potential to be outstanding. While Hannah does a wonderful job portraying the state of occupied France in World War II, the characters felt like types. Many reviewers praise the sheer originality of the book for its portrayal of French women in WWII, but I kept thinking of Jojo Moyes's stronger novel The Girl You Left Behind. Release date: February 3.

The Diary of a Young Girl

by Anne Frank

This classic needs no introduction. In 1942, in occupied Holland, Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis in a tiny attic for two years. After an informer gave them away to the Gestapo, they were discovered and sent to the concentration camps. This is Anne's diary that she kept during that time. It was discovered in the attic, after her death.

Stitches

by Anne Lamott

I didn’t dog-ear this one to death like I did Help, Thanks, Wow. Despite that, I loved Lamott’s central metaphor about stitches and repair, and I used half a box of Kleenex.

Birdsong

by Sebastian Faulks

This sweeping novel covers three generations, beginning with World War I, and is on my reading list for its favorable comparisons to Tolstoy, A Farewell to Arms, and The English Patient. Faulks weaves together romance and war story, focusing on a young man who's met the love of his life, and carries the love of this doomed relationship into the trenches of No Man's Land. Lovers of this book (and there are many) appreciate its beautiful and wrenching portrayal of the power of love and the horrors of war.

A Wrinkle in Time

by Madeleine L’Engle

L’Engle begins her groundbreaking science fiction/fantasy work with the famous opening line “It was a dark and stormy night,” and plunges you headlong into the world of the Murray family, who must travel through time to save the universe. I wanted to be Meg, of course. Wrinkle is the first—and most famous—of the Time Quintet, but I read them all, again and again.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

by Bryan Stevenson

Leigh Kramer says: "I read this earlier this year and if I could make the entire world read it, I would. It's eye opening and important and powerful. Stevenson has done incredible work through the Equal Justice Initiative, a nonprofit legal practice he started, dedicated to serving the poor, the marginalized, the downtrodden. The book is part memoir, part treatise on the state of the legal system. We follow the story of Walter, a man on Alabama's Death Row who proclaims his innocence, and meet Stevenson's other clients as he built his practice in the 1980s and the subsequent areas of injustice they've battled to this day, including death penalty sentences for children and the treatment of the mentally ill. There's also a surprising appearance by To Kill A Mockingbird—the irony and ignorance will knock you flat."

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

by Nicholas Kristof, Sheryl WuDunn

The Pulitzer-winning husband-and-wife authors tackle a big global problem in this important 2009 book. First they take a close look at the state of women in the developing world today, saying, "More girls have been killed in the last fifty years, precisely because they were girls, than men were killed in all the wars of the twentieth century." Their close examination of terrible phenomenons such as sex trafficking, forced prostitution, and genital mutilation will make you want to weep. But Kristof and WuDunn go on to convince readers why smart and well-implemented efforts to empower girls and women (as opposed to men) has an incredible impact, not just on the females themselves, but on their entire communities. The book's powerful conclusion gives you concrete action steps for practical things you can do to make a difference.

Mudbound

by Hillary Jordan

Publishers Weekly calls Jordan's beautiful debut "a superbly rendered depiction of the fury and terror wrought by racism." Add Audible narration for $3.99.

Anne of Green Gables

by L.M. Montgomery

Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert of Prince Edward Island, Canada decide to adopt an orphaned boy to help them on their farm. Their messenger mistakenly delivers a girl to Green Gables instead—an 11-year-old feisty redhead named Anne Shirley. The series follows Anne from her childhood at Green Gables until she is a mother herself. Don't miss the final books of the series when Anne's own sons set sail to fight for Canada in WWI.

The Grapes of Wrath

by John Steinbeck

This is Steinbeck's epic tale of the Great Depression and the great Dust Bowl Migration of the 1930s, told through the eyes of one downtrodden Oklahoma farm family. This Pulitzer winner is sweeping and evocative, packed with unforgettable images, bursting with meaning. Powerful and tragic, with an absolutely haunting ending that holds forth the tiniest glimmer of hope.

Gone With the Wind

by Margaret Mitchell

This 1936 epic novel and Pulitzer winner is enjoying a resurgence, and for good reason. More than a Civil War novel, this is a tale of the breadth and depth of human emotions, set against the backdrop of the Old South from the dawn of the war through Reconstruction, and is told through the eyes of Scarlett O'Hara, a beautiful, vivacious Southern Belle pressed into the unforeseen challenges of war. Scarlett is but one of a cast of many unforgettable characters that has been bringing readers back to this book for 75 years. Don't let the word "classic" make you think this can't be a beach read: it's a real page-turner.

Night

by Elie Wiesel

"What does it mean to remember? It is to live in more than one world, to prevent the past from fading and to call upon the future to illuminate it." In this moving memoir, Wiesel recalls his experience as a young boy with his father in the Auschwitz and Buchenwald concentration camps in 1944-45, during the Holocaust at the height of World War II. It's amazing how much Wiesel packs into 100 pages. "Never shall I forget ... "

To Kill A Mockingbird

by Harper Lee

In this 1960 classic, small-town attorney Atticus Finch attempts a hopeless defense of a black man unjustly accused of rape, and to teach his children, Scout and Jem, about the evils of racism. It's been a staple on high school reading lists for years (and I talked about my significant high school experience with Mockingbird here), but it enjoyed a fresh burst of publicity when its companion Go Set a Watchman was published this summer. (I'd love to be in the course that reads both, together.)

What to read when you feel like the world is falling apart

Station Eleven

Between the World and Me

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

Hannah Coulter

Half of a Yellow Sun

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption

The Hiding Place

The Wednesday Wars

Everyone Brave is Forgiven

The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Hotel New Hampshire

The Nightingale

The Diary of a Young Girl

Stitches

Birdsong

A Wrinkle in Time

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Mudbound

Anne of Green Gables

The Grapes of Wrath

Gone With the Wind

Night

To Kill A Mockingbird

Find your next read with:

100 Book recommendations
for every mood

What to read when you feel like the world is falling apart

Find your next read with:

100 Book recommendations for every mood

100 Book recommendations
for every mood