My Updated List of Book Recommendations

I have always loved to read and over the years, I’ve read many, many books. Friends and family frequently reach out to me to get recommendations, and it’s always a little tricky because there are so many books I’ve loved throughout the years that wouldn’t necessarily appeal to everyone. We all have different tastes and preferences and it can even depend on what kind of mood you’re in with whether or not you like a book.

Last year, I wrote up a post with all my top recommendations and it was super helpful to reference whenever people asked for a rec. I’ve been meaning to update the list with books I’ve read since then that I also highly recommend – since so many of us are social distancing at home these days, it felt like a great time to update the list!

I do want to reiterate the disclaimer that I think it’s also helpful to read my previous book reviews and see if you agree with my take on books that you have also read. If you find yourself nodding along to my reviews because you felt similarly when reading, we likely have similar taste. If you find yourself frequently saying “what was so great about that book? I thought it was boring” or “she’s crazy – how did she not enjoy that book? I thought it was brilliant” then maybe we just have different styles and you might not like my recommendations. Different strokes, different folks and all that 😉

With all that being said, here are my TOP recommendations!

MY VERY FAVORITES

–Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn T. Dingman (easy to read yet captivating and meaningful. As my fellow book lover friend Kaitlin described – “a beach read with depth”)

–Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

-Basically anything written by Kate Morton. The Lake House, The Forgotten Garden, The House at Riverton, The Secret Keeper, The Distant Hours  – they are just phenomenal historical fiction! If I had to choose one to start, I’d say The Secret Keeper.

General Fiction

–It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover

–A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams (read first)

–The Secret Life of Violet Grant by Beatriz Williams (read second; they aren’t technically sequels but I would still read them in that order)

–Defending Jacob by William Landry

–One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

–Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

–Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

–The Dry by Jane Harper

–The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

–Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

-My Grandmother Asked me to Tell you She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman

–The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

–Castle of Water by Dane Huckelbridge

–The Violets of March by Sarah Jio (read first)

–Morning Glory by Sarah Jio (read second)

–Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao

–Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

–The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes

“Beach” Reads + RomComs

– The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary

–The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion

–If You Only Knew by Kristin Higgins

–Crazy Rich Asians Trilogy by Kevin Kwan (the last one is my favorite!)

–My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan

–The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan

–One Day in December by Josie Silver

–The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

-The Haven Point Series by RaeAnne Thayne (Hallmark movies in book form – a little cheesy and predictable but sweet and fun)

Psychological Thriller/Mysteries

–Girl on a Train by Paula Hawkins (I feel like everyone has read it by now, but when it came out it blew my mind!)

–The Marriage Pact by Michelle Richmond (creepy and cult-like)

–The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

–Final Girls by Riley Sager (part psychological thriller, part homage to campy-slasher movies)

–Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris

–The Girl Before by J. P. Delaney

–The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn

–The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

-The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine

Historical Fiction

–The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

–Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

–The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom

–Stella Bain by Anita Shreve

–The Glass Ocean by  Beatriz Williams, Lauren Willig, and Karen White

World War Two Historical Fiction

–The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah

–Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly (this book does get very heavy and difficult to read at times)

–Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosay

–All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

–The Alice Network by Kate Quinn

–The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris

Young Adult

–One of Us is Lying by Karen M. McManus

–Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

–Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein

–The Fault in our Stars by John Green

–The War that Saved my Life (#1), The War I Finally Won (#2) by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

–The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

–Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (this is a series!)

–Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements

-Harry Potter (because it should be on every list)

Nonfiction: Self-Help

–The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin

-Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin

-To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage, and the Modern Dilemma by Molly Millwood

Nonfiction: Memoirs and Biographies

–Inheritance by Dani Shapiro

–Becoming by Michelle Obama

-Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

–Bossypants by Tina Fey

–Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance

–The Girl with Seven Names by Hyeonseo Lee

–The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

–Educated by Tara Westover

–I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness by Austin Channing Brown

 

Happy reading!