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Books that will turn you into a reader 📚🤍🍒
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items These were the books that got me back into reading after a big slump! Totally recommend, some of them I always come back to and read them over and over again. Totally recommend not skipping these 🌱
Sections
7
Psychological Thrillers and Twisty Reads
Emotional Fiction and Contemporary Drama 🎭
Uplifting 🌿
Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction (that won’t scare you off) 🚀
Dystopian / YA That still slaps
Romance 🌷
Psychological Thrillers and Twisty Reads
Romantic suspense meets horror-lite. It’s so addictive and feels like a fever dream you can’t stop flipping through
VERITY | Colleen Hoover
An unlikely group of pensioners in a retirement village solve murders for fun. Witty, charming and very smart - I love the plot. It’s a gentle entry into crime fiction without the gore
The Thursday Murder Club - Wikipedia
A woman shoots her husband and never speaks again. A therapist tries to uncover the truth. It’s chilling and keeps you on the edge all the time. Ends with such a gooood twist!!
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides | Goodreads
Emotional Fiction and Contemporary Drama 🎭
A lonely woman with rigid habits and a dark past begins to open up. It’s funny, painful and surprisingly hopeful. Love this book so much
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine | Gail Honeyman
A glam, old-Hollywood actress finally reveals her secrets behind her fame - and also her heart. Very emotional, one of the best books I’ve ever read. I know it is very popular on TikTok, but it’s a good read, honestly
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo | Taylor Jenkins Reid
Quiet and hunting, it pulls you in with the writing and there’s a strong female lead. A mix of nature writing , murder mystery and coming-of-age.
Where the Crawdads Sing | Delia Owens
Uplifting 🌿
A caseworker visits an orphanage for magical children. Whimsical, warm and surprisingly deep. It’s like a queer, grown-up version of a Pixar movie. One of my favorite comfort books ever
The House in the Cerulean Sea - Goodreads
A small café lets you travel back in time - but only for a few minutes. You can meet your dead loved ones and have a talk with them. But only until the coffee gets cold, or else you die as well. Melancholy, thoughtful and actually very philosophical....
Before the Coffee Gets Cold | Toshikazu Kawaguchi (series)
A fable about chasing your purpose. Easy to read, widely loved and a classic. This one either hits you deep or not at all, but it’s a great entry into philosophy-meets-action
The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho
Sci-Fi and Speculative Fiction (that won’t scare you off) 🚀
A woman stuck in despair finds herself in a library that lets her live out other versions of her life. Gentle, philosophical and comforting
The Midnight Library | Matt Haig
Short and unforgettable. A boy in a perfectly controlled society starts to learn the truth about feelings, freedom and memory. Timeless and very deep
The Giver | Lois Lowry
Dystopian / YA That still slaps
In a future where death has been eliminated professional “Scythes” are tasked with population control. Morally complex, action packed and filled with philosophical dilemmas. A modern YA dystopian masterpiece
Scythe (Arc of a Scythe, #1) | Neal Shusterman
A military prodigy and a wanted criminal are on opposite sides of a broken society - until their paths collide. Cinematic and readable!
Legend (Legend, #1) | Marie Lu
Post-pandemic, a traveling theater troupe brings Shakespeare to scattered survivors. Haunting but very readable. A beautiful reflection on art, memory and survival
Station Eleven | Emily St. John Mandel
Romance 🌷
A sweeping live story with a sci-fi twist. It’s beautiful, heartbreaking and completely unique. Deeply character-driven and unforgettable
The Time Traveler's Wife | Audrey Niffenegger
A genetics professor with rigid habits sets out to find a wife and ends up in an unexpected romance. Smart, sweet and genuinely funny without being cringey
The Rosie Project | Graeme Simsion
Follows two people on the same day each year over two decades. They fall in love but somehow never seem to admit and the time does its thing so they never have a chance to truly love each other to the fullest. Heartbreaking and tragic but also very i...
One Day | David Nicholls
A deeply emotional live story about timing, ambition and choices. La La land in a book form, very affecting but not fluffy at all
The Light We Lost | Jill Santopolo
Look at two people who can’t seem to let each other go. Understated and emotionally precise - if you like character studies, this will hit
Normal People | Sally Rooney
Sad books that will break you in the best way
Probably the saddest novel you’ll ever read. Follows four friends over decades but centers on one man’s trauma. Heart-shattering, dense and unforgettable - not for the faint of heart, incredibly powerful
A little life | Hanya Yanagihara
Romantic retelling of the Achilles/Patroclus myth. You know the ending if you know Greek mythology - but it still hits like a truck. Beautiful and tender. Cried like a baby
The Song of Achilles - Wikipedia
Quiet, eerie and emotionally devastating. Students at a mysterious boarding school slowly realize the truth about their existence. Subtle and deeply sad
Never Let Me Go | Kazuo Ishiguro
Narrated by Death, this WWII story is about a young girl who steals books and finds comfort in words. Poetic and gutting, with one of the most moving endings in fiction
The Book Thief | Markus Zusak