A list of recommendations, hopefully annotated. Please leave comments, especially if you are shocked to your core that I would recommend/neglect a certain title. By no means thorough, I’m just trying to throw the best of my recent reads together on one convenient page. The all-time favorites list will have to wait.

Adult Fiction

  • Atkinson, Kate. Read her. Love her. Try to stretch out reading her books as long as possible but fail miserably. (I’m saving Emotionally Weird for a rainy day.)
    • Case Histories,  One Good Turn, and When Will There Be Good News?  A little mystery, a lot of character study, delicious twists.
    • Human Croquet. If you loved the others, this is good. If you were so-so, pass it up.
  • Bennett, Alan.
    • The Uncommon Reader. The Queen becomes a reader – fiction for people who like books about books and books about reading.
  • Brooks, Geraldine.
    • Year of Wonders. Unputdownable. Heart-wrenching from the first chapters. Imperfect ending, but worth the time.
  • Chabon, Michael.
  • Collins, Wilkie.
  • Colwin, Laurie.
    • Happy All the Time. I honestly don’t remember anything about this book except that it was an excellent comfort read, not in a fluffy feel-good sense but more in a good, tasty meal sense. I need to read more of her books.
  • Davis, Kathryn.
    • The Thin Place. Solid read, fascinating connections, on my ‘reread someday’ list.
  • Donnelly, Jennifer
    • A Northern Light. YA, but a good crossover for adult fans of historical fiction. Her best.
    • The Tea Rose and The Winter Rose. Fluffier than her YA, more improbable and drama-laden, but thoroughly enjoyable when you’re in the mood for a saga. Be prepared to roll your eyes and not be able to put them down.
  • Eliot, George.
    • Middlemarch. Massive – but well worth the effort. A classic that deserves to be read.
  • Enger, Leif.
    • Peace Like a River. While I can’t explain why it took me so long to finish this, the perfection of the tone, characters, and ending were worth the wait.
  • Goodman, Allegra.
    • Kaaterskill Falls. Solid cast of well-developed characters. Inner turmoil, but never depressing.
  • Gulland, Sandra.
  • Hornby, Nick.
  • Jerome, Jerome K.
    • Three Men in a Boat. The audio book is pitch perfect and had me howling.  Afterwards, try Connie Willis’ To Say Nothing of the Dog.
  • Kahf, Mohja.
  • Kallos, Stephanie.
    • Broken For You. Everything wraps together neatly, but I found it engrossing.
  • Krauss, Nicole.
    • The History of Love. After several false start, I was hooked. Give it a second chance. Some voices on the audio are great, others will make you cringe.
  • Lahiri, Jhumpa.
    • The Namesake. Immigrant family story centered on one boy with an unusual name. Excellent audio version.
  • Lansens, Lori.
    • The Girls. Alternating points of view, conjoined twins. Absorbing.
  • McEwan, Ian.
    • Atonement. Perfect and wrenching. None of his others live up to it, for me.
  • Meloy, Maile.
  • Patchett, Ann.
    • Bel Canto. Lulls you into a false sense of security, just like the characters. Good audio book.
    • Run. Completely different, yet good in many of the same ways. Another good audio.
  • Robinson, Marilynne.
    • Gilead. Slow and thoughtful, this made a great audio book.
  • Rosoff, Meg.
    • How I Live Now. More crossover YA, this has great tension and characters.
    • What I Was. All of her books are deliciously between adult and young adult; this is a fascinating story with a frustrating narrator and a great use of setting.
  • Russell, Mary Doria.
    • A Thread of Grace. Quality historical fiction that doesn’t fall prey to predictable plot turns or characterizations. Kept me on my toes. Tearjerker alert.
    • The Sparrow. Sci-fi, but really more about spirituality and culture and language. Highly recommended.
  • Sayers, Dorothy. The entire Lord Peter Wimsey series of mysteries are sheer genius, and you should read them in order (start with Whose Body? but they improve by leaps and bounds). Gaudy Night is the pinnacle.
  • Seth, Vikram.  An Equal Music – tense and fascinating characters, and descriptions of playing and listening to music that will have you looking up everything they play.
  • Shriver, Lionel.
    • The Post-Birthday World. If you like books where you dislike the characters, this is perfect for you. I don’t, but I was so caught up in the conceit and the writing that I didn’t notice I hated them until the end.
  • Smith, Betty.
    • A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Don’t be like me and put this one off. Well-deserving of classic status. Good tearjerker, too.
  • Smith, Zadie.
    • On Beauty. If you like Howards End, this is for you. I didn’t much care for White Teeth, but this one hooked me.
  • Tey, Josephine. I recommend every last one (that I’ve gotten my hands on) but here are my top three. Mysteries for the person who doesn’t really like them.
  • Walton, Jo.
    • Farthing. Alternate history + a murder mystery.
    • Ha’Penny. Solid sequel to Farthing – actors, intrigue, bombs.
    • Half a Crown.  Set some years later, this seems to wrap up a trilogy – but if she writes more, I’ll read them.
  • Willis, Connie.
    • The Doomsday Book. Time travel + the plague = page turner.
    • To Say Nothing of the Dog. Much lighter, with fun references to Sayers, Christie, and, of course, Three Men in a Boat.

