When you begin your healthcare traveling journey, it’s easy to stay busy with working, exploring, and sleeping! However, it’s also nice to set aside time for a hobby. One of my all-time favorite hobbies is to dive into a good book and escape reality for a little while! Besides, research has shown there are many health benefits that come from reading. These include helping with depression, diminishing stress, and improving your memory. So, if you find yourself with some extra time or wanting to destress, get cozy and pick up one of my five go-to books to read.
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman’s Search for Everything across Italy, India, and Indonesia
By Elizabeth Gilbert
This 2006 memoir by author Elizabeth Gilbert captures the author’s journey around the world after she divorces her husband. Throughout the book, she discusses what she has discovered during her travels. The book title – Eat, Pray, Love, is unique because it is a streamlined title of what her travels actually consisted of. While in Italy, she spent a few months eating and devouring delicious foods; in India the author becomes more focused on deepening her spirituality and engaging in more prayer; and in Indonesia, she searches for balance and finds a new love interest. In the midst of her journey, she begins to find herself again. If you’re looking for a “feel good” book centered on a woman’s travel experience, this book would be a great pick for you!
If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
By Italo Calvino
This novel is a unique work of fiction that focuses on the relationship between the author and the reader; definitely a different kind of concept, right? The story alternates between second and thirdperson narratives, and consists of 10 interrelated stories. All of these stories end up relating directly towards the reader – mind blowing, I know! The ending is very surprising and exposes a hidden component to the entire book, but you will have to read it for yourself to find out what it is! If you’re interested in reading a different kind of novel, be sure to check this one out.
Never Let Me Go
By Kazuo Ishiguro
Who enjoys a good mystery? I know I do! Never Let Me Go is one of those books that you will not want to put down. The story is based on a woman who also calls herself a “carer”. Throughout the book, she often reminisces back to the past when she was a student at an exclusive boarding school, where part of the curriculum focused in on the importance of maintaining healthy lifestyles (you’ll find out why in the book). During her time at boarding school, she built a strong relationship with two other students. She ends up reconnecting with them in present time and together they start to realize the true purpose in life and how it will contour the rest of their time spent together. It’s a book that is full of mystery, suspense, love, unprecedented emotions, and comes highly recommended.
The Road
By Cormac McCarthy
Cormac McCarthy has a lot of great books including Blood Meridian, Time, and No Country for Old Men, which is why The Road was something I needed to check out! This is a post-apocalyptic tale about a father and son who set out on a journey of survival and hope. During their journey, the author does a fantastic job at making you feel like you’re right there alongside them. You’re able to experience the bond and love between the father and son, the horror and gore when they encounter the wild cannibals throughout their journey, and the sadness, yet hopefulness that hovers over the main characters. This is definitely an intense thriller with a bit of adventure and horror, which will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time!
Gone Girl
By Gillian Flynn
To conclude, I wanted to add one of my all-time favorite thriller novels. The level of suspense in this book is incredibly intense! The first part of the book focuses on a married couple, Nick and Amy, and the chapters alternate between their points of view. Nick discusses their marriage in present tense and Amy writes in a diary that describes their marriage in the past. The way they each portray one another is very interesting and definitely plays an important role later on. On their wedding anniversary, Amy goes missing without a trace. A trail of events and lack of emotion from Nick lead the police to believe he murdered his wife. You’ll then enter the second half of the book where you will find that not all information given in the first half is the whole truth. From there, the book spirals into a strategic psychological thriller.
Whether you’re interested in a thriller, a mystery, or a book full of adventure, each of these books will certainly not disappoint! If you find yourself with some extra down time and want a new book to read, I highly recommend one of these! What other novels have you enjoyed?
Chantel Barber is a Recruiter for the Aureus Medical Social Media Recruitment Team.