It’s been my biggest year of reading yet!! As of today, I’m at 113 books—but hoping Christmas break means a handful more before January!
Out of 113+ books, these are the reads that really stood out to me this year. Many of them fall into the theme of TIME. Not sure what that means for me at this stage in my life. Third-of-life crisis? Perhaps, but at least it was great for immersive reads!
Don’t forget that you can follow along with my reads over on Goodreads or my bookstagram! I want to hear if you read any of these!
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
One day, every adult age 22 and up wakes up to a wooden box on their porch containing a string that delineates the length of their life. The consequences are dramatic—and widespread.
I loved how REAL this book felt. Couldn’t believe this was a debut! I thought this interesting concept was masterfully done and provided ample opportunities for introspection.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
From humble beginnings, to Hollywood superstar, to enigmatic recluse, Evelyn Hugo is a household name. Nearing the end of her life, she reaches out to a fresh, unknown journalist to give a coveted interview of her entire career—including her seven husbands.
I know I’m late to this party, but I just wanted to say… it’s a really good party. Such a propulsive and lovely book. Don’t read CoHo, read this.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Sam and Sadie are childhood best friends who weave in and out of each other’s lives over the course of 20+ years, including their crowing achievement—creating a blockbuster video game.
I absolutely fell in love with these flawed, interesting people. It just beautifully illustrated how we can allow our flaws to define us and how relationships can triumph anyway. Keep tissues on hand.
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
Every year at midnight, Oona wakes up in her body—but in a different year of her life. She is living each year non-sequentially. One year she’s mentally 19 in her 50 year old body, but what about next year?
This is one of the most interesting book concepts I’ve ever encountered and I felt like she made so many very careful choices that helped tell the story well. I couldn’t stop turning the ideas over in my head: do we actually prevent the things we’re trying to prevent? Would you do the thing if you knew it was going to fail? Do we fail to appreciate each stage of life for what it is? SO GOOD.
Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
In the Cooper’s Chase retirement community, there is a group of elderly armchair detectives that suddenly take their theoretical “murder club” into real detective territory when a murder occurs on their turf.
I’m kind of cheating here, because this actually also includes the next two books in the series as well. Sassy Elizabeth running a gang of 70 year olds to shake people down and solve crimes is my drug of choice, please. Great for fans of A Man Called Ove and true crime (me).
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
A young girl in Constantinople, a sweet old man in a 2020 library, and a spacecraft passenger sometime in the future are all wound together with an ancient myth that has passed through each of their eras of time.
This book mesmerized me. It’s a tome, but I would fall into it and emerge hours later, disoriented to reality. The way Anthony Doerr finds a way to bring these three distinctly separate scenes with a cohesive and meaningful narrative is nothing short of magical. Awesome for book clubs!
Finlay Donovan is Killing it by Elle Cosimano
Finlay is drowning as a single mom and uninspired crime novelist when a woman overhears Finlay describing a potential book plot to her editor and hires her as a hit woman. So now she needs to find a way to NOT kill someone, write a book, and take care of her two little kids without completely losing it.
Another party I was late to, another cheat code because this entry also includes the sequel—Finlay Donovan Knocks ‘Em Dead. This is one of those books that makes you want to zoom through because you have to know what happens next, but you also want to go slow and savor each page.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
A man wakes up on a spaceship, surrounded by dead crew mates, and slowly has to piece together who he is and why he is there. Once he realizes his mission (to determine the cause and solution to a possible extinction event that is threatening Earth), he has to deal with a long string of scientific hurdles and new discoveries to save everyone.
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful. One of the funniest, scariest, smartest, saddest, most inspiring books I’ve ever read. The physical copy is fine but I urge you in the strongest of terms to get the audiobook, for reasons which will become apparent.
Pines by Blake Crouch
Ethan Blake is a Secret Service agent trying to solve the mystery of two missing fellow agents, last sent to investigate something suspicious happening in the town of Wayward Pines, Idaho. But once he arrives, he can’t get a straight answer from anyone and can’t seem to leave.
The chokehold these books had on me. If I’m being fair, it’s actually books 2+3 that I loved, but you have to start here. I listened to the entire series in under two weeks and it wreaked havoc on my emotions the entire time. It’s the wildest ride. I’ll tell you what my friend told me, and what I’ve told everyone I’ve made read it since: for the entire first book you’re gonna be frustrated. You’ll be like “WTF IS HAPPENING I’M TIRED OF BEING CONFUSED” and then when you start to get enough of the pieces you’re like “OHHHHH SHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIII” and it’s completely immersive. The show isn’t too bad either!
Honorable Mentions
- YA Fiction: When You Get the Chance
- Middle Grades: Ella Enchanted
- Thriller: The Ink Black Heart
- Horror/Sci Fi: The Change
- Book Club Fiction: When Women Were Dragons
- Nonfiction: Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
- Memoir: Unfollow: A Journey from Hatred to Hope
- Most Unique: I’m Glad My Mom Died
- Stayed With Me: Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation
This year I’m recommitting to dropping books faster. There are too many amazing books out there and not enough time, so I’m not wasting it reading stuff that isn’t doing it for me. I’m excited to keep working through Harry Potter with Reese and to do a read aloud with Loney this year!
Wishing all of you a happy new year and chock-full library holds. <3
