Every once in a while, I pick up a book that’s so compelling I just can’t put it down until I reach the last page. Sometimes it’s because the book is flat-out amazing; sometimes it’s because the book is good enough and the plot is amazing.
Un-put-down-able books, for me, have certain qualities: great characters, strong narrative drive, a premise that hooks me. The writing is often strong (though “serviceable” will suffice, if you know what I mean), and it can’t be so dense or challenging that I can’t read it while I’m sleepy, or mentally exhausted.
The second category for the 2017 Reading Challenge—for those of you who want to put the “oomph” back in your reading life—is “a book with a reputation for being un-put-down-able.” Why? Because it’s fun.
(Update: while this was a category from 2017 we have a new reading challenge for this year and it’s not too late to join–just be sure to look back at your reading journal and see what categories you’ve already read.)
Need ideas for this category? I polished off each of these 17 books in 24 hours or less, because I couldn’t put them down:
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I blew through this novel from my YA summer reading list, even though it's almost 400 pages. If you loved Eleanor & Park, it's not a read-alike, but the two stories have enough in common to make this a safe bet. More info →
The story starts ten years after Veronica's high school graduation, a few months after the movie left off. Veronica is called in to investigate when a girl disappears from a Spring Break party, but it soon becomes apparent this is no ordinary missing persons case, and Veronica is quickly pulled back into Neptune's seedy underworld. This wasn't high literature or anything, but it was so much fun (and had such good narrative drive) I didn't want to stop until I knew how it ended. More info →
In the second of Tana French's Dublin Murder Squad series, which can be read in any order, detective Cassie Maddux is pulled off her current beat and sent to investigate a murder. When she arrives at the scene, she finds the victim looks just like her, and—even more creepy—she was using an alias that Cassie used in a previous case. The victim was a student, and her boss talks her into trying to crack the case by impersonating her, explaining to her friends that she survived the attempted murder. The victim lived with four other students in a strangely intimate, isolated setting, and as Cassie gets to know them, liking them almost in spite of herself, her boundaries—and loyalties—begin to blur. A taut psychological thriller that keeps you guessing till the end.
This Gatsby-esque novel plunges you into the streets of Manhattan, circa 1938. Young secretary Katey Kontent and her roommate Evelyn meet handsome Tinker Gray by chance. The girls vie for his affection—until one impulsive decision changes everything. A beautifully drawn story of wealth and class, luck and fate, love and illusion. This novel pulls several shocking plot twists, and I definitely didn’t see that ending coming. More info →
Moriarty's works are compulsively readable: whenever I get my hands on a new one I inhale it in two days. Alice is 29, expecting her first child, and crazy in love with her husband—or at least she thinks she is, but then she bumps her head and wakes up on the gym floor, to find that she’s actually a 39-year-old mother of 3 who’s in the middle of divorcing the man she’s come to hate. She doesn’t know what’s happened to her these past 10 years, or who she’s become. She’s about to find out. I spreed through this like it was the fluffiest chick lit, but found myself mulling over its themes for weeks after I finished. More info →
In this contemporary psychological thriller, a British single mother gives her 8-year-old son permission to run ahead a little on their evening walk in the park ... and he disappears, without a trace. MacMillan invites the reader to come along on the hunt for the boy, alternately focusing on police procedure and family drama. The tight writing and sharp execution made this hard to put down. I've seen a lot of comparisons to The Girl on the Train, but instead I'd recommend this one for Tana French fans (although it's much tamer on gore and language.) More info →
I loved this book. A girl-next-door type suddenly finds herself in an elite California prep school, and has to figure out how to navigate this new privileged world while still grieving her mother's death. When she gets an email from an unidentified boy who calls himself "Somebody Nobody" offering to be her spirit guide to her new school, she doesn't want to say yes—but she really needs his help. A sweet and fun teen romance, but also a pitch-perfect portrayal of the grieving process. More info →
It's trendy these days for every suspense novel to have a "shocking plot twist!" but this tightly-crafted novel makes your jaw drop time and again, without feeling gimmicky or manipulative. I was stunned as I slowly came to see that the story wasn't about what I thought it was about at all, and THAT is what you'll be burning to talk about. On a dark, rainy night, a mother lets go of her son's hand for just an instant. The devastating accident sets the plot in motion. Part police procedural, part domestic suspense, with the ring of authenticity, no doubt thanks to Mackintosh's own 12 years as a police officer. This is an emotional roller coaster of a book. (Sensitive themes ahead, so mind your triggers.) More info →
Jane Eyre lovers, you can relax: while Faye—and her heroine, Jane Steele—draw serious inspiration from Jane Eyre, it's not a retelling. Instead, it's delightfully meta: our titular narrator tells us the inspiration to write down her story came from "the most riveting book titled Jane Eyre." This Jane is a wise-cracking, whipsmart, unconventional young woman who rebels against Victorian convention, but she has a heart of gold. Numerous winks to the original make this tons of fun for Brontë fans: Jane becomes a governess, there's a stand-in for Mr. Rochester, and of course, something important is locked away in an attic. Perfect for readers who love plucky Victorian heroines, like you'd find in Deanna Raybourn novels. More info →
This was a summer reading guide top 5 pick. Janie knows her 4-year-old son Noah is not like other children. He's terrified of water. He asks for his "other mother." And he always, always wants to go home—even when he's in his very own bed. But one night, thanks to a late-night bourbon-fueled internet session, Janie stumbles upon the work of an eccentric scientist, and begins to confront the possibility that her precious son not only lived a previous life, he'd been murdered in it. You don't have to buy the premise to find this a satisfying read. More info →
Abbott has a reputation for writing nail-biters but this is the first of her work I read. In her newest release, she builds her domestic suspense around an elite teen gymnast—an excellent backdrop for a creepy mystery because in this high-stakes world people will stop at almost nothing to get what they want. Abbott kept me guessing the whole way through: just when I thought I had the mystery figured out, she pivoted again. Recommended reading for fans of Mary Kubica and Gillian Flynn. More info →
I never, and I mean never, would have picked this up on my own, and was surprised to love it. It’s a sci fi novel whose premise is pretty out there: it begins with a little girl falling through the earth and landing in the palm of a gigantic metal hand. Flash forward a few decades, and scientists begin to discover more body parts all over the globe. That's wild, right? But with its interesting structure and strong narrative drive, it works. I hear the full cast audio recording is terrific. More info →
I know a lot of Susan Meissner fans, and many of those readers cite this one as their favorite. The action goes back and forth in time between two women, a century apart, who are linked by a beautiful scarf and by their unlikely survival in two devastating tragedies in New York City. Meissner's tone makes this an easy, enjoyable read despite the tough subject matter, making it easy to polish off in a day. More info →
I devoured this in one sitting. Usually I don't think the premise sells the book, but this one does: Julie was kidnapped from her own home when she was thirteen, and eight years later, the mystery is unsolved. Her family assumes the worst but can't be sure. Then one day, the doorbell rings, and it's Julie. But as she settles in to her new, old family, inconsistencies begin to emerge in her story. Why would she lie? Is it really her? I couldn't resist turning the pages until I found out for myself. More info →
This fast-moving, cinematic thriller begins when the protagonist is kidnapped on his way home from meeting a friend, and is asked a strange question by his strangely familiar captor: "Are you happy with your life?" What The Martian did for space exploration, Dark Matter does for physics, and it works. Imagine the zaniness of Ready Player One, minus the video games or nostalgia trip. More info →
Imagine a happier Sliding Doors, with less cheating and more cinnamon rolls. When Hannah moves back to her hometown of Los Angeles, she spends a night on the town with an old friend. The decision she makes at the end of that night changes her life, and in alternating chapters, we find out exactly how. Like many Taylor Jenkins Reid books, this one is compulsively readable, but serious themes lay beneath the surface. More info →
I finished this one on a weekday afternoon when I was supposed to be working, because all I wanted to do was finish this book. It’s a novel about teenagers, in love, but I suspect it's more for the adults who survived the teen years than the teenagers living through them. The framing makes all the difference to this one: pay attention to the way Rowell cites Romeo & Juliet. It matters. More info →
What books did YOU find completely un-put-down-able? What are you reading for this category for the 2017 Reading Challenge?
I found Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier soo hard to put down. Also, pretty much anything by Liane Moriarty is bound to have me glued to the couch until I’m finished it!
I’m in the middle of Dark Matter now and I definitely could have finished it in one sitting if I had peace and quiet for a day! Little toddlers make those one sitting reads quite difficult at the moment and I miss them.
Such a great list! I’m with you on I let you go. I read until 4am to finish it. So it was awesome when my 3 kids (9months – 6) woke up an hour later. Interested in reading the Blake Crouch now – I liked his Wayward Pines trilogy.
Many of these books are in the “own a copy but haven’t read it yet” category for me so thank you for this list!!!! Gives me hope that I will read and enjoy them … and get my money’s worth!
Oh, no! That’s disappointing to hear. “A Gentleman in Moscow” was one of my favorite reads of the past several years, so I was assuming his other novel would be the same.
So glad to hear someone else didn’t like Rules of Civility. I found it really boring and had a hard time finishing it. And when I did, I was just glad it was over.
Okay, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But I did read these books in the opposite order than you, which I think makes a big difference for expectations. And his two books were way more different than I expected! I can see how the same reader wouldn’t necessarily love both, because plot and style are so different in each.
Reading Rules of Civility put me off to A Gentleman in Moscow, so I never tried that. I kept waiting for Rules to get better and for something to happen…and it didn’t?
I am a middle school teacher, so I will definitely agree with you on Eleanor and Park! I also really enjoyed Rowell’s Fangirl. I just read Rebecca Stead’s Good-bye Stranger in one day because I just had to see what happened.
Hmmm I’m usually so on board with you but I disagree with so much on this list! I hated sleeping giants — I found the characters to be insufferable, the dialogue unrealistic, and the captains log form of storytelling really hard to get into. And maybe in another life and Eleanor and park were two that I abandoned about a third of the way through, which I almost never do. Dark matter was going to be next up on my TBR, but now I’m questioning that choice?
I’m not saying I always loved these endings or that the books made my lifetime faves list, but a pleasant afternoon? YES.
Are you looking for books with a little more literary style? If so, I might be questioning Dark Matter, too. (We should be talking about this on the podcast!)
It’s like you read my mind — every week, I listen and wonder what you would recommend I read next!
literary… maybe? I don’t know that would be my top descriptor…. I love novels with magical prose that suck you into their world — the magicians, the night circus, station eleven, and bel canto are a few of my favorites. But I also feel like I have a lot of topics I avoid — nothing too gory or rape-y, can’t really handle kids getting cancer (or really anything bad happening to kids). I like a good thriller but usually get frustrated with their predictably. I love quirky characters (Lianne Moriarty, Kevin Kwan), but I still have to understand why they’re making their choices. And I occasionally enjoy more sci fi / time travel / ya type stories (11/22/63, ready player one, lunar chronicles).
Theory: Dark Matter is the kind of book that non-sci fi readers like myself enjoy, exactly because I *haven’t* seen it all/read it all/been through every possible sci fi plotline twenty times. The serious sci fi fans I’ve talked to have been underwhelmed by it.
(Or I could just say: it’s short! it’s fast! give it a shot! 😉 )
Ashley- I would highly recommend “The Sparrow” by Mary Doria Russell – it’s pretty amazing and unlike anything I ever read! And I do not even consider myself a Science Fiction fan! – Sue
Clare Mackintosh’s second book, I See You, was so good and I absolutely could not put it down until I found out what happened. I will gobble up anything she writes from now on.
Louise Penny! Even though part of me wants to read her books slowly so that I can enjoy them longer, I raced through them. I read A Great Reckoning in a day. Started at 11AM and finished at 11PM.
Thanks to your recommendation when I was on WSIRN, I read ‘Sleeping Giants’ and also could not put it down. It made a 9-hour train ride evaporate. I also loved ‘Jane Steele,’ and I just got a Kindle deal on ‘Tell Me Three Things’ — can’t wait to read that! But it’s going to be a while… I’ve never read any Neal Stephenson and the World War II plot thread in Cryptonomicon made me think it might be a good fit for me. I’m 20% into the 1100 pages, and I’m loving it. But it’s going to be about two weeks (three?!) until I’m ready for a new book.
I just finished Sleeping Giants and I’m dying to talk to someone about it! I loved the structure and the story was interesting. And the ending blew my mind a little!
The structure made it impossible to put down, right?! Plus, I loved feeling like I was digging through a filing cabinet of documents I wasn’t supposed to be reading. I can’t wait for the sequel this spring.
I’m so glad to hear that about Sleeping Giants! I think you’ll enjoy Jane Steele but would love to hear your thoughts on it regardless. And I hope you enjoy Tell Me Three Things!
I also finished Good As Gone in 24 hours, but wasn’t a huge fan! I really want to start reading Jane Steele—I’m sure that will be a 24 hour book for me.
At first I thought you meant Susan Meissner’s other books—in which case, you’d be set. For SQUEAKY clean language, I think you’d be good with Jane Steele. And while many of the others are not terribly salty, “squeaky” is not a word that would apply.
This year’s Newbery Award winner, The Girl who Drank the Moon, was wonderful. It took me more like 2 days, but it was so hard to put down. It is so beautifully written and I loved so many of the characters. It’s a fairy story that features good and evil, misrepresentation, a 12 year old girl, witches, magic, a dragon, a swamp monster, a bereaved mentally unstable mother and a hero. Very suspenseful second half of the book. Highly recommend!
I really didn’t like “In the Woods”. I don’t mind a flawed MC, but I need to be able to root for them and I like mysteries to be wrapped up. Is “The Likeness” enough of a departure that I should give it a shot?
“The Likeness” is my favorite in the series and I have read it twice. It is partly about the aftermath of “In the Woods,” but only for Cassie. It was more psychological than the first one, and Cassie is a great protagonist. It almost has a supernatural ghost story sort of feel, but it isn’t a ghost story at all, if that makes any sense.
Your “breezy novels” from the 2014 summer reading guide were ALL hard to put down! The Rosie Project, What Alice Forgot, Someday someday maybe, Where’d You Go Bernadette?, and Attachments. Loved them
I’m so glad you included Tell Me Three Things! I read it late last year and it’s been gnawing at me to read it again because it made me so happy. I love your list (and your awesome blog) and these are all on my TBR list!
I crave books that pull me in, make me forget the outside world. Full immersion, heck yea. One that comes to mind immediately is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Also (and for completely different reasons) The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, as well as Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.
On a totally unrelated note (but because these are books I reread), Goodreads now has an easy way to mark rereads without an exceptionally convuluted way of adding editions (that someone pointed out to me just days ago). It’s explained on their website. If you have added editions, or noted number of times read previously, they have taken this into account.
Wow, great list! I’ve read 5: What Alice Forgot, A Fall of Marigolds, I Let You Go, The Likeness, and Dark Matter. Really enjoyed them all, but I’m physically incapable of one-sitting reading anymore— but I used to when younger!
An eclectic group of books, lol. I also have 3 on my “wishlist” already. The other ones I’ve heard of, but maybe I should give them another look. Thanks for sharing a fun list with us 🙂
Two books that I’ve read in the last week that were hard to put down: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbough and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. Both of these were well written and I couldn’t put them down. I had to know how they ended! (Heads up – Big Little Lies has a lot of strong language in it.)
Right now I’m reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. I LOVE it! Sometimes shifting perspectives can be distracting, but in this one, I find it keeps the pace up and makes it up-put-downable.
Bless you for this list! I am emerging from new-baby fog and I needed a jump start back into reading. This post did the trick. Thanks, my favorite blogger! 🙂
Thanks for this. I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction, which, while interesting, is rarely un-put-down-able. I did feel that way about Sue Klebold’s memoir, though. I forget the title, but she’s be mother of one of the Columbine shooters.
I agree! Another non fiction I could not put down is The Road Through Wonderland. I was a wreck when I finished and immediately emailed the author and she responded right away:))
I’m going to have to read A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner! I’m excited to know you liked it so much. I read one of her other novels, Secrets of a Charmed Life, and loved it. Have you read it, too?
My Reading Challenge “unputdownable” book was All The Light We Cannot See. I didn’t get through it in 24 hours, but I couldn’t focus on anything else until I finished it. The narrative and the characters are so compelling, that I didn’t really think about how well it was written until after I had finished it and had time to reflect. I kept discovering the brilliance of the themes as I thought more and more about it. It filled up my head so much that I couldn’t start another book for a few days and, even then, I needed a “palate cleanser.” Lessons from Madame Chic was a feel-good, no plot choice. Rules of Civility is one of my favorite books, What Alice Forgot is fantastic. Tell Me Three Things and I Let You Go are waiting on my kindle!
All the Light We Cannot See is one of my favorite books of all time! I don’t usually read books twice, but this one I reread a few years after the first read. I loved the writing, imagery, character development; I loved it all, again, after the second read.
I just finished I Let You Go. I am glad I kept reading. I rarely don’t finish as book (already had a DNF early this week) but I was going to stop this one too as I didn’t want to keep reading about a mother grieving…glad I kept with it and stayed up late to do so!! Dark Matter is in my library wait list already too.
I am so happy to see the Sea of Tranquility, I LOVED that book. I know its old but I would put the twilight series on this list, especially the first book.
Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart is my favorite 4th of July memory- the day I sat out on the patio in the gorgeous sunshine and read that book beginning to end!
My favorite unputdownable book is I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. With alternating points of view and a plot that weaves together in unexpected ways, you won’t be able to leave jt once you start. Most recent unputdownable that I’ve read was Behind Closed Doors. The pacing and need to know that everything will be okay will make you race through it, though the subject matter may leave you wanting to put it down.
I recently read Small Great Things. I couldn’t put it down. It ripped my heart out, made me angry, made me cry…so many emotions! It left me questioning so many things about myself.
Mine was Where We Belong by Emilie Griffin. I love everything she writes, but that one never left my hands until I turned the last page. Oh, and tickled to see a Sliding Doors reference. Loved that movie. One more in-put-downable: The Heartbreaker by Susan Howatch
I chose What Alice Forgot for this category, not expecting to like it very much. But I did! I read it every chance I could get. I have Rules of Civility on my stack next, after I finish Angle of Repose.
I guess I have good taste! I am loving everything by Wallace Stegner, but I have been putting off reading Angle of Repose because I know I will just want to curl up on the couch and read until I finish it, but I am too, too busy right now. I am only about 75 pages into it. We are leaving on a trip on Tuesday so I plan to read it on the plane for hours. <3
I loved The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen and Lola M. Rogers so much I could not put it down. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel and Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple were two others I read in a day. One author no one has mentioned so far is Sharyn McCrumb, who writes books set in northeast Tennessee (where I live). I read her latest Prayers the Devil Answers in one day last summer.
Jane Eyre is my favorite book. Period. Jane Steele was one of my absolute favorite books of 2016. It was so much fun! I loved all the callbacks to Eyre. The story was vibrant and just different enough from Eyre that I wasn’t constantly comparing the two. I am constantly recommending it to people. Love it, love it, love it.
