bestsellers worth reading Archives

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

by Elizabeth Gilbert

I haven't read any of Gilbert's books, but I adored her TED talk on the subject and have loved her short work on creativity. I'll be reading this (and maybe The Signature of All Things in the meantime).

Everything I Never Told You

by Celeste Ng

“Lydia is dead, but they don’t know this yet.” That’s not a spoiler, that’s the opening line of Ng’s stunning debut. When this unexpected loss is discovered, the family begins to fall apart, and as they struggle to understand why it happened, they realize they don’t know their daughter at all. Ng’s use of the omniscient narrator is brilliant: she reveals what’s going on in her characters hearts and minds, allowing the reader to learn the truth of the tragedy, even if the family never does. An exploration of love and belonging, fraught with racial and gender issues. This is one that will stay with you long after you turn the last page. Powerful, believable, utterly absorbing.

The Martian: A Novel

by Andy Weir

When a deadly dust storm cuts their mission short, astronaut Mark Watney’s crew makes an agonizing decision to return to earth without him. They saw his biosigns go flat: they believe they’re leaving his body behind. But Watney is very much alive, and now he must find a way to survive on Mars, in a damaged station, with limited food and no communication. Next step: to cobble together a rescue plan. Think Cast Away, in outer space. Funny, thrilling, and surprisingly plausible.

The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics

by Daniel James Brown

Billed as a perfect choice for fans of Unbroken, this bestselling story about an American crew team seeking Olympic gold during the Depression has garnered nearly 2000 5-star reviews on Amazon. I fully expect this to be as compelling as any novel I read this summer.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing

by Marie Kondo

If you want to tidy up once and for all, this is the best kick in the pants you can get for ten bucks. This book is more than a little woo-woo, but her extreme approach to decluttering WORKS. Kondo is a Japanese personal tidying expert (she doesn’t like to call herself an “organizer”). She originally wrote her decluttering manifesto to help the Japanese clients languishing on her waiting list. Not all translations are good translations, but this one has been praised for preserving the quirkiness of her voice. (It's quirky, all right.) I love this book (more thoughts on that here).

Go Set a Watchman

by Harper Lee

As a standalone book, this was far from amazing, but serious students of writing or literature will be enthralled by the ties between Watchman and Lee's beloved classic To Kill a Mockingbird. The comparisons are rich, and many. I had complicated feelings about reading this one but I'm so glad I did. (Here's how I approached this controversial work.)

Humans of New York: Stories

by Brandon Stanton

This follow-up to the bestselling Humans of New York is more than a collection of stunning photographs. Each photo is accompanied by a glimpse into the subject's personal history—their hopes, dreams, disappointments, aspirations. A beautiful, uplifting, heartbreaking collection. I love following HONY on facebook: I recognized some of my favorites here, but many more were new to me.

Thinking, Fast and Slow

by Daniel Kahneman

Nobel prizewinner Kahneman dives deeply into concepts I first encountered in Malcolm Gladwell's Blink. Fascinating theory plus practical implications on how to mitigate our inevitable mental errors make this a worthwhile read. This book will change the way you think about thinking. (98 weeks)

All the Light We Cannot See

by Anthony Doerr

Doerr's characters in this World War II novel are fascinating and altogether unexpected. The book’s setting couldn’t be lovelier: much of the action takes place in Saint-Malo, France, a unique walled port city on the English Channel. Haunting story, beautiful prose, and entirely deserving of its place on 2014's best-of-the-year lists.

bestsellers worth reading