I’ll be honest – I’m running out of fives right now. I’m sure my brain will reboot at some point; it seems like the possibilities are nearly limitless. For now though, let’s take a look at five unrelated books with the word “five” in their titles. I only read one of these books.
Five Quarters of the Orange (2001) – written by Anglo-French author Joanne Harris, this title is classified as historical fiction but it feels more like women’s fiction to me. The protagonist is the daughter of a woman who is infamous for being the cause of a tragedy that took place during the Nazi occupation of France. Using clues written in her mother’s scrapbook of recipes, Framboise Simon puts the pieces of the past together and arrives at the truth. Honestly, I am unlikely to read this, as it falls into that category of WWII romance/drama/thriller that I avoid. However, its Goodreads rank is just barely shy of four stars – if this is your genre, maybe you will like the book.
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2003) – Mitch Albom – the only book in this list that I have read. I was given a copy right after it was published, at my employer’s annual store managers’ conference. The week-long conference was held in Hollywood, FL, just north of Miami, and I finished the book in one evening in my hotel room. It’s a book that evokes strong emotion, and when I finished I stepped out onto my balcony. My glasses completely fogged up as the tears on my cheeks tried to, but couldn’t, evaporate in muggy air that is a summer evening in Florida.
Five Children and It (1902, never out of print) – E. Nesbitt. This is the story of, of course, five children, and a sand fairy. It’s a children’s story, and I tried to read it to my son but he hated it and we stopped. I have no idea what happens.
The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable (1998) – Patrick Lencioni. This sounds terrible. Nothing personal, it might be a great book with valuable insights, but wow – I do not like leadership books one little bit.
The Five Love Languages (1990) – Gary Chapman. This was a huge hit when it was published as a relationship self-help book. The theory is that each person has a ‘love language,’ and by learning and speaking your partner’s language you can make them feel valued and loved. This turned into a big franchise with multiple other Love Languages books, and the phrase has become part of our lexicon. “(Blank) is my love language!”
All of these books are on Goodreads; head on over and search on the titles that interest you.
Friends.
Be kind to your neighbors. Be a force for good. Promote justice.
Bookish in the Mitten 