Glad to see I Let You Go on this list. I listened (on actual CD’s) in the car, usually reserved for my daily commute. Reader, I DROVE AROUND on my lunch break just to listen to the ending. I dreamed of the characters the night before I finished the book.
I have just finished Stir by Jessica Fechtor . – My broken brain and the meals that brought me home. She honestly shares her fears and feelings after a brain aneurysm at age 28. As the Wall Street Journal says of this small book: ‘”a recipe for living a life of meaning.”
Before that l read Belgravia by Julian Fellowes who created Downton Abbey. It felt like a Jane Austen -lite- book and was great fun.
Love this post! I’ve requested everything I can at my public library. Any thoughts if Dark Matter might be an appropriate read for high school students?
Allison–I would hand it out to high schoolers, although probably 16 and older. I read it last summer and it was compelling, although I did not understand much of the science. 😉 Lots of ethical and scientific topics for discussion. It does contain murders in the story.
I’m in an unputdownable dry spell, and I want to read ALL of these! The only one I’ve read is Eleanor & Park, which is wonderful. I’ve been on kind of a high-literature kick for a while, and while I appreciate those novels, many of them don’t really have that unputdownable feel. I’d hoped The Girl on the Train would be my palate cleanser after hearing all the hype, but I was kind of disappointed–maybe because it just couldn’t live up to the hype at this point.
Thanks for this and other lists–I love your blog and have been digging into archives these past few days!
I actually just finished “Tell Me Three Things” about 20 minutes ago, and came to MMD to decide on my next read (despite my long TBR stack!). I really enjoyed it — and it literally took me 24 hours. I adored “Rules of Civility”, and have recommended it to so many friends (for what it’s worth, I also loved “A Gentleman in Moscow”, but for different reasons — it was definitely a quieter book).
“Before The Fall”, “A Man Called Ove”, and “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society” were three other ‘unputdownable’ books for me (all based on recommendations from WSIRN). I’ve also been devouring the Inspector Gamache stories from Louise Penny, but I deliberately take my time with them so that I can savor their coziness. They’ve actually inspired me to seek out other mystery series, and I stumbled across the Commissario Brunetti series by Donna Leon which are set in Venice; the first is “Death at La Fenice”, and the combination of the protagonist Brunetti and the lush descriptions of Venice had me hooked.
I had a hard time getting into Guernsey. I was so frustrated because I knew so many people that loved it, and ‘on paper’ it was a perfect fit for me. Finally I got it on Audible and that was the key. I ‘binge listened’ to the book and could not have loved it more, even getting my husband into it since it was the weekend. 🙂
I keep meaning to start that Donna Leon series. Readers with good taste keep mentioning it in the same breath as books I love—especially Louise Penny. Thanks for the nudge!
Lots of yes to The Forgetting Time and Sea of Tranquility. Ones I flew through: Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (really good YA about mermaids – it works!), Last Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, and anything by Jenny B. Jones or Sarah Addison Allen.
Well this list was dangerous to my TBR list! Eleanor & Park was definitely a quick read for me too, stayed up until 3am (with a 15 month old who didn’t sleep in!) to read in one sitting!
I spent last Friday night happy reading Maybe in Another Life. It’s not a 5-star book, but it certainly was an enjoyable read. I also loved the reading experience of I Let You Go.
If you’re looking for delightful 84, Charing Cross Road and The Red Notebook are similar enough to make a good pairing and short enough that both could be read within 24 hours.
I’m sleep deprived this week because I stayed up way to late re-reading The Snow Child. Oh how I love that book!
A Man Called Ove was my most recent unputdownable. LOVED IT! I haven’t read any on this list, which made me happy Reading this also made me realize I should be going home to read, instead of hanging out in my classroom on a Friday afternoon. 🙂 Taking care of me, now.
All the Sarah Addison Allen books I’ve read can definitely be in the unputdownable category. They aren’t suspenseful at all, so it’s not the drive to find out what happens next that keeps me going. It’s more the comfort of a familiar story but told with a twist of magic and a hint of whimsy that makes me devour them in such a short time.
I also read You Will Know Me and I Let You Go in 24 hours! Other books
I just couldn’t put down:
Fractured by Catherine McKenzie
I See You by Clare Mackintosh
These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf
Find Her by Lisa Gardner
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout
I think Gone Girl may be an obvious pick here, but I’d also add Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, which I tend to recommend as an “if you loved Gone Girl” book. It’s a YA book based on the Amanda Knox case, about a girl on spring break with friends who’s accused of her best friend’s murder.
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall and The Wonder by Emma Donoghue. The former because it was reminiscent of To Kill A Mockingbird and the latter because I really just wanted to know what happened!!
Bones & All by: Camille DeAngelis. I read this last year it was amazing. The book I read just yesterday in one day was the new JD Robb novel Echoes in Death. But, I’ve been reading this “in death” series for 14 years so, tend to devour them when they come out.
I also love The Death series, but I have listened to all of them. If you haven’t ever listened to one I highly recommend it. The reader is awesome and she has done every one in the series.
Two non fiction books I couldn’t down:
Juniper, the girl who was born too soon by Tom and Kelley French and No Biking in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Faye Greene
I keep hearing great things about Juniper. I heard the author speak last year (and LOVED that episode of RadioLab) but haven’t read it yet. I don’t know the Greene book—thanks for the rec.
The Greene book is not new-I read it years ago, but obviously it stuck with me! It is laugh out loud funny at times. I remember trying to read aloud some parts to my family and being unable to because I was laughing so hard!
Juniper lives up to all the hype it’s getting. So well written (both of her parents are award winning journalists), and so compelling.
If you’re looking for more…Robert Charles Wilson’s Last Year, Chris Pavone’s The Travelers, Christopher Buckley’s The Relic Master, and Catherine Banner’s The House at the Edge of Night. In the order I listed, I’d call them science fiction/time travel, suspenseful thriller, humorous historical fiction, and a generation-spanning literary drama.
I have “What She Knew” sitting on my bedside table. Now I’m really ready to dive in!! “A Walk Across the Sun” was absolutely unputdownable for me. Great fiction that reads like John Grisham, but sheds light on an important, tough topic of sex-trafficking. Don’t let the theme scare you. This is well written and very good. Also!! I loved Amy Matayo’s “The End of the World.” Excellent. OH! Jodi Picot’s, “Small Great Things.” I couldn’t start a book for quite a while after that one because I just kept chewing on it and couldn’t let it go.
I love John Grisham, so thanks for the Across the Sun recommendation. I listen to audio books all the time so I can still cook, clean up, and take my dogs for a walk while still getting my book fix. I’ll look for that one, as well as several others in this whole article.
Your post came at THE perfect time– we are leaving soon for a quick get away and I needed to load my Kindle. I bought 8 of the books you recommended. I already read 6 of the ones you suggested and loved them so I’m confident these new picks will be perfect for beach reading!!
I just finished this at 3am this morning: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. An #ownvoices title, it won the 2016 Stonewall Award in the YA category. The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. This book is eye-opening and important to read. I loved Amanda and felt her emotions were wrenching and understandable. of the Species by Mindy McGinnis, Audible with 3 different narrators. Brutal story with believable characters. Not for the faint of heart. This book received at least 6 starred reviews from different library journals and ended up on a few Best Books of 2016.
I also loved A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner. It is very special.
Dark Matter is definitely unputdownable. I read Sleeping Giants, it was just ok for me.
Good as Gone, Maybe in Another Life, What Alice Forgot, The Sea of Tranquility, all have been added to the TBR list but,
I am going to start The Likeness by Tana French in a few minutes!
Excuse me, that seems rather unkind and uncalled for. Readers do not judge other readers. The point is not that we are reading “hard” books, but that we are reading. Have you never been so engrossed in a book that you do not move from the couch all day? If not, I am very sorry for you indeed. Even a “hard” book, can be read in a day if the reader can commit the time. How are we supposed to define this elusive state of “hardness”. Is it in the length of the sentences? The number of pages? The thoughts within? Even the simplest of prose can contain the most challenging of ideas. I am all for challenging and pushing oneself to greater heights of reading, but not at the cost of tearing others down. Have fun with your “hard” books this weekend. I hope they bring you as much enjoyment as my assortment will provide me!
But … but … Ethan Frome! Night! Narrative of the Life of an American Slave! The Metamorphosis! The Old Man and the Sea! Heart of Darkness! The Awakening! The Little Prince! Henry James!
It’s true that I’ve included narrative-driven contemporary works in this list, and will we still be reading them in a hundred years? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t take that bet. But some amazing authors through the centuries have written works that they hoped and prayed and intended their audiences would consume quickly (whether by reading or listening), in a day or two (aka 24 hours) or even in one sitting.
I read Tell Me Three Things after hearing about it on one of your podcast episodes and LOVED it. It’s not something I normally would have picked up, so THANK YOU!
I have a couple of these books right now! They’ve been patiently waiting for me to get to them! Great list – the only downside is my Amazon wish list is getting bigger all the time!
The Likeness is my favorite Tana French book. Hands down. A series that I just gobbled up was/is the Foreigner series by CJ Cherryh. It is SF but not…It is about clashing cultures, language vs communication and loyalty/friendship in unexpected places. It is my go to when I can’t find anything to read from the library/Audible/Kindle.
I just finished “Lucky Boy” by Shanthi Sekaran, and I could not put it down until I finished it. The subject matter — illegal immigration, parental rights versus adoptive parents’ rights, are so timely right now (not just politically, but socially). I am choosing this book for my April book club selection, because it will definitely make for a terrific discussion.
What a fun post topic! I’ve read five of the books you mentioned, thanks to you :), and I completely agree that they were all unputdownable. I poured through Rules of Civility on a cross-country flight, and Tell Me Three Things during a rainy Saturday afternoon “nap” (I planned on napping after reading a couple of chapters!). You Will Know Me and Good as Gone both had me guessing, and continuing on to find out the truth. What Alice Forgot had me guessing the whole time as well, and I LOVED it –I think it’s my favorite of the ones listed here. Regarding Tell Me Three Things, I definitely feel like it was one that I might be a bit embarrassed to say I’ve read (for the high school drama) — isn’t there a reading challenge category for that? — but I agree that the grieving process was spot on and I loved that the author had others see the main character as stronger than she thought she was. And wouldn’t we all want a secret, special friend who could hold our hand through such things?
Kathy…. please read what YOU want to read. Reading is personal… so personal. I’ll bet you if you think about the people in your family or think about your friends, they all read different books. They might recommend something you love and then again, they might recommend something and you would look at it and say to yourself, that really isn’t for me.
That’s why we librarians have to know our books..and get to know our customers so we can match the two.
Just fyi…if you haven’t heard about it, the American Library Association also announces the ALEX awards every year at their Mid-winter conference ..along with the Printz, the Newbery, the Caldecott, etc. (there are 19 awards categories in all).
The Alex awards go to ten books written for adults that are considered great crossover books into the YA world.
Great comment, Barb! I agree that everyone should read what makes them happy, or at least they like it for other reasons, if it’s not a “happy” type book.
I read Small Great Things in 24 hours…..couldn’t put it down! ….and re “Literate’s” comment…..it was quite a thoughtful read dealing with difficult and challenging issues…..the read was life changing
Same here, Carol! It challenged so many of my beliefs-about MYSELF! I can’t stop thinking about it. It was painful but in a good way. I passed it on to my Mom, who now can’t sleep because she can’t put it down. It’s not a “hard” read in the way that “Literate” may be thinking, but there are many ways for a book to be hard. I am so glad I read this one and hope the lessons I learned stick with me as well as continue to develop. Love, LOVE this list!
I just saved a bunch of these picks, so thank you. Also, I need to say that The Sea of Tranquility is absolutely nothing like Eleanor and Park with the exception of the two main characters starting off as unlikely friends. Not sure where you saw that comparison. And TSOT blows E&P away.
I love this list, and have added all but 2 to my TBR! I just devoured Tana French’s first two Dublin Murder Squad novels this past week. You’re right that the premise of The Likeness should be tough to swallow, but because I trust this author so wholeheartedly after In The Woods, I didn’t care one bit. She has become a fast favorite.
Tana French is one of my favorites, too. I read the first two Murder Squads and agree that The Likeness is a little farfetched, but it captivated me none the less. Just let go and enjoy the ride. You won’t be disappointed!
Oh boy, now I have to request some of these at my library! What is the content like in You Will Know Me and Good as Gone? I really can’t stand an abundance of profanity, but I’m able to handle suspense and a little gore. I read Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris and Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen pretty quickly, though the other books by Dessen didn’t quite grab me.
You have to read Bird Box by Josh Malerman, I am not usually a fan of books that scare me but this book I could not put down!!! It was so good! And I love Tana French, I couldn’t put down In The Woods, The likeness, Her whole series is soooo good! I love your list! Now I know what to get next time I go to the Library, Thank you!!!!
Okay, I want to know if it was just me, but when I read “Rules of Civility” I felt like there were some historical inaccuracies, mostly to do with clothing, but also with how the main character would approach certain situations. It felt too modern at times for the a 1930s setting (there was one mention of a woman being out and about in tight jeans, which would have a been a major fashion faux pas and not even how jeans were made!). I enjoyed the story, but every once in a while something like that detail would jump out at me, and unfortunately its the main thing I remember about it and kind of makes me worried about reading “Gentleman in Moscow.”
Towles has said that he values story over historical accuracy (although he was specifically referencing Moscow at the time, not rules.)
However: I think sometimes authors painstakingly check their facts, much more than we give them credit for. An author friend wrote a book with a reference to polyester thread being used in the 1930s, and it’s the #1 thing she gets emails about on that book. Google says it didn’t exist then, but Google is wrong this time. That may not be the case here, but it did open my eyes to how my general impressions of a time period aren’t always correct, and how Google is wrong sometimes, too.
I just finished When Breath Becomes Air. You will need a few tissues for this. This is about a young doctor who is diagnosed with lung cancer. I couldn’t stop reading.
Also, read Trevor Noah’s book Born A Crime. Simply amazing how he became such a big star of a great show.
Thank you Anne for this wonderful post!!! I loved every single suggestion and can’t wait to read each one!! Your the best!!! One of the books I read recently that I couldn’t put down was the, “Queen of the Tearling” series by Ericka Johansen. There are three books in this series, each one I loved and devoured.
I just started Deborah Crombie’s new book “Garden of Lamentations” last night…. I stayed up way too late reading it! I’m glad we have a huge snowstorm on the way. I can sit and read the day away! I love her Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series.
I read Good As Gone last night in under five hours! Thanks for the recommends, I can’t wait to start another – I’ve got my book club this week so I’m waiting until after to start our next book.
I am excited to try some books on your list. I love Unputdownable books. I have started listening to Audible while I cook and drive and am reading way more than I used to. Excited to try a few of yours. Last year I read “A Man Called Ove” by Frederick Backman. It was probably my favorite of the year. Am currently reading and am very moved by “Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult. I am trying to savor it because I only get 1 book a month on Audible, but will probably fly through it like I did last month with “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd. Both of these last two have a common thread and I feel entertained and dare I say, educated at the same time. All three of these are excellent.
I was just going to suggest checking with your library for downloadable audiobooks. My library has a great selection, it’s easy to use, and supplements by Audible subscriptions very well.
Beth, I was extremely happy to discover that there are now several apps that are free that allow you to check out audio books from the library. They seem to accept any library card in the country. That allows me to listen to many more books than I could afford to otherwise. Overdrive is my favorite of these that I’m aware of, but for some reason, hoopla has some books that Overdrive doesn’t, and I’m using the same library card. Check them out.
I just finished Every Heart is a Doorway by Sranan McGuire in two nights. Would have been one but one but it was during the week and I had work. Such a fun read.
You should read any/all of Heather Gudenkauf’s books (The Weight of Silence, These Things Hidden, One Breath Away, Little Mercies, and Missing Pieces – due out July 2017). It won’t even take you 24 hours to read these – they are incredible!!
Never heard of some of these books, but after reading this post, I’d love to try “What Alice Forgot” ; “A fall of Marigolds” ; “Maybe in another Life” ; “Jane Steele” ! Lovely post, and great recommendations ! xx
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that I’ve read almost all of these! I just checked and my library doesn’t have any of the others on audio, so they will have to wait. I love a good nail biter!
I agree! The reporter frustrated me to no end but that didn’t keep me from finishing and enjoying this book.
As for different likes, I recommend most anything by Neil Gaiman, especially The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neverwhere or The Graveyard Book. They are different than books listed here, but a fun escape to worlds only imagined.
I love all Neal Shusterman! His newest book Scythe, YA dystopian adventure did not disappoint. Set in a society where death, war, hunger have been conquered…His Unwind trilogy are my favorite dystopian novels. I read Scythe in less than two days!
I could never read a real book in 24 hours no matter how good it was. Too many kids to give me that kind of nice quality time with a book. I’m happy to be on track and slighlty ahead with my 1 book a week challenge. Between a book club and my random book selections I’m doing quite good on reading goals. I’m going to add some of yours to my list!
I completely agree with the Nightingale being an amazing book. I’m not into history but this book was so good I actually learned about that time period while reading a great book. Another one that I would say was just as good and in this category of historical fiction is The Orphan Train. Happy reading!
I just finished To the Bright Edge of the World, which is historical fiction about the exploration of Alaska in the late 1800’s. It is a very well-crafted book and fun reading. It is also a very good book for a book group discussion
Agreed! I find myself thinking of Jeannette Walls frequently and I wonder if her story will, in fact, be made into a movie as mentioned. An inspirational, yet sad story.
TY so much to all the contributors–have added these titles to my list as well as some of the other suggestions. I loved Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch and The Hideaway by Laura Denton.
The Shack! We were on vacation a few years ago and it was a suggestion on my kindle. I read the synopsis and wasn’t sure. I was raised catholic and religion is such a touchy subject!! I thought it might be “too deep” for a vacation read. But I bought it!!! Read it in less than 24 hours. Beautiful book. Very touching. Gave me a new perspective on my faith!! Sad but beautiful. And Defending Jacob! Sucked me in and I couldn’t put the book down!! Thank you for the blog!!!
One of my favorites. It triggered the best discussion we’ve ever had at book club. It’s one of the first books I mention when someone asks for a recommendation.
I was reading it at work and i would finish a chapter and so oh he did it. I’d finish another chapter and say no no he couldn’t of done it!! I drove my co-workers nuts!
Completely agree. I started reading Defending Jacob on the flight to our D.C. Spring Break vacation, and literally ended up sitting in the Museum of Natural History reading because I HAD to finish it.
Same kind of different as me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It’s an amazing story and is coming to theaters in October of this year. Check it out before you see the movie. AMAZING!
The Nazi Officers Wife. For me this was beyond belief, I was half way through the book before I realized it was a true story. We have no concept of what people went through during WW2. I couldn’t put it down
I always forget about that author yup loved what I read. Still alice was so good and inside the obriens was also good. I still need to read her Anthony book.
