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The Book Bestie’s Curated Collection: Stories for Every Reader
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items Consider this your literary matchmaker—because life’s too short for boring books. Whether you’re trying to get your money right, level up your life, escape into fictional worlds, swoon over romance that puts your situationship to shame, discover powe...
Sections
8
Mystery & Thrillers
Romance & Love Stories
Self-Help & Personal Growth
Reading after Dark
Fiction & Literary Escapes
Memoirs & Biographies
Mystery & Thrillers
Alicia Berenson had a perfect life until she murdered her husband and then went completely silent, refusing to speak a single word—and psychotherapist Theo Faber becomes obsessed with making her talk. This debut thriller is a masterclass in unreliabl...
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, Paperback: A woman shoots her husband and never speaks again
Amy Dunne disappears on her fifth wedding anniversary, and husband Nick becomes the prime suspect—but that’s literally just the beginning of this twisted masterpiece. Flynn invented the “unreliable narrator” thriller that spawned a thousand imitators...
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Paperback: A wife disappears on her anniversary—but nothing is what it seems
Struggling writer Lowen accepts a job completing a bestselling series for injured author Verity Crawford, but when she finds Verity’s unfinished autobiography hidden in the house, the disturbing secrets she discovers could destroy everyone involved. ...
Verity by Colleen Hoover - Disturbing Autobiography
Dr. Anna Fox is trapped in her New York brownstone by agoraphobia, spending her days drinking wine, watching old movies, and spying on her neighbors—until she witnesses something terrible in the house across the street. But no one believes her, and s...
The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn, Paperback: An agoraphobic woman witnesses a crime… or does she?
A lavish wedding on a remote Irish island turns deadly when a body is discovered, and literally everyone had motive to commit murder. Foley structures this perfectly—alternating between multiple POVs in the days leading up to the wedding, slowly reve...
The Guest List (Reese's Book Club Pick) - Lucy Foley: A wedding on a remote island, a body, and everyone’s a suspect
Romance & Love Stories
Romance & Love Stories
Because your love life might be a mess, but at least these fictional ones have happy endings. From fake dating to friends-to-lovers to royal romances that make your heart race, these books deliver all the butterflies, bant...
Emotional, important, and impossible to put down—have tissues ready
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover, Paperback: A love story that tackles the hardest question: when is love not enough?
Smart, funny, and full of chemistry—perfect if you loved The Hating Game
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, Paperback: Fake dating meets STEM nerds in this swoon-worthy rom-com
The ultimate friends-to-lovers story with perfect banter and all the feelings
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry, Paperback: Best friends, ten years of summer trips, one last chance
Witty, sexy, and joyful—a modern fairytale that delivers on every level
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, Paperback: The President’s son falls for the Prince of England—chaos ensues
Funny, steamy, and surprisingly deep—Emily Henry doesn’t miss
Beach Read by Emily Henry, Paperback: Two writers with opposite genres swap projects for the summer
Self-Help & Personal Growth
For when you need to get your life together (or at least feel like you’re trying). These aren’t your mom’s self-help books—they’re research-backed, BS-free guides to becoming the version of yourself you actually want to be. Whether you’re building be...
This is hands-down the most practical habit book you’ll ever read—no fluff, just systems that actually work. Clear breaks down exactly why tiny 1% improvements compound into massive changes over time and gives you a foolproof framework for building g...
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones
Yes, it’s from 1989 and your dad probably has a dog-eared copy, but that’s because this book remains undefeated in the personal effectiveness game. Covey’s seven habits (starting with “be proactive” and ending with “sharpen the saw”) create a holisti...
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: The Infographics Edition
If traditional self-help books make you roll your eyes, Jen Sincero gets it—which is exactly why this book works. She’s funny, irreverent, and calls you out on your BS while also making you believe you can do hard things. This is for people stuck in ...
You Are a Badass (Ultimate Collector's Edition): How to Stop Doubting Your ...
Mark Manson looked at the toxic positivity of the self-help industry and said “actually, life is hard and that’s okay.” This book is a refreshing slap in the face disguised as motivational content—it’s about accepting that struggle is inevitable and ...
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living ...
Brené Brown spent years researching shame, courage, and vulnerability, and this book is the result of all that work—and it will fundamentally change how you show up in the world. The core message is counterintuitive: being vulnerable isn’t weakness, ...
