Fiction
Top 10:
Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam – The only book I read in one sitting this year. Could not put it down.
Recursion by Blake Crouch – I devoured this one quickly too. It’s disturbing and kind of exhausting, but also brilliant.
Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade – A satisfying romance for any sci-fi/fantasy fangirl, especially if you like Game of Thrones (I do not and still loved it).
A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin – I was just looking forward to a good sendup of The Wing, but this took some turns.
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry – An homage to When Harry Met Sally. Pure enjoyment.
The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin – One of the more unique concepts I’ve read, in which the boroughs of New York become personified in one of their residents, find each other, and set out to find the avatar of all New York City, who’s in trouble.
Writers and Lovers by Lily King – A quiet character-driven story a la Laurie Colwin.
A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow – Another inventive concept that mixes mermaid mythology, racial justice, family issues and more. I just remembered a sequel is out now and I’m excited to get my hands on it.
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner – This starts as a rekindled-friendship story and abruptly becomes a murder mystery.
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson – I liked this more and more as I reflected on it. It involves children who spontaneously combust, so needless to say it’s also a little out there. I guess I needed a heavy dose of fantastical stories this year to take me out of our reality.
Also Read:
- Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam
- That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam
- The Other’s Gold by Elizabeth Ames
- Then and Always by Dani Atkins
- All This Could Be Yours by Jami Attenberg
- The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
- In The Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
- No Judgments by Meg Cabot
- If I Had Your Face by Frances Cha
- Beginner’s Luck by Kate Clayborn
- Best of Luck by Kate Clayborn
- Luck of the Draw by Kate Clayborn
- Love at First by Kate Clayborn
- Missing Christmas by Kate Clayborn
- Welcome Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell
- Beneath Wandering Stars by Ashlee Cowles
- The Opposite of Maybe by Maddie Dawson
- Entwined by Heather Wallworth Dixon
- Find Layla by Meg Elison
- Your One & Only by Adrianne Finlay
- The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey
- Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness
- Accidentally Engaged by Farah Heron
- Queen’s Peril by E.K. Johnston
- The Means That Make Us Strangers by Christine Kindberg
- To Be a Man: Stories by Nicola Krauss
- Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
- The Mistletoe Pact by Jo Lovett
- The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
- The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
- Dear Haiti, Love Alaine by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite
- After I Do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- The Boyfriend Project by Farrah Rochon
- The Baby Plan by Kate Rorick
- Last One Out Shut Off the Lights by Stephanie Soileau
- Baking Me Crazy by Karla Sorensen
- And I Do Not Forgive You: Stories & Other Revenges by Amber Sparks
- Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
- The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
- Undeniably Yours by Heather Webber
- Competitive Grieving by Nora Zelevansky
Nonfiction
Top 10:
Love and Salt: A Spiritual Friendship Shared in Letters by Amy Andrews and Jessica Mesman Griffith – A book of quiet reflections as two women move through life.
The Meaning of Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey – SO GOOD. I expected pure popcorn but came out with a deeper respect for Mariah as a person.
Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation by Kristin Kobes DuMez – Probably the most important book about American Christianity this decade.
The Rural Diaries: Love, Livestock, and Big Life Lessons Down on Mischief Farm by Hilarie Burton Morgan – The actress who played Peyton on One Tree Hill buys a farm, helps save a town, and becomes BFFs with Paul Rudd and his wife.
And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready by Meaghan O’Connell – I related deeply to this memoir.
Thanks for Waiting: The Joy (and Weirdness) of Being a Late Bloomer by Doree Shafrir – As a Forever 35 fan and fellow late bloomer, I was so excited for this memoir and it did not disappoint. However, I did feel a little like it stole my shtick. I guess my someday memoir will have to be about something else.
Big Friendship: How We Keep Each Other Close by Aminatou Sow and Ann Friedman – An interesting story with lots of honest tips about keeping close friendships alive.
Ghostbuster’s Daughter: Life with My Dad, Harold Ramis by Violet Ramis Stiel – I did not know a ton about Harold Ramis before reading this, but now think he was fascinating after seeing him through his daughter’s loving eyes.
Share Your Stuff. I’ll Go First.: 10 Questions to Take Your Friendships to the Next Level by Laura Tremaine – Another long-awaited memoir with lots to reflect on. I have yet to journal about any of the topics or discuss it with friends, but I hope to eventually.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner – A beautiful memoir about loss, mothers and daughters, and Korean food.
Also Read:
- It Sucked and Then I Cried: How I Had a Baby, a Breakdown, and a Much Needed Margarita by Heather B. Armstrong
- The Prince of Los Cocuyos: A Miami Childhood by Richard Blanco
- Letters to Judy by Judy Blume
- The Fifth Trimester: The Working Mom’s Guide to Style, Sanity, and Big Success After Baby by Lauren Smith Brody
- Dating Jesus: A Story of Fundamentalism, Feminism, and the American Girl by Susan Campbell
- Tell Me More: Stories about the 12 Hardest Things I’m Learning to Say by Kelly Corrigan
- Going There by Katie Couric
- All Over the Place: Adventures in Travel, True Love, and Petty Theft by Geraldine DeRuiter
- What Is a Girl Worth?: My Story of Breaking the Silence and Exposing the Truth about Larry Nassar and USA Gymnastics by Rachael Denhollander
- How Not to Hate Your Husband After Kids by Jancee Dunn
- I’m Just Happy to Be Here: A Memoir of Renegade Mothering by Janelle Hanchett
- The Very Good Gospel: How Everything Wrong Can Be Made Right by Lisa Sharon Harper
- How to Be a Person in the World: Ask Polly’s Guide Through the Paradoxes of Modern Life by Heather Havrilesky
- Glorious Weakness: Discovering God in All We Lack by Alia Joy
- The Art of Ramona Quimby: Sixty-Five Years of Illustrations from Beverly Cleary’s Beloved Books by Anna Katz
- How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
- Everything You Ever Wanted: A Memoir by Jillian Lauren
- Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
- Come and Eat: A Celebration of Love and Grace Around the Everyday Table by Bri McKoy
- Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell
- Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron
- George Washington Is Cash Money: A No-Bullshit Guide to the United Myths of America by Cory O’Brien
- How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell
- Good Apple: Tales of a Southern Evangelical in New York by Elizabeth Passarella
- Can’t Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout Generation by Anne Helen Petersen
- Where Goodness Still Grows: Reclaiming Virtue in an Age of Hypocrisy by Amy Peterson
- What No One Tells You: A Guide to Your Emotions from Pregnancy to Motherhood by Alexandra Sacks and Catherine Birndorf
- Our Great Big American God: A Short History of Our Ever-Growing Deity by Matthew Paul Turner
- If You Feel Too Much: Thoughts on Things Found and Lost and Hoped For by Jamie Tworkowski
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