I had this happen recently with “how i lost you” – a mystery of a woman who was jailed for murdering her infant son in a postpartum psychosis – at least that’s what they told her. Then things start appearing, and the crown prosecutor disappears, and she’s forced to figure out what really happened.
I have recently fallen in love with Susanna Kearsley. LOVE every one one of her books that I have read so far (approximately 6 of them since Christmas) but my absolute favourite was The Rose Garden.
I blew through Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking trilogy! YA isn’t always my thing, but his books are full of on-the-edge-of-your-seat action while also providing plenty of meaty topics to chew on. They’re all too long to read in 24 hours but still definitely worthwhile!
I thought I’d take a Friday night and Saturday to read Susan Meissner’s A Fall of Marigolds. I forgot about going to sleep and finished the book around 2:30 a.m.
I loved it so much, I read it again on Saturday! What a great story! I’d never read any of Susan Meissner’s work before. I’ve since read 2 more and have a new one to start today.
I love that book! I read it many years ago, and can’t remember the plot, but was has stuck with me is how amazing it was when I read it. I might need to read it again!
“You” by Caroline Kepnes; Followed up by “Hidden Bodies” by Caroline Kepnex. Story of a stalker/serial killer obsessed with finding love. He even makes you feel a little sorry for him.
I’ve written two such books that are un-put-down-able (so my readers have said) and in the process of writing my third. May I send you a complimentary copy? I’d love to be added to your list. My first book is titled, “Mayor of Nut Valley—Managing Life’s Nonsense” and my second “More Nut Valley Nonsense.” Both are nonfiction. I’ve been told they are written in the same vain as George Lucas’s, “American Graffiti”….
Anything by Elena Ferrante. I could not put down the Neopolitan novels. The story of Lila and Elena through the years was captivating. Also, Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove. Another one that I just could not put down.
Replay, by Ken Grimwood. Came out in the 1980s, but I reread it recently and it still holds up. “What if you could live your life over again? And again? And again? And again?”
I read this the first time when I was supposed to be studying for a final the next day; I intended to read a couple chapters, but read the whole thing and never did get any studying done. After the final (which I did well on, whew!) I went home and read Replay all over again.
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini – as a Canadian, I wanted to understand more about life and struggles for women (and men) in Afghanistan. I finished it feeling informed, empathetic and inspired. One of my best reads in my entire life.
Sea of Tranquility, yes!!!!
I recommend Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult. Every single one of her books is INCREDIBLE (so, naturally, I recommend them all), but this particular piece is so moving, so beautiful, so full of knowledge, and so “jaw-dropping.” I can’t say it enough… read this book!
Danielle-I agree about Jodi Picoult. Her books haven’t all necessarily been my favorites ever, but they have all been un-put-down-able!!! I have pulled some all-nighters because of her-so much fun!
To go along with the Jodi Picoult theme of these last few comments, I read the entirety of Small Great Things yesterday. It was incredibly riveting and eye-opening – it provides a sharp acknowledgement of contemporary racism and its effects. It was phenomenal.
I agree that there is value in reading books by authors from a wide variety of backgrounds. That said accusations and shame rarely achieve the desired result – they are more likely to make people defensive than affect change.
Additionally, I’ve read several books by POC since I started listening to Anne’s podcast that I hadn’t heard of elsewhere or that Anne’s description made me pick up immediately.
Maybe instead of a throwaway judgemental comment, you could have offered some options?
You know what? You and Laura are exactly right. I should have responded differently. With less of a throwaway comment, and more along the lines of attempting to be helpful. Thank you for pointing that out. I won’t respond a whole lot to all the other kinds of comments about skin color not mattering. I thought about doing so, but realized I probably wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind. However, suffice it to say that this “colorblindness” is called erasure. When we choose to erase race from the conversation, we have a default to whiteness. It means that People of Color are excluded. In terms of suggested titles, I will happily provide some. I saw that Joanne suggested A Thousand Splendid Suns which is a great read. I will get back with some others. Thanks again for the suggestion. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Here are some books by authors of color that fit this blog post theme. If I find more, I’ll share those as well.
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay (LOVE her!)
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Ruby by Cynthia Bond
Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Anything by Octavia Butler (Sci-Fi)
Anything by Jhumpa Lahiri
I’m still the 25th hold out of 4 copies for Difficult Women:( Once the audio version comes out I’ll probably go ahead and buy it.
Here are a few YA recs
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (and I’ve heard her recent release is even better, but again library hold)
The Living by Matt de la Pena
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
I just listened to this podcast with Roxane Gay on Sooo Many White Guys. It was absolutely delightful. If you haven’t heard it yet, maybe that will sustain you until you get to number 1 on the list. (Not sure if we can post URLs in a comment or not…) http://www.wnyc.org/shows/whiteguys
Thanks for the additional recs. Hope others chime in as well. I have some serious reading to do. And I’m still working on Americanah…somehow I missed that in 2013, when all my friends were reading it. Not a 24 hour read–but well worth the time.
People are loving this Facebook post and all the great shares. SO many amazing books. Thanks for inspiring it:
(Americanah has been mentioned 3 times–tho I’m not sure that is anywhere near a 24 hour read–maybe)
Anything by Jesmyn Ward
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis
All About Love: New VIsions by bell hook
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching by Mychal Denzel Smith
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (Person recommended pretty much anything the author writes)
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon (Said it was her best read in all of 2016)
As someone said on the Facebook post, that is one badass list. And folks can alternate, if they choose, to take in more of the richness of writers in America. Thanks to those who are actually open and interested in doing this. I hope you find some great reads on all these lists.
Great list! I added a few to my “to read” pile. Check out Lisa Genova’s books. She wrote “Still Alice” but ALL of her books are fantastic if you like medical fiction. I can never put her books down and tend to reread them!
I loved the book All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. It’s one of those books where I leaves you stunned and you just want to curl up in a ball when you finish it. I highly suggest it!
I finished “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms” by N K Jemisin last week and it was enthralling – best fantasy I’ve read in ages.
I feel like I recommend this every time I comment here, but “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng is riveting – luckily because I started it the day that it was due back to the library.
This was one book that I didn’t find particularly enjoyable. I did finish it, because it was suspenseful (and book club), but I just didn’t like or relate to any of the characters, so it is tough for me to enjoy a book like that.
I used to not note the author’s skin color or gender either, but then I realized how homogeneous my reading lists were, and how boring. I was reading the same ideas over and over. I pay more attention to the authors I choose now, and my reading lists is much healthier because of it–and my world view more complete.
(I promise this is my very last comment. I’m done now! )
And how smart you are, Criss! I just tripped over this post that listed 34 books by Women of Color. And from that piece:
“If you don’t care: oh, where to start. A xenophobic, misogynistic fascist is president; hate is ascendant; and it’s easiest to forget the shared humanity of people whose lives we haven’t tried imagining. Studies show, for instance, decreased homophobia among Americans who have so much as watched a bit of Will & Grace. Inclusion has real consequences.”
Here’s the post: https://electricliterature.com/34-books-by-women-of-color-to-read-this-year-581eda906a76#.nyigfnhwk
My all time favorite is September by Rosamunde Pilcher. Like most of her books it makes one long to be in the Scottish countryside. More of a character study than a driving plot. Also excellent was Shell Seekers. Love this author. ❤
Yes! I also loved Tana French’s The Likeness. I think her The Secret Place is just as good. Both are about friendship–it seems to be what she does best.
“Calling me home” by Julie Kibler. This novel managed to break my heart then patch it up only to make my heart get back in the ring for round two. I read this books years ago and still I recommend it to everyone. Definitely one of those that touch your heart and linger near your soul.
Couldn’t put down “My Name is Lucy Barton” by Elizabeth Strout. I love the author’s voice… It’s was if she was having a conversation with me and sharing her insights humbly. Portrayed complicated people with kindness.
I just read “The Book of Speculation” by Erika Swyler in less than a day. It’s a really interesting book that flips back and forth between time periods, but it’s not confusing or tedious at all. I couldn’t wait to figure out the ending!
Frederik Backman is a magical writer! Loved ‘A Man Called Ove’ and “Britt Marie was Here.” I am starting “My Grandmothers Asked Me to Tell you She’s Sorry.” (or something like that). I cannot stop thinking about Ove!
I just came across this page from someone that shared this on Facebook, and boy I must say I am so happy to have stumbled upon that link and your blog! What a homey and cozy feel you have here, and I will be sure to check your entires day after day.
Just saved your list to come back to. I loved The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain.
Also, not a mystery, but gripping, is my memoir about fighting cancer during my first pregnancy: Tiger in rather Dark.
The Girl in the Train – Paula Hawkins. And several years ago,
The DaVinci Code – Dan Brown. I began this book at 8am on a Sunday and read straight through ’til midnight to finish !
You are right-on about these – I read 3 of them in the last 5 days! And have another to pick up at the library tonight. Whenever I need a suggestion of what to read, I always find many good options here ?
I was like this with Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. I didn’t want to even go out dancing cause I wanted to stay at home and finish this book. I recommend it to everyone!
Montana Sky by Nora Roberts, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage, anything by Kate Morton. Also loved The Red Tent, The House We Grew Up In, and anything by Jodi Picoult!
Not yet but on my book club list for this year. Heard good things about it.
susan hall says:
I couldn’t get into that book.
Donna says:
Loved it
Patricia Anderson says:
Great list! i have read 3 on the list and they are hard to put down. I would add these to the list: The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth Church and The Sleepwalker by Chris Bojalian.
Love this list – great books for my daily walks in the woods. I used your link to buy four books on Audible, and put many of the others I haven’t already read on my wish list. Hopefully that means you get credit for recommending them.
May I recommend Just Mercy, by Dorothy Van Soest? Available via bookstores or Amazon. Amazing story of a family on a journey of grief and healing. Perhaps the best description is given by Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., author of Dead Man Walking:
A heart-wrenching and ultimately redemptive family drama of forgiveness, destiny, and the true nature of justice. This family drama is a must-read that teaches us about the true nature of justice and our very humanity.”
I read this book within 4 hours! I was left breathless by the end. Not only was this an amazing read, it revolutionized my life, as well
The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert. I got it free from Amazon but will definitely be buying the other books in the trilogy.It’s YA human vs spirit realm. Think Frank Peretti or Stephen King but not as heavy.
I rarely sit down and read a book in one sitting but yesterday I almost finished The Dry. I think you recommended this book on one of your podcasts. You said Reese Weatherspoon bought the movie rights before it even went to press.
Random question: Have you been watching Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies on HBO? Our book club had this as a book choice and I couldn’t finish it, but the show on TV is pretty good although our rated.
Michal’s Destiny, Roberta Kalen – about a young Russian Jewish woman prior to the Holocaust.
Yellow Crocus, Laila Ibrahim – historical fiction about a Southern black woman working for wealthy Plantation owners.
The Secret Life of Dresses, Erin McKean – a truly lovely story.
The Ice Princess, Camilla Lackberg – Crime fiction – LOVED SO MUCH I read the next 2-3 books in the series one after another. Could not put down!
I just finished a debut “novel” (it’s actually a true family story, but reads like a novel) called “We Were The Lucky Ones”. It’s a meticulously researched, gripping novel about a Jewish family with 5 adult children scattered all over Europe trying to survive the holocaust. I devoured it- and I don’t use that type of recommendation often! It was published just last month- February 2017- so it’s hot off the press. I got it from my library and can’t stop talking about it.
I read Chevy Stevens’ new thriller, Never Let You Go, in 24 hours. And although it took me a little longer than that, because of work, I tore through The Royal We, too.
My lasted 24 hour book was A Dog’s Purpose. Haven’t seen the movie but the book was a page turner and a bit of a tear jerker at times. Loved it so much I don’t want to see the movie as it would destroy the pictures I have of it in my mind.
I just finished The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and The Collector (Nora Roberts) both were so good! I have The Shack here handy and ready and I want to read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harrold Fry and The little Paris Bookshop!
I’m not a reader, but secretly wish I was. Something that I cannot stand is when chapters alternate between different characters points of view. Can anyone recommend a good book that doesn’t do that?
I’m not a fan of this writing style either – it interrupts the story too much in my opinion. You should try Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King….there are no chapters and it’s told in one long story by Dolores. It’s not typical weird/horror King – just a really good story that is hard to put down! An oldie but a goodie.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Cline, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay – all riveting reads, couldn’t put them down!
“Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Cline set me on a path through ALL of her books. Each has been memorable.
The book that has affected me most recently was “Small Great Things” by Jody Picoult. Took me longer than 24 hours because frankly, it often made me uncomfortable. Very timely subject matter, exploring racism and white supremacy with an unforgettable story. Months later… I am still pondering this book.
My favorite book of all time is “Unbroken.” Everyone who has never been touched by a War in some way should read this book. It will leave you with a respect for our Military.
I loved Unbroken! I couldn’t put it down. It took me longer than 24 hours to read because It was a long book and I’m a slow reader but it was a page turner. I couldn’t believe all that happened to one person.
My favorite unable to put it down is The Proud Breed by Celeste DeBlasis. Have read it at least 10 times and shared with many friends over the years. Reading again this weekend.
Oh my. I Love, love, love the Proud Breed.
I too have read many times and passed along to friends.
I currently have two hard copies one to keep and one to give away.
I loved it so much, I named my shephatd malamute mix breed dog Sombra after Tessa’s wolf. I called her Sombrawolfdog.
For a fast paced psychological thriller, I love “One Man’s Poison” by Tom Langdale. The ending is so totally unexpected! It’s available on Amazon and on kindle.
Natchez Burning by Greg Iles is amazing!!! I didn’t read it in 24 hours (it’s 800 pages), but I couldn’t put it down!!! It was fantastic. It’s part of a trilogy. I’m currently reading the third book and I’m obsessed!!!
Your suggestions, and those in the comments, have helped me put my summer reading list together!! I’m a full time college student and can’t wait to read for the sheer pleasure ?
I see your ‘Rules Of Civility’ and raise you A Gentleman In Moscow. Same author. Stunningly beautiful prose,and I actually learned things about the Russian Revolution. I like this Second Towles better than Rules. Read it first, then immediate went to Rules which was “satisfying” by comparison.
I Am Pilgrim was one of the most unputdownable books I’ve read lately.
Lastly, who knew and, who knows why I was never obligated to read this despite loading up on As many Lits as possible as an undergrad- BUT — The Count Of Monte Cristo. OMG! Riveting. It’s been a couple of years now and I still think of it all the time.
A Gentleman in Moscow was my favorite book last year. Why isn’t Amor Towles more famous?
I also loved the Count of Monte Cristo, but it’s been years since I read it. Have you started savoring Dickens yet?
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve really liked a few of these. I’ll have to read the rest now. I just read “The Gentleman” by Forrest Leo in 24 hours (maybe less…) it was just so much fun! I wish there was more of it!
Read Malcolm McDowell’s “The Elementals,” written more than several decades ago. It is a classy classic horror story unlike anything you have ever read. Very well written and full of Southern lifestyles and elegance. He knows his setting well, too. This is one of the best and most unsettling books I have read. He is or was one of the ten or so masters of the genre.
Not sure how I stumbled across this post, but thanks! I had read a few of these and enjoyed them, so downloaded a couple of these as audiobooks and have loved them! My house is clean and I am happy 🙂
Haha Katie. I only listen to books or I would never get anything done. I too, came across this site and am downloading as many books as I can.
Listening to What She Knew, which someone on here recommended.
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
Freak Show, James St James
Momo, Michael Ende
Letting it all Hang Out, RuPaul
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, JK Rowling.
It is about a young woman out west in the days when horses were part of everyday life who helps people (really the horses) who have “problem” horses. It’s around WWI times but not about the war. She’s doing what’s not usual for a women of her times to do. She meets a lot of people and the experiences she has help her grow. She’s a character who is lovable but doesn’t know how lovable she is. She loves horses. It’s a little bit of a lady horse-whisperer. I think it’s touching, about her and how she is with the horses. You can check it out on Amazon. I like stories about horses and that surround horses or contain horses and stories about other times and stories about women who do things differently. I hope you give it a try!
Well, and there is always Outlander by Diana Gabaldon which is now on DVD/film. But the books… until 3am reading for sure on the first 2 or 3 in the series. 🙂
Unfortunately outlander took me months to read! I found them very slow reads and not one you can read in 24 hours. Even switching to audio it took me weeks to finish the book.
Sorry it just didn’t keep my attention and found it hard to read hence my months to finish it! The first book was good but the 2nd book just dragged for me! I still need to read voyager but because the 2nd book was just meh for me I’m afraid I won’t like book 3. I’m actually liking the tv more than reading it. Sorry outlander fans
Hated the second book of the series…took me forever to finish. Finally, just skipped parts. The rest of the series is great. Many readers had some trouble with book 2 and stopped reading the series. They are missing out on a great epic story.
They are thick books…. that’s true. I found them very compelling…and hard to put down though, even then it does take more than a day to read. But I read the first one in about 3 days which is quick for a 600 page book! So I was responding to the “can’t put it down” part… 🙂 What one person likes doesn’t necessarily appeal to another or one can take in stride and another ponders over or needs time to process as she reads. That’s all ok. I loved them. But I don’t love murder mysteries. I did find a couple of titles on your list I will try though! So thanks! I always like to see what others put on their great reads list. Have your read any Jodi Picoult?
Jodi picoult what I read were very good. I loved the storyteller that was the first one I read by her. Unfortunately the outlander book just didn’t keep my attention and was ok read for me. I did like the tv show though.
I’ve read ALL of Picoults books! My Sisters Keeper is one of my all time favorites. So different from the movie. I love how all her books have a surprising twist!
Alyce says:
The Storey teller was a great book! I just finished SmalGreat Things by the same author.I found it to be a good read. I have also been hooked on Jojo Moyes and enjoyes reading all the books I could find by her. If you enjoyed the Storeyteller, I found the book “Once We Were Brothers” BY Ronald Balson to be a great read about WWII
Jennifer Keith says:
The first Outlander was amazing. To me, they got steadily worse and repetitive after the first one.
Outlander is one of those series of books that suck you in and won’t let you stop thinking about them well after you finished the last book. Diana Gabaldon became my favorite author and I can’t wait for her next book to be published.
Funny, I was able to put Dark Matter down. Here are some I couldn’t:
Storied Life of AJ Fikry, The Night Circus, Water for Elephants, Shadow of the Wind (although I had to because it’s over 400 pages),Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
I agree the Fault In Our Stars was great! Since you enjoyed that try Picoults My Sisters Keeper. It’s so much better than the movie! You will laugh you will cry!
Yes! The whole series is amazing. If you get stumped by the Scottish slang, you can purchase a Outlander Dictionary (really there’s 1). Enjoy-It’s like traveling the globe and experiencing their diverse adventures.
I find Chris Bojalian books to be 24-hour page turners for sure. My favorites are Midwives, The Double Bind, and most recently The Sleepwalker. They are though provoking, suspenseful, but very sophisticated and detailed. I also love that most of his books are set either in rural Vermont or the hip city of Burlington, VT.
