As an author, I like to write stories about interpersonal relationships that straddle the line between humor and heartbreak. Similarly, as a reader I am always drawn to stories that make me think about the choices we make and the ripple effects they cause, what ifs, and roads not taken. I love quirky, interesting characters in everyday settings turned extraordinary. I have struggled as so many of us have in these last few years to find the positivity and the levity. These are a few of my favorite recent reads that I found un-put-downable that left me feeling hopeful and helped me find that light in the darkness.
This incredible book tells the story of Nora Seed, at a crossroads in her life, who stumbles upon a mysterious library of books, each of which tells the story of her life in a slightly different version. Offered the possibility of changing her current life for a new one, Nora is forced to ponder what is truly important and meaningful. I struggle with the what ifs and the roads not taken all the time, and this book was just what I needed. It made me truly realize that there is no such thing as perfect and that in order to have something we think we want it may mean letting go of something else, a topic I very much explore in my own novel.
The #1 New York Times bestselling WORLDWIDE phenomenon
Winner of the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction | A Good Morning America Book Club Pick | Independent (London) Ten Best Books of the Year
"A feel-good book guaranteed to lift your spirits."-The Washington Post
The dazzling reader-favorite about the choices that go into a life well lived, from the acclaimed author of How To Stop Time and The Comfort Book.
Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of…
This book is in a similar vein as Oona finds herself time jumping within her own life, suddenly living it out of sequence as she jumps to a different period in time with each birthday, forcing her to look within and realize what is important and worth holding on to and worth fighting for. I am a sucker for books where characters get the opportunity to experience alternate versions of their personal realities, and I could not put this one down. I’m all about my characters understanding that the choices they make create their ultimate realities. The ultimate messages about the importance of love and family and the choices we make really resonated with me.
"With its countless epiphanies and surprises, Oona proves difficult to put down." ―USA Today
"By turns tragic and triumphant, heartbreakingly poignant and joyful, this is ultimately an uplifting and redemptive read." ―The Guardian
A remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even if those moments are out of order.
It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence.…
Set during the early days of Covid, I wasn’t sure I wanted to read this book about a woman who decides to take a trip without her boyfriend, who, as a surgeon, is forced to remain behind in the city to deal with a surging virus, and finds herself swept up into a life experience she did not expect as her trip goes awry. It sounded depressing, but this was one of the most fascinating reads I have had in a while. The twist in this literally made my jaw drop, and if you’re a fan of parallel universes, fever dreams, and alternate realities with a good romance, this book is for you. As in my own books, I love how an unexpected experience leads to a metamorphosis of the main character’s personal reality.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Small Great Things and The Book of Two Ways comes “a powerfully evocative story of resilience and the triumph of the human spirit” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six)
Rights sold to Netflix for adaptation as a feature film • Named one of the best books of the year by She Reads
Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all…
Katy’s mother was her best friend, and after her mother dies, Katy decides to embark solo on the mother/daughter trip they’d planned to the Amalfi Coast in Italy before her passing. Once there, not only can Katy feel her mother’s spirit but she actually encounters her mother as a young woman. I absolutely loved this story and embraced the magic of Katy befriending and getting to know her mother as a younger woman and coming to a greater understanding of who she was. Having lost my father and writing my book as a way of transmuting my grief, I felt so connected to this beautiful narrative about loss, perspective, love, seeing people for who they really are, and the powerful bond between parents and children. It was like a warm hug.
“Rebecca Serle is a maestro of love in all its forms.” —Gabrielle Zevin, New York Times bestselling author
The New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years returns with a powerful novel about the transformational love between mothers and daughters set on the breathtaking Amalfi Coast.
When Katy’s mother dies, she is left reeling. Carol wasn’t just Katy’s mom, but her best friend and first phone call. She had all the answers and now, when Katy needs her the most, she is gone. To make matters worse,…
Eleanor Oliphant is socially awkward and prefers to avoid human contact, sticking to her preset schedule and weekly phone calls with her mother until the day she and her co-worker Raymond save an elderly man who has fallen from a tree. In turn, they save each other from their own self-imposed isolations and teach each other to open their hearts. This book kept me smiling from the start, laughing out loud at times and the characters are so memorable. For anyone who has ever felt like they haven’t found their place or their people (*raises hand*), this book will deliver the hope (and the laughs) in abundance. It was a great reminder to myself that no matter how disconnected I can feel at times from people, there is deep healing to be found in genuine human connection, and it can be delivered in the most unexpected ways.
"Beautifully written and incredibly funny, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine is about the importance of friendship and human connection. I fell in love with Eleanor, an eccentric and regimented loner whose life beautifully unfolds after a chance encounter with a stranger; I think you will fall in love, too!" -Reese Witherspoon
No one's ever told Eleanor that life should be better than fine.
Meet Eleanor Oliphant: She struggles with appropriate social skills and tends to say exactly what she's thinking. Nothing is missing in her carefully timetabled life of…
Jack is on the verge of leaving for college, but before he does, he wants to track down his estranged brother, Alex, and find some closure in the wake of their father's death. Meanwhile, Hallie has just found out some upsetting news about a friend in Oregon, and she has a small window to go see him before it's too late.
Jack and Hallie are practically strangers. They shared a class together years ago and haven't seen each other since, though they have more in common than they'd ever imagine. And when fate puts them into the same rideshare to the bus terminal, it kicks off an unconventional and hysterical adventure that may lead them to their own true selves...and maybe to each other.
To hide a corporation’s failure to properly service a space ship, Captain Jonas Stryker is prosecuted but saved from imprisonment by a dying man, who hires Stryker to collect asteroids for their mineral content. Stryker soon finds he must stop a shadowy corporate group called The Board, who employ space piracy, terrorism, and even weaponised asteroids to overthrow the Federation government.
Set in Lagrange points, space stations, the Moon and outback Australia, it is a fast-moving story with some speculative future technology. If you were interested in the NASA attempt to alter the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos, you might…
When a trial to cover-up a corporate failure ends Captain Jonas Stryker's career, he wants revenge against The Board, a ruthless, shadowy organization with limitless funds that employs space piracy, terrorism, and even weaponised asteroids. Posing as a space miner, Stryker learns that The Board wants him killed, while a young female SCIB police agent wants retribution against him for having her career spoiled at his trial. As Stryker avoids attempts to kill him, he becomes the only chance to prevent The Board from overturning the Federation Government and imposing a Fascist-style rule. A story of greed, corruption and honour,…
