An incomplete list of some of my favourite books, old and new:
The Rachel Incident by Caroline O'Donoghue (utterly delicious, funny, smart, Irish hug of a book)
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld (my personal dream: comedy, TV, romance, words by Queen Curtis)
Everything’s Fine by Cecilia Rabess (looooved reading this totally compelling car crash of a relationship)
Small Things like These by Claire Keegan (hooooow does she do so much in so little)
We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson (my first Shirley Jackson, fan for life now)
Crushing by Genevieve Novak (razor sharp, Novak is the top tier of the ‘sad girls in their twenties’ novels)
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano (this one really got under my skin)
Run Towards The Danger by Sarah Polley (fascinating, brilliant, highly recommend the audio)
I Have Some Questions For You by Rebecca Makkai (campus novels are my catnip, this one is very, very good)
Tom Lake By Ann Patchett (wonderful, deeply immersive, one scene haunts me in the best way)
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (intense and complex in the best ways, I wept steadily from pages 284-311)
Sorrow and Bliss by Meg Mason (from the first paragraph, the first sentence, I was in love)
Love & Virtue by Diana Reid (felt like it was written specifically for me)
You Think It, I'll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld (brilliant, as is almost every other book ever written by Curtis Sittenfeld.)
Nothing To See Here by Kevin Wilson (funny, dark, fascinating, feel-good triumph)
Normal People and Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney (complete and total perfection)
Writers & Lovers by Lily King (made me both cry and laugh, and left me feeling nourished)
I am, I am, I am by Maggie O'Farrell (can't stop thinking about that first chapter)
In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado (astonishing, kept me up very late reading and I never stay up late anymore)
French Braid by Anne Tyler (no one does little heartbreaking family moments like Tyler)
My Name is Lucy Barton & Oh William! by Elizabeth Strout (probably the best writer working today. Anything Is Possible and Olive Kitteridge and Olive, Again are also masterpieces.)
Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (helped me fall back in love with reading after having a baby)
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (extraordinary)
The Museum of Broken Things by Lauren Draper (old-school, big-feels, romantic coming-of-age)
Untidy Towns by Kate O'Donnell (warm-hearted and lovely)
The Boy From The Mish by Gary Lonesborough (so tender, hopeful and beautiful)
Educated by Tara Westover (harrowing, but worth it)
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (glorious)
Amelia Westlake by Erin Gough (a delight)
Single, Carefree, Mellow by Katherine Heiny (love this collection maybe too much, also Standard Deviation is very good)
Mad About You by Mhairi McFarlane (such a good time, totally charming)
Hunger by Roxane Gay (raw and necessary. Plus Bad Feminist)
Words In Deep Blue by Cath Crowley (an all time favourite YA)
The Goodbye Year by Emily Gale (the characters, the descriptions, the emotions, just the absolute very best children’s writer out there. Also I am Out With Lanterns, and Elsewhere Girls)
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (sobbed, of course)
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (devoured in one happy sitting)
The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love by Davina Bell (so weird, so ambitious, so damn good)
Beautiful Mess by Claire Christian (wonderful)
The Mothers by Brit Bennett (one of my favourite debut novels. Also loved The Vanishing Half)
The Sun Is Also A Star by Nicola Yoon (that ending)
Between Us by Claire Atkins (heartbreaking)
Loner by Georgina Young (clever and funny)
Girls on Fire by Robyn Wasserman (too much but not enough)
One of Us Is Lying by Karen McManus (highly entertaining)
Emergency Contact by Mary HK Choi (the banter, the texts, the dialogue)
The Hating Game by Sally Thorne (this book is like a drug I would take every day if I could)
The Secret Place by Tana French (my Tana French gateway novel)
The Gaps by Leanne Hall (sharp and smart)
Salt Creek by Lucy Treloar (slow burn that pays off)
Confessions of a High School Disaster by Emma Chastain (made me so, so happy)
In The Quiet by Eliza Henry-Jones (deeply moving)
The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante (everything I was told they would be, and more)
The Crazy Rich Asians trilogy by Kevin Kwan (my Game of Thrones)