Books I have read in less than a day… The Firm, all of Alan Bradley’s Flavia deLuce mysteries, all of Jennifer Worth’s Call the Midwife series, Secret Life of Bees, and too many more to list! 😉
Read in 24 hours or less. Orphan Train (Christina Kline) and Dont you Cry (Mary Kubica). And any book by Laine Moriarty. Every one of hers I can never stop!! I have already read and completely agree with these that you put and cannot wait to read some in a day 🙂
Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters, Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and Jane Austen’s Persuasion. SO FUN to come across a list like this. Can’t wait to dive in!
The Mutual Admiration Society by Lesley Kagan was lovely. I also couldn’t put down Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, all of the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz,(who is usually much too wordy for me.) Though The City, also by Dean Koontz took a few days, it was an excellent read!
I also loved Eleanor and Park as well as What Alice Forgot. My newest unputdownable was very long, but so good. Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato. I couldn’t stop reading it.
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry – one sitting, something I never do!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – re-reading; excellent book
I’ve heard A Man Called Ove was an excellent book, but have not yet read it.
I’ve been on a waiting list for at least 2 months for this book – a guy in our book club is in 2 others & said all 3 were reading ‘Ove’ the same month. I have finally gotten my online selection & can already tell from just a few pages I’m gonna like this character!
Read any book by Edward Bunker.
My list of authors:
Rick Bragg
Fredrik Bakman
Richard Wright
Mary Roach
Annie Proulx
AUTHORS I’VE READ RECENTLY AND ENJOYED TREMENDOUSLY
Annie Dillard
Larry Wolff
Jenny Lawson( hilarious)
Tana French
Helen Simonson
Robert Goolrick
Edmund White
Lee Child
Edna O’Brien
Jeanette Walls
… and last but not least: “The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber.
Still Alice I read in one day- HAD to, I believed I was Alice! Had to get through to stop worrying and feeling scared, and every other emotion! Great book!
I just read What Alice Forgot and Big Little Lies – my first time reading Liane Moriarty and I am hooked. But my most favorite unputdownable book is Sarah’s Key! Read in 24 hours – I could not sleep until I finished it!
I really really enjoyed “The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All” by Alan Gurganus. It chronicles the life of a gal named Lucy, whose parents marry her off at 15 in the year 1899 to a 50 year old Civil War vet.
Favorite of all time. I started 23 years ago. The audible versions by Davinia Porter are amazing. My husband would never read them, but we are now listening to book 5.
Aw I love this! I’m going to post the link to this in my fb book club (Betty Book Club). Not a traditional book club but one for chitchat about books being read! I haven’t read any of the books mentioned but have read a few by authors mentioned and loved them! Thanks!
Love Liane Moriarty! Three Wishes, great, the Last Anniversary, great, the Husband’s Secret…all fascinating and wonderfully done. Last Anniversary has the best depiction of post-partum I’ve read.
I can’t put down books from Lauraine Selling… Especially the Red River of the North series and all the series that come after that! I’m waiting (impatiently) for the next book!!!
Liane Moriarty’s books are all very, very simplistically enjoyable, sarcastic, and hilarious. I have read everything she has written but Three Wishes touched home for me the most followed by Big Little Lies.
In the trend of historical fiction I like Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo, Nightengale, All The Light We Cannot See, & Garden of Beast. Wonderful informative & enlightening novels by various authors. Nothing better than a good book.
I listened to this book!! The readers were two women and did an unbelievable job. Not to mention that the story was incredible. I felt like I was in the car with them. Another incredible listen is Story Hour.
Speak by Lauri Halse Anderson. My daughter had to read it for school. We ended up with an extra copy. I started reading it before I went to worked and finished it that night. Stunning read!
I am reading Beartown, the latest book, read the first three and the short one on saying goodbye…had no problems with the others. This one is more difficult, the theme is much deeper than hockey, but all the hockey references slow me down!
I also loved the second and fourth books of his (Backman)…My Grandmother Said to Tell you She’s Sorry and Beartown. Loved Little Big Lies…and anything else by Moriarity. Just finished Hillbilly Elegy–a must read about a very poor segment of society. Also like The Girl in Cabin Ten. Read a lot lately as I’ve had asthma and been housebound. Love my books!
Some books I could hardly put down:
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Sanders
Here I am by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Berry
Almost by Elizabeth Benedict
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
and The Magic Strings of Frank Presto by Mitch Albom
One of my favorites was “The Time Traveler’s Wife”. It hooked me and I couldn’t put it down. BTW, there was also a movie made, and I was surprised at how good it was. Lots of details were left out, but whoever wrote the screenplay did an amazing job. Rare to find.
I received it as a gift from someone who knew I loved to read but not sure what I liked to read. Same person gave me The Power of One. She is now my source of must have books.
I received it as a gift from someone who knew I loved to read but not sure what I liked to read. Same person gave me The Power of One. She is now my source for must have books.
Some great books on this list! Another author I breeze through because their just that good is anything by Jessica gadziala. Check out her stuff if you haven’t already!
I loved “12 Million Black Voices” by Richard Wright,”The Prince of Frogtown” by Rick Bragg,”Stark” by Edward Bunker—ANYTHING BY EDWARD BUNKER—-“LOOK ME IN THE EYE” BY John Elder Robison. “Secrets of the Sideshows” by Joe Nickell, Britt-Marie Was Here, by Fredrik Backman.
Shifting by Bethany Wiggins and The Dragon’s Price by Bethany Wiggins. Both are so good but I could not put Shifting down and I have a hard time getting into anything else.
We were liers – E Lockert
The Vanishing Year – Kate Moretti
Behind Closed Doors – BA Paris
The Stranger within & While you were sleeping – Kathryn Croft
Don’t you cry- Mary Kubica
“What’s an Adult?: No One Knows Anything and We’re All Going to Die” by Emily Regan. She’s like a female David Sedaris, so funny and yet there’s a lot of depth. A fantastic read for anyone who suffers from imposter syndrome and feels like they’re only pretending to be a grown up. I couldn’t put it down, I absolutely loved it.
Can’t believe you didn’t have a Nicholas Sparks book on this list. Don’t think there is one that I wanted to put down and if I did all I could think about was getting back to it.
Just finishing The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve. It is fiction based on a true happening…a horrific fire in 1947 that burned much of coastal Maine. Excellent book! I highly recommend it!
Swans of Fifth Avenue
Remember Me
Girl on a Train, saw the movie first, book was awesome.
Janet Evanovich – Stephanie Plum Series, have been reading this series for over 17 years, still makes me laugh out loud!
All of Elin Hilderbran
The first book I remember reading in one sitting was The Color Purple. I had bought it the day before and that Saturday morning I picked it up to read a bit while having my coffee. I absolutely could not stop reading…no chores done that day!
Hi! I would love to try some of these books, but I was wondering if you can tell me which ones are “clean”. I don’t like graphic violence or sexual content. Are there some that don’t contain those things?
Kroger has a blinking ad on your site that is driving me to comment about how FREAKING annoying it is. Horrible user experience, kick them off your ad program!
But thanks for the list. I would buy a few of them but my eyes are blinked by the rapid blinking of the ad. I will come back later! Some of them sound good.
You need an ad block plug in or at least I think that is the proper term-
but I know EXACTLY what you are talking about and an add blocker allows you to control what is popping up or blinking or flashing or scrolling or flapping and squalling… and generally interfering with your ability to focus on the content that you wish to enjoy.
I wish you well, content warrior! Consult any teenager if you need further description of the JOY that is AdBlock.
If you use Firefox, Ad Block Plus is an awesome ad blocker. Chrome has some good ad-ons as well for blocking ads, but I’m not sure what they are called. If you are using Explorer, don’t lol. Try Firefox or Chrome.
One Second After and One Year After, by William R. Forstchen. Read each one in a day or less. Going to see what our library has from your list, I rarely buy books anymore.
“Maude” by Donna Foley Mabry. Over 13,000 reviews on Amazon.com and loads of them say the same thing about not being able to put this one down! https://goo.gl/6a4nNG
I love “Pedaling Out of the Dark,” by Karen Hurley. It is a memoir about the author’s struggle with bipolar disorder, and how riding her bike across the country helped her. Her story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
though it was great too. My book club had a split experience with it as some couldn’t get past the length of it and gave up. But it was really interesting and well thought out.
I just finished The Secret Keeper by Katie Morton. I loved it. I was hoping to grab another one of her books for my vacation but couldn’t decide which one. I am staying away from The Lake House based on the description.
I loved Maude! I also liked The Mortician’s Wife. Another great and spooky read is Graveminder by Melissa Marr, and anything Alice Clayton reads is instantly devoured by me. Great list–What Alice Forgot is great. Try Last Chance Saloon, I think you’ll like it.
I recently finished Dust Bowl Girls by Lydia Reeder which follows a small Oklahoma junior college’s women’s basketball team’s path to an AAU national championship. All of the women are dirt poor in the midst of the Great Depression. Many are Native American. It is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. I appreciated the author’s mix of story-telling and bigger picture happenings in the world, particularly in regards to the role of sport in women’s lives.
I recently tried the book “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. its an award winning book. I could not get past the first 60 pages. I tried I really really did, but every time I went to pick it up I was dreading it. I made it to page 60 and declared it a good attempt.
On the flip side, years ago I read the book “Night Road” by Kristin Hannah. it was amazing, made me feel all the feels. I have recommended it countless times.
I prefer fast paced books, something that keeps me coming back for more. I don’t just want a nice story. I love supernatural, because hey their not people so anything can happen, I like mystery and yes I’m a grown up and I like a little smut. I will try almost anything (except horror) as long as there are strong characters that I like (I hated both the main characters in “Gone Girl and therefore ended up hating the book), I want to laugh, be excited, cry, be mad and happy all wrapped up in one!
For all you who keep recommending Ove, I have to highly encourage you to read “The Curious Charms of Aurthur Pepper”. I LOVED Arthur, I had to wait a couple days to read another book after finishing because I just wanted to think about this book for a while and mourn the characters being over for me! I stayed up 2 nights way too late to read it just because I felt so good while reading the book.
Layla Hagen- has a series about the Bennett family. Each book I have read in a day. It’s a romance but she invests u into the main characters and keeps you updated with the whole group. I love the series and each book individually
The Rosie Project drew me in immediately, and The Paris Architect kept me thinking about it after it was finished. Loving Frank made me do some research. All great reads.
Can’t wait to add some of these to my list! My most recent “couldn’t put down” wa It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. A story that needed to be told, and made me second guess myself in how I’d react to being in an abusive situation. It truly moved me.
I am just amazed anyone can finish a book in an afternoon!!! ?Takes me days and even weeks to finish even the most interesting books. You ladies are amazing
Goodness Falls by Ty Roth is a great one-afternoon read! One of my favorite books!
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is also an excellent book; I read it in two days.
Oooh this looks goood! I’ve read What Alice Forgot and Eleanor & Park and they were compulsive reads so I trust you! Haha. Will check some more on this list. Great post!
Susan Meissner (A Fall of Marigolds) is a new favorite author of mine. I read her book, “A Charmed Life” and I was hooked!! She does her research and weaves it beautifully into her story! A Fall of Marigolds is on my night stand, it’s my next book.
They must all be good because my library was out of ALL of them! I did end up picking up another Susan Meissner book titled “Lady in Waiting” and it did NOT disappoint! It was so good I could not put it away! Loved these suggestions!
Try reading: “Cop on the Scene: Life and Death on the Street” available on Amazon. Ride in the squad car from the comfort of your favorite reading chair.
Once you pick up “Gracie Wild Adventures” you will not only read it to the end but, you will want to read it again! It is a story about rescuing a baby wild blue jay and the family that raised and released him. He comes back everyday as the Mom has Ovarian Cancer. As the author says by the end you will wonder just who saved who! It is available on Amazon and kindle too.
Pick any A.G. Riddle book if you found that one sci-first intresting. His sci-fi novels have this awesome Clive Cussler feel to them and will definitely keep you in suspense.
Wanna quick read? Try “A Wish Facilitator’s Desire” by FVKarch — a very short fairy tale. Great for a quick read on a portable. A fun little tale about the adventures of a Wish Facilitator.
Then, if you are feeling brave, try his “Ravings of an Internet Madman” also by FVKarch, but get the hard cover. You’ll want to fold down pages and underline things. It’s the transcription of a four-and-a-half hour conversation with a bizarre stranger who answers, well, everything. There’s history, physics, aliens, a love story so strong it brings men to tears, philosophy and in the end the answer to EVERYTHING. It’s very Zen. 🙂
Self serving, I know, but I yam what I yam.
Wow. You weren’t kidding! It’s 2 for 2 for me (Veronica Mars and Sea of Tranquility – I also added the second Mars book for added measure). You have excellent taste. Can’t wait to reas the rest!
Every single book by Colleen Hoover! Her books are just that good! You walk away and you feel like you’re missing part of a movie or putting a pause on the good part in your life. She really drags you into them and connects you with the characters. (Ugly Love is also a TV series that was very well put together)
Highly reccomend her books 🙂
I’m trying to pick one of these for my book club. Now I don’t know which one. But to add some others I’d agreee with Nightengale and also add The Girl Left Behind by Jojo Moyes and I loved Love, Rosie for a light and funny read.
I was excited to find this list- I have it on my fridge!
So far I liked You let me go ( a lot!)
And You will know me, enjoyed as well .
for some reason, I seem to be in the huge minority on this one… But I could not finish Sea of Tranquility, I don’t know why-
Maybe simply because I just like more of a suspenseful type of book? Plus I mostly listen on audio , so maybe that contributed.
Seemed everyone loved that book but me.i gave up halfway or more through – will take a break –
I got distracted and ordered
Not a Sound,by Heather Gudenkauf which is very good so far, but then I will return to the list !
Also Seabiscuit and The Art of Racing in the Rain are on my list !
Thanks for the great ideas !!!
I haven’t read any of these books (yet) and have no idea if they are of a single genre and my suggestions are completely out there..The only books, I have read, re-read, and re-read again are Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles – The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear. Just love love love them
Fredrick Backman’s A Man Called Ove was my most recent can’t-put-it-down novels. I bought it for a plane ride; I was up early and thought I would read and sleep, but that was before I read the first chapter. Beautiful book! I finished it six hours later as we landed. I started telling my family all about it, only to find they had been passing around their copies to each other and friends.
I found Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier soo hard to put down. Also, pretty much anything by Liane Moriarty is bound to have me glued to the couch until I’m finished it!
Definitely agree that Daphen Du Maurier is amazing! Did you read her book “House on the Strand”?
Sorry, Daphne Du Maurier
House on the Strand is in my Top 3. One of the few books I’ve read more than once. We also went on a holiday in Cornwall and took that rail line.
Love that book!
I’m in the middle of Dark Matter now and I definitely could have finished it in one sitting if I had peace and quiet for a day! Little toddlers make those one sitting reads quite difficult at the moment and I miss them.
Totally agree about You Will Know Me too!
Such a great list! I’m with you on I let you go. I read until 4am to finish it. So it was awesome when my 3 kids (9months – 6) woke up an hour later. Interested in reading the Blake Crouch now – I liked his Wayward Pines trilogy.
Many of these books are in the “own a copy but haven’t read it yet” category for me so thank you for this list!!!! Gives me hope that I will read and enjoy them … and get my money’s worth!
I’m so happy to hear that someone else has a “have a book but haven’t read it yet” category!
Rules of Civility- yuck. Such a let down after reading A Gentleman in Moscow.
Oh, no! That’s disappointing to hear. “A Gentleman in Moscow” was one of my favorite reads of the past several years, so I was assuming his other novel would be the same.
I would give Rules a try- I loved it. Better than Gatsby!
I really liked Rules of Civility! Give it a try and see.
I liked them both but Gentleman was my favorite of the two
It’s excellent!! Let Anne guide you! It is aneasier read than “A Gentlemen in Moscow” but…it is still worthy of reading!!
I loved Rules of Civility!!!
I adored Rules of Civility, and have read it twice! It was universally adored by my book club.
I also really loved Rules of Civility, hoping to read “A Gentleman in Moscow” soon
I loved Rules of Civility but quit reading A Gentleman in Moscow. Couldn’t get into it. I may have to give it another try.
So glad to hear someone else didn’t like Rules of Civility. I found it really boring and had a hard time finishing it. And when I did, I was just glad it was over.
Sacrilege! I loved Rules!
Okay, I’m kidding, I’m kidding. But I did read these books in the opposite order than you, which I think makes a big difference for expectations. And his two books were way more different than I expected! I can see how the same reader wouldn’t necessarily love both, because plot and style are so different in each.
Just finished and enjoyed it thoroughly. I thought it was very well written.
I read Civility first and wasn’t happy with it. I loved Gentleman and will read his next one, whenever that happen.
Reading Rules of Civility put me off to A Gentleman in Moscow, so I never tried that. I kept waiting for Rules to get better and for something to happen…and it didn’t?
That’s too bad. While I liked Rules of Civility, I loved A gentleman in Moscow. Give it a try.
I totally agree. I almost did not read A Gentleman in Moscow,which I LOVED, because I disliked Rules of Civility so much!
Completely agree! I was so glad that I read A Gentleman in Moscow first, or I never would have picked it up after reading Rules…
I am a middle school teacher, so I will definitely agree with you on Eleanor and Park! I also really enjoyed Rowell’s Fangirl. I just read Rebecca Stead’s Good-bye Stranger in one day because I just had to see what happened.
Another BOTM pick: The Couple Next Door was unputdownable for me!
That’s on my shelf but I haven’t read it yet!
The North Waters by Ian McGuire. Such a fantastic adventure that starts on page one and doesn’t let up.
Eleanor and Park! I have so much love for that book! It was an “unputdownable” for me too! The day I read it was such a perfect day that I created a personal holiday to celebrate every year on that day! https://sarahthelibrarygirl.blogspot.com/2013/08/time-enough-to-dream.html
Hmmm I’m usually so on board with you but I disagree with so much on this list! I hated sleeping giants — I found the characters to be insufferable, the dialogue unrealistic, and the captains log form of storytelling really hard to get into. And maybe in another life and Eleanor and park were two that I abandoned about a third of the way through, which I almost never do. Dark matter was going to be next up on my TBR, but now I’m questioning that choice?
I’m not saying I always loved these endings or that the books made my lifetime faves list, but a pleasant afternoon? YES.
Are you looking for books with a little more literary style? If so, I might be questioning Dark Matter, too. (We should be talking about this on the podcast!)
It’s like you read my mind — every week, I listen and wonder what you would recommend I read next!
literary… maybe? I don’t know that would be my top descriptor…. I love novels with magical prose that suck you into their world — the magicians, the night circus, station eleven, and bel canto are a few of my favorites. But I also feel like I have a lot of topics I avoid — nothing too gory or rape-y, can’t really handle kids getting cancer (or really anything bad happening to kids). I like a good thriller but usually get frustrated with their predictably. I love quirky characters (Lianne Moriarty, Kevin Kwan), but I still have to understand why they’re making their choices. And I occasionally enjoy more sci fi / time travel / ya type stories (11/22/63, ready player one, lunar chronicles).
