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Books I Can't Put Down: All Genres
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items Books i bully my friends into reading so they can tell me “hey wow that was a good book”. This list is constantly updated, so check back regularly!
Sections
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General
General
i literally could not put this book down. a story within a story within a story that rivals (dare i say it) Lord of the Rings. Kote (or Kvothe, as his real name is) is hiding out as a humble innkeeper, as travelers are slowly being killed out on the ...
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle Series)
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what *really* happened at the top of Mount Everest on May 10th, 1996? Jon Krakauer was the first one on the summit, and he'll tell you everything, and then some. this book has become one of my most cherished, not only for the firsthand insider accoun...
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster
with everything going on about Gaiman, I hesitated to leave this one up. i don't support rapists. however, this book changed me when I read it during COVID. I am a big believer of being able to read a work that's *informed* by its author/artist, not ...
American Gods
“if your eyes could speak, what would they say?” this book absolutely rocks my world every time i read it. such a fantastic study of humanity and grief, and told through the eyes of Death himself. a classic and one i will always find comfort in.
The Book Thief
the prophesized one is coming, and darkness will destroy all. i actually have to read the last book in this trilogy, but when i tell you i've never devoured anything faster, i mean it. Pool's narrative storytelling between character POVs is phenomena...
There Will Come A Darkness (The Age of Darkness Series)
a story of the universe and how to listen to it. it charts us through the story of Santiago, and how he comes to trust the universe, who keeps telling him he's on a path that, to him, makes no logical sense. i finished this book in 2 days and cried the whole time – truly one the most impactful stor...
The Alchemist
deeply traumatic and so compelling. this book tells the story of a woman in an abusive relationship, who goes to great lengths to protect her sister, who saves her in return. the final scenes of this book still haunts my dreams even though i read it ...
Behind Closed Doors
move over, agatha christie, because elizabeth george is coming for your crown. this series of 10 (and counting) books charts two detectives at Scotland Yard, Detective Inspector Lynely and Seargant Barbara Havers, as they solve murders all throughout...
The Detective Inspector Lynely Series
the never ending-quest for The Big Wave. a memoir by New Yorker writer William Finnegan, he recounts his life as a surfer growing up in Hawaii and California, and his life's goal to find and ride the world's biggest wave as he navigates heartbreak, l...
Barbarian Days: A Surfing Life
not all love is romantic, and nobody knows this better than bell hooks. explore the ways in which love touches everything in our lives through hooks' personal anecdotes and stories of family, friends, grief, and of course, love.
all about love: new visions
how much nature, and we, change in just one year. Renkl watches her life, the life of her backyard, and America's life, change during the pandemic in 52 weekly vignettes. also, her brother painted every chapter heading.
The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year
if the movie Nerve was on like a thousand steroids. this one-off book about a huge end-of-senior-year game of dares had me in a chokehold the summer i read it. the concept is each day, for the whole schoolyear, each senior put $1 in the “pot”, and up...
Panic
her twin dies, and suddenly she's alone for the first time ever. but what REALLY happened? this YA murder mystery had me on the edge of my seat for longer than i'd care to admit.
Nowhere Girl
what if you only had one chance to save Earth? Ryland Grace wakes up on a space ship naked, with two dead co-pilots, and no idea where he is, or who he is. eventually he discovers that he's aboard the Hail Mary – and he's on a mission to save the sun...
Project Hail Mary
an Irish lighthouse that, during a storm, transports you to a magical land. these books are as wholesome as they are deep commentaries on grief, love, inheritance, and community. YA friendly, the main character is deaf/mute, and I cried multiple time...
The Lighthouse Trilogy
if the fault in our stars was somehow MORE tragic. two friends befriend a girl dying of cancer, and all teach each other something. this book, and movie, wrecked me.
Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
loved this essay so much i got a tattoo of it. the true hallmark of a liberated brain is the ability to *think* – to really think, and not only to think, but to make a conscious choice to choose your thoughts every day. my favorite analogy is making ...
This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living ...
covens, cults, sex, and witchcraft. this fifteen-mini-book, five novel series is a fantastical dive into the world of Wicca. ALL the good tropes – hurt/comfort, enemies-to-lovers, protector and protected, and of course, moon magic and smut.
Sweep Series
a book about the aging of queer artists, and age in general. this book is a one-off and is an incredibly compelling homage to the elder gay man experience. it captures so beautifully the struggle between loving art and loving another person, how thos...
Less
two wives, two daughters, two states. the daughters meet as college roomates, and guys, this story is MESSY. i bought this book in an airport layover on a whim while traveling with my family, and was NOT prepared for how emotionally riveting it would...
Family Pictures
the Concierge is always watching. Jess is coming to stay with her brother Ben in France when he suddenly disapppears the day she arrives. when she is finally able to muscle her way through the surprisingly large gate and very strange Concierge, every...
The Paris Apartment