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We ...
Ruiz distills ancient Toltec wisdom into four deceptively simple agreements: be impeccable with your word, don’t take anything personally, don’t make assumptions, and always do your best. Sounds easy, right? Try actually living by these principles an...
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom
Reading after Dark
Reading After Dark
Some books are best saved for when the lights go down. These award-winning reads bring serious heat with their spice levels—think explicit scenes, intense chemistry, and characters who know exactly what they want. Whether it’s fan...
RITA Award Finalist & Goodreads Choice Award Nominee - Stella Lane is brilliant with algorithms but struggles with relationships due to being on the autism spectrum. So she hires male escort Michael Phan for some hands-on lessons. What starts as ...
The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang, Paperback: An econometrician hires an escort to teach her about dating and romance
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee & TikTok phenomenon - Catalina needs a date to her sister’s wedding in Spain, and her annoying (devastatingly handsome) coworker Aaron volunteers. The slow burn explodes into serious heat once they stop fighting the...
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas, Paperback: Fake dating your infuriating coworker to a wedding in Spain—what could go wrong?
Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Fantasy - After trauma leaves Feyre shattered, the Night Court’s ruler Rhysand helps her reclaim her power—and things get very steamy in the process. Maas doesn’t hold back on the explicit scenes (that Starfall ...
A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses Series #2) A broken heroine finds healing, power, and devastatingly hot fae males
RITA Award Finalist & Romance Writers of America Nominee - Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman have hated each other since their publishing companies merged, engaging in daily psychological warfare from their facing desks. But when they both vie for...
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne: Workplace enemies who secretly want to jump each other’s bones
Goodreads Choice Award Winner for Best Fantasy & Best Romance - Violet Sorrengail was supposed to become a scribe, but her mother forces her into the brutal dragon rider quadrant where most cadets don’t survive to graduation. Enter Xaden Riorson,...
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros: Dragon riders, deadly training, and enemies-to-lovers with serious bite
Goodreads Choice Award Nominee - When Olive’s twin sister and the entire wedding party get food poisoning, Olive is forced to use the non-refundable Hawaiian honeymoon with the best man—her nemesis Ethan, who she’s hated for years. Stuck pretending t...
The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren: Enemies forced to share a honeymoon suite in paradise—chaos ensues
Poppy is the Maiden, chosen from birth for a destiny she doesn’t understand, forbidden from being seen or touched—until Hawke becomes her guard and everything she knows begins to unravel. Armentrout builds a rich fantasy world with vampires, gods, an...
Blood and Ash Series: The Maiden meets her deadly guard, and the forbidden becomes irresistible
Cult phenomenon with massive fanbase - Georgie is abducted by aliens and crash-lands on a frozen planet where survival means accepting help from tall, blue, horned aliens with some very interesting biological features. What starts as pure survival qu...
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon: Abducted by aliens, stranded on an ice planet, rescued by a blue horned barbarian
NAACP Image Award Nominee & Goodreads Choice Award Nominee - When Alexa gets stuck in an elevator with Drew, he impulsively asks her to be his plus-one to his ex’s wedding—and she impulsively says yes. What’s supposed to be one weekend of pretend...
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory: Fake date for a wedding weekend turns into something very real
Fiction & Literary Escapes
Fiction & Literary Escapes
Sometimes you don’t need self-improvement—you need to get lost in a good story. These beautifully written novels transport you to other worlds, other lives, other possibilities. From sweeping historical sagas to enchan...
Beautiful writing, unforgettable protagonist—this one stays with you long after the last page
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, Paperback: A murder mystery meets coming-of-age story in the marshes of North Carolina
A reclusive icon tells all—prepare for plot twists and tears
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Paperback: Old Hollywood glamour with secrets that will wreck you
A heartwarming exploration of regret, choice, and second chances that hits different
The Midnight Library (GMA Book Club Pick) by Matt Haig, Paperback: What if you could live all your alternate lives?
Gorgeous prose and a powerful story of transformation—mythology has never been this feminist
Circe by Madeline Miller, Paperback: Greek mythology retold through the eyes of the goddess of witchcraft
Atmospheric, enchanting, and utterly immersive—perfect for when you need pure escapism
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, Paperback: A magical competition inside a mysterious circus that only opens at night
Memoirs & Biographies
Tara Westover grew up in an Idaho survivalist family that didn’t believe in formal education, hospitals, or government interference—she never saw a classroom until she was seventeen. Her journey from complete isolation to self-educating her way into ...