Thoughts? Would I love or hate Dark Matter?
I think you should give Dark Matter a shot. It is unpredictable and fast-paced and really, really interesting.
Theory: Dark Matter is the kind of book that non-sci fi readers like myself enjoy, exactly because I *haven’t* seen it all/read it all/been through every possible sci fi plotline twenty times. The serious sci fi fans I’ve talked to have been underwhelmed by it.
(Or I could just say: it’s short! it’s fast! give it a shot! 😉 )
Ashley- I would highly recommend “The Sparrow” by Mary Doria Russell – it’s pretty amazing and unlike anything I ever read! And I do not even consider myself a Science Fiction fan! – Sue
I thought was Eleanor and Park was just OK. Nothing to rave about though!
Clare Mackintosh’s second book, I See You, was so good and I absolutely could not put it down until I found out what happened. I will gobble up anything she writes from now on.
Agreed! Sooo twisty!
Louise Penny! Even though part of me wants to read her books slowly so that I can enjoy them longer, I raced through them. I read A Great Reckoning in a day. Started at 11AM and finished at 11PM.
Totally agree! I just love Gamache, and I’m always holding my breath when he gets into trouble. I have to keep reading to make sure he’s ok! 😉
If I weren’t trying to refrain from mentioning Louise Penny in every single book post on this blog, I’d put every title of hers on this list!
Thanks to your recommendation when I was on WSIRN, I read ‘Sleeping Giants’ and also could not put it down. It made a 9-hour train ride evaporate. I also loved ‘Jane Steele,’ and I just got a Kindle deal on ‘Tell Me Three Things’ — can’t wait to read that! But it’s going to be a while… I’ve never read any Neal Stephenson and the World War II plot thread in Cryptonomicon made me think it might be a good fit for me. I’m 20% into the 1100 pages, and I’m loving it. But it’s going to be about two weeks (three?!) until I’m ready for a new book.
Mellissa, I just want to say that Your book, Well Fed 2, is my book of choice everyday! Love it!!
Well, aren’t you the sweetest?! I’m so happy you like it. Thank you for the lovely compliment.
I just finished Sleeping Giants and I’m dying to talk to someone about it! I loved the structure and the story was interesting. And the ending blew my mind a little!
The structure made it impossible to put down, right?! Plus, I loved feeling like I was digging through a filing cabinet of documents I wasn’t supposed to be reading. I can’t wait for the sequel this spring.
I hadn’t heard about a sequel but that makes me sooo happy!
It’s called ‘Waking Gods’ and it’s out in April. YAY! http://amzn.to/2lsL4xJ
I’m so glad to hear that about Sleeping Giants! I think you’ll enjoy Jane Steele but would love to hear your thoughts on it regardless. And I hope you enjoy Tell Me Three Things!
1100 pages, yowzers!
I also finished Good As Gone in 24 hours, but wasn’t a huge fan! I really want to start reading Jane Steele—I’m sure that will be a 24 hour book for me.
Briana
http://www.youngsophisticate.com
Late to the party, but When Breath Becomes Air – so heartbreaking and so beautiful and so well written.
I’ve read the Susan Meissner book, but the rest are new to me. Would you say any of the rest are pretty squeaky clean when it comes to language?
At first I thought you meant Susan Meissner’s other books—in which case, you’d be set. For SQUEAKY clean language, I think you’d be good with Jane Steele. And while many of the others are not terribly salty, “squeaky” is not a word that would apply.
Thanks! Yes, the second one is what I meant. 🙂 I’ve read pretty much every book Susan Meissner has written and enjoyed just about all of them.
I agree with What She Knew but I was a little disappointing in the ending. It definitely had me staying up passed bedtime though!
This year’s Newbery Award winner, The Girl who Drank the Moon, was wonderful. It took me more like 2 days, but it was so hard to put down. It is so beautifully written and I loved so many of the characters. It’s a fairy story that features good and evil, misrepresentation, a 12 year old girl, witches, magic, a dragon, a swamp monster, a bereaved mentally unstable mother and a hero. Very suspenseful second half of the book. Highly recommend!
I really didn’t like “In the Woods”. I don’t mind a flawed MC, but I need to be able to root for them and I like mysteries to be wrapped up. Is “The Likeness” enough of a departure that I should give it a shot?
“The Likeness” is my favorite in the series and I have read it twice. It is partly about the aftermath of “In the Woods,” but only for Cassie. It was more psychological than the first one, and Cassie is a great protagonist. It almost has a supernatural ghost story sort of feel, but it isn’t a ghost story at all, if that makes any sense.
Your “breezy novels” from the 2014 summer reading guide were ALL hard to put down! The Rosie Project, What Alice Forgot, Someday someday maybe, Where’d You Go Bernadette?, and Attachments. Loved them
I’m so glad you included Tell Me Three Things! I read it late last year and it’s been gnawing at me to read it again because it made me so happy. I love your list (and your awesome blog) and these are all on my TBR list!
I crave books that pull me in, make me forget the outside world. Full immersion, heck yea. One that comes to mind immediately is The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield. Also (and for completely different reasons) The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, as well as Mr Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore.
On a totally unrelated note (but because these are books I reread), Goodreads now has an easy way to mark rereads without an exceptionally convuluted way of adding editions (that someone pointed out to me just days ago). It’s explained on their website. If you have added editions, or noted number of times read previously, they have taken this into account.
Those three titles you named could absolutely go on my list as well!
Wow, great list! I’ve read 5: What Alice Forgot, A Fall of Marigolds, I Let You Go, The Likeness, and Dark Matter. Really enjoyed them all, but I’m physically incapable of one-sitting reading anymore— but I used to when younger!
An eclectic group of books, lol. I also have 3 on my “wishlist” already. The other ones I’ve heard of, but maybe I should give them another look. Thanks for sharing a fun list with us 🙂
I read “I Let You Go” and really enjoyed it. I found it absolutely unputdownable!
Homegoing was a 24 hour book for me! Such a great family saga throughout the years. The beginning stories were shocking and heartbreaking.
Two books that I’ve read in the last week that were hard to put down: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbough and Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty. Both of these were well written and I couldn’t put them down. I had to know how they ended! (Heads up – Big Little Lies has a lot of strong language in it.)
ROOM by Emma Donoghue. I was practically hyperventilating during the climax. And had NO fingernails or cuticles left.
Right now I’m reading Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg. I LOVE it! Sometimes shifting perspectives can be distracting, but in this one, I find it keeps the pace up and makes it up-put-downable.
Bless you for this list! I am emerging from new-baby fog and I needed a jump start back into reading. This post did the trick. Thanks, my favorite blogger! 🙂
Thanks for this. I’ve been reading a lot of nonfiction, which, while interesting, is rarely un-put-down-able. I did feel that way about Sue Klebold’s memoir, though. I forget the title, but she’s be mother of one of the Columbine shooters.
I agree! Another non fiction I could not put down is The Road Through Wonderland. I was a wreck when I finished and immediately emailed the author and she responded right away:))
This is a new title to me! Thanks for sharing.
I’m going to have to read A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner! I’m excited to know you liked it so much. I read one of her other novels, Secrets of a Charmed Life, and loved it. Have you read it, too?
Yes, I have! (A couple of years ago that was the book I chose because of the cover, because it’s so gorgeous.)
My Reading Challenge “unputdownable” book was All The Light We Cannot See. I didn’t get through it in 24 hours, but I couldn’t focus on anything else until I finished it. The narrative and the characters are so compelling, that I didn’t really think about how well it was written until after I had finished it and had time to reflect. I kept discovering the brilliance of the themes as I thought more and more about it. It filled up my head so much that I couldn’t start another book for a few days and, even then, I needed a “palate cleanser.” Lessons from Madame Chic was a feel-good, no plot choice. Rules of Civility is one of my favorite books, What Alice Forgot is fantastic. Tell Me Three Things and I Let You Go are waiting on my kindle!
“I didn’t get through it in 24 hours, but I couldn’t focus on anything else until I finished it.”
LOVE the way you describe this!
All the Light We Cannot See is one of my favorite books of all time! I don’t usually read books twice, but this one I reread a few years after the first read. I loved the writing, imagery, character development; I loved it all, again, after the second read.
I just finished I Let You Go. I am glad I kept reading. I rarely don’t finish as book (already had a DNF early this week) but I was going to stop this one too as I didn’t want to keep reading about a mother grieving…glad I kept with it and stayed up late to do so!! Dark Matter is in my library wait list already too.
I am so happy to see the Sea of Tranquility, I LOVED that book. I know its old but I would put the twilight series on this list, especially the first book.
Summer at Tiffany by Marjorie Hart is my favorite 4th of July memory- the day I sat out on the patio in the gorgeous sunshine and read that book beginning to end!
I enjoyed that book, too!
I really enjoyed Summer at Tiffany also!
I devoured “The Sun is Also a Star” last week. Loved it!
Ditto. I read this last week as well. Totally un-put-down-able.
I’m happy to hear this. I picked it up today at the Library.
My favorite unputdownable book is I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson. With alternating points of view and a plot that weaves together in unexpected ways, you won’t be able to leave jt once you start. Most recent unputdownable that I’ve read was Behind Closed Doors. The pacing and need to know that everything will be okay will make you race through it, though the subject matter may leave you wanting to put it down.
Behind Closed Doors surprised me that it was unputdownable, too! It’s not normally a book I think I’d be into…
I loved this book! What a deranged sicko….(the character, not us!)
I recently read Small Great Things. I couldn’t put it down. It ripped my heart out, made me angry, made me cry…so many emotions! It left me questioning so many things about myself.
I’ve had this on my Kindle for forever but haven’t read it yet. Thanks for reminding me it was there!
I read this awhile ago, but I feel it speaks to many people today.
Mine was Where We Belong by Emilie Griffin. I love everything she writes, but that one never left my hands until I turned the last page. Oh, and tickled to see a Sliding Doors reference. Loved that movie. One more in-put-downable: The Heartbreaker by Susan Howatch
I chose What Alice Forgot for this category, not expecting to like it very much. But I did! I read it every chance I could get. I have Rules of Civility on my stack next, after I finish Angle of Repose.
You are basically reading all my favorite books back to back. 🙂
I guess I have good taste! I am loving everything by Wallace Stegner, but I have been putting off reading Angle of Repose because I know I will just want to curl up on the couch and read until I finish it, but I am too, too busy right now. I am only about 75 pages into it. We are leaving on a trip on Tuesday so I plan to read it on the plane for hours. <3
I loved The Rabbit Back Literature Society by Pasi Ilmari Jääskeläinen and Lola M. Rogers so much I could not put it down. Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel and Where’d You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple were two others I read in a day. One author no one has mentioned so far is Sharyn McCrumb, who writes books set in northeast Tennessee (where I live). I read her latest Prayers the Devil Answers in one day last summer.
Jane Eyre is my favorite book. Period. Jane Steele was one of my absolute favorite books of 2016. It was so much fun! I loved all the callbacks to Eyre. The story was vibrant and just different enough from Eyre that I wasn’t constantly comparing the two. I am constantly recommending it to people. Love it, love it, love it.
Glad to see I Let You Go on this list. I listened (on actual CD’s) in the car, usually reserved for my daily commute. Reader, I DROVE AROUND on my lunch break just to listen to the ending. I dreamed of the characters the night before I finished the book.
Now THAT is high praise!
I have just finished Stir by Jessica Fechtor . – My broken brain and the meals that brought me home. She honestly shares her fears and feelings after a brain aneurysm at age 28. As the Wall Street Journal says of this small book: ‘”a recipe for living a life of meaning.”
Before that l read Belgravia by Julian Fellowes who created Downton Abbey. It felt like a Jane Austen -lite- book and was great fun.
Loved the Jessica Fechtor book too. I tore through that one!
Stir! Loved that book.
“Stir” sounds wonderful! Just added to my list of “must reads!” Thanks!
and Where’d You Go, Bernadette? is a delight!
Love this post! I’ve requested everything I can at my public library. Any thoughts if Dark Matter might be an appropriate read for high school students?
I did the same thing! I also love this post and loaded up my library accounts with requests. Can’t wait!
Allison–I would hand it out to high schoolers, although probably 16 and older. I read it last summer and it was compelling, although I did not understand much of the science. 😉 Lots of ethical and scientific topics for discussion. It does contain murders in the story.
I think older teens would love it. It’s in the same wheelhouse as Ready Player One and The Martian, tone and content-wise.
I’m in an unputdownable dry spell, and I want to read ALL of these! The only one I’ve read is Eleanor & Park, which is wonderful. I’ve been on kind of a high-literature kick for a while, and while I appreciate those novels, many of them don’t really have that unputdownable feel. I’d hoped The Girl on the Train would be my palate cleanser after hearing all the hype, but I was kind of disappointed–maybe because it just couldn’t live up to the hype at this point.
Thanks for this and other lists–I love your blog and have been digging into archives these past few days!
I actually just finished “Tell Me Three Things” about 20 minutes ago, and came to MMD to decide on my next read (despite my long TBR stack!). I really enjoyed it — and it literally took me 24 hours. I adored “Rules of Civility”, and have recommended it to so many friends (for what it’s worth, I also loved “A Gentleman in Moscow”, but for different reasons — it was definitely a quieter book).
“Before The Fall”, “A Man Called Ove”, and “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society” were three other ‘unputdownable’ books for me (all based on recommendations from WSIRN). I’ve also been devouring the Inspector Gamache stories from Louise Penny, but I deliberately take my time with them so that I can savor their coziness. They’ve actually inspired me to seek out other mystery series, and I stumbled across the Commissario Brunetti series by Donna Leon which are set in Venice; the first is “Death at La Fenice”, and the combination of the protagonist Brunetti and the lush descriptions of Venice had me hooked.
I had a hard time getting into Guernsey. I was so frustrated because I knew so many people that loved it, and ‘on paper’ it was a perfect fit for me. Finally I got it on Audible and that was the key. I ‘binge listened’ to the book and could not have loved it more, even getting my husband into it since it was the weekend. 🙂
I listened to it too! I think hearing all of the different voices made it come alive for me.
I keep meaning to start that Donna Leon series. Readers with good taste keep mentioning it in the same breath as books I love—especially Louise Penny. Thanks for the nudge!
Lots of yes to The Forgetting Time and Sea of Tranquility. Ones I flew through: Monstrous Beauty by Elizabeth Fama (really good YA about mermaids – it works!), Last Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, and anything by Jenny B. Jones or Sarah Addison Allen.
Oh my word, Second Chance Summer was a one day read for me, too. And then I sobbed and sobbed at the end! Loved that book.
So much sobbing!!!!
I’ve never heard of the Farna book. Thanks for sharing!
Well this list was dangerous to my TBR list! Eleanor & Park was definitely a quick read for me too, stayed up until 3am (with a 15 month old who didn’t sleep in!) to read in one sitting!
I spent last Friday night happy reading Maybe in Another Life. It’s not a 5-star book, but it certainly was an enjoyable read. I also loved the reading experience of I Let You Go.
If you’re looking for delightful 84, Charing Cross Road and The Red Notebook are similar enough to make a good pairing and short enough that both could be read within 24 hours.
I’m sleep deprived this week because I stayed up way to late re-reading The Snow Child. Oh how I love that book!
A Man Called Ove was my most recent unputdownable. LOVED IT! I haven’t read any on this list, which made me happy Reading this also made me realize I should be going home to read, instead of hanging out in my classroom on a Friday afternoon. 🙂 Taking care of me, now.
All the Sarah Addison Allen books I’ve read can definitely be in the unputdownable category. They aren’t suspenseful at all, so it’s not the drive to find out what happens next that keeps me going. It’s more the comfort of a familiar story but told with a twist of magic and a hint of whimsy that makes me devour them in such a short time.
This was my experience with Allen, too. (Hmm. Isn’t it about time for a new one to hit shelves? I hope so!)
I also read You Will Know Me and I Let You Go in 24 hours! Other books
I just couldn’t put down:
Fractured by Catherine McKenzie
I See You by Clare Mackintosh
These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauf
Find Her by Lisa Gardner
Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight
A House in the Sky by Amanda Lindhout
Thanks for sharing!
I think Gone Girl may be an obvious pick here, but I’d also add Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas, which I tend to recommend as an “if you loved Gone Girl” book. It’s a YA book based on the Amanda Knox case, about a girl on spring break with friends who’s accused of her best friend’s murder.
I hardly ever read in one sitting but my most recent one was monster calls by Patrick ness.
Whistling Past the Graveyard by Susan Crandall and The Wonder by Emma Donoghue. The former because it was reminiscent of To Kill A Mockingbird and the latter because I really just wanted to know what happened!!
Bones & All by: Camille DeAngelis. I read this last year it was amazing. The book I read just yesterday in one day was the new JD Robb novel Echoes in Death. But, I’ve been reading this “in death” series for 14 years so, tend to devour them when they come out.
I also love The Death series, but I have listened to all of them. If you haven’t ever listened to one I highly recommend it. The reader is awesome and she has done every one in the series.
I’m actually reading naked in death right now the first book. I didn’t know it had 44 books but I’m really liking the first book.
Two non fiction books I couldn’t down:
Juniper, the girl who was born too soon by Tom and Kelley French and No Biking in the House Without a Helmet by Melissa Faye Greene
I keep hearing great things about Juniper. I heard the author speak last year (and LOVED that episode of RadioLab) but haven’t read it yet. I don’t know the Greene book—thanks for the rec.
The Greene book is not new-I read it years ago, but obviously it stuck with me! It is laugh out loud funny at times. I remember trying to read aloud some parts to my family and being unable to because I was laughing so hard!
Juniper lives up to all the hype it’s getting. So well written (both of her parents are award winning journalists), and so compelling.
If you’re looking for more…Robert Charles Wilson’s Last Year, Chris Pavone’s The Travelers, Christopher Buckley’s The Relic Master, and Catherine Banner’s The House at the Edge of Night. In the order I listed, I’d call them science fiction/time travel, suspenseful thriller, humorous historical fiction, and a generation-spanning literary drama.
Oh yeah, I read The Travelers super fast! The rest of these titles are new to me. Googling. 🙂
I have “What She Knew” sitting on my bedside table. Now I’m really ready to dive in!! “A Walk Across the Sun” was absolutely unputdownable for me. Great fiction that reads like John Grisham, but sheds light on an important, tough topic of sex-trafficking. Don’t let the theme scare you. This is well written and very good. Also!! I loved Amy Matayo’s “The End of the World.” Excellent. OH! Jodi Picot’s, “Small Great Things.” I couldn’t start a book for quite a while after that one because I just kept chewing on it and couldn’t let it go.
I love John Grisham, so thanks for the Across the Sun recommendation. I listen to audio books all the time so I can still cook, clean up, and take my dogs for a walk while still getting my book fix. I’ll look for that one, as well as several others in this whole article.
