I love my book list posts. GIDDY is the only word I can think of to describe my demeanor when I’m compiling your recommendations. Seriously, I will have to figure out how to double the time in my day in order to tackle the list of twenty books I wrote down, thanks to everyone’s feedback.

Y’all are my people.

The book list has been a labor of love. I know it looks like I just wrote down a bunch of book names in alphabetical order, but this year’s collection is A BEAST! Let me explain…

For those of you on my newsletter/email list, you will not only get this year’s book list, but the previous two lists as well, all compiled together in one grand list. Plus, I will have each book connected to its Amazon link so you can check out descriptions. And because I am a wannabe librarian, I’ve categorized the books into genres.

I know, right? BOOK NERD ALERT!

Expect that email on Friday. If you want the list but haven’t signed up to receive monthly notes from me, feel free to do so HERE!

Now let’s get down to book business. There are a few things I need to point out before you begin perusing. First, if you see two asterisks, that means multiple readers suggested the book. Second, many people also have a fierce love for specific authors, and choosing a favorite work by said author was like choosing a favorite Chris Harrison pocket square. It’s impossible. So I have a list of authors that fall in the general category of, “All their books are worth checking out.”

I hope you enjoy the book list. Happy reading!

11/22/63 by Stephen King **
10% Happier by Dan Harris
2 A.M. at The Cat’s Pajamas by Marie-Helene Bertino
20 Chickens for a Saddle by Robyn Scott
The 5th Wave Series by Rick Yancey
A Court of Thorns and Roses (Series) by Sarah J. Maas
A Dog’s Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron
A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
A Hopeless Romantic by Harriet Evans
A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman **
A Place of Execution by Val McDermid
A Severe Mercy by Sheldon Vanauken
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Abyssinian by Jean-Christophe Rufin
Adnan’s Story by Rabia Chaudry
Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett
Alex: The Life of a Child by Frank Deford
The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion by Fannie Flagg
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr **
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda
All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
The Alphabet Mystery Series (Kinsey Millhone) by Sue Grafton
America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray & Laura Kamoie **
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell **
Audacious by Beth Moore
The Baxter Series by Karen Kingsbury
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
The Beast in the Jungle by Henry James
Becoming Bonnie by Jenni L. Walsh
Before the War by Fay Weldon
Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
Better Than You Can Imagine by Patrick Quinn & Ken Roach
Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty **
Blindspot by Anthony Greenwald and Mahzarin Banaji
Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman
Bossypants by Tina Fey
The Boston Girl by Anita Diamant
The Boys in the Boat by Daniel James Brown
The Bride Quartet Series by Nora Roberts **
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler
Cancel the Wedding by Carolyn T. Dingman
Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven by Fannie Flagg
The Captain’s Wife by Douglas Kelley
Caraval by Stephanie Garber
Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White
The Chemist by Stephanie Meyer
China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan
Chronos File Series by Rysa Walker
Church of Small Things by Melanie Shankle
The Cider House Rules by John Irving
The Circle by David Eggers
Code Name Verity Series by Elizabeth E. Wein
The Confidence Code by Katty Kay & Claire Shipman
Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan **
The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Cultivate by Lara Casey
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
The Darkness Visible by Tori de Clare
Daring Greatly by Brené Brown
Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
The David Slaton Series by Ward Larson
Death By Living by N.D. Wilson
Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas
Diary of a Single Wedding Planner Series by Violet Howe
The Dresden Files Series by Jim Butcher
Eight Hundred Grapes by Laura Dave
The Eighty-Dollar Champion: Snowman by Elizabeth Letts
Either Side of Midnight by Tori de Clare
Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell **
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman
The Elephant Keeper by Christopher Nicholson
Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld
Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon **
The Fairy Tale Girl by Susan Branch
Falling Apart in One Piece by Stacy Morrison
Falling in Love with the English Countryside by Susan Branch
Far Tortuga by Peter Matthiessen
First Women by Kate Andersen Bower
The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews
Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor & Barbara Taylor Bradford
Frangipani by Célestine Vaite
The Gender Game by Bella Forrest
Ghost in the Curve by Violet Howe
Giddy Up, Eunice by Sophie Hudson
The Girls by Emma Cline
Girls With Swords by Lisa Bevere
Glory Over Everything by Kathleen Grissom
Grace, Not Perfection by Emily Ley
Graceling by Kristin Cashore (followed by sequel Fire)
The Grisha Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
Go For Orbit by Rhea Seddon
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt **
The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
The Hamilton Affair by Elizabeth Cobbs
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne
Heartless by Marissa Meyer
High Plains Tango by Robert James Waller
The House at the Edge of Night by Catherine Banner
How to Be Married by Jo Piazza
The Husband’s Secret by Liane Moriarty **
The Hypnotist’s Love Story by Liane Moriarty
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends by Courtney Robertson
I Found You by Lisa Jewell
I Liked My Life by Abby Fabiaschi
I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron
If You Can Keep It by Eric Metaxas
I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
Illuminae File Series by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot **
The Improbability of Love by Hannah Rothschild
