Brighter Days

Hello and welcome to this week's Top 5 Wednesday blog post. I think we can all agree that things are not quite perfect in the world at the moment because of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic we are living through. Shops are closed, countries may be in lockdown, you may not be able to see friends or family, you may have had a death in your family or may even be suffering from your mental health. What's more, the whole United Kingdom, as well as the world, have been mourning the death of His Royal Highness Prince Philip. None of these things is ideal and we all long for things to be back to normal. This week's post is to bring a little light to everyone's day whilst I talk about the top 5 books that brought a smile to my face. Who knows, one of the books on this list may be your next book to help you smile more and embrace every day even if you are stuck. Let's get straight to this weeks post which is the Top 5 Books that brought a smile to my face!

1. Of Mice and Men

This is a great Novella written by John Steinbeck and I am sure it has featured in many of my Top 5 Wednesday blog posts already and it is probably because it is such a great book. This book is full of themes and events but not all of them will bring a smile to your face, especially the racism and discrimination which is present for educational purposes but there are things that will bring a smile to your face. The one thing I remember from this book that brought a smile to my face is the friendship between Lenny and George. They have both been through a lot mainly due to Lenny and his mental disability but George does not give up on Lenny. George has sacrificed so much for Lenny and they are still good friends. George has Lenny in his mind all the time and wants the best for Lenny regardless of all Lenny's mistakes. This is what brought a smile to my face because I think if I was George I would forget about and give up on Lenny whereas George has patience and is able to make the friendship stay.

2. The Unlucky Sperm Club

This is another great book that is mainly the writer's life story and the key skills he has developed which turned his rather poor childhood around into successful adulthood. This book put a smile on my face as it made me feel happy to be a member of The Unlucky Sperm Club myself. The author makes it clear that many of us are not responsible for what gives us membership in this club but he makes it clear that we should not be held back and we should use our setbacks as energy to achieve the best we can. This is probably one of the best self-help books I have ever read and I am so happy the writer, Nelson Tressler has shared his story as well as his advice. Before reading this book, (and before knowing about the Unlucky Sperm Club) I really was not happy about my situation but now after reading this book, I am much more accepting and somewhat happy and proud to be in the Unlucky Sperm Club. Therefore, this book put a smile in my face because it has to some extent changed my life and made me see that it is only myself holding me back.

3. Hyde

This was another good book that is a horror and did not make me smile as much as maybe a comic book would. It does however have some good scenes which do put a smile on my face and make me feel happy for the characters in the book. This is especially true regarding Captain Hyde and his crush in the book. Therefore, one of the main things that put a smile on my face is the friendships in this book which is always nice to read about in a book.

4. Grand Openings Can Be Murder

From looking at the title of this book, it may not look like a book that you would or should be smiling about and I agree when you immediately look at the book. However, there is so much more in this book that put a smile on my face and even gave me wet eyes because of happiness at some points in the book. What I like about this book is the community, friendship, motivation and determination of the characters to name just a few things. The main character, Felicity, was especially good and it was great to see her start her own business after her husband dies. This is just a great book with moments of happiness throughout the book.

5. The Girl Who Escaped Auschwitz 

Finally, on this list, we have The Girl Who Escaped Auschwitz. I do feel kind of bad putting this book on this list because Auschwitz is not a place that should ever make you laugh or smile due to all the horrific things that have taken place at this dreaded concentration camp. Rather it should be seen as a memorial that brings tears to your eyes as you remember the millions of people who were killed at this dreaded place. However, in this book, there are things that really do make you smile and laugh. Sometimes they make you laugh hard as well. There are moments when the girl and her crush manage to escape Auschwitz and this is a moment for happiness and then when these same two are about to get executed, they make us laugh with what they do to the evil SS officers. These are just a few moments in the book which made me smile or laugh but there are a few scenes in this book that will put a smile on your face and make you laugh.

Anyway, that is it for this week's Top 5 Wednesday blog post and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I also hope you found some books you may want to read in the near future as all the books on this list are good books. Please do feel free to leave a comment sharing your opinions and books which put a smile on your face. I would really look forward to hearing from you, my visitors. Please also share this blog post around as this would be great and very much support the blog. I hope you enjoyed this blog post and I look forward to next weeks Top 5 Wednesday blog post.

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