In short: READ. (both this article and books!)

So yeah, I read this article and now I’m feeling motivated to continue sending out a monthly newsletter (and publishing future blog posts) with lots of book recommendations.

And I’m going to  – right this moment –  finally commit to reading The Fault in Our Stars because of this quote from Bruni’s article:

One of the protagonists says that sometimes, “You read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”

This has happened to me so, so many times.  Believing that this in shambles, shattered world just needs everyone to read the same book!

My list of books (and the one word as to what will be learned by reading said book) that fit into this include:

What is the What by Dave Eggers  — > Perseverance

Truth & Beauty by Ann Patchett — > Friendship

Wonder by RJ Palacio — > Character

and possibly The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields.  It has been over a decade since I have read that one so I should probably first read it again before definitively putting it on this list.