Looking for something amazing to read during quarantine? Same. For this reason, i’m here to serve you just the very best of my recommendations. Here are the top books I’ve read in the last 5 years.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
I have never met a human who didn’t fall completely, totally and wholeheartedly in love with this book. It’s about two sisters who are living in occupied France during WW2. I highly recommend reading it if you like female heroines and historical fiction. It’s also going to become a movie starring Dakota and Elle Fanning. This is my absolute favorite book.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This Bad Bitch Book Club selection has everything. Old Hollywood glamour. LGBTQIA+ characters. Plot twists for DAYS. It’s about an A-list starlet who has reached old age and decides to spill a lifetime worth of secrets to an unknown journalist. All of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s books are fantastic, but there is just something so special about The Seven Husbands that pretty much guarantees it will forever be remembered as her best book. But if you’ve already read it, checkout After I Do.
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Do you ever read a book and immediately think to yourself: this needs to be taught in schools? That’s how I, and pretty much everyone else, felt after reading The Hate U Give. It’s the story of Starr Carter, who in her own words lives a “double life”– one at a fancy mostly-white private school, and one at home in Garden Heights, a primarily black neighborhood. After her friend gets shot in front of her, she is no longer able to manage the balance of both. Highly recommend.
Me Before You by Jojo Moyes
Does my undying love for the Me Before You series make me basic? Probably, but I don’t care! I love this trilogy, in particular the first and third book. Its the story of Louisa Clark, a young woman who desperately needs a job after being laid off from the cafe she worked at. She ends up accepting a role as a care taker for a brash, unfiltered, unhappy Will Traynor; once king-of-the-world, now miserable and paralyzed. Louisa makes it her mission to bring joy back into Will’s life.
The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
Let the record show, I am not obsessed with WW2 books. In fact, I actively avoided them after reading The Nightingale because there was no way in hell any book could come close. Turns out, this book absolutely came close. This book is a love story that takes place in Poland during WW2. Just read it, ok? You’ll give it 5 stars on Goodreads and we’ll talk about it later.
Educated by Tara Westover
I know it does not make me original that I loved Educated by Tara Westover. Though I often like to brag that I received an advanced copy of this book, so I was able to read it before the hype had set in around the world. If you are one of the 3 people on the planet who has not heard of this book, it’s the memoir of a woman who grew up in a survivalist family in Idaho. She didn’t attend school until she was 18. It’s depressing, sometimes slow, often uncomfortable, but 100% important.
Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb
How many times am I going to recommend this book? The limit does not exist. This was the BBBC BOTM for January and it was incredibly well received. It’s a memoir of a therapist and her experience going through therapy. At a time when literally none of us have physical access to our therapists, there has never been a better time to read this book.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
When you read 50+ books per year, it can be really easy to forget the plots to a lot of them. Not Small Great Things. I remember every detail of this story, and I’ve recommended it to so many people. It’s the story of an African American labor and delivery nurse and the racism surrounding her care of a white supremacist couple’s newborn son. You will fly through this book.
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan
I am a Crazy Rich Asian STAN. I think this was the first series to really sweep me off my feet as an adult reader. It’s the story of Rachel Chu, who agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend Nicholas Young’s family. What she doesn’t realize is that her man is considered one of the most eligible bachelors in Asia, and as a result she is public enemy #1. This entire series is nothing short of delightful and a perfect escape during quarentimes.
High Achiever by Tiffany Jenkins
High Achiever, another BBBC pick, is one of my favorite memoirs of all time. I’m not quite sure why I love this book so much. But if I had to guess, it’s because of the impact that opiate addiction has had in my family’s life. I’ve lost people I love to this disease, and Tiffany Jenkins made me feel closer to those I lost than I have in years. This book reads like fiction. It’s funny, informative and overall just a really easy read. I highly recommend.
Close contenders:
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee – for a great history lesson
The Idea of You by Robinne lee – for hot sex
Red White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston – for an alternate reality
Know my Name by Chanel Miller – if crying is your thing
American Royals by Katherine McGee – if you’re into really great YA
Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams – a break from toxic masculinity
Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton – for the love of history
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah – a quick visit to Alaska
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris – the hype is real
Normal People by Sally Rooney – if you subscribe to sad girl culture