Your post came at THE perfect time– we are leaving soon for a quick get away and I needed to load my Kindle. I bought 8 of the books you recommended. I already read 6 of the ones you suggested and loved them so I’m confident these new picks will be perfect for beach reading!!
I just finished this at 3am this morning: If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo. An #ownvoices title, it won the 2016 Stonewall Award in the YA category. The Stonewall Book Awards are given annually to English-language works of exceptional merit relating to the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender experience. This book is eye-opening and important to read. I loved Amanda and felt her emotions were wrenching and understandable. of the Species by Mindy McGinnis, Audible with 3 different narrators. Brutal story with believable characters. Not for the faint of heart. This book received at least 6 starred reviews from different library journals and ended up on a few Best Books of 2016.
I also loved A Fall of Marigolds by Susan Meissner. It is very special.
Dark Matter is definitely unputdownable. I read Sleeping Giants, it was just ok for me.
Good as Gone, Maybe in Another Life, What Alice Forgot, The Sea of Tranquility, all have been added to the TBR list but,
I am going to start The Likeness by Tana French in a few minutes!
Thanks again Anne!
Any book that can be read in 24 hours isn’t worth my time. Read harder books.
Excuse me, that seems rather unkind and uncalled for. Readers do not judge other readers. The point is not that we are reading “hard” books, but that we are reading. Have you never been so engrossed in a book that you do not move from the couch all day? If not, I am very sorry for you indeed. Even a “hard” book, can be read in a day if the reader can commit the time. How are we supposed to define this elusive state of “hardness”. Is it in the length of the sentences? The number of pages? The thoughts within? Even the simplest of prose can contain the most challenging of ideas. I am all for challenging and pushing oneself to greater heights of reading, but not at the cost of tearing others down. Have fun with your “hard” books this weekend. I hope they bring you as much enjoyment as my assortment will provide me!
I agree Sarah! That comment is just arrogant & uncalled for.
Hear, hear!
But … but … Ethan Frome! Night! Narrative of the Life of an American Slave! The Metamorphosis! The Old Man and the Sea! Heart of Darkness! The Awakening! The Little Prince! Henry James!
It’s true that I’ve included narrative-driven contemporary works in this list, and will we still be reading them in a hundred years? Perhaps, but I wouldn’t take that bet. But some amazing authors through the centuries have written works that they hoped and prayed and intended their audiences would consume quickly (whether by reading or listening), in a day or two (aka 24 hours) or even in one sitting.
I read Tell Me Three Things after hearing about it on one of your podcast episodes and LOVED it. It’s not something I normally would have picked up, so THANK YOU!
you have some good ones on here that I haven’t read – thanks for the tips!
I read to be entertained, to escape, or to be edified. Easy or hard? Fast or slow? Doesn’t matter to me. Reading is reading.
Also, I think the more one reads the faster one becomes at reading and comprehension, so one can perhaps read a “hard” book quite quickly.
I have a couple of these books right now! They’ve been patiently waiting for me to get to them! Great list – the only downside is my Amazon wish list is getting bigger all the time!
The Likeness is my favorite Tana French book. Hands down. A series that I just gobbled up was/is the Foreigner series by CJ Cherryh. It is SF but not…It is about clashing cultures, language vs communication and loyalty/friendship in unexpected places. It is my go to when I can’t find anything to read from the library/Audible/Kindle.
What a great post! Theres a couple there that ive gone and added to my amazon wish list! I love reading and this post has just fueled my addiction!
I just finished “Lucky Boy” by Shanthi Sekaran, and I could not put it down until I finished it. The subject matter — illegal immigration, parental rights versus adoptive parents’ rights, are so timely right now (not just politically, but socially). I am choosing this book for my April book club selection, because it will definitely make for a terrific discussion.
What a fun post topic! I’ve read five of the books you mentioned, thanks to you :), and I completely agree that they were all unputdownable. I poured through Rules of Civility on a cross-country flight, and Tell Me Three Things during a rainy Saturday afternoon “nap” (I planned on napping after reading a couple of chapters!). You Will Know Me and Good as Gone both had me guessing, and continuing on to find out the truth. What Alice Forgot had me guessing the whole time as well, and I LOVED it –I think it’s my favorite of the ones listed here. Regarding Tell Me Three Things, I definitely feel like it was one that I might be a bit embarrassed to say I’ve read (for the high school drama) — isn’t there a reading challenge category for that? — but I agree that the grieving process was spot on and I loved that the author had others see the main character as stronger than she thought she was. And wouldn’t we all want a secret, special friend who could hold our hand through such things?
Kathy…. please read what YOU want to read. Reading is personal… so personal. I’ll bet you if you think about the people in your family or think about your friends, they all read different books. They might recommend something you love and then again, they might recommend something and you would look at it and say to yourself, that really isn’t for me.
That’s why we librarians have to know our books..and get to know our customers so we can match the two.
Just fyi…if you haven’t heard about it, the American Library Association also announces the ALEX awards every year at their Mid-winter conference ..along with the Printz, the Newbery, the Caldecott, etc. (there are 19 awards categories in all).
The Alex awards go to ten books written for adults that are considered great crossover books into the YA world.
Here’s a link to the winners announced a few weeks ago:
http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2017/01/yalsa-announces-2017-alex-awards
Great comment, Barb! I agree that everyone should read what makes them happy, or at least they like it for other reasons, if it’s not a “happy” type book.
I read Small Great Things in 24 hours…..couldn’t put it down! ….and re “Literate’s” comment…..it was quite a thoughtful read dealing with difficult and challenging issues…..the read was life changing
Same here, Carol! It challenged so many of my beliefs-about MYSELF! I can’t stop thinking about it. It was painful but in a good way. I passed it on to my Mom, who now can’t sleep because she can’t put it down. It’s not a “hard” read in the way that “Literate” may be thinking, but there are many ways for a book to be hard. I am so glad I read this one and hope the lessons I learned stick with me as well as continue to develop. Love, LOVE this list!
Great book that I highly recommend. Read it this year as part of my 2017 PopSugar Reading Challenge!
I just saved a bunch of these picks, so thank you. Also, I need to say that The Sea of Tranquility is absolutely nothing like Eleanor and Park with the exception of the two main characters starting off as unlikely friends. Not sure where you saw that comparison. And TSOT blows E&P away.
I love this list, and have added all but 2 to my TBR! I just devoured Tana French’s first two Dublin Murder Squad novels this past week. You’re right that the premise of The Likeness should be tough to swallow, but because I trust this author so wholeheartedly after In The Woods, I didn’t care one bit. She has become a fast favorite.
Tana French is one of my favorites, too. I read the first two Murder Squads and agree that The Likeness is a little farfetched, but it captivated me none the less. Just let go and enjoy the ride. You won’t be disappointed!
Oh boy, now I have to request some of these at my library! What is the content like in You Will Know Me and Good as Gone? I really can’t stand an abundance of profanity, but I’m able to handle suspense and a little gore. I read Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris and Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen pretty quickly, though the other books by Dessen didn’t quite grab me.
Based on what you said, neither is overwhelming with profanity or gore, although both are certainly present in each.
You have to read Bird Box by Josh Malerman, I am not usually a fan of books that scare me but this book I could not put down!!! It was so good! And I love Tana French, I couldn’t put down In The Woods, The likeness, Her whole series is soooo good! I love your list! Now I know what to get next time I go to the Library, Thank you!!!!
Agreed. Bird Box was SO good!
Okay, I want to know if it was just me, but when I read “Rules of Civility” I felt like there were some historical inaccuracies, mostly to do with clothing, but also with how the main character would approach certain situations. It felt too modern at times for the a 1930s setting (there was one mention of a woman being out and about in tight jeans, which would have a been a major fashion faux pas and not even how jeans were made!). I enjoyed the story, but every once in a while something like that detail would jump out at me, and unfortunately its the main thing I remember about it and kind of makes me worried about reading “Gentleman in Moscow.”
Towles has said that he values story over historical accuracy (although he was specifically referencing Moscow at the time, not rules.)
However: I think sometimes authors painstakingly check their facts, much more than we give them credit for. An author friend wrote a book with a reference to polyester thread being used in the 1930s, and it’s the #1 thing she gets emails about on that book. Google says it didn’t exist then, but Google is wrong this time. That may not be the case here, but it did open my eyes to how my general impressions of a time period aren’t always correct, and how Google is wrong sometimes, too.
I just finished When Breath Becomes Air. You will need a few tissues for this. This is about a young doctor who is diagnosed with lung cancer. I couldn’t stop reading.
Also, read Trevor Noah’s book Born A Crime. Simply amazing how he became such a big star of a great show.
Thank you Anne for this wonderful post!!! I loved every single suggestion and can’t wait to read each one!! Your the best!!! One of the books I read recently that I couldn’t put down was the, “Queen of the Tearling” series by Ericka Johansen. There are three books in this series, each one I loved and devoured.
None of these are my cup of tea. When I read I am relaxing and being scared or having a palpitating heart just doesn’t equate with relaxation.
I Let You Go is an amazing book and I couldn’t put it down! The plot twist was shocking, one of the best books I’ve read in a while. xx
cocobellablog.com
I just started Deborah Crombie’s new book “Garden of Lamentations” last night…. I stayed up way too late reading it! I’m glad we have a huge snowstorm on the way. I can sit and read the day away! I love her Duncan Kincaid/Gemma James series.
The Husband’s Secret was a great quick read!!
I read Good As Gone last night in under five hours! Thanks for the recommends, I can’t wait to start another – I’ve got my book club this week so I’m waiting until after to start our next book.
So funny…I also read Good as Gone in about five hours last night. Loved it!
I am excited to try some books on your list. I love Unputdownable books. I have started listening to Audible while I cook and drive and am reading way more than I used to. Excited to try a few of yours. Last year I read “A Man Called Ove” by Frederick Backman. It was probably my favorite of the year. Am currently reading and am very moved by “Small Great Things” by Jodi Picoult. I am trying to savor it because I only get 1 book a month on Audible, but will probably fly through it like I did last month with “The Invention of Wings” by Sue Monk Kidd. Both of these last two have a common thread and I feel entertained and dare I say, educated at the same time. All three of these are excellent.
If you are struggling with only one audiobook a month, hoopla has a good selection available and you can access them through your local library!
I was just going to suggest checking with your library for downloadable audiobooks. My library has a great selection, it’s easy to use, and supplements by Audible subscriptions very well.
Beth, I was extremely happy to discover that there are now several apps that are free that allow you to check out audio books from the library. They seem to accept any library card in the country. That allows me to listen to many more books than I could afford to otherwise. Overdrive is my favorite of these that I’m aware of, but for some reason, hoopla has some books that Overdrive doesn’t, and I’m using the same library card. Check them out.
I just finished Every Heart is a Doorway by Sranan McGuire in two nights. Would have been one but one but it was during the week and I had work. Such a fun read.
Correction Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
Correction due to iPad typo and autocorrect : Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire
You should read any/all of Heather Gudenkauf’s books (The Weight of Silence, These Things Hidden, One Breath Away, Little Mercies, and Missing Pieces – due out July 2017). It won’t even take you 24 hours to read these – they are incredible!!
Not novels, but I found Boys In The Boat and Unbroken to be similarly compelling! Races, long odds, war, shark attacks, and starvation.
Never heard of some of these books, but after reading this post, I’d love to try “What Alice Forgot” ; “A fall of Marigolds” ; “Maybe in another Life” ; “Jane Steele” ! Lovely post, and great recommendations ! xx
Imaan | https://theaugustclause.wordpress.com
Such an interesting list! I made a note of 14 of these – will definitely be checking them out! Thanks for this!
I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that I’ve read almost all of these! I just checked and my library doesn’t have any of the others on audio, so they will have to wait. I love a good nail biter!
Colleen Hoover’s “Confess” was a straight-through read for me!
The Woman in Cabin 10 was my choice for this category and it did not disappoint!
The Handmaiden’s Tale.
I agree! The reporter frustrated me to no end but that didn’t keep me from finishing and enjoying this book.
As for different likes, I recommend most anything by Neil Gaiman, especially The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Neverwhere or The Graveyard Book. They are different than books listed here, but a fun escape to worlds only imagined.
Earlier last year I had this happen with The Legacy by Katherine
Webb. I ended up staying up all night because I could not put it
down.
I love all Neal Shusterman! His newest book Scythe, YA dystopian adventure did not disappoint. Set in a society where death, war, hunger have been conquered…His Unwind trilogy are my favorite dystopian novels. I read Scythe in less than two days!
I could never read a real book in 24 hours no matter how good it was. Too many kids to give me that kind of nice quality time with a book. I’m happy to be on track and slighlty ahead with my 1 book a week challenge. Between a book club and my random book selections I’m doing quite good on reading goals. I’m going to add some of yours to my list!
This site looks so helpful–especially for our book group! Thank you for your offering.
The Nightingale was amazing. Historical fiction at its absolute best.
I completely agree with the Nightingale being an amazing book. I’m not into history but this book was so good I actually learned about that time period while reading a great book. Another one that I would say was just as good and in this category of historical fiction is The Orphan Train. Happy reading!
I just finished To the Bright Edge of the World, which is historical fiction about the exploration of Alaska in the late 1800’s. It is a very well-crafted book and fun reading. It is also a very good book for a book group discussion
Did you know that The Orphan Train has seven books that follow it?
GLASS CASTLE. Must read.
Agreed! I find myself thinking of Jeannette Walls frequently and I wonder if her story will, in fact, be made into a movie as mentioned. An inspirational, yet sad story.
Read Half Broke Horses by same author. It was another great story.
Yes! Love The Glass Castle.
I thought Glass Castle was one of the best memoirs out there. Heartbreaking,yes, but also so uplifting! Jennifer Walls is a true survivor.
“The Lost Girls” by Heather Young. Highly recommend.
Great read!
TY so much to all the contributors–have added these titles to my list as well as some of the other suggestions. I loved Twenty Years by Allison Winn Scotch and The Hideaway by Laura Denton.
I cant believe no Colleen Hoover book was included on this list! All of her books are dedinitely UNPUTDOWNABLE!!!
Colleen Hoover is my favorite author. However, just be warned she writes about unhealthy relationships so some people may not like her books.
The Shack! We were on vacation a few years ago and it was a suggestion on my kindle. I read the synopsis and wasn’t sure. I was raised catholic and religion is such a touchy subject!! I thought it might be “too deep” for a vacation read. But I bought it!!! Read it in less than 24 hours. Beautiful book. Very touching. Gave me a new perspective on my faith!! Sad but beautiful. And Defending Jacob! Sucked me in and I couldn’t put the book down!! Thank you for the blog!!!
I’m reading Defending Jacob right now and yup it’s grabbed me and won’t let go. lol
One of my favorites. It triggered the best discussion we’ve ever had at book club. It’s one of the first books I mention when someone asks for a recommendation.
I was reading it at work and i would finish a chapter and so oh he did it. I’d finish another chapter and say no no he couldn’t of done it!! I drove my co-workers nuts!
We may never REALLY know the answer since the Dad is an unreliable narrator. Such a smart literary technique.
Completely agree. I started reading Defending Jacob on the flight to our D.C. Spring Break vacation, and literally ended up sitting in the Museum of Natural History reading because I HAD to finish it.
After Everyone Died by Sean Little. That one was good.
What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman and Behind Closed Doors by B.A. Paris
The Rent Collector…it’s about the love of reading!
I was JUST telling my husband how deeply The Rent Collector touched me. Such a moving story.
Save Me. Lisa Scottoline
Same kind of different as me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. It’s an amazing story and is coming to theaters in October of this year. Check it out before you see the movie. AMAZING!
I just listened to this one. It’s a fantastic book and the audio version is fabulous!
The Nazi Officers Wife. For me this was beyond belief, I was half way through the book before I realized it was a true story. We have no concept of what people went through during WW2. I couldn’t put it down
100% agree on The Likeness but I would definitely, definitely read In the Woods first. You’d miss the whole first half of Cassie’s journey without it!
the lack of diversity in this list makes me a little sad. there are great books out there written by POC that are just as “unputdownable” 🙂
Of course there are!! Share your favorites so we can look for them,too!!!
😀 Thanks so much! Here are some off the top of my head:
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
<3
LOVED Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz
I’d truly love to know who we’re missing! Please tell!
I’ve read 3 of Lisa Genova’s books that I really liked. Still Alice, Inside the O’Briens and Love Anthony.
I always forget about that author yup loved what I read. Still alice was so good and inside the obriens was also good. I still need to read her Anthony book.
I had this happen recently with “how i lost you” – a mystery of a woman who was jailed for murdering her infant son in a postpartum psychosis – at least that’s what they told her. Then things start appearing, and the crown prosecutor disappears, and she’s forced to figure out what really happened.
I have recently fallen in love with Susanna Kearsley. LOVE every one one of her books that I have read so far (approximately 6 of them since Christmas) but my absolute favourite was The Rose Garden.
I blew through Patrick Ness’ Chaos Walking trilogy! YA isn’t always my thing, but his books are full of on-the-edge-of-your-seat action while also providing plenty of meaty topics to chew on. They’re all too long to read in 24 hours but still definitely worthwhile!
I thought I’d take a Friday night and Saturday to read Susan Meissner’s A Fall of Marigolds. I forgot about going to sleep and finished the book around 2:30 a.m.
I loved it so much, I read it again on Saturday! What a great story! I’d never read any of Susan Meissner’s work before. I’ve since read 2 more and have a new one to start today.
I am about to pick this one up from the library! It sounds amazing!
Oh! Do enjoy!
Thanks, I’m looking forward to it!
Through a Glass Darkly, Karleen Cohen. Literally read the book in 24 hours, did not sleep. Amazing book.
Dancing on broken glass – Ka Hancock AMAZING!!!!
Station 11, of course. Night Waking by Sarah Moss, A New Name by Emma Scrivener.
Mistress of the Art of Death – I couldn’t stop reading it – fantastic book by the late, great Diana Norman writing as Ariana Franklin
The Bronze Horseman trilogy. I could not stop. One week. All three.
Thank you for listing these!
Hmmm
Gone Girl and Misery by Stephen King. I had to find out what happened.
Thanks, can’t wait to get to the library.
Awesome list! And “Good as Gone” is free on Kindle for Amazon prime members. It’s already been delivered to my kindle! I know what I’m doing tonight 🙂
Thanks for this ! I got it too but wouldn’t have known but for your comment.
Thank you for letting us know!!
And, “The Forgetting Time” is amazing. Still with me.
the Pilot’s Wife by Anita Shreve
Anything by Anita Shreve.
I love that book! I read it many years ago, and can’t remember the plot, but was has stuck with me is how amazing it was when I read it. I might need to read it again!
Good one
Susan and the Sunflower by James Huffman, Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls, and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.
All books by Karen Swan but her latest is the best yet. Christmas Under the Stars
The River at Night.
The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks and Lightning by Dean Koontz
Louise Penney books for sure
Absolutely…I read all 12 without a break!
I recommend”The Kind Worth Killing” by Peter Swanson. I have trouble finding a book that I can’t put down. That was one of them!
