Now that I’m older I can’t spend entire days reading, so I make do with reading every night, weekend, and sometimes sneakily during work (oops). I also try to push my love for reading on others. You mention one book you read one time? I have 5 others that you should also read. Nothing bonds people more than the shared love for a book. And that is not an exaggeration at all. The feeling that comes when you recommend a book and the person actually likes it is unparalleled. So I’m trying to get my fix. Here are some of my all-time favorite books. I hope you like them too!
My Go-To Genres
I like to pretend I’ll read anything, but in reality, my tastes are pretty specific. The genres I mainly read from are as follows:
I’ll branch out occasionally, but these genres are where I live. So judge my recommendations through that filter. I didn’t include the usual books that we gush over around here but don’t doubt my love for Outlander, The Hating Game, The Bronze Horseman or anything by Christina Lauren. You’ve heard all about them, they’re implied.
*all suggestions are in no particular order
Young Adult
My love for young adult novels knows no bounds. I think I will forever be a young adult or at the very least, that weird old lady at the library in the teen section. Thank God for my kindle. It will be really hard for me to narrow this section down so I apologize in advance if I go too long.
The Young Elites: Man, do I love an anti-hero. I’ve written about it before and included this book. I just love a character who SUCKS. They’re mean, brutally honest, make bad choices, but in the end, they redeem themselves. Maybe. It’s probably because I too have been called mean and brutally honest. Whatever guys, I’m just an anti-hero. Adelina gets it. I love this entire series. From start to finish it’s engrossing. It’s set in such a unique world that I would love to be dropped into. It’s sort-of sultry Italy, there are giant flying stingrays, you bathe in a fancy grotto. Am I selling this? Whatever, just read it.- To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before: This series by Jenny Han is one of the rare gems that gets better as it goes on. You see Lara Jean grow with each book. It’s a sweet story, with enough nostalgia for the bumbling first love feeling to be comforting.
- The Wrath & The Dawn: Shazi and Khalid, a love story for the ages. This duology is just so well done. It’s one of those series where I wanted every morsel. A novella you say? Send to Kindle. 2 more novellas? Don’t mind if I do. I love to cover, I love the characters. It’s pretty much perfect.
- We Were Liars: I read this book in one sitting. I needed to know the ending. And maybe I’m
- Fangirl: I don’t know anyone who’s read this book and not recommended it to everyone they know. Seriously. At That’s Normal alone it’s been a Boozy Book Club Book, shows up in Bekah’s book suggestions, and Angela has included it on her list of books about books for book nerds. If that’s not enough to get you to read it then I don’t know what is.
- The Cruel Prince: This was my first Holly Black book and I get what the hype is about. I’ve read a lot of faery books, but I loved her version of this world. I love that Jude is ruthless and cunning. I have very high hopes for the series. Fingers crossed they pan out.
- 99 Days: Katie Cotugno writes some believable characters. I love the raw, real feeling of teenage life that she captures with Molly. She makes bad choices, repeatedly, but she’s not a bad person. I sped read this and moved right on to its sequel 9 Days and 9 Nights. These books are great if you want to remember how much being a teenager sucked and how happy you are that you’re past it.
- To Kill a Kingdom: A lot of YA books have the same settings – dystopian future where the main character finds out they have ~abilities~ or the aforementioned land of faery in its many forms, so I’m always happy to find a book that’s somewhere different. Which is why I loved To Kill a Kingdom so much. It’s set in a land all of its own – part Greek mythology, part swashbuckling sea tale, part who knows where. Wherever it is I dig it.
- A Court of Thorns and Roses: One of my first posts at That’s Normal was all about Sarah J Maas so I had to include something from her. ACOTAR speaks to me in a way that Throne of Glass doesn’t. I like Feyre a lot, I can’t stand Aelin. Maas is the author that just keeps giving – like me, she can’t seem to give up on a good series.
Adult-ish
The characters in these books aren’t 17 but that’s pretty much all that distinguishes this genre from YA in my opinion. Oh, and way more sex.
- Attachments: Rainbow Rowell writes the best things, but Attachments tops my list from her. Lincoln is just my type. Manly, quiet, kind of bumbling, but working toward being something better. It’s a sweet story that you can read over and over and still fall in love each time.
