As of right now, I have read 101/100 books for my reading goal for the year and this number will hopefully go up a few more before the end of the year. Compared to the last two years, this number is significantly less than what I would consider “normal” for myself: 175/100 in 2021 and 165/100 in 2022. While I’ve read substantially more the past couple years, I’ve realized this amount isn’t exactly sustainable, especially while being a college student and working a job. However, I think this pretty much qualifies me as an avid reader and thus I feel confident in recommending books.
I will note that I tend to read more romance novels than any other genre, so it is inevitable that some will wind up in this list. If you are generally opposed to any kind of romance, even subplots, this list might not be the best for you. However, I did branch out a little more this year so I wouldn’t completely write it off if you do tend to stray away from romance!
I did intend to rank this, but ultimately found this impossible so: in no particular order.
#1 – “Educated by Tara Westover
“After that night, there was never any questions of whether I would go or stay. It was as if we were living in the future, and I was already gone.”
One of my reading goals this year was to read more memoirs. I’ve read a few in the past and I learned that I can really love and consume memoirs in a way that doesn’t feel like homework, but rather something a lot more enjoyable—though I often find myself in tears reading them. “Educated” was quite honestly my favorite book I read this year. It follows the life of Tara Westover, who was born into a family of survivalists in Idaho. Growing up, Westover never attended school, never saw a doctor, and was heavily religious. The book follows her story through this journey, and her eventual self-education before attending college at Brigham Young University and further higher education.
The book includes a multitude of stories; growing up in a family so far removed from the rest of society and it ultimately made me realize how much of a privilege basic education is. I can’t even begin to count the number of times Westover’s writing impacted me so deeply that I was moved to tears. Her writing is brutally honest and miles beyond insightful. If there is any book you read from this list, let it be this one.
#2 – “happy place” by Emily Henry
“I thought I made you. Just by wishing.”
If you are a reader by any sort of degree, it should come as no surprise that this book made it onto this list. If I am anything, I am an Emily Henry fan.
In “Happy Place,” Henry treads the tried and true trope of fake dating. Only, Harriet and Wyn are not friends, or even enemies, but rather a couple who broke up for reasons unknown. They are afraid of the consequences their breakup will have on their tight knit group of best friends, so they spend a week pretending they’re still together. There is mutual pining, friends to lovers, found family and unfortunately even the miscommunication trope. However, it’s not the concept that sets this book apart from the very many romance books that exist out there, but rather Henry’s ability to write flawed, yet heartening characters in a way that is deeply unparalleled to any other author out there. Her books have been my favorites for years and “Happy Place” just so happens to fall second on my ranking of them. You may read this and not feel as connected to it as I am, but there is undoubtedly a book by this author that will—and that is her greatest strength.
#3 – “magnolia parks: long way home” by jessa hastings
“In every quiet whisper, every subtle and nuanced thread in the fabric of time, all the tiny ripples in the universe will tell you, that I’m actually Parks.”
For fans of “Gossip Girl,” reality tv lovers, and those perhaps a little too invested in the relationship of their favorite celebrity couple: this is your book. I want to quickly note that this is the third book in the series (I read the first two last year, sorry!), but if this brief, spoiler-free description appeals to you in any way, the first two also will just as much.
The “Magnolia Parks Universe” follows the dramatical, toxic relationship between socialites Magnolia Parks and BJ Ballentine. It’s messy, toxic and really not a good example of what a healthy relationship looks like, but believe me when I tell you it’s impossible to put down. It’s Chuck and Blair in book-form, a couple you consistently root for despite all the terrible ways they get back at each other. This book is by no means the best written or award-winning book I read this year, but probably the one I had the most fun reading. Hastings will have you hanging on the edge of your seat at every twist and begging to read the next book as quickly as possible.
#4 – “the whispers by ashley audrain
“But more than any proof she has, is a feeling. She’d once heard them described as the whispers—the moments that are trying to tell you something isn’t right here”
Ashley Audrain’s “The Push,” is the first book that made me realize I loved to read thrillers. The perfectly crafted mystery and desperate need to know what really happened, was for me, first mastered by Audrain. “The Whispers” is more of the same, both follow the unsettling navigation of motherhood, and is just as shocking as the first.
The timeline of this book happens over just one week, as readers uncover why the Loverlys child, Xavier, is in a coma after falling from his bedroom window in the middle of the night. As the Loverlys and three other families in the neighborhood ponder the events and consequences that led to this horrific accident, readers are simultaneously learning more about the backstories and shocking secrets each character is hiding. Seemingly innocuous actions hold a much darker depth as each family struggles to reconcile with the past and the present. Audrain weaves an intrinsic story, tying all of the families together in a way you’ll never see coming that will leave you questioning whether or not you want to be a mother.
#5 – “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow” by gabrielle zevin
““What is a game?” Marx said. “It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.”
For the legitimacy of this article and for my own personal integrity, I’ll admit this book took me a while to get into. It strays from my normal type of book and it really just did not hook me in the beginning. However, my stubbornness refuses to let me start a book and just never finish it, and this time, I’m very happy that I did.
“Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” follows the life of Sam Masur and Sadie Green as they navigate the success of their collaborative game “Ichigo.” The book follows their lives over thirty years as they aim to make something as creatively fulfilling as their first game, and the ebb and flow of a friendship that is trying to withstand the testament of time. Zevin touches on life with a disability, loss, and how the smallest moments can make the greatest impacts on our lives. Even further, “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” is an exploration of love of all kinds, challenging the normal perspectives we hold, and how it evolves and manifests over time.
I hope if any of you decide to read anything on this list, you find a new favorite or at least have a fun time reading it! For me, the whole point of reading is to find a little escapism from anything going on in your life, I hope this helps you achieve that for yourself.