Reading List

Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books I think you should read are linked to Bookshop.org and may be affiliate links in nature. Those that I've reviewed will also have a link to the review. As of January 9, 2024, I am in the process of updating links.
  • DNF: Did not finish
A coffee cup in front of a stack of books with the words 2025 reading list
Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2025 (so far): Sister by Rosamund Lipton

5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
  • The Sicilian Inheritance by Jo Piazza (mystery, contemporary-historical crossover fiction)
  • The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson (children's literature, fantasy, adventure)
  • Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr (contemporary fiction)
  • The Book Haters' Book Club by Gretchen Anthony (midwestern chick lit)
  • Sister by Rosamund Lupton (psychological thriller, British, contemporary literature)
  • The Guncle by Steven Rowley (Comedy, LGTBQIA+)
  • Happily Never After by Lynn Painter (Rom-com, chick lit)
  • You Will Never Be Me by Jesse Q. Sutanto (thriller)
  • Dial A For Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Rom-com, chick lit)
  • A Burning by Megha Majumdar (contemporary literary fiction, India)
  • The Night Garden by Lisa Van Allen (contemporary fiction, chick lit, magical realism)
  • Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (contemporary literary fiction, modern dystopian, apocalypse) 
  • Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (fiction, contemporary US issues, school shooting, bullying)
  • Sold by Patricia McCormick (young adult fiction, India, Nepal)
4/5 -- These are worth the read
  • The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern (Fantasy)
  • The Essential Odyssey by Homer (Classics)
  • The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith (contemporary mystery)
  • The Circle by Dave Eggers (modern times dystopian)
  • Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto (chick lit, comedic mystery)
  • Didn't See That Coming by Jesse Q. Sutanto (young adult rom com)
  • Solito by Javier Zamora (memoir, immigrantion)
  • A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson (mystery)
  • Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews (coming of age fiction)
  • Crank by Ellen Hopkins (young adult fiction, poetry, coming of age, USA)
3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time

2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...

1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?


Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2024: This was a hard choice! I read so many amazing books in 2024, but I think the best was Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
  • Seven Empty Houses by Samanta Schweblin (contemporary fiction, short stories, Argentinian, translation) (buy it HERE).
  • The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak (contemporary fiction)
  • The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer (young adult, science fiction, dystopian fiction)
  • The Lord of Opium by Nancy Farmer (young adult, science fiction, dystopian fiction)
  • Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah (contemporary fiction)
  • The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (literary fiction, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, mystery)
  • The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow (contemporary fiction)
  • Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kowaguchi (magical realism, Japanese fiction, mystery, relationships)
  • Miss Benson's Beetle  by Rachel Joyce (historical fiction, women's fiction, relationships, friendship, mystery, adventure)
  • When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill (magical realism, contemporary fiction, historical fiction, women's fiction, LGTBQ+, relationships, American Midwest)
  • Night by Elie Wiesel (memoir, World War II, Holocaust, Europe)
  • Siren Queen by Nghi Vo (magical realism, LGTBQ+ fiction, historical fiction, Old Hollywood, mysterious)
  • Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin (LGTBQ+ fiction, identity, young adult, contemporary fiction, banned book)
  • Pobby and Dingan by Ben Rice (coming of age, grief and loss)
  • The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay (India, contemporary fiction)
  • Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice (modern dystopian, Indigenous literature)
  • A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (contemporary fantasy, horror, modern Southern gothic)
4/5 -- These are worth the read
  • Missing Under the Mistletoe: A Flower Shop Mystery by Kate Collins (Fiction, Romantic Mystery, Christmas)
  • The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson (contemporary fiction, historical fiction, Swedish fiction, comedy)
  • What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons (contemporary fiction)
  • The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (young adult, middle grades, fantasy, contemporary gothic)
  • The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley (historical fiction, mystery, England)
  • The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd (historical fiction, 1800s)
  • The Messy Lives of Book People by Phaedra Patrick (contemporary fiction, books about books, England)
  • So We Meet Again by Suzanne Park (contemporary fiction, Asian American fiction)
  • Gold Fame Citrus by Claire Vaye Watkins (near future dystopian, climate crisis fiction)
  • The Second Chance Hotel by Sierra Godfrey
  • A Very Typical Family Sierra Godfrey
  • The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters 
  • Go Figure by Rae Armantrout (poetry)
  • Unleashed by Emily Kimelman 
  • Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller (children's literature, coming of age, friendship)
  • The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • A Most Unusual Demise by Katherine Black
  • The Berlin Apartment by Bryn Turnbull (Holocaust, historical fiction)
  • Insatiable by Emily Kimelman
3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time.
  • Rememberings by Sinead O'Connor (memoir)
  • An Untidy Death by Simon Brett (mystery)
  • A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan (contemporary fiction)
  • Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo (fiction, fantasy, young adult)
  • Death in the Dark by Emily Kimelman
2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...

1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?



Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2023: Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan
 
5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
4/5 -- These are worth the read
3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time.
2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...

1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?

2022 Reading List

Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2022: An American Marriage by Tayari Jones

5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
  • If You See Me, Don't Say Hi  by Neel Patel (contemporary short stories, fiction) 
  • The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin (contemporary fiction)
  • An American Marriage by Tayari Jones (contemporary fiction)
  • Stay by Bobby Pyron (Children's fiction)
  • Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson (Children's fiction; historical fiction)
  • Loteria  by Karla Arenas Valenti (Children's fiction)
  • The Boy on the Wooden Box by Leon Leyson (Children's non-fiction; memoir)
  • An Elderly Lady is up to No Good by Helene Tursten (fiction; Swedish fiction; crime fiction)
  • An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed by Helene Tursten (fiction; Swedish fiction; crime fiction)
  • Women Talking by Miriam Toews (fiction)
  • Mother/Land by Ananda Lima (poetry)
  • Break the Glass by Jean Valentine (poetry)
  • Sugar Falls by David A. Robertson
4/5 -- These are worth the read.
  • Life's too Short by Abby Jimenez (chick lit, contemporary fiction)
  • Flight of the Hummingbird by Michael Nicholl Yahgulanaas, Wangari Maathai, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama (non-fiction, environmentalism)
  • Lety Out Loud by Angela Cervantes (Children's fiction)
  • Recipe for Persuasion by Sonali Dev
  • The Adventure of Momotaro, the Peach Boy by Ralph F. McCarthy
3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time.
  • Operating Instructions: A Journal of My Son's First Year by Anne Lamott (non-fiction; memoir; parenting)
2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...

1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?


2021 Reading List
Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2021: The Push by Ashley Audrain

5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
  • The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn (children's fiction)
  • A Dog Called Kitty by Bill Wallace (children's fiction)
  • The Dragons Are Singing Tonight by Jack Prelutsky (Children's poetry)
  • Thank You Mr. Falker by Patricia Polacco (Children's non-fiction)
  • Ricky, the Rock That Couldn't Roll by Jay Miletsky (Children's fiction)
  • Lowriders in Space by Cathy Camper and Raul the Third (Children's fiction; graphic novel)
  • Guts by Raina Telgemeier (Children's fiction; graphic novel)
  • The Chemistry of Tears by Peter Carey (contemporary fiction)
  • The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg (non-fiction)
  • The Do It Yourself Guide to Fighting  the Big Motherfucking Sad by Adam Gnade (self-help, non-fiction)
  • The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger (fiction)
  • The Push by Ashley Audrain (contemporary fiction; motherhood)
  • The Bear by Andrew Krivak (fiction)
  • The Startup Wife by Tahmima Anam (contemporary fiction)
  • News of the World by Paulette Jiles (fiction; historical fiction)
  • Gaby, Lost and Found by Angela Cervantes
4/5 -- These are worth the read.

3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time.
  • Who was Amelia Earnhardt by Kate Boehm Jerome (children's non-fiction)
  • Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner (children's fiction)
  • We The People by Peter Spier (children's non-fiction, history)
  • I Hate Reading by Beth Bacon (Children's non-fiction)
  • Get Out of My Head by Meredith Arthur (self-help, non-fiction)
2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...

1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?

2020 Reading List
Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2020: The Friend by Sigrid Nunez 

5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
4/5 -- These are worth the read.
3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time.
2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...
  • A Woman Makes a Plan by Maye Musk (memoir; DNF)
1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?


Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2019: Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

5/5 -- You should definitely read these:
  • The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (chick lit, fiction, humor)
  • The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (historical fiction)
  • Planting for Honeybees: The Grower's Guide to Creating a Buzz by Sarah Wyndham Lewis (nonfiction, gardening)
  • The Unsettlers: In Search of the Good Life in Today's America by Mark Sundeen (nonfiction, homesteading, modern farming)
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry (fiction, dystopian, young adult)
  • The Year She Left Us by Kathryn Ma (contemporary fiction, mothers and daughters)
  • City Chickens by Christine Heppermann (non-fiction, children's literature, agriculture, lifestyle)
  • The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray (contemporary fiction; dysfunctional family drama)
  • The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (contemporary fiction, dogs, family drama)
  • 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris (self-help, meditation)
  • What Unites Us: Reflections on Patriotism by Dan Rather and Elliot Kirschner (non-fiction; essays)
  • The Drifter by Nick Petrie (contemporary fiction, war veteran after returning home)
  • My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry by Fredrik Backman (contemporary fiction; Scandi-fiction)
  • Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (contemporary fiction; rom-com)
  • One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, translated by H.T. Willetts (historical fiction, Soviet Union fiction)
  • Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (graphic novel, non-fiction, memoir, Middle East)
  • Dragonfish by Vu Tran (fiction, contemporary fiction, cross-cultural fiction)
  • It's Not How Good You Are, It's How Good You Want to Be by Paul Arden (business, non-fiction, self-help)
  • The Storyteller's Secret by Sejal Badani (contemporary fiction, cross-cultural and cross-generational fiction) 
4/5 -- Definitely read these ones:
3/5 -- A nice diversion, but not the best books I've read:
  • My Dog Tulip  by J.R. Ackerley (memoir; dogs)
  • Larry and the Meaning of Life by Janet Tashjian (contemporary fiction, teen angst)
  • The Reykjavik Assignment by Adam Lebor (fiction, mystery, spy thriller)
2/5 -- Why did I waste my time...but not the worst I've read:

1/5 -- Don't waste your time reading these ones!

