I am a huge bookworm and always have at least one book that I am reading at a time. I go on Goodreads almost every single day to see if there are any interesting books that I might want to look into reading in the future. Seeing a friend post that they are reading a book that I want to read gets me excited so that I can see what they thought before possibly purchasing the book myself.
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Some of my top favorite books are no surprise as they might also be some of your favorite books! I have a little notebook that I have been using since 2010, where I keep track of the books that I have read as well as how long it took me to read them. Some books, though good, can take a long time to read if they have a lot of depth to them and a heavy storyline. Others take a couple of days because of their length, or they are those binge-able kinds of books.
Either way, I do enjoy a good light (beach, if you will) read, as well as a thick juicy novel that really gets deep with the plot. It is nice to alternate between those two kinds of books, since I feel a mental drain when reading those heavy topic books, or a sense of book hunger when I zoom through a fast paced thriller. Typically, I am a thriller kind of girl. I love a good dive right into a story full of twists and turns that end in a dramatic plot twist that leaves your jaw open for days. But I do enjoy historical fiction, self-help, non-fiction, classics, and some fantasy, as well as anything else I decide to give a try.
So with that, the list of my favorite books (and series) since 2010:
1. Harry Potter series (J.K. Rowling): I feel like for a lot of people who have read the books, this goes without saying. Truthfully, I read the books once as a kid/teen and then re-read them twice as an adult (when I was younger, I had a weird thing about re-reading books, now I am cool with it) and then started reading them out loud to my daughter when she was born. She and I are currently on the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the story never gets old. Each time I re-read the books, I still get anxious anticipating what is next despite knowing the story after reading the books and watching the movies. There should be no surprises, but I still feel myself getting incredibly invested in the stories. I used to think my favorite of them all was Prisoner of Azkaban, but it might be Goblet of Fire now, since that is when everything got REAL. I am very excited to be able to share these books with my children and hope the values of the stories help them through childhood like they helped me.
2. The Likeness (Tana French): Anything book Tana French writes is instant intrigue for me. I love reading her books and seeing the paths that the stories go down, bringing you back to the whodunnit with a one two punch. Since these are mystery thrillers I always try to see if I can figure out who it was that committed the crime/murder and I never get it right because she is so clever with her plots. Like I stated before, I love everything she writes, but this book especially was haunting for me and I find myself thinking about it on and off to this day even though I read this book back in 2013.
3. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte): Jane is a wonderful example of a woman being a feminist before her time. I read this book when I was in eighth grade and it seemed to go a little over my head, but I re-read it a year ago and absolutely loved it. This classic is beautiful and heartbreaking in many ways, but I love the story of Jane and Mr. Darcy. How they overcome societal norms and standards for the time are quite powerful and I appreciated the whole character of Jane.
4. The Forgotten Garden (Kate Morton): This was the first Kate Morton book that I ever read, and I instantly became a fan. Kate Morton is a genius with weaving multiple plots and characters into an extremely detailed story that is engrossing. Since reading this book, I have anxiously awaited the books that have come out since I discovered her. I have now read all of her books and the only one I was not crazy about (and really, it was just the ending I wasn't a fan of) was The Lake House. But the book as a whole was very interesting, the ending was just too "neat" for me. Don't let that deter you from reading it though, she definitely has a great hand for writing historical fiction that ties to present day.
5. Longbourn (Jo Baker): Another historical fiction book, Longbourn takes you deeper into Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by giving you the story of the servants of the Bennet family. I read this a long time ago, but it is another book that I think about often. I felt like the characters were so real and it was interesting to get the back story of the servants. Pride and Prejudice is on my to-read list and then I feel like I will have to re-read Longbourn again!
6. The Woman in Cabin 10 (Ruth Ware): When I bought this book, I picked it up because the book sleeve was textured where there were supposed to be rain drops, which was interesting to me. It also is set on the North Sea going to Norway, and having been to Norway, was also intrigued by the setting. This book was incredible in the way that the story was built and developed along the way. And the ending did not disappoint either, as I was blindsided with the last minute plot twists that kept me thinking for days after finishing the book.
7. Yoga Mind (Suzan Colon): When I was teaching a regular yoga class at YogaBalance, I had a have a quote to read at the beginning of every class and this book was loaded with good quotes. I also started reading this postpartum, and even though the author has never had children, I still felt like so much of the book was applicable to that experience. This book was a huge help for me during that time when I needed something grounding in the midst of being a new mom. It had the tools I needed to regain composure of myself and feel like I could handle all of the things I had to learn and juggle. This book makes yoga accessible to literally everyone, but for this mama who spent a lot of time on the couch nursing, using my yoga mind was very helpful when I felt like a practice was out of reach.
8. The Woman in the Window (A.J. Finn): This ending was crazy to me. Absolutely crazy. And I loved it! The whole book had a suspense that was nail-biting and I could not wait to know who the culprit was. One thing that surprised me was that the author is a man because it felt so realistic to how a woman would think and I feel like Finn did an incredible job with creating such a real, breathing character.
9. The Wife Between Us (Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen): The plot twists on this one, whew! This book had me gripping onto my kindle and I read it in five days. In the middle of the book is a plot twist I did not see coming and it just got better and better from there. This book gives such an interesting look into controlling people and how their choices affect other people. Definitely a psychological thriller that should be on your list!
10. Where the Crawdads Sing (Delia Owens): I just read this book back in March/April for the book club in town and I was amazed at this story. It is a truly incredible coming of age story showing how your circumstances early in life dictate your future. Kya, the main character, is grossly misunderstood by her community and it is a beautiful tale of how she overcomes that and lives her best life. It is definitely another book that has stuck with me since reading it, and will definitely be a book I pick up again in the near future.
Have you read any of these books? If so, what did you think of them and are any of them your favorites? What are your favorites that you would recommend?