Amongst the sea of books circulating BookTok and Bookstagram, sometimes it’s hard to know which are truly worth the read. Especially because every book often has hundreds of people having drastically different opinions. There are truly so many gems in the overflow of book recommendations and with the amount of books in existence, you don’t want to waste your time reading a bad one when you could be reading a glittering, life-changing, never-leaves-your-soul one like these.
1. Happy Place by Emily Henry
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since college. Nothing could have possibly tested them or broken their bond—yet they’ve been broken up for five months. By the time their yearly trip to Maine rolls around, they still haven’t told any of their friends. Now, Harriet and Wyn have to spend the week vacation pretending they’re still a couple, all while avoiding any discussion about why the relationship ended.
This book is why I read books. Out of Emily Henry’s five books, Happy Place felt different but still carried her Midas touch in every printed letter. Henry’s incredibly talented at writing characters who feel real, with motivations that go beyond mere plot devices. I could feel everything Harriet felt: the confusion of seeing Wyn again, the heartbreak of reliving memories, the question of how love can still end even when two people love each other so deeply. I can’t begin to encompass the emotional turmoil I went through reading this book—I was silently screaming, holding back tears, and pausing to freak out momentarily.
Favorite quote: “In every universe, it’s you for me. Even if it’s not me for you.”
Song: “This Love” by Taylor Swift
2. Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin
Gilda feels a lack of purpose in her life and cannot stop fixating on death. She is now on a first name basis with the nurses at the hospital, constantly lies to her family without reason, and cannot seem to find the will to clean the piling dish tower in her apartment. When Gilda stumbles across a flier for free therapy at a church, she goes in hopes it will help. Except when she gets there, she gets mistaken for a job applicant and, too flustered to correct the pastor, she accepts the job as the church’s receptionist—despite being atheist. I often talk about how reading helps me relate to people I don’t know, yet I was surprised to see so much of myself in this book. It’s not that it made me feel more sane; but rather, less alone. This book is usually something I’m not looking for because it is a reflection of my brain, which is something I am often trying to get away from. I think this book possibly changed the trajectory of my life. We are just specks of dust and I think I’ll always feel many ways about that.
Favorite quote: “I came to the realization that every moment exists in perpetuity regardless of whether it’s remembered. What has happened has happened; it occupies that moment in time forever. I was an eleven-year-old girl lying in the grass one summer. I knew in that moment that was true and recognized that I would blaze through moments for the rest of my life, forgetting things, and becoming ages older, until I forgot everything—so I consoled myself by committing to remember that one moment.”
Song: “How to Disappear Completely” by Radiohead
3. Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Daisy Jones is the somebody in every room she walks into. She is incredibly talented, and craves the attention that stardom brings. The Six are a small band from Pennsylvania who move out west to make it big. While Daisy and The Six acquire some success separately, it doesn’t begin to amount to what they become together. Daisy and Billy’s tortured connection fuels their art, but that was in the 1970s. Forty years later, the band is no longer together and they’re finally opening up about what led to the band’s collapse.
Taylor Jenkins Reid has the ability to make it seem like the stories she writes are actual historical retellings of people’s careers. While reading, I found myself getting genuinely upset about the fact that the band isn’t together anymore, as if they actually were in real life. It’s vital to understand wanting Daisy and Billy together is the point. They know, you know, we all know that what they’re doing isn’t morally correct; but we all want it anyway. Outside of the love triangle, there is so much to love about this story. Daisy Jones, you will always be famous. (Also, the show adaptation is lovely and an absolute must watch.)
Favorite quote: “Everything that made Daisy burn, made me burn. Everything I loved about the world, Daisy loved about the world. Everything I struggled with, Daisy struggled with. We were two halves. We were the same. In that way you’re only the same with a few other people. In that way that you don’t even feel like you have to say your own thoughts because you know the other person is already thinking them.”
Album: Aurora by Daisy Jones and The Six
4. One Day In December by Josie Silver
One day on the bus, Laurie glances out her window and experiences something she never thought she would; love at first sight. As Laurie and the mystery man intently gaze at one another, her bus drives away. For weeks, Laurie searches for this mystery man with her best friend, Sarah. They search bars, cafes, bus stops, until one day she finally finds him. Hand in hand with her best friend at the entrance of her apartment door.
This book quite literally invented slow burn. It was painful to watch Jack love Sarah, yet also be too acutely aware of the tension between Jack and Laurie. I know the slow-burn trope isn’t for everyone, but if you’re like me, the slowest of all burns are the absolute best. . Every time you think that maybe it is finally time for Jack and Laurie, another speed bump comes into view. This story epitomizes “right person, wrong time,” and delved into how often people are so scared of being alone that they try to make it work with someone who was never meant to be.
Favorite quote: “I was revolting and you were lovely. I’d lost sight of who I was, and you made me remember. I don’t think I ever said thank you, so I’m saying it now. Thank you. You tread lightly through life, but you leave deep footprints that are hard for other people to fill.”
Song: “Lover, You Should’ve Come Over” by Jeff Buckley
5. Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
Aza is a high school student who is engrossed in the disappearance of the father of an old childhood best friend. While she tries to solve this mystery to win the reward money, she also reconnects with the childhood friend. Attempting to balance her new/old friendships, schoolwork, family life, and invasive thoughts soon proves to be a nearly impossible task.
I have never had a book linger in my mind in the way that this one has. John Green is often disregarded because of his books that got adapted into movies in the fateful 2010s. Lay your prejudices down, and succumb to the fact that John Green is an incredible writer who can beautifully articulate his thoughts. I often found myself resonating with Aza; to feel a lack of control in your thoughts is something very difficult to understand, and even more difficult to explain to others. People tend to have a hard time sympathizing with intrusive thoughts, or “invasive thoughts,” as Aza described. While some question the necessity of certain subplots, I found they made the story more compelling.
Favorite quote: “But what I want to know is, is there a you independent of circumstances? Is there a way-down-deep me who is an actual, real person, the same person if she has money or not, the same person if she has a boyfriend or not, the same if she goes to this school or that school? Or am I only a set of circumstances?”
Song: “House Song” by Searows
6. People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry
Since college, Poppy and Alex have been best friends despite the fact that they are nothing alike. Poppy is bubbly and adventurous. Alex is the textbook definition of level headed. Every summer for ten years, they have gone on vacation leaving them with everlasting memories. Until two years ago when they stopped talking for reasons neither of them are willing to rehash. Poppy, missing what they had, decides to try and recreate what they had every summer with a trip to Palm Springs, and Alex agrees. Can they return to what they once were, or will that vacation two years ago taint them forever?
I saved the best for last as I love everything about this book. It is the sole reason why friends to lovers is my absolute favorite romance book trope. If you could see the scar tissue on my heart, this book would be there. I am a sucker for different timelines in a book, and the flashbacks between the present vacation and past vacations perfectly unravel whilst the interactions between present Poppy and Alex occur. I don’t think I’ll ever get over this book, and I don’t particularly want to. There’s just something about friends who won’t admit they love each other until an annoying amount of years later.
Favorite quote: “I don’t think I knew I was lonely until I met you.”
Song: “Packing It Up” by Gracie Abrams
To reflect on my earlier point: my recommendations may not be for you in the way they are for me. However, these are books I often recommend and receive gushing recountings of. Also, it’s important to note: this isn’t meant to shame anyone’s preferences of trending books because I love to see more people reading! This is just some insight from a seasoned reader amongst the highly saturated amount of media options.