- Wallbanger: The only kind of romance book I can tolerate is one that has a bit of humor to it. Otherwise, I just can’t take them seriously. I don’t usually go for The Duke Who Stole My Heart (sorry if this is a real book, it was the first cheesy title that popped into my head) or stories like that because I just shake my head the whole time. They make me cringe. Throw a little sassy banter and some tongue-in-cheek humor and I’m sold. Alice Clayton is great at this. I’m biased toward Wallbanger since Caroline is an interior designer with a cat and that’s basically me. Except the only wallbanger I have is my roommate upstairs pacing while she’s on the phone…doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it…
- The Assistants: As a (somewhat) recent grad with my fair share of crippling debt, this book got me thinking. If I were in Tina Fontana’s position, would I take the money? I may be a terrible person but I think I would. This book is so, so relatable for any millennial who feels like they got shafted, without being some sort of GET MONEY NOW self-help book. This book is an underdog tale, and even though the way to winning might be a little shady, you’ll still be rooting for the little guy.
- Brooklyn: This is a book that just stuck with me. I love the charm of 1950s New York, and the romance between Eilis and Tony is just so sweet. Despite my love for Domhnall Gleeson (movie recs is a whole other novel I’d be happy to write), I’m team Tony all the way.
- One Plus One: Really, it should be Me Before You on here before I adore that entire series, but in the hopes of getting people to go beyond an author’s most popular book I’m including One Plus One by Jojo Moyes because it’s also utterly charming.
- Never Let Me Go: I saw this movie before I read the book so there was no “twist” for me, but this is still such a hauntingly beautiful story. It’s eerie and sad. But well worth reading if you want to feel the weight of your existence. And sometimes you need that.
Humor Autobiographies
A slightly specific genre, but I’m not sorry
- Yes Please: Man, do I love Amy Poehler. She’s just amazing, and her book is too. Listen to the audiobook to get the full experience. There’s guest readers, sage advice, and insight into the Amy we know and love.
- Modern Romance: Keeping with the Parks and Rec love, Aziz went above and beyond for this one. It’s not so much an autobiography, but a study of how we meet each other now and what that means for love. It’s incredibly insightful. And truthful, speaking as someone with LOTS of tinder experience. A personal anecdote: I saw Aziz live for the 2nd time in late 2015, right after I had finished this book. In my delusional mind, I decided to bring this book with me in the hopes that I would…run into Aziz in the crowd and have him sign it? What ended up happening was it rained the entire night on my lawn seats and the book got soaked. It’s wavy to this day.
- Humblebrag: The Art of False Modesty: Also not really an autobiography, but it’s my list so I can do what I want. Harris Wittels was a writer for Parks and Rec and a staple in my podcast roundup. He died in 2015, sadly, but his humor lives on. He invented the name “humblebrag” and this book is full of them. Literally – it’s a book of humblebrag tweets. It’s great.
- Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?: This book speaks to me. I’ve legitimately asked myself this question like once a month. I like to believe Mindy Kaling and I would be best friends, and never have to ask this question again. Her childhood anecdotes fill me with joy. This is another one that should be listened to.
Suspense/Thriller
Just like I love the song Thriller, I like Thriller books. I should be booed for that sentence but it’s true. It’s fun to be a little scared. These books might give you nightmares, but at least they keep life interesting and make you realize how good you’ve got it.
- The Butterfly Garden: This book will mess you up. But it’s so, so interesting. I’m not sure what happened to Dot Hutchison to dream up this book, but I do know she is immensely talented.
- The Woman in Cabin 10: Just don’t read this book while you’re on a cruise or thinking of going on one. Despite the questionable sharing of mascara in this book, it’s a great suspenseful read. It kept me guessing until the end and isn’t that what you’re looking for with a thriller?
- The Good Girl: After reading Gone Girl and enjoying the f#&$ed up-ness of it, this book was my next foray into that genre. I’ve enjoyed every one of Mary Kubica’s books, but The Good Girl was my first and favorite. It’s twisty and turn-y with just the right amount of “are you kidding me?!”
- In a Dark, Dark Woods: This was my second Ruth Ware book after The Woman in Cabin 10. It deals with the inconsistencies of memory. And we all know there’s nothing quite like an unreliable narrator. If you’re just getting into this genre, be forewarned that a LOT of these characters are unlikeable. It’s what makes them interesting to read about. You can identify with them just enough but then you don’t mind when they go down in the end. Not saying that happens in this book, but the warning stands.
Guys, it was so hard to narrow this down. I feel like I missed so much, but chances are if there’s a book you’re interested in, you can find it somewhere around here.