Perhaps it would have been worthwhile listing the number of pages for each book.
I have read a lot of books that I wanted to keep reading but they were too thickl to finish in a day.
Almost anything by Diane Chamberlain; especially The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes. Also an all time favorite for me is Midwives by Chris Bohajalian
Empty Mansions was great. Colossus non-fiction. The Magicians by Lev Grossman and The Given Day by Dennis Lehane
“You” by Caroline Kepnes; Followed up by “Hidden Bodies” by Caroline Kepnex. Story of a stalker/serial killer obsessed with finding love. He even makes you feel a little sorry for him.
I’ve written two such books that are un-put-down-able (so my readers have said) and in the process of writing my third. May I send you a complimentary copy? I’d love to be added to your list. My first book is titled, “Mayor of Nut Valley—Managing Life’s Nonsense” and my second “More Nut Valley Nonsense.” Both are nonfiction. I’ve been told they are written in the same vain as George Lucas’s, “American Graffiti”….
Can I get any of these books in large print please? Thank-you, Jill Sapone
If you have a Kindle, many of these titles are available and you can change the font size to suit your needs 🙂
I already had a bunch of these on my Goodreads “to read” list, so yay!
Anything by Elena Ferrante. I could not put down the Neopolitan novels. The story of Lila and Elena through the years was captivating. Also, Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove. Another one that I just could not put down.
Replay, by Ken Grimwood. Came out in the 1980s, but I reread it recently and it still holds up. “What if you could live your life over again? And again? And again? And again?”
I read this the first time when I was supposed to be studying for a final the next day; I intended to read a couple chapters, but read the whole thing and never did get any studying done. After the final (which I did well on, whew!) I went home and read Replay all over again.
You would like Life After Life–I’m reading it now!
I see two books entitled “Life After Life” at our library. Is it by Kate Atkinson or by Jill McCorkle?
Kate Atkinson
I must read it and yes Life after Life is a great one
I am anxious to read some of these books.
Anything by Ann Patchett
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini – as a Canadian, I wanted to understand more about life and struggles for women (and men) in Afghanistan. I finished it feeling informed, empathetic and inspired. One of my best reads in my entire life.
This is a great book!
One of my all time favorites!!
Sea of Tranquility, yes!!!!
I recommend Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult. Every single one of her books is INCREDIBLE (so, naturally, I recommend them all), but this particular piece is so moving, so beautiful, so full of knowledge, and so “jaw-dropping.” I can’t say it enough… read this book!
Danielle-I agree about Jodi Picoult. Her books haven’t all necessarily been my favorites ever, but they have all been un-put-down-able!!! I have pulled some all-nighters because of her-so much fun!
To go along with the Jodi Picoult theme of these last few comments, I read the entirety of Small Great Things yesterday. It was incredibly riveting and eye-opening – it provides a sharp acknowledgement of contemporary racism and its effects. It was phenomenal.
LOVED that book!!
Kristen Hannah’s The Nightingale is a great book. Best I’ve read in a long time. Look forward to books on your list!
I second The Nightingale! Loved it. And love this list. Just having trouble deciding where to begin!
My comment was meant as a reply to Heidi M.
I agree that there is value in reading books by authors from a wide variety of backgrounds. That said accusations and shame rarely achieve the desired result – they are more likely to make people defensive than affect change.
Additionally, I’ve read several books by POC since I started listening to Anne’s podcast that I hadn’t heard of elsewhere or that Anne’s description made me pick up immediately.
Maybe instead of a throwaway judgemental comment, you could have offered some options?
You know what? You and Laura are exactly right. I should have responded differently. With less of a throwaway comment, and more along the lines of attempting to be helpful. Thank you for pointing that out. I won’t respond a whole lot to all the other kinds of comments about skin color not mattering. I thought about doing so, but realized I probably wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind. However, suffice it to say that this “colorblindness” is called erasure. When we choose to erase race from the conversation, we have a default to whiteness. It means that People of Color are excluded. In terms of suggested titles, I will happily provide some. I saw that Joanne suggested A Thousand Splendid Suns which is a great read. I will get back with some others. Thanks again for the suggestion. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.
Here are some books by authors of color that fit this blog post theme. If I find more, I’ll share those as well.
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay (LOVE her!)
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Ruby by Cynthia Bond
Happiness, Like Water by Chinelo Okparanta
The Sellout by Paul Beatty
Anything by Octavia Butler (Sci-Fi)
Anything by Jhumpa Lahiri
I’m still the 25th hold out of 4 copies for Difficult Women:( Once the audio version comes out I’ll probably go ahead and buy it.
Here are a few YA recs
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon (and I’ve heard her recent release is even better, but again library hold)
The Living by Matt de la Pena
My Heart and Other Black Holes by Jasmine Warga
I just listened to this podcast with Roxane Gay on Sooo Many White Guys. It was absolutely delightful. If you haven’t heard it yet, maybe that will sustain you until you get to number 1 on the list. (Not sure if we can post URLs in a comment or not…) http://www.wnyc.org/shows/whiteguys
Thanks for the additional recs. Hope others chime in as well. I have some serious reading to do. And I’m still working on Americanah…somehow I missed that in 2013, when all my friends were reading it. Not a 24 hour read–but well worth the time.
People are loving this Facebook post and all the great shares. SO many amazing books. Thanks for inspiring it:
(Americanah has been mentioned 3 times–tho I’m not sure that is anywhere near a 24 hour read–maybe)
Anything by Jesmyn Ward
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Parable of the Talents by Octavia Butler
Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Are Prisons Obsolete? by Angela Davis
All About Love: New VIsions by bell hook
Invisible Man, Got the Whole World Watching by Mychal Denzel Smith
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (Person recommended pretty much anything the author writes)
How to Slowly Kill Yourself and Others in America by Kiese Laymon (Said it was her best read in all of 2016)
As someone said on the Facebook post, that is one badass list. And folks can alternate, if they choose, to take in more of the richness of writers in America. Thanks to those who are actually open and interested in doing this. I hope you find some great reads on all these lists.
Great list! I added a few to my “to read” pile. Check out Lisa Genova’s books. She wrote “Still Alice” but ALL of her books are fantastic if you like medical fiction. I can never put her books down and tend to reread them!
I loved the book All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven. It’s one of those books where I leaves you stunned and you just want to curl up in a ball when you finish it. I highly suggest it!
I was going to say the same thing! It was incredibly good!!
You could recommend us some books to change that.
Thank you! You are absolutely right. I responded above to Brandyn, but wanted to make sure you saw that comment.
I just read kindred by Octavia Butler that I loved. It is about time travel historical fiction
I finished “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms” by N K Jemisin last week and it was enthralling – best fantasy I’ve read in ages.
I feel like I recommend this every time I comment here, but “Everything I Never Told You” by Celeste Ng is riveting – luckily because I started it the day that it was due back to the library.
Anything by Chevy Stevens! Her first, Still Missing was read in about 3 hours the first time!)
Yes, all of Chevy Stevens books are amazing!
I totally agree Sarah D. If a book sounds good I read it. The color of the author never even crosses my mind! I read for the story!
Color just never crossed my mind either. A good book is just that
Add to this Girl on Train. Wow. The movie was good but the book is incredible. I love this list and will look for these
I feel the same way! Loved Girl on a Train. I couldn’t put it down and read it in about 12 hours.
Yes better than movie
This was one book that I didn’t find particularly enjoyable. I did finish it, because it was suspenseful (and book club), but I just didn’t like or relate to any of the characters, so it is tough for me to enjoy a book like that.
The Nightingale…..Great book taking place in WWII Paris. A must-read and one I hope they make into a movie.
I agree; an excellent, at times gripping, read.
Excellent
I loved this book! I also loved “All the Light We Cannot See” about France and WWII. Both are amazing books!
Agree with you on All the Light
I just finished, “The Girl Before”. Talk about plot twists! I couldn’t put it down.
Try “The Pecan Man” by Cassie Dandridge Selleck” on Amazon. Another one you can’t put down!
I used to not note the author’s skin color or gender either, but then I realized how homogeneous my reading lists were, and how boring. I was reading the same ideas over and over. I pay more attention to the authors I choose now, and my reading lists is much healthier because of it–and my world view more complete.
(I promise this is my very last comment. I’m done now! )
And how smart you are, Criss! I just tripped over this post that listed 34 books by Women of Color. And from that piece:
“If you don’t care: oh, where to start. A xenophobic, misogynistic fascist is president; hate is ascendant; and it’s easiest to forget the shared humanity of people whose lives we haven’t tried imagining. Studies show, for instance, decreased homophobia among Americans who have so much as watched a bit of Will & Grace. Inclusion has real consequences.”
Here’s the post: https://electricliterature.com/34-books-by-women-of-color-to-read-this-year-581eda906a76#.nyigfnhwk
Heidi / that list is amazing thanks for tagging me. They are all new releases for 2017. Added them to my long long TBR list. Thanks for sharing
This list is may cause my TBR to topple over! They all sound amazing and 30/34 were entirely new to me.
A few years ago I read The secret keeper by Kate Morton and loved it!! Well written and suspenseful right to the final chapter.
All of Kate Mortons’s books are fabulous! I can’t wait for the next one. You feel like you’re right there! The Secret Keeper was very good!
Just finished The Lake House. Her best!
My all time favorite is September by Rosamunde Pilcher. Like most of her books it makes one long to be in the Scottish countryside. More of a character study than a driving plot. Also excellent was Shell Seekers. Love this author. ❤
Every Rosamunde Pilcher is delicious reading. I haven’t missed any of hers of Maeve Binchy
I loved Shell Seekers too. Pilcher is an excellent writer, well able to reel you into a new world.
Yes! I also loved Tana French’s The Likeness. I think her The Secret Place is just as good. Both are about friendship–it seems to be what she does best.
Try “34 Days” by Anita Waller. it will keep you guessing! I just joined today so I will be adding more titles that I love.
Barbara
“Calling me home” by Julie Kibler. This novel managed to break my heart then patch it up only to make my heart get back in the ring for round two. I read this books years ago and still I recommend it to everyone. Definitely one of those that touch your heart and linger near your soul.
Oh how I loved this book. I listened to it and the two readers were amazing. A must read or listen!!
Couldn’t put down “My Name is Lucy Barton” by Elizabeth Strout. I love the author’s voice… It’s was if she was having a conversation with me and sharing her insights humbly. Portrayed complicated people with kindness.
I just read “The Book of Speculation” by Erika Swyler in less than a day. It’s a really interesting book that flips back and forth between time periods, but it’s not confusing or tedious at all. I couldn’t wait to figure out the ending!
I loved “A Man Called Ove” by Fredrik Backman
I laughed out loud, cried and could not put down. Also listened to the audiobook.
Read My Grandmother sends her regards and apologizes by same author.
Frederik Backman is a magical writer! Loved ‘A Man Called Ove’ and “Britt Marie was Here.” I am starting “My Grandmothers Asked Me to Tell you She’s Sorry.” (or something like that). I cannot stop thinking about Ove!
I loved Ready Player One and Armada, both by Ernest Cline. Where’d You Go, Bernadette? is another fabulous read. 🙂
I just came across this page from someone that shared this on Facebook, and boy I must say I am so happy to have stumbled upon that link and your blog! What a homey and cozy feel you have here, and I will be sure to check your entires day after day.
Perfectly Negative by Linda Carvelli
The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. The writing style and the story of this memoir make it absolutely un-putdownable. Love. This. Book.
Just saved your list to come back to. I loved The Red Notebook by Antoine Laurain.
Also, not a mystery, but gripping, is my memoir about fighting cancer during my first pregnancy: Tiger in rather Dark.
Stupid auto correct! Tiger in the Dark
I loved a book called the search by Nora Roberts. Excellent
Liked reading many of the comments on the different selections. I may have to try a few. I am new to this so I’ll give it a go.
I love to read books relating to Holocaust and that sad era. If anyone knows of any plese tell me titles.
Nightingale by Kristine Hannah, salt to the sea by Ruta septys, the book thief but I couldn’t read that fast. The boy in the striped pajamas
Read them all
Sarah’s Key; All The Light We Cannot See
Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly or The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
Night by Elie Wiesel… Really pulls at the heartstrings.
I agree with the book Night Very good forgot about that one.
Broke my heart beautifully
read and loved it
From Cardinals to Crows by T. R. Adams. Tate Publishing. The author is a personal friend of mine. It’s her first book and it’s excellent.
Have you read ‘the bronze horseman’
The Girl in the Train – Paula Hawkins. And several years ago,
The DaVinci Code – Dan Brown. I began this book at 8am on a Sunday and read straight through ’til midnight to finish !
You are right-on about these – I read 3 of them in the last 5 days! And have another to pick up at the library tonight. Whenever I need a suggestion of what to read, I always find many good options here ?
I’d love to add the couple next door to this list – I read it all on a 6 hour flight. 🙂
That’s so funny. I just picked up that book from library yesterday to read for my mystery books for March. Hope I like it.
Just finished that one and really liked it!
Behind Closed Doors by P.A. Paris – I couldn’t stop reading it. I definitely finished it the same day that I started.
I was like this with Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. I didn’t want to even go out dancing cause I wanted to stay at home and finish this book. I recommend it to everyone!
I read Summer Sisters years ago and loved it!!
Lilac Girls is about the Holocaust.
Check out Fate Ball by Adam W Jones. It was unputdownable by many reviewers on Goodreads and Amazon!
Thank you. I ay have read that one. Will check
What a great list! Not only were half of these book already on my list, but almost all of these books are written by women!
Just finished Juliet Marilliers trilagy Shadowfell,Raven Flight,and the Caller….its for young adults. a realy good read ,she writes adult book also.
Montana Sky by Nora Roberts, What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day by Pearl Cleage, anything by Kate Morton. Also loved The Red Tent, The House We Grew Up In, and anything by Jodi Picoult!
I love all of the same books as you, Kristen Hannah is another great author!
Just finished The Nightingale!
Loved that!!! Have you read All The Light We Cannot See?
Not yet but on my book club list for this year. Heard good things about it.
I couldn’t get into that book.
Loved it
Great list! i have read 3 on the list and they are hard to put down. I would add these to the list: The Atomic Weight of Love by Elizabeth Church and The Sleepwalker by Chris Bojalian.
Love this list – great books for my daily walks in the woods. I used your link to buy four books on Audible, and put many of the others I haven’t already read on my wish list. Hopefully that means you get credit for recommending them.
Super Powereds and Red Rising are my all time favorites. Time just flew by listening to these books.
Those Girls by Chevy Stevens
Love this list, yes, I just downloaded a couple on audible too. Thanks!
David McCoullough’s book, The Johnstown Flood. Written in 1968. I found it at a thrift store. Compelling historical account.
May I recommend Just Mercy, by Dorothy Van Soest? Available via bookstores or Amazon. Amazing story of a family on a journey of grief and healing. Perhaps the best description is given by Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., author of Dead Man Walking:
A heart-wrenching and ultimately redemptive family drama of forgiveness, destiny, and the true nature of justice. This family drama is a must-read that teaches us about the true nature of justice and our very humanity.”
I read this book within 4 hours! I was left breathless by the end. Not only was this an amazing read, it revolutionized my life, as well
Great list and interesting selection of books. Will definitely be taking a look at some of them!
Thanks for the recommendations! I’ve ordered several from my library
I could not put down The Bookshop on the Corner by J. Colgan and Murder at the Brightwell by A. Weaver! Looking forward to the others in this series.
Just finished “New of the World”, by Paulette Jiles in an afternoon. I was surpised when I loked up that I wasn’nt in 1870 Texas.
The Letter by Kathryn Hughes is AMAZING!! I did not want to put it down.
The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert. I got it free from Amazon but will definitely be buying the other books in the trilogy.It’s YA human vs spirit realm. Think Frank Peretti or Stephen King but not as heavy.
I have found almost every single one of the Ian Rutledge mysteries by Charles Todd to be un-put-downable.
I rarely sit down and read a book in one sitting but yesterday I almost finished The Dry. I think you recommended this book on one of your podcasts. You said Reese Weatherspoon bought the movie rights before it even went to press.
Random question: Have you been watching Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies on HBO? Our book club had this as a book choice and I couldn’t finish it, but the show on TV is pretty good although our rated.
In the my comment I was using voice text. I wanted the last line to say it was “R rated.”
I haven’t seen any of it yet but I would love to, eventually. I’m hearing good things!
2 books I read in less than 24 hours were: The Lovely Bones, and Water for Elephants
Great list, read 3 on this list and put 3 more on hold at the library. My 24 hour reads are always Michael Connelly and Karin Slaughter
Michal’s Destiny, Roberta Kalen – about a young Russian Jewish woman prior to the Holocaust.
Yellow Crocus, Laila Ibrahim – historical fiction about a Southern black woman working for wealthy Plantation owners.
The Secret Life of Dresses, Erin McKean – a truly lovely story.
The Ice Princess, Camilla Lackberg – Crime fiction – LOVED SO MUCH I read the next 2-3 books in the series one after another. Could not put down!
I just finished a debut “novel” (it’s actually a true family story, but reads like a novel) called “We Were The Lucky Ones”. It’s a meticulously researched, gripping novel about a Jewish family with 5 adult children scattered all over Europe trying to survive the holocaust. I devoured it- and I don’t use that type of recommendation often! It was published just last month- February 2017- so it’s hot off the press. I got it from my library and can’t stop talking about it.
I’ve heard this one is great!
Have you read “A Thousand Tiny Cracks” by Stella Maddox? Great read!
I read Chevy Stevens’ new thriller, Never Let You Go, in 24 hours. And although it took me a little longer than that, because of work, I tore through The Royal We, too.
I have that on my stack right now!
You should read
Not Completely Human Living on the Fringe of Humanity! Great book quick read
My lasted 24 hour book was A Dog’s Purpose. Haven’t seen the movie but the book was a page turner and a bit of a tear jerker at times. Loved it so much I don’t want to see the movie as it would destroy the pictures I have of it in my mind.
I’m currently reading The Polygamist’s Daughter by Anna LeBaron. Can not put it down.
I second this. I read it in 24 hours. Couldn’t put it down.
I read The Secret Wife by Gill Paul and The Book That Matters Most by Ann Hood this weekend. Couldn’t.put.them.down.
Also loved “The Book That Matters Most”
Just finished “The Curious Charms Of Arthur Pepper” by Phaedra Patrick. Sweet and touching!
I read it in a day! It is such a sweet story!
Read which book in a day? The Curios Charmes of Arthur Pepper?
Yes
I just finished The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper and The Collector (Nora Roberts) both were so good! I have The Shack here handy and ready and I want to read The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harrold Fry and The little Paris Bookshop!
I’m not a reader, but secretly wish I was. Something that I cannot stand is when chapters alternate between different characters points of view. Can anyone recommend a good book that doesn’t do that?
I’m not a fan of this writing style either – it interrupts the story too much in my opinion. You should try Dolores Claiborne by Stephen King….there are no chapters and it’s told in one long story by Dolores. It’s not typical weird/horror King – just a really good story that is hard to put down! An oldie but a goodie.