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover, Paperback: From survivalist family in Idaho to PhD at Cambridge
Michelle Obama’s memoir is intimate, warm, and surprisingly candid about everything from growing up on Chicago’s South Side to miscarriage to marriage counseling to life in the White House. She writes about finding her voice, struggling with being re...
Becoming by Michelle Obama: The former First Lady tells her story in her own words
Trevor Noah’s very existence was literally a crime under apartheid law (his mother is Black, his father is white Swiss), and his memoir about growing up in that chaos is somehow both hilarious and heartbreaking. Noah writes with comedian’s timing, ma...
Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah: Growing up mixed-race in apartheid South Africa
Paul Kalanithi was on the verge of completing his neurosurgery training when he was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer, forcing him to flip from doctor treating death to patient facing it. This memoir is his attempt to grapple with what makes life m...
When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi: A neurosurgeon faces his own mortality at 36
Jeannette Walls grew up with brilliant, charismatic, deeply dysfunctional parents who chose freedom and adventure over stability—meaning the kids often went hungry, lived without plumbing, and moved constantly to escape debt. Walls writes about her n...
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls: A dysfunctional childhood that’s equal parts tragic and triumphant
Black Authors & Diverse Voices
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter witnesses her unarmed best friend Khalil get shot by a police officer, and suddenly her two worlds—poor Black neighborhood and wealthy white prep school—collide in ways she can’t control. Thomas doesn’t pull punches; thi...
The Hate U Give (Printz Honor Winner) by Angie Thomas, Paperback: A teenage girl witnesses police brutality and finds her voice
Traces generations from Ghana to America—stunning debut that redefined historical fiction
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, Paperback: Two half-sisters, 300 years, one unforgettable family saga
Written as a letter to his teenage son, Coates examines what it means to inhabit a Black body in America with prose so powerful it reads like poetry. This isn’t a comfortable read—Coates doesn’t offer hope or solutions, just unflinching honesty about...
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates, Paperback: A father’s letter to his son about being Black in America
The Vignes twins grow up in a small Black community obsessed with light skin, but as adults they choose opposite paths—Desiree returns home with her dark-skinned daughter, while Stella disappears into white society, her Black daughter unaware of her ...
The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: Twin sisters choose to live in different worlds—one Black, one passing as white
In a world where magic was violently destroyed and maji killed by the ruthless king, seventeen-year-old Zélie discovers a chance to bring magic back—and she’ll risk everything to make it happen. Adeyemi creates a rich fantasy world inspired by West A...
Children of Blood and Bone (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)|Hardcover: West African mythology meets magic and revolution
Finance & Money Mastery
Let’s talk about money, baby. From building wealth to understanding the psychology behind your spending habits, these books strip away the intimidation factor and give you real strategies for financial success. Whether you’re paying off debt, investi...
Finally, a finance book that admits we’re all a little irrational with our money decisions. Housel uses short, engaging stories to explain why smart people do dumb things with money and how your personal history shapes your financial decisions more t...
The Psychology of Money: Timeless Lessons on Wealth, Greed, and ...
Ramit Sethi said “screw financial guilt” and wrote the most practical, no-nonsense money book for people in their 20s and 30s. This is a 6-week program that teaches you to automate literally everything—savings, investments, bills—so you can spend gui...
I Will Teach You to Be Rich, Second Edition
Look, this book is dense, old-school, and absolutely not a quick beach read—but it’s the investing bible for a reason. Graham literally invented value investing and taught Warren Buffett, so yeah, he knows what he’s up about. The core concept is simp...
The Intelligent Investor Rev Ed.: The Definitive Book on Value Investing
Written in 1937 after Hill studied 500 millionaires (including Andrew Carnegie and Henry Ford), this is where the whole “mindset determines success” movement began. Yes, some of the language is dated and occasionally woo-woo, but the principles about...
Think and Grow Rich: The Landmark Bestseller Now Revised and Updated ...
This is the book that’ll make you question everything your parents told you about getting a “good job” and working until you’re 65. Kiyosaki breaks down the difference between working for money and having money work for you through the contrasting le...
Rich Dad Poor Dad: The book that changed how millions think about money