books I read long ago but still think about every so often

Room - This book impacted me greatly at the time I was reading it and I recommended it to a lot of people.  Ever since I read it I've thought about it a lot.  Some people shy away from reading books that they know have the potential to describe women or children being harmed inside their pages.  I don't like espeically violent or graphic novels but this story kept me intrigued and not afraid to hear the ending.  I think about it a lot now perhaps because I want to protect myself and my kids and because I feel like I learned a lot about safety and emergencies from the story.  Plus, it popped in my mind frequently in the recent aftermath of the women rescued in Cleveland.

Beauty Queens - I don't think I ever mentioned this book on my blog except to say that I was reading it and I really didn't care for the book all that much at the time; it just isn't my style.  Now I realize that it must have made more of an impact on me than I thought.  Random characters from the story pop into my head all the time.  I listened to the audio book instead of reading the print version and I still hear certain characters voices in my head all the time.

Shadow of Night - I think about this one a lot probably because it's the second book in a trilogy and the third one hasn't been released yet.  Nevertheless every once in a while I wonder how the characters are doing.  Do you do that?  It's weird, I know, but I think since the story is still unfinished in my mind I'll find myself thinking, "Whatever happened to..?" or "Wonder where so-and-so is?"  And if I happen to see something that looks like an antique, for whatever reason it makes me think of this book (and it really has nothing to do with antiques).  Anyway, it's another one that seems to have stuck in my mind.

Gone Girl - I read this one when we were in Mexico last year.  It was so captivating and yet weird to be reading it on an anniversary trip.  It was so real though, that every once it a while I have a flashback and think about the book as if it were a true-life story happening... like I saw bits and pieces of it on a news report.  I've since reserved several of Gillian Flynn's other novels at the library but haven't read any of them yet.

Now, I'd love some new book recommendations.  We're headed to the beach next week and I hope to be able to squeeze in a little reading... suggest away!