As the youngest of four girls, I’m no stranger to hand-me-downs. And unlike some kids who complained about receiving their older sibling’s outgrown items, I loved them. From cute shoes and overalls, to the same school teachers and bedroom upgrades, I’ve had my fair share of moments feeling like the cat’s meow because I could proudly say, “This used to be my sister’s.”

My latest hand-me-down happens to be from someone lovely, but unexpected: my mother. Last Christmas, we wowed her with a brand new Kindle Fire, leaving her older, but beloved, Kindle homeless. As the fastest reader I’ve ever met (she averages a new book every other night, without any sort of neglect to her normal daily activities), my mother deserved an upgrade from her previous Kindle. This oldie-but-goodie Kindle found a new home on my nightstand, waiting for me to put it to as good of use as my mother did.

Once I pressed the “on” button, I was in awe of the bevy of beautiful books my mother acquired over the past year — some classics, some bestsellers, some “just because.” Picking up her (err…my) Kindle is like diving into a world of laughs, tear-jerkers, life lessons, and wisdom way beyond my years.

Here are a few of her recommendations on which ones I should read first. I thought I’d share them with all of you, and hopefully you get as much enjoyment out of them as I know I will :).

**You should also know that my family comes from a long line of show business and movie buffs, so we are usually inspired to read books that have film adaptations, too. However, we are big believers in reading the book before seeing the movie, of course!

• The Hunger Games Trilogy- Suzanne Collins

• I Don’t Know How She Does It- Allison Pearson