55 Books For Your Booklist

I’ve always been a fan of public libraries, but this summer -- save when we were on vacation -- I took the girls every single week, and it was awesome, both for them and for me! During the summer I queried on Facebook, asking for books that were “stay up late by flashlight reading” awesome. Here are 55 resulting picks! I’ve smartened up since my 80 and 100 booklist posts, and below list the titlesalphabetically by author so it’s easy to zip through the stacks. And of course Amazon links are provided below if you’d prefer to load up your cart!

Also, per usual, I have included the names of the recommenders and any quotes that were shared. Whenever I'm picking my next book from these booklists, I tend to start with books that have multiple recommenders and/or quotes! Happy reading!

  1. ADICHIE, Chimamanda Ngozi: Americanah (via Cynthia + Roxanna + Kaitlyn)
  2. ATKINSON, Kate: A God in Ruins (via Vicky)
  3. ATKINSON, Kate: Behind the Scenes at the Museum (“[I recommend] anything by Kate Atkinson” via Kate)
  4. BRENNERT, Alan: Moloka'i (via Annie)
  5. BROWN, Daniel James: The Boys in the Boat (via Sharon + “one of the best books I’ve ever read” via Mimi)
  6. CAREY, M. R.: The Girl with All the Gifts (via Kelly)
  7. CENTER, Katherine: Happiness for Beginners (via Christine)
  8. COATES, Ta-Nehisi: Between the World and Me (via Lila + Kaitlyn + Roxanna)
  9. CORASANTI, Michelle Cohen: The Almond Tree (via Sharon)
  10. CRANDALL, Susan: Whistling Past the Graveyard (via Sharon)
  11. DOERR, Anthony: All the Light We Cannot See (via Morra + Eve + Sharon + “like poetry in prose form” via Stefania)
  12. EGGERS, Dave: The Circle (“super creepy good” via Kaitlyn)
  13. FOLEY, Bridget: Hugo & Rose (“strangely intriguing” via Elena)
  14. FRANCIS, Patry: The Orphans of Race Point (via Sharon + Jessica)
  15. FRENCH, Tana: Broken Harbor (via Christine)
  16. FRENCH, Tana: In the Woods (via Christine)
  17. FRENCH, Tana: The Likeness (“[I recommend] any mystery by Tana French” via Cynthia)
  18. GENOVA, Lisa: Inside the O’Brien’s (via Camille)
  19. GENOVA, Lisa: Love Anthony (via Camille)
  20. HANNAH, Kristen: The Nightingale (via Sharon)
  21. HARBACH, Chad: The Art of Fielding (“Loved it and about to start go set a watchman” via Roxanna)
  22. HAWKINS, Paula: The Girl on the Train (via Annie + Kristy)
  23. HAYES, Terry: I Am Pilgrim (“Couldn’t put down spy thriller” via Greer)
  24. HILDERBRAND, Elin: Beautiful Day (via Liz)
  25. JOHNSON, Steven: How We Got to Now (via Heather)
  26. JONASSON, Jonas: The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (via Liz)
  27. KING, Lily: Euphoria (“beautiful” via Greer + Sharon)
  28. KWAN, Kevin: China Rich Girlfriend (via Stefania)
  29. KWAN, Kevin: Crazy Rich Asians (via Kate + Stefania)
  30. KUBICA, Mary: The Good Girl (via Jessica)
  31. KUBICA, Mary: Pretty Baby (via Jessica)
  32. MABRY, Donna Foley: Maude (“Literally can’t put it down - like, read 200 pages last night can’t put it down...it is an amazing firsthand look at what it was really like in small town America at the turn of the century -- and it definitely wasn’t pretty.” via Lindsay)
  33. MANDEL, Emily St. John: Station Eleven (via Greer)
  34. MEISSNER, Susan: Secrets of a Charmed Life (via Kristy)
  35. MORGENSTERN, Erin: The Night Circus (via Camille)
  36. MORIARTY, Liane: What Alice Forgot (“Fun, fast read” via Jane)
  37. MOYES, Jojo: The Girl You Left Behind (“OMG all the ugly tears” via Christine)
  38. NG, Celeste: Everything I Never Told You (“Best book I’ve read all year” via Stefania)
  39. NIHILL, DAVID: Do You Talk Funny? (via Lucrecer)
  40. OFFILL, Jenny: Dept. of Speculation (“Very quick and interesting read” via Gail)
  41. PALMER, Amanda: The Art of Asking (via Sharon)
  42. POEHLER, Amy: Yes Please (“The local references -- Chadwicks! -- are hilarious” via Christine)
  43. QUINDLEN, Anna: Still Life With Bread Crumbs (via Whitney)
  44. QUINDLEN, Anna: Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake by Anna Quindlen (“[I recommend] anything by Anna Quindlen, especially her memoir Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake...she is such a tender writer” via Mimi)
  45. RILKE, Rainer Maria: Letters to a Young Poet (via Sharon)
  46. RUSH, Norman: Mating (via Cynthia)
  47. SHUTE, Nevil: A Town Like Alice (via Kristy)
  48. SIMSION, Graeme: The Rosie Project (via Lucrecer)
  49. SLATER, Tracy: The Good Shufu (via Jules)
  50. SMILEY, Jane: Some Luck (via Cynthia)
  51. STEDMAN, M. L.: The Light Between Oceans (via Jessica)
  52. TARTT, Donna: The Goldfinch  (via Camille)
  53. TURNER, Megan Whalen: The Thief (via Cynthia)
  54. WALTER, Jess: Beautiful Ruins (“Absolutely captivating” via Stefania)
  55. WEIR, Andy: The Martian (“Simply awesome” via Christine + via Kelly)

Image credits: book jackets via Amazon; compilation image by Christine Koh

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