In the Unlikely Event by Judy Blume
The Inheritance by Louisa May Alcott
The Inspired Room by Melissa Michaels
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kaling
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover **
It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Journals of a Madman by Clayton King
The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman
Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar
The Language Of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
The Last Juror by John Grisham
The Last One by Alexandra Oliva
Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Life and Other Near Death Experiences by Camille Pagan
The Light Between Oceans by ML Stedman **
The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo **
Little Bee by Chris Cleave
Lost to the West by Lars Brownworth
Love and Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch
Love Does by Bob Goff
The Love of Her Life by Harriet Evans
Loving Frank by Nancy Horan
The Lunar Chronicles (Cinder Series) by Marissa Meyers **
The Magnolia Story by Joanna and Chip Gaines
Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers
The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
Martha’s Vineyard: Isle of Dreams by Susan Branch
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd
Messy: The Power of Disorder to Transform our Lives by Tim Harford
Mine Til Midnight by Lisa Kleypas
Mink River by Brian Doyle
Mischling by Affinity Konar
Miss Jane by Brad Watson
Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King
Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari
Modoc by Ralph Helfer
The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare
The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
My Grandfather’s Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen
My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman **
My Notorious Life by Kate Manning
Nathan McBride Series by Andrew Peterson
Nevertheless by Alec Baldwin
The New Moon’s Arms by Nalo Hopkinson
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah **
The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency Series by Alexander McCall Smith **
Nobody’s Cuter Than You by Melanie Shankle
Nothing To Prove by Jennie Allen
The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland by Rebekah Crane
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus **
One True Love by Taylor Jenkins Reid **
Option B by Sheryl Sandberg & Adam Grant
Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World by Adam Grant
The Orphan Mother by Robert Hicks
Out of the Easy by Rita Sepetys
The Painter by Peter Heller
The Painter from Shanghai by Jennifer Cody Epstein
Persuasion by Jane Austen
The Plover by Brian Doyle
Poldark Series by Winston Graham
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
The Printmaker’s Daughter by Katherine Govier
Psycho Cybernetics by Maxwell Maltz
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Regency Romance by Sarah Eden
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
The Royal We by Heather Cocks & Jessica Morgan **
Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
The Ruth Galloway Mysteries by Elly Griffiths
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
The Sea of Everything by Katja Millay
The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers
The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner
The Selection Series by Kiera Cass
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
She Got Up Off the Couch by Haven Kimmel
She Reads Truth by Raechel Myers & Amanda Bible Williams
The Silkworm by Robert Galbraith (J.K. Rowling)
Since We Fell by Dennis Lehane
Six of Crows Series by Leigh Bardugo (followed by sequel Crooked Kingdom)
Small Admissions by Amy Poeppel
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
The Snitch, Houdini, and Me by Johnny Virgil
Something Other Than God by Jen Fulwiler
South of Broad by Pat Conroy
Spilled Milk by K.L. Randis
Standing in the Rainbow by Fannie Flagg
The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Stephanie Plum Series by Janet Evanovich
The Story of God’s Love for You by Sally Lloyd-Jones
Suddenly Royal Series by Nichole Chase
The Summer I Turned Pretty (Trilogy) by Jenny Han
Surprised By Joy by C.S. Lewis
The Sweet Potato Queen’s Book of Love by Jill Connor Browne
Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Swim to Me by Betsy Carter
Talking As Fast As I Can by Lauren Graham
Tell Me Three Things by Julie Baxbaum
That’s Not what I Meant by Deborah Tannen
The Third Hill North of Town by Noah Bly
They’re Playing Our Song by Carole Bayer Sager
This is Our Story by Ashley Elston
The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
The Time in Between by Maria Duenas
The Traitor’s Wife by Allison Pataki
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
Travels With Charley by John Steinbeck
Turquoise Table by Kristin Schell
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
The Unexpected Everything by Morgan Matson
Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst
Unmentionable by Therese Oneill
Victoria by Daisy Goodwin
War Brides by Helen Bryan
War Room by Chris Farby
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Welcome to the World Baby Girl by Fannie Flagg
What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty **
What’s the Point by Misty Edwards
Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple **
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall
The Whole Town is Talking by Fannie Flagg
Wild by Cheryl Strayed
Windfall by Jennifer Smith
The Widow of the South by Robert Hicks **
With Love From the Inside by Angela Pisel
The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck
Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin
Wonder by R. J. Palacio **
Yellow Star by Jennifer Roy
You by Caroline Kepnes (followed by sequel Hidden Bodies)
You’re Already Amazing by Holley Gerth

RECOMMENDED BOOKS I’VE COVERED FOR ASSOCIATED PRESS

The Scribe of Siena by Melodie Winawer
Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
Why Not Me by Mindy Kaling
My Glory Was I Had Such Friends by Amy Silverstein
Trophy Son by Douglas Brunt
According to a Source by Abby Stern
Fake Plastic Love by Kimberley Tait

BELOVED AUTHORS
Mary Kay Andrews
Cassandra Clare
Fannie Flagg
Emily Giffin
John Green
Elin Hilderbrand
Coleen Hoover
Sophie Hudson
Joshilyn Jackson
Sheila O’Flanagan
Jodi Picoult
Liane Moriarty
Jojo Moyes
Rainbow Rowell
Lisa See
Melanie Shankle
Jody Thomas
Jonathan Tropper
Jennifer Weiner