Adult Non-fiction

You’re never too old for a good children’s book. Here are some good-for-adults children’s and YA books. I’m a firm believer that if you don’t have a high opinion of books aimed at non-adults, you just aren’t reading the right things.

  • Abadziz, Nick.
    • Laika. If you’re looking for a graphic novel/total tearjerker/story about the first dog in space, this is for you. I’m not an animal person, but wow.
  • Anderson, M.T.
    • Oh, where to start? Feed is what every dystopia novel ought to be.
    • The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing is a brilliant follow-up in terms of theme. Smart with perfect humor and horror.
  • Castellucci, Cecil.
    • The PLAIN Janes. Art attacks. Four girls named Jane. Ending leaves you hanging, waiting for that sequel…
  • Doctorow, Cory.
    • Little Brother.  For librarians, tech geeks, and fans of civil liberties – with plenty of plot and humor.
  • Donnelly, Jennifer.
    • A Northern Light. Excellent historical fiction, especially for fans of books and writing.
  • Fisher, Catherine.
    • The Oracle Betrayed is a solid mythology-style fantasy with nicely complex characters and plot twists. Watch out for the ending, it will hook you into the equally engrossing Sphere of Secrets and then the third installment…
  • Ibbotson, Eva.
    • The Countess Below Stairs. Mildly fluffy historical fiction with a heart. The audio is great.
  • Riordan, Rick.
    • The Lightning Thief. Snappy one liners, fast paced adventures, and a better way to learn Greek mythology than having it crammed down your throat in school. First in a trilogy. Sea of Monsters and The Titan’s Curse are equally entertaining, although they don’t feel as fresh.
  • Schmidt, Gary D.
    • The Wednesday Wars. Shakespeare, baseball, cream puffs. Really a cut above. Seriously. Just go read it.
    • While we’re at it, don’t forget to read Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy.
  • Selznick, Brian.
    • The Invention of Hugo Cabret. Just take a look at the pictures and then try to put it down.
  • Sfar, Joann and Emmanuel Guibert.
    • The Professor’s Daughter. The mummy equivalent of Lord Peter Wimsey, a reckless girl, Queen Victoria swimming the Thames, and prison escapes. A good reason for graphic novels to exist.
  • Tan, Shaun.
    • The Arrival. A wordless, fabulously illustrated story about travel, immigrants, and being an outsider. Did I mention the illustrations are to die for?
  • Thompson, Kate.
    • The New Policeman. Music, Irish folklore, lost socks, and the mysterious disappearance of time…If you like this, try the sequel, The Last of the High Kings.
  • Turner, Megan Whalen.
    • Start with The Thief, then The Queen of Attolia, then King of Attolia, and don’t blame me if you fall in love with Eugenides along the way. If you like a bit of mythology and a plot full of intrigue and deception.