5 Fiction Books That Taught Me How to Be Happier

I’m not ONLY reading productivity books. Actually, when I read too many sequentially, it gets quite tedious. Too many lessons, not enough space for the mind to run free. So, I interject some fiction books and it turns out, there are just as many takeaways.

Below, are my top 5 fiction books that taught me something about how to be happier.

5. Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

“With knowledge can come understanding, and then deeper empathy.” — Johnny T. Nguyen

Ok ok, Kindred is definitely not a feel-good story, so don’t go in expecting. Published in 1979, it’s a realistic portrayal of American slavery told with a time travel twist. At times a bit difficult to read, but in the end a more accurate understanding of what life was like, which I can extrapolate into how it’s manifesting in today’s culture.

“The visionary author’s masterpiece pulls us — along with her Black female hero — through time to face the horrors of slavery and explore the impacts of racism, sexism, and white supremacy then and now.”

4. The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

“Acceptance is fun.” — Johnny T. Nguyen

I’d describe The House on the Cerulean Sea as a children’s version of X-Men. A great bedtime story that’ll capture a young… or old… imagination. I don’t laugh out loud very often from ready, but this one had a few nice chuckles that made me look like a weirdo as I went for runs around my neighborhood. “There’s that weird Asian man running in short shorts and laughing by himself.”

“A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.”

3. Midnight Library by Matt Haig

“Gotta acknowledge struggles are real.” — Johnny T. Nguyen

A well-told story, Midnight Library’s premise has already been told many different ways before, nevertheless, is a great read. The whole time I was picturing this as a movie just waiting to be made. As we journey with Nora through her other possible lives, it's a reflection upon our own thoughts and a reminder that this, this right here, is the life we are meant to live.

“Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself?”

2. Exhalations by Ted Chiang

“Beautiful lessons, impermanence, the world unfolds as it likes, don’t trust your memories.”

Being a sci-fi fan, the 9 short stories that comprise Exhalations really struck a chord that I found both familiar (quantum multiverse!) and very spiritual. It’s not the sci-fi gizardry that attracts me, it’s the use of sci-fi to bring out revelations about the human soul that I find illuminating. Here, Chiang highlights several aspects of it. In “The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling,” this short story deepened my belief that I have the absolute worst memory, and that I should never trust it blindly.

“Tackling some of humanity’s oldest questions along with new quandaries only he could imagine, these stories will change the way you think, feel, and see the world. They are Ted Chiang at his best: profound, sympathetic, revelatory.”

1. The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by Ed Koenig

“I’m not alone in feeling this.”

And for me, that’s a powerful feeling. To realize that I’m not alone in how I experience life, and also humbling in that I’m not all that unique. On a planet of almost 8 billion people, it’s incredibly arrogant to think for a moment that I’m all that special. Yet, we all want to feel that way, don’t we? At least I know when my wife looks at me, she sees me as being special and it feels wonderful.

The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows may be a tad mundane since it reads like a literal dictionary, made-up word after made-up word. But stick with it, there’s a unique narrative here.

“A truly original book in every sense of the word, The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows poetically defines emotions that we all feel but don’t have the words to express — until now.”

Those are the top fiction books that ultimately led me to a happier place in life. How about you? What book would you recommend that results in a smile as we live in this crazy world?