2019-2020 Book Recommendations

Over the past year, I’ve been cheating on reading with writing! I usually can read up to 15+ books a year, but I was working on writing my own novel, so over the past year or so I have only read 8 books. However, they have all been amazing, so I’m really excited to share them! I’m definitely a mystery person, but this year my horizons were actually broadened a bit with some YA and classics.

After you get through these, be sure to check out my other post here with a much longer list of the books I read in 2014-2019.

#1. The Great Gatsby Obviously, this book doesn’t need much of a review. One of the great American novels, it’s a classic, but I also personally consider it to be one of the most beautiful love stories ever written. Even if you “read” it in high school, I’d recommend reading it again!

#2. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes One of the best parts of early 2020 was the release of this anticipated prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. Being just over 500 pages, it’s definitely a commitment, but once you get through the somewhat slow and detailed start it really takes off.

#3. The Woman in the Window I am obsessed with this book! After I finished it, it was always my first recommendation for anyone looking for a mystery. You’ll be fascinated by the unreliable witnessing by the main character battling with substance abuse, wondering with every page exactly what is real and what she’s just imagining.

#4. Tobacco Sun Can you really escape your past? That’s one of the questions this book begs as it explores the lives of two half sisters. One is stunningly beautiful and escapes the mundane life of her small country town to be a movie star, while the other is stained by a large red birthmark on her face and a horrific childhood she can never seem to outrun. I was so surprised by the ending of the beautiful and well-written story.

#5. The Ocean at Night Human Trafficking is an extremely sensitive subject, but also one that has finally gotten the recognition it needs recently to hopefully bring about some change. In this book, a young girl living in Folly Beach, SC finds a deep and unexpected connection with the father of a missing child. You’ll be pushed and pulled in every direction wondering who is behind the disappearance of these children along the coast of South Carolina, and pleasantly surprised by the ending. You may even cry ugly tears in an airport, if you end up like me!

#6. The Wife Between Us Can I be honest and say I haven’t finished this yet? I just started it this week but I felt the need to include it because it is so good so far. Plus, I’ve gotten so many messages and personal recommendations from friends saying how great this book is. I was wrapped up in the story immediately! Both writers are amazing and I can’t wait to finish.

#7. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine This was actually the first book I read during this period of time and I really enjoyed it. It’s SO funny!! It comes from the perspective of deeply troubled and socially awkward woman, showing her incredibly interesting and hilarious view of the world around her. I got lost a little in the middle, but the end touched me deeply. I’d recommend this for lovers of unique stories and amazing writing.

#8. Dark Matter I honestly don’t think I would ever picked this book off the shelves if it weren’t for the personal recommendation from my sister. She’s an avid reader, I mean she reads like 500 page books in 2 days, and we have very similar taste in books, so when she told me I had to read this one I listened. It’s a commentary on the multiple universe, or mulitverse, hypothesis, with the idea that there could be an infinite amount of versions of our lives playing out at the same time in different universes based on different decisions we could have made. It’s the story of a man who has a wonderful and happy family life, but who maybe in exchange didn’t fulfill all of his career goals and feels a certain amount of regret. Please just read it and thank me later!

If you’re a reader, please drop your favorite book in the comments! I’d love to hear what you’re reading!