Looking back at my younger self, it’s almost embarrassing how proud I was of how much of a self-acclaimed “bookworm” I was. I bragged at the Thanksgiving dinner table about how I finished the Harry Potter series within a year of starting, I gained an incredible superiority complex over my amount of knowledge on the Percy Jackson universe (I have a memory of literally running into a tree while reading the newest Rick Riordan novel in middle school,) and stayed up until the ungodly hours of the morning to just read. it didn’t really matter what, there was something about reading that was addicting to me.
Then came high school. It was no longer cool to discuss “Twilight” or “Hunger Games” as reading became more and more of a chore. Reading outside of class was assigned as a hobby to “gifted” kids- and as one, I kept reading, but became increasingly self-conscious about what topic was displayed on the cover of my latest library find. This is when it became apparent to me that the reading community can be incredibly judgmental, myself included. It’s easy to fall into the trap of not thinking it’s “real reading” if it’s not a classic, information-heavy, or critically acclaimed–which made me incredibly unmotivated to read like I had in my past. I seriously convinced myself that Howard Zinn’s “A People’s History of The United States” was my favorite book. I mean, it’s a good read, and I still bring it up annoyingly often, but it’s not my favorite book–I don’t feel the urge to return to its pages time and time again. Unfortunately, because I was so worried about my reading choices seeming sophisticated, I fell out of love with reading. I figured that because my childhood was over, I would either have to start only reading lengthy, deep novels, or stop reading altogether.
Maybe the pressure on myself to read “real” novels came from my need to seem smart, my yearning to show off my intelligence as a woman in a patriarchal society, the history of elitism in literacy, or something I wanted to prove to myself. Any way you paint it, it’s a lot to unpack. However, recently, it’s been a goal of mine to get that 12-year-old girl who couldn’t tear herself away from her books back. The main thing I’ve had to undertake is getting rid of both exterior and interior pressure to only read “good” books, meaning not just those that had won the Pulitzer prize or those that take 30 years to read (I’m looking at you, “Les Misérables”.) Think less Rory Gilmore discussing Tolstoy with a professor, more Jane Villanueva (from Jane the Virgin) gushing over romance novels because she just loved them that much. Both women are incredibly intelligent and have a love for reading, but one of their literature preferences is much more accepted in the reading community. If you want to join me on a journey to unlock a passion for reading again, check out these genuinely good reads that I have recently finished–they’re relatively fast-paced, exciting, and just enjoyable, which is what books should be.
The Loneliest Girl In The Universe- Lauren James
This is one of the first books that made me genuinely invested in the plot and ending in a very long time. In fact, I read it in one sitting. “The Loneliest Girl In The Universe” is a science fiction novel that follows a teenage girl, Romy Silvers, as she travels to the nearest habitable planet to Earth completely by herself after the death of her astronaut parents–until she gets news that there’s another spacecraft coming her way. Maybe I’m a coward, or maybe it’s because I read this book in an almost completely pitch black room in the middle of the night, but Romy’s story scared me, in a really good way. I was so immersed in the novel that it had me peeking down dark hallways looking for Romy Silver’s enemies lurking in the shadows days after I set the book down. It’s a relatively easy read, but still fun and engaging.
Recipe For A Perfect Wife- Karma Brown
“Recipe For A Perfect Wife” has one fatal flaw- it’s marketed as “Chick Lit” on GoodReads. “Chick Lit” is a ridiculous name that makes books sound like they only should be read by airhead women who yearn for romance that they can’t find in their reality, and is part of the problem of book pretentiousness as discussed above. Many of the books doomed to this label have important messages about gender relations and womanhood, and all genders should consider them as their next read–”Recipe For a Perfect Wife” included. This dual-narrative novel follows both a modern woman and a 1950s classic housewife, whose stories are linked together through the margin notes the present-day narrator finds in a cookbook owned by the 1950s woman. While it may seem innocent at first glance, there is something sinister behind this cookbook (I promise), and you’ll want to find out what it is.
The Secret Keeper- Kate Morton
When I tell you the plot twist at the end of this one is jaw-dropping, I mean it. I thought I had figured this novel out at least 30 times throughout reading it, and each time I was so wrong, but I didn’t even mind because the ending was that good. Another dual narrative story, “The Secret Keeper” follows a mother, Dorothy, and her daughter, Laurel, as Laurel tries to figure out the backstory for a scandalous secret she discovered about her mother in her youth. Because Dorothy is dying, this is Laurel’s last time to uncover her secrets from her life before children in World War Two London (cliché, I know, but who cares?) I can’t wait to read this book again now that I know the ending. Although slower-paced than the other books on this list, it’s intriguing enough to keep your eyes glued to the pages.
Percy Jackson/Harry Potter/The Hunger Games/Any Guilty Pleasure
This recommendation is pretty self-explanatory. To fight your inner stigma against books that seem too silly, too childish, too cringy to read as an adult, you have to read them–I promise you will enjoy yourself. I personally just finished rereading The Selection Series, which includes tropes and storylines so cheesy you can’t help but become invested and love every second of it. Reading is supposed to be an escape, and there’s no better escape than to a world you have already visited when you were young and embellished with imagination only you can reinvigorate. If you’re too insecure to read these in public, don’t worry–that’s what the Kindle app is for, and it’s free. No one will be able to tell you’re reading about Peeta Mellark when it’s hidden on your phone, and once you get back into reading, you’ll eventually be able to proudly display any book you care to read.
Once you’ve remembered what it feels like to read a truly fun book, you’ll naturally find yourself reading more and more books that may fall into the “pretentious” category, but you’ll actually enjoy them because you chose to read them, you weren’t forced. If short and fast novels aren’t your thing and you need some longer book recommendations, you can check out my StoryGraph account (@gennaandersen) or try and get on BookTok, the latest TikTok community for book aficionados. Happy reading!
