The Cider House Rules takes a complicated subject (abortion) where there is no black and white answer and discusses it through an entertaining story with intelligence, grace, humor, and humility.Get The Cider House Rules by John Irving (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780345417947Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

It’s fast-moving. It’s easy to read. And it’s packed with so much…. feeling. That’s the only way I can describe it. You just empathize so much with little Ender Wiggins, the child that is the story’s main character. Get Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9781250773012Listen to the excellent audiobook:https://tinyurl.com/ya5kvrrpSubscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

One of the things I love about this book is the voice. It’s so distinct that you really feel as if you’re talking with the heroine — that she’s a real, live, breathing person.Get The Girl with the Louding Voice by by Abi Daré (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9781524746094Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

Long Way Down is Jason Reynold’s love letter to black boys growing up in violent, disenfranchised environments – which, unfortunately, in this country, is way too many black boys.Get Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9781481438261Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

This is a quirky little fairy tale that’s fun, magical, and sweet. It starts off in a dark, sunless place, but by the end of it, sunlight comes back to the world in a big, bright, beautiful way that will leave you smiling. Get Liesl & Po by Lauren Oliver (affiliate link): https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780062014528Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

Movie tech needed time to grow to more adequately capture the awe and wonder and terror of the book. Many of the iconic elements of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th movies were already in play in this first book.Get Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780345538987Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

Stephanie Land, the author of Maid, never expected to be poor. So it shocked her that it only took an unplanned pregnancy and a bad breakup to plunge her into poverty so deep, that she couldn't see a way out for years.Get Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land here (affiliate link): https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780316505093Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

Although the premise for The Round House, a family recovering from a brutal attack, is heavy, the reading experience is vibrant and rewarding.Get The Round House by Louise Erdrich here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780062065254Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

The real story here is about people, not zombies. The twist is that one of those people is an entirely new kind of person — something humanity has never seen before.Get The Girl With All the Gifts by M. R. Carey here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780316334754Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

I love how even though the main character of The Good Earth, Wang Lung, isn’t the most likable guy, I still wanted him to win.Get The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9781982147174Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

Eviction is rarely an isolated incident unique to an individual who doesn’t know how to budget. Matthew Desmond sheds light on this reality and shows us there’s an epidemic of evictions due to a structural problem that's baked into our system. Get Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780553447453Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

In this book, our hero, Charlie, gets a big IQ upgrade. But the smarter Charlie gets, the harder it is for him to make peace with our screwed-up world that has trouble loving and accepting the outliers among us.Get Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keys here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9780156030083Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

All of the characters in Tooth and Claw are dragons. Yes - big, scaly, fire-breathing Dragons who hoard treasure. But don’t let that scare you away! You’ll relate to these endearing dragons as they navigate strict societal rules in search of career success, family stability, and true love.Get Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9781250242723Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

I first read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry when I was about 11 or 12 years old. It’s the book that introduced me to racism, and it deals with this tricky topic so…. humanely. It’s clear and sharp and true - but also compassionate. Get Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry by Mildred D. Taylor here (affiliate link):https://bookshop.org/a/54551/9781101993880Subscribe to the podcast for more books!https://bookwormpod.com/subscribe

Do you want to spend more time reading but aren’t sure what book to start with? Or are you a voracious reader looking for your next page-turner? Whether you’re a bonafide bookworm or a bookworm in the making, the WE SHOULD ALL BE BOOKWORMS podcast is your bi-weekly source of information on magnetic books that have universal appeal — books that will resonate with you and connect with you in a deep way — no matter who you are or where you’re from. In each episode, host Mykella Palmer,...