Caffeinated While Reading 2018 Reading List
Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2018: A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

5/5 -- You should definitely read these books:
 4/5 -- Not quite as amazing, but you should still read these books, er, book:

3/5 -- A nice diversion, but not the best I've ever read. Think entertainment rather than brain nourishment:

2/5 -- Ugh! Why did I bother? 
  • The Crooked Staircase by Dean Koontz (Not linked to Amazon or anything else on purpose!)
1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?

Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2017: Stir: My Broken Brain and the Meals that Brought Me Home by Jessica Fechtor

5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
  • The Nest by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
  • Medicine Man: Extreme Appalachian Doctoring by Carolyn Jourdan
  • Confessions of an Unlikely Runner by Dana L. Ayers
  • Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale
  • Internal Medicine: A Doctor's Stories by Terrence Holt
  • Maman's Homesick Pie by Donia Bijan
  • No Other World by Rahul Mehta
  • Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
  • Fourth of July Creek by Smith Henderson
  • The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
  • The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson
  • The End of Temperance Dare by Wendy Webb
4/5 -- These are worth the read
  • The Call of the Farm: An Unexpected Year of Getting Dirty, Home Cooking, and Finding Myself by Rochelle Bilow...
  • Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
  • Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
  • On Pluto: Inside the Mind of Alzheimer's by Greg O'Brien
  • Tinderbox by Lisa Gornick
3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time.
  • Banana Cream Pie Murder by Joanne Fluke,,,
2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...

1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?

2016 Reading List

Key:
  • 5/5 rating: 0 is lowest, 5 is highly recommended
  • Books with associated book reviews or blog posts are linked accordingly--just click on titles to be taken to the related post. Links to purchase books will be in (parentheses) at the end of each listing.
BEST BOOK OF 2016: The Vegetarian by Han Kang

5/5 -- You should definitely read these!
  • Shades of Blue: Writers on Depression, Suicide, and Feeling Blue by Amy Ferris
  • Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik
  • The Perfect Score Project: Uncovering the Secrets of the SAT by Debbie Stier
  • How Doctors Think by Jerome Groopman
  • Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination by Hugh MacLeod
  • The Vegetarian by Han Kang
  • Midnight Sun by Jo Nesbo
  • The Dip by Seth Godin
  • Peanut Butter and Naan by Jennifer Hillman-Magnuson
  • We are all Damaged by Matthew Norman
  • Girl Boss by Sophia Amoruso
  • The Trouble with Boys by Peg Tyre (reviewed on my blog mom2momed.com HERE)
  • Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break by Amy Brones and Johanna Kindvall
  • The Mothers by Brit Bennett
  • When I'm Gone by Emily Bleeker
  • Cornelia and the Audacious Escapades of the Somerset Sisters by Lesley M. M. Blume
  • Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs
  • Bootstrapper: From Broke to Badass on a Northern Michigan Farm by Mardi Jo Link
  • Me, My Hair, and I: Twenty-Seven Women Untangle an Obsession by Elizabeth Bennet
  • Lunch in Paris: A Love Story with Recipes by Elizabeth Bard
  • Show Your Work by Austin Kleon
  • Girl on a Train by AJ Waines
4/5 -- These are worth the read
  • Lean In by Sheryl Sandburg
  • Fail, Fail Again, Fail Better by Pema Chodron
  • A Farm Dies Once a Year by Arlo Crawford
  • Sweater Quest: My Year of Knitting Dangerously by Adrienne Martini
  • Love Your Life, Not Theirs by Rachel Cruze
  • The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald
  • Mennonite in a Little Black Dress by Rhoda Janzen
  • What Now by Ann Patchett
  • Escape from Mr. Limoncello's Library by Chris Grabentein
  • The 6:41 to Paris by Jean-Philippe Blondel
  • Girl Before a Mirror by Liza Palmer
  • Chose the Wrong Guy, Gave Him the Wrong Finger by Beth Harbison
3/5 -- These are OK to pass the time.
  • DC Trip by Sara Benincasa
  • Cracking the GRE Premium
  • The Big Leap: Conquer Your Hidden Fear and Take Life to the Next Level by Gay Hendricks
  • Gamelife: A Memoir by Michael W. Clune
2/5 -- I read them, but don't know if you should...

1/5 -- Ugh! Why did I waste my time with these?
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