I’ve seen this book recommended several times in the past few months, even though it was originally published in 1974. It’s an autobiography of a motorcycle trip taken by a father and son, and it’s larger meaning in the journey of life.

While there is a lot of motorcycle maintenance within the book, it is ultimately a philosophical search for meaning and the best way to live a good life. Pirsig’s journey is haunted by a ghost, Phaedrus, which helps him confront the difficult situation he’s in with his son and the impact his son’s illness will have on their relationship.

This is another book I’ve seen recommended by several people so I thought I would give it a try. After all, who doesn’t want to learn techniques to improve their relationships with others? The five languages Chapman says we all use to express love are Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.

The theory is that couple who understand each other’s love language can effectively communicate and love them. After reading several examples of how the love languages play out, I thought the “meat” of the story could have been handled in just a few short chapters. Religion and a couple’s relationship with God are central themes in the book.

This is a powerful coming-of-age memoir from Westover, who was the youngest child of a fundamentalist Mormon family in rural Idaho. Without any formal education, she taught herself enough from textbooks to be accepted into Brigham Young University, where she excelled and eventually went on to pursue a PhD at Cambridge.

She doesn’t know her exact birthday because she was born at home and didn’t get a birth certificate until she was 9 years old. Her family treated injuries at home with special tinctures created by her mother, who was a self-taught herbalist and midwife. When her father’s beliefs became more extreme after Y2K, and her brother became more violent, Westover knew she had to find a way out of her family situation, and school was the best option. This book is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys memoirs or the “misery lit” books popular in the 1990s, such as Angela’s Ashes and Running with Scissors. It also is another perspective on themes raised in J.D. Vance’s Hillbilly Elegy. Ultimately, it proves the power of education in overcoming your situation.

I was not a fan of Gilbert’s best-selling memoir, “Eat, Pray, Love,” but after hearing her speak at a recent library conference, I decided to give her another chance. And I’m glad I did. Gilbert shares stories about inspiration, creativity and letting go to help readers live their most creative and authentic lives.

This is not a scientific book filled with research and facts – like those by Brene Brown – but instead a personal admission that we all have some “big magic” within us and to not be afraid to use it. The uncanny coincidences she uncovers may leave you scratching your head and wondering how often it’s happened to you!

First of all, this cover. Oh my gosh – it’s gorgeous. I know I shouldn’t judge a book by a cover but that was the reason I picked up this book and I’m glad I did.

This is the story of four friends who are classical musicians navigating their relationships, ambition and the apparently fiercely competitive musical world.

Jana, Brit, Daniel and Henry only became friends because they needed each other’s instrumental part and talent to become the award-winning Van Ness Quartet. What they found was that they needed each other in order to be their best musically, professionally and personally. Each section begins with a selection of chamber music that musically sets the stage for the time in the characters’ lives.

I wanted to love Mindy’s second collection of essays because I love Mindy in “The Office” and in “The Mindy Project” and I really enjoyed her first book, “Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?”

Unfortunately, this book was more of a retelling of her first book with a few highlights, such as when she met President Obama and how she embarrassed herself the first time she met Bradley Cooper.

Kaling wants us to believe she’s just like us – someone enamored with celebrities who struggles to lose weight and fall in love with the right person – but it’s hard to believe when she has a pretty glamorous and well-off life. She laments being “dumped” by a female friend who found someone more “in” and how nothing in Hollywood is real, except for the hair extensions. It’s a funny quick read, perfect for summer.

“Dostadning,” the Swedish word for “death cleaning,” has become a popular term in the media lately as people – especially Baby Boomers – look to simplify their lives and declutter their homes.

Magnusson encourages people to embrace minimalism so they don’t burden their loved ones who have to deal with their things after they die. I’m glad I borrowed this book from the library because it’s a slim book that can be read in a sitting. There’s not much to say on the topic, other than don’t leave your stuff for someone else to deal with. There are tips to help guide readers on where to start, and whimsical illustrations by Magnusson, who also is an artist.

This is a nice companion to Marie Kondo’s “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” because it asks readers to put aside sentimentality and only keep what makes you happy. Millennials, buy it for your parents before you have to clean out their oversized home.

This book has a huge number of characters – 12 – but somehow, it’s not hard to keep up in the story about why these people make their way to the Big Oakland Powwow. For some, it’s a chance to carry on tradition, for some it’s an opportunity to reconnect with long lost family, and for others, it’s an attempt to break out of poverty by robbing the event of the award money.

Orange is a new author writing about urban Native Americans, a topic rarely touched upon in contemporary literature. He deserves to be up there with Sherman Alexie as required reading. This is more than just a story of Native Americans, it’s a story most of us can relate to, as we all have been touched in some way by addiction, abuse and poverty. It’s also a reminder of how decisions made in our past can have lasting effects on our future.

Jacob Portman has a difficult time after his grandfather’s sudden death. He remembered the stories his grandfather told him, with the strange pictures as proof, and longs to visit the Welsh island that saved his grandfather during WWII as a way to cope with the demons he is battling in his teenage head. But the stories are true, and Jacob learns that there really are peculiar children among us with mysterious abilities who were quarantined on the island for a reason – and an evil threat wants those children to disappear forever. A must-read for Harry Potter and Lemony Snicket fans.