The best books for optimists and animal lovers

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an optimist. I jump out of bed in the morning ready to read and write. With my dog and cat by my side and a cup of coffee in hand, I lose myself in whatever I am working on. I am deeply curious about a gamut of subjects and constantly challenge myself to learn more. I am persistent and not afraid of hard work. Nature and animals are my bottomless well of inspiration and joy. I very much believe life is a journey and I try to enjoy each step.


I wrote...

Hatching Love

By Heidi Matonis,

Book cover of Hatching Love

What is my book about?

Late at night, lonely Beth Paradise is surfing the web when she comes across a video that grabs her attention – a man who hatches a baby duck using his own body as an incubator! She immediately feels a connection to fellow animal lover, Alwyn Wils and his Youtube Channel – Incubating An Egg With Your Body. Dr. Thomas Paradise, Beth’s dead husband but still a ghostly presence, looks over his wife's shoulder as she places her order. He knows she’s ordered one dozen eggs, not one, but there's nothing he can do to help her. Trying to emulate the video, Beth makes a mindless mistake that changes her life in the most unexpected way.

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of A Man Called Ove

Heidi Matonis Why did I love this book?

I love this book because I once had a neighbor like Ove.

I was young and pregnant, and frankly a little frightened by him. Instead of having a cat, he had an old dog. The old dog got stuck in the mud in my backyard. I had to go over and knock on this neighbor’s door. Together, we wrestled to save the dog.

The man’s name was Charles and over the course of two years he taught me everything I know about gardening. When I read this book, I cried. Ove reminded me of Charles. 

By Fredrik Backman,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked A Man Called Ove as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'THE PERFECT HOLIDAY READ' Evening Standard

'A JOY FROM START TO FINISH' - Gavin Extence, author of THE UNIVERSE VERSUS ALEX WOODS

There is something about Ove.

At first sight, he is almost certainly the grumpiest man you will ever meet. He thinks himself surrounded by idiots - neighbours who can't reverse a trailer properly, joggers, shop assistants who talk in code, and the perpetrators of the vicious coup d'etat that ousted him as Chairman of the Residents' Association. He will persist in making his daily inspection rounds of the local streets.

But isn't it rare, these days, to find…


Book cover of Bel Canto

Heidi Matonis Why did I love this book?

If you read one book in your life, read Bel Canto. 

Ann Patchett’s writing is always sublime but her characters in this book are unforgettable. She stages a hostage situation in an undisclosed South American country. Over time, the young terrorists and the group of international strangers find a way to live and even thrive together. 

The novel revolves around the one female hostage, a beautiful opera singer. Her singing charms the most hardened terrorists and most skeptical politicians.

By Ann Patchett,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Bel Canto as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of The Women's Prize for Fiction and the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction.

The poignant - and at times very funny - novel from the author of The Dutch House and Commonwealth.

Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honour of the powerful businessman Mr. Hosokawa. Roxane Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerised the international guests with her singing.

It is a perfect evening - until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked, life-threatening scenario slowly evolves…


Book cover of Water for Elephants

Heidi Matonis Why did I love this book?

I love the setting of this book.

It takes place during depression amidst a traveling circus. Life within the circus is harsh and must be endured by people and animals alike. The circus acts as the ultimate dysfunctional family in which there are moments of forgiveness and kindness but also cruelty and despotism. 

Water for Elephants is first and foremost a love story being recounted by an old man on the final travels of his life.

By Sara Gruen,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Water for Elephants as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
NOW A FILM STARRING REESE WITHERSPOON AND ROBERT PATTINSON

'Great story, loads of fun; hard to put down.' STEPHEN KING

The Great Depression, 1929.
When Jacob Jankowski, recently orphaned and utterly adrift, jumps onto a passing train, he enters a world of freaks, grifters, and misfits in the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth: a second-rate travelling circus struggling to survive by making one-night stands in town after endless town. Jacob, a veterinary student now unable to finish his degree, is put in charge of caring for the circus menagerie. He…


Book cover of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Heidi Matonis Why did I love this book?

This book was crucial in my path to veganism.

It is a memoir where Barbara Kingsolver writes humorously about a year of living off the land. She is not a vegetarian but must raise, kill, and butcher animals if she wants to eat meat. The result is, every time she eats meat, she weighs the emotional cost.

This reckoning has been my bible. I ask myself, would I be willing to kill the chick I raised to eat? Inevitably, the answer is “no.” 

The book is not a treaty encouraging people to live off the land, it’s the opposite. It makes you appreciate every bit of food you put in your mouth and the fact you did not have to grow, harvest, clean and cook it. 

By Barbara Kingsolver, Camille Kingsolver, Steven L Hopp , Lily Hopp Kingsolver

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Animal, Vegetable, Miracle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"We wanted to live in a place that could feed us: where rain falls, crops grow, and drinking water bubbles up right out of the ground."

Barbara Kingsolver opens her home to us, as she and her family attempt a year of eating only local food, much of it from their own garden. Inspired by the flavours and culinary arts of a local food culture, they explore many a farmers market and diversified organic farms at home and across the country. With characteristic warmth, Kingsolver shows us how to put food back at the centre of the political and family…


Book cover of Remarkably Bright Creatures

Heidi Matonis Why did I love this book?

I enjoyed Shelby Van Pelt’s debut novel set in the Pacific Northwest.

I felt the voice of the giant Pacific octopus, Marcellus, was witty and charming. I also enjoyed how the female character, Tova, had a Swedish heritage. This added an interesting cultural twist. 

Ultimately, what I liked best was the happy ending. I am an optimist and believe there is always a brighter future if we are willing to not give up and work towards one. 

By Shelby Van Pelt,

Why should I read it?

21 authors picked Remarkably Bright Creatures as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER BBC RADIO 2 BOOK CLUB PICK 'Full of heart and humour . . . I loved it.' Ruth Hogan 'Will stay with you for a long time.' Anstey Harris 'I defy you to put it down once you've started' Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney After Tova Sullivan's husband died, she began working the night cleaner shift at the Sowell Bay Aquarium. Ever since her eighteen-year-old son, Erik, mysteriously vanished on a boat over thirty years ago keeping busy has helped her cope. One night she meets Marcellus, a giant Pacific octopus living at the aquarium who…


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Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

By Marsali Taylor,

Book cover of Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

Marsali Taylor Author Of Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Sailor Women’s historian Cat-lover Temporarily limping But determinedly recovering

Marsali's 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

Liveaboard sailor Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived when she blags her way into skippering a Viking longship for a Hollywood film. However, this means returning to the Shetland Islands, the place she fled as a teenager. When a corpse unexpectedly appears onboard the longship, she can run from the past no longer: Cass and her family come under intense scrutiny from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Gavin Macrae.

Even if Cass’s local knowledge and sailing wisdom help to clear the Lynch family of suspicion, they may not be enough to stay ahead of the murderer’s game... and avoid becoming the next victim.

Death on a Shetland Longship: The Shetland Sailing Mysteries

By Marsali Taylor,

What is this book about?

When she wangles the job of skippering a Viking longship for a film, Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived - even though it means returning home to the Shetland Islands, which she ran away from as a teenager. Then the `accidents' begin - and when a dead woman turns up on the boat's deck, Cass realises that she, her family and her past are under suspicion from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Macrae. Cass must call on all her local knowledge, the wisdom she didn't realise she'd gained from sailing and her glamorous, French opera singer mother…


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Interested in neighbourhoods, opera, and the circus?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about neighbourhoods, opera, and the circus.

Neighbourhoods Explore 26 books about neighbourhoods
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The Circus Explore 33 books about the circus