The Wonder by Emma Donoghue…and right after that I ripped through What She Knew! Both great books!
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Storyteller by Jodi Picoult, Orphan Train by Christina Baker Cline, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay – all riveting reads, couldn’t put them down!
You should read the covenant by Naomi Reagan
“Orphan Train” by Christina Baker Cline set me on a path through ALL of her books. Each has been memorable.
The book that has affected me most recently was “Small Great Things” by Jody Picoult. Took me longer than 24 hours because frankly, it often made me uncomfortable. Very timely subject matter, exploring racism and white supremacy with an unforgettable story. Months later… I am still pondering this book.
My favorite book of all time is “Unbroken.” Everyone who has never been touched by a War in some way should read this book. It will leave you with a respect for our Military.
I loved Unbroken! I couldn’t put it down. It took me longer than 24 hours to read because It was a long book and I’m a slow reader but it was a page turner. I couldn’t believe all that happened to one person.
You have to read Noah Hawley’s book Before the Fall. It is unputdownable.
I loved that book!
Anything by Tana French is fantastic!
Love,Water,Memory by Jennie Shortridge. Reading this was a wonderful way to get lost in a weekend spent turning pages!
My favorite unable to put it down is The Proud Breed by Celeste DeBlasis. Have read it at least 10 times and shared with many friends over the years. Reading again this weekend.
Oh my. I Love, love, love the Proud Breed.
I too have read many times and passed along to friends.
I currently have two hard copies one to keep and one to give away.
I loved it so much, I named my shephatd malamute mix breed dog Sombra after Tessa’s wolf. I called her Sombrawolfdog.
The stranger in the rain by Christy m jones!!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Two pages turners are 1)The couple Next Door by Shari Lapena and 2) We need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver. Both excellent in their own right.
“So Close to You” by Rachel Carter, published by Harper Collins
When I saw your list, I had to comment…Glass Castles by Jeannette Walls is a must read.
Agree!! LOVED this book!
Loved this book as well!!!
For a fast paced psychological thriller, I love “One Man’s Poison” by Tom Langdale. The ending is so totally unexpected! It’s available on Amazon and on kindle.
Natchez Burning by Greg Iles is amazing!!! I didn’t read it in 24 hours (it’s 800 pages), but I couldn’t put it down!!! It was fantastic. It’s part of a trilogy. I’m currently reading the third book and I’m obsessed!!!
Your suggestions, and those in the comments, have helped me put my summer reading list together!! I’m a full time college student and can’t wait to read for the sheer pleasure ?
The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley
Body and Bone by LS Hawker
I read Jodi Picoult’s “Leaving Time” and felt it was un-put-downable … UNTIL the end… then I wanted to throw it across the room.
YUP… one of those
Read Jodi Picoults book, small, great things.
All of hers make me feel like that!!!
I’ve only read one by Jodi Picoult – for a book club – and I doubt I’ll read any others. Just did not like it at all.
I see your ‘Rules Of Civility’ and raise you A Gentleman In Moscow. Same author. Stunningly beautiful prose,and I actually learned things about the Russian Revolution. I like this Second Towles better than Rules. Read it first, then immediate went to Rules which was “satisfying” by comparison.
I Am Pilgrim was one of the most unputdownable books I’ve read lately.
Lastly, who knew and, who knows why I was never obligated to read this despite loading up on As many Lits as possible as an undergrad- BUT — The Count Of Monte Cristo. OMG! Riveting. It’s been a couple of years now and I still think of it all the time.
A Gentleman in Moscow was my favorite book last year. Why isn’t Amor Towles more famous?
I also loved the Count of Monte Cristo, but it’s been years since I read it. Have you started savoring Dickens yet?
I really didn’t like Rules of Civility (and I thought I would). Did anybody feel the same?
I liked it but I liked his book “A Gentleman in Moscow” even more. One of my many favorites of last year.
Thanks for the recommendations. I’ve really liked a few of these. I’ll have to read the rest now. I just read “The Gentleman” by Forrest Leo in 24 hours (maybe less…) it was just so much fun! I wish there was more of it!
I have a lot of friends who have friend ‘What Alice Forgot’ and they all really liked it! Guess it’s time for me to find out for myself!
Read Malcolm McDowell’s “The Elementals,” written more than several decades ago. It is a classy classic horror story unlike anything you have ever read. Very well written and full of Southern lifestyles and elegance. He knows his setting well, too. This is one of the best and most unsettling books I have read. He is or was one of the ten or so masters of the genre.
Not sure how I stumbled across this post, but thanks! I had read a few of these and enjoyed them, so downloaded a couple of these as audiobooks and have loved them! My house is clean and I am happy 🙂
Haha Katie. I only listen to books or I would never get anything done. I too, came across this site and am downloading as many books as I can.
Listening to What She Knew, which someone on here recommended.
Dear Susan, which app do you use for audio books?
Thanks.
Sandy
Hi Sandy,
I use Overdrive a lot. I have several library cards. I also find a lot online at torrent sites.
Susan
Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
Freak Show, James St James
Momo, Michael Ende
Letting it all Hang Out, RuPaul
Harry Potter & the Deathly Hollows, JK Rowling.
I just read Still Missing. It was really good, I wanted to read it until I finished it!
That’s Chevy Stevens, right? Those Girls was the same way!!
I could pull better un-put-down-able books out of my ass.
Great! Keep your head up there for a while longer and keep looking. The rest of us will have a civilized conversation.
Great comment 🙂
?
The Hearts of Horses by Molly Gloss is very good. Of course it depends on what you like. I found it touching and interesting.
What is it about? The title intrigues me.
It is about a young woman out west in the days when horses were part of everyday life who helps people (really the horses) who have “problem” horses. It’s around WWI times but not about the war. She’s doing what’s not usual for a women of her times to do. She meets a lot of people and the experiences she has help her grow. She’s a character who is lovable but doesn’t know how lovable she is. She loves horses. It’s a little bit of a lady horse-whisperer. I think it’s touching, about her and how she is with the horses. You can check it out on Amazon. I like stories about horses and that surround horses or contain horses and stories about other times and stories about women who do things differently. I hope you give it a try!
Thank you. It sounds perfect. Have you read Sara Gruen?
no, do you have any titles to recommend?
Getting back to Sara Green- Water for Elephants… amazing!!.
Loved her books. Also A Man Called Ove
Well, and there is always Outlander by Diana Gabaldon which is now on DVD/film. But the books… until 3am reading for sure on the first 2 or 3 in the series. 🙂
Unfortunately outlander took me months to read! I found them very slow reads and not one you can read in 24 hours. Even switching to audio it took me weeks to finish the book.
How could any body call an “Outlander” book a slow read? Well, different strokes for different folks, I always say.
Sorry it just didn’t keep my attention and found it hard to read hence my months to finish it! The first book was good but the 2nd book just dragged for me! I still need to read voyager but because the 2nd book was just meh for me I’m afraid I won’t like book 3. I’m actually liking the tv more than reading it. Sorry outlander fans
Hated the second book of the series…took me forever to finish. Finally, just skipped parts. The rest of the series is great. Many readers had some trouble with book 2 and stopped reading the series. They are missing out on a great epic story.
Voyager is my favorite after #1 😀
They are thick books…. that’s true. I found them very compelling…and hard to put down though, even then it does take more than a day to read. But I read the first one in about 3 days which is quick for a 600 page book! So I was responding to the “can’t put it down” part… 🙂 What one person likes doesn’t necessarily appeal to another or one can take in stride and another ponders over or needs time to process as she reads. That’s all ok. I loved them. But I don’t love murder mysteries. I did find a couple of titles on your list I will try though! So thanks! I always like to see what others put on their great reads list. Have your read any Jodi Picoult?
Jodi picoult what I read were very good. I loved the storyteller that was the first one I read by her. Unfortunately the outlander book just didn’t keep my attention and was ok read for me. I did like the tv show though.
I’ve read ALL of Picoults books! My Sisters Keeper is one of my all time favorites. So different from the movie. I love how all her books have a surprising twist!
The Storey teller was a great book! I just finished SmalGreat Things by the same author.I found it to be a good read. I have also been hooked on Jojo Moyes and enjoyes reading all the books I could find by her. If you enjoyed the Storeyteller, I found the book “Once We Were Brothers” BY Ronald Balson to be a great read about WWII
The first Outlander was amazing. To me, they got steadily worse and repetitive after the first one.
Outlander is one of those series of books that suck you in and won’t let you stop thinking about them well after you finished the last book. Diana Gabaldon became my favorite author and I can’t wait for her next book to be published.
Funny, I was able to put Dark Matter down. Here are some I couldn’t:
Storied Life of AJ Fikry, The Night Circus, Water for Elephants, Shadow of the Wind (although I had to because it’s over 400 pages),Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
The Fault in Our Stars. Couldn’t stop, even through tears!!
I agree the Fault In Our Stars was great! Since you enjoyed that try Picoults My Sisters Keeper. It’s so much better than the movie! You will laugh you will cry!
Yes! The whole series is amazing. If you get stumped by the Scottish slang, you can purchase a Outlander Dictionary (really there’s 1). Enjoy-It’s like traveling the globe and experiencing their diverse adventures.
Have you read Memoirs of a Geisha? Compelling, tragic but so satisfying to read! I reread it every few years-so good! A classic. True story too.
I find Chris Bojalian books to be 24-hour page turners for sure. My favorites are Midwives, The Double Bind, and most recently The Sleepwalker. They are though provoking, suspenseful, but very sophisticated and detailed. I also love that most of his books are set either in rural Vermont or the hip city of Burlington, VT.
I just read The Wonder by Emma Donoghue in 24 hours and came to this post to see if it was on the list. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
Redeeming Love by: Francine Rivers. It’s a book about Hosea and his wife Gomer. It is a beautiful picture of God’s LOVE for all of us
Francine Rivers is my absolute favorite Christian writer! Her “Mark of the Lion” series is incredible as well.
I love Jodi Picoult Leaving Time! Good read
I read The Girl Before in one day. So twisty, turny! Loved it!
I agree 100%! Loved the Girl before. I just read Pretty Baby by Mary Kubica in one evening.
Books I have read in less than a day… The Firm, all of Alan Bradley’s Flavia deLuce mysteries, all of Jennifer Worth’s Call the Midwife series, Secret Life of Bees, and too many more to list! 😉
Read Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. I could not put it down!
Samantha – totally agree! Kate Atkinson is amazing!!
Read in 24 hours or less. Orphan Train (Christina Kline) and Dont you Cry (Mary Kubica). And any book by Laine Moriarty. Every one of hers I can never stop!! I have already read and completely agree with these that you put and cannot wait to read some in a day 🙂
Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters, Stephen King’s On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft and Jane Austen’s Persuasion. SO FUN to come across a list like this. Can’t wait to dive in!
Five Days Left – Julie Lawson Timmer
The Art of Running in the Rain – Garth Stein
The Mutual Admiration Society by Lesley Kagan was lovely. I also couldn’t put down Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane, all of the Odd Thomas series by Dean Koontz,(who is usually much too wordy for me.) Though The City, also by Dean Koontz took a few days, it was an excellent read!
I also loved Eleanor and Park as well as What Alice Forgot. My newest unputdownable was very long, but so good. Edgar and Lucy by Victor Lodato. I couldn’t stop reading it.
The Storied Life of AJ Fikry – one sitting, something I never do!
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – re-reading; excellent book
I’ve heard A Man Called Ove was an excellent book, but have not yet read it.
It was indeed, one of my most favorite reads’
I just finished A Man Called Ove. It was one of my favorite books of all time. Go read it or listen to it on Audible…the narrator is fabulous!
SUCH a good book!!! Now I want to listen to it because of your comment!
Do it! I couldn’t wait to listen each day on my commute.
I totally agree!!!Fabulous book, great narration…just one of my faves all around.
I’ve been on a waiting list for at least 2 months for this book – a guy in our book club is in 2 others & said all 3 were reading ‘Ove’ the same month. I have finally gotten my online selection & can already tell from just a few pages I’m gonna like this character!
Ove IS really good. I enjoyed the movie recently also.
All three I have read and I highly recommend all. Ove was great. We discussed A J Fikry at my book club. Read Guernsey a long time ago but I liked it.
read and love this love story
A Man Called Ove is great!
Listening to A Man Called Ove right now and love it. Find myself chuckling outloud as a I am out walking the dog!
My sister and I executed a one week, self-planned trip to Guernsey based on our total enjoyment of this book! Now that’s a great read!
It looks like your article may have been grabbed by “Mike Vestil” you might want to contact some authorities.
The only one on the list that I read was Dark Matter…and I COMPLETLEY agree about it being Un-put-downable! Not even sure if I took a bathroom break.
A book that I can’t put down is “Afterlife” by S.P. Cloward.
Can I recommend “Look at the Sun” by Don Carswell?
The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien!! absolutely wonderful.
“Ordinary Grace” by William Kent Krueger and ” The Glass Castle” by Jeanette Walls were two that I read in less than 24 hours. Loved them!
I also loved The Glass Castle – and her sequel book – Half Broke Horses, was just as good….
And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer. Frederik Backman
Read any book by Edward Bunker.
My list of authors:
Rick Bragg
Fredrik Bakman
Richard Wright
Mary Roach
Annie Proulx
AUTHORS I’VE READ RECENTLY AND ENJOYED TREMENDOUSLY
Annie Dillard
Larry Wolff
Jenny Lawson( hilarious)
Tana French
Helen Simonson
Robert Goolrick
Edmund White
Lee Child
Edna O’Brien
Jeanette Walls
… and last but not least: “The Book of Strange New Things, by Michel Faber.
All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
I love Karen Kingsbury’s Angels Walking Series. Christian books. Once I finish up this series I plan to read some of her others, she has written many.
All of Karen Kingsbury books are an unstoppable read to me. She is my favorite author.
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. By far my favorite read in a long time. Completely un-put-down-able
Loved Ove as well!
I LOVED The Nightingale. Really anything by Kristin Hannah. Jodi Piccoult too.
I loved The Nightingale. Would read it again.
Yes — The Nightingale. I couldn’t put it down.
The Nightingale is June’s book club selection. I read it a few months ago – mixed the title up with another one! lol
Still Alice, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Small Great Things, Everything Everything
Still Alice I read in one day- HAD to, I believed I was Alice! Had to get through to stop worrying and feeling scared, and every other emotion! Great book!
Do you review indie authors? I have a two book series on Amazon?
I just read What Alice Forgot and Big Little Lies – my first time reading Liane Moriarty and I am hooked. But my most favorite unputdownable book is Sarah’s Key! Read in 24 hours – I could not sleep until I finished it!
I agree with you completely! Sarah’s key is in my top 5 all time favorite books. Loved it!
I loved “A Man Called Ove” and the movie adaptation was spot on! Highly recommend!
I meant to add that I’m currently struggling with putting down “The Girl With All The Gifts.” ?
I do not see The Rosie project or The thirteenth tale in any comment. Really enjoyable both.
The Last Child by John Hart. Loved this book so much!
I really really enjoyed “The Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All” by Alan Gurganus. It chronicles the life of a gal named Lucy, whose parents marry her off at 15 in the year 1899 to a 50 year old Civil War vet.
Outlander!
Read the whole series…..long books, but also loving the tv series too!
Favorite of all time. I started 23 years ago. The audible versions by Davinia Porter are amazing. My husband would never read them, but we are now listening to book 5.
Euphoria by lily king and the dog stars by peter heller both single sitting magnificence….
Fate Ball by Adam W. Jones
Fantastic debut novel about love and loving someone with an addiction. A quick read and a powerful story.
Aw I love this! I’m going to post the link to this in my fb book club (Betty Book Club). Not a traditional book club but one for chitchat about books being read! I haven’t read any of the books mentioned but have read a few by authors mentioned and loved them! Thanks!
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Love Liane Moriarty! Three Wishes, great, the Last Anniversary, great, the Husband’s Secret…all fascinating and wonderfully done. Last Anniversary has the best depiction of post-partum I’ve read.
Reading The Husband’s Secret on Audio Tape right now! I love it!!!
Reading The Husband’s Secret on Audio CD right now! I love it!!!
I can’t put down books from Lauraine Selling… Especially the Red River of the North series and all the series that come after that! I’m waiting (impatiently) for the next book!!!
Liane Moriarty’s books are all very, very simplistically enjoyable, sarcastic, and hilarious. I have read everything she has written but Three Wishes touched home for me the most followed by Big Little Lies.
In the trend of historical fiction I like Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly, Irena’s Children by Tilar J. Mazzeo, Nightengale, All The Light We Cannot See, & Garden of Beast. Wonderful informative & enlightening novels by various authors. Nothing better than a good book.
Behind Closed Doors…unstoppable!!
Agree!!
Anything by Charles Martin is awesome! “The Mountain Between Us” is also coming out as a movie in October.
Try Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.
Agree!!!!
Try It Ends With Us. Couldn’t put it down!!!!
Calling Me Home by Julie Kibler ❤️❤️❤️ I couldn’t stop crying as I read the last few chapters. What an incredible story!!!!
I listened to this book!! The readers were two women and did an unbelievable job. Not to mention that the story was incredible. I felt like I was in the car with them. Another incredible listen is Story Hour.
Speak by Lauri Halse Anderson. My daughter had to read it for school. We ended up with an extra copy. I started reading it before I went to worked and finished it that night. Stunning read!
A Man Called Ove – I listened to it on audiobook and then reread it because it was sooo good.
I loved that book so much!
Loved this book– now reading Britt- Marie was here- also by Backman!
I am reading Beartown, the latest book, read the first three and the short one on saying goodbye…had no problems with the others. This one is more difficult, the theme is much deeper than hockey, but all the hockey references slow me down!
Love it. bought it–read and reread it! We have good taste, don’t we?!!!!!
I also loved the second and fourth books of his (Backman)…My Grandmother Said to Tell you She’s Sorry and Beartown. Loved Little Big Lies…and anything else by Moriarity. Just finished Hillbilly Elegy–a must read about a very poor segment of society. Also like The Girl in Cabin Ten. Read a lot lately as I’ve had asthma and been housebound. Love my books!
Such a lovely, emotional ride. I still get teary over the end.
Isn’t the audiobook so good?! It quickly became my favorite and I’m recommending to everyone!
Some books I could hardly put down:
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Sanders
Here I am by Jonathan Safran Foer
A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates
A Long Long Way by Sebastian Berry
Almost by Elizabeth Benedict
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
and The Magic Strings of Frank Presto by Mitch Albom
One of my favorites was “The Time Traveler’s Wife”. It hooked me and I couldn’t put it down. BTW, there was also a movie made, and I was surprised at how good it was. Lots of details were left out, but whoever wrote the screenplay did an amazing job. Rare to find.
One of my all time favorites as well. I’ve read it three times now and still it brings such joy and tears and surprise, I can’t put it down.
I loved this book, but hated the ending to the movie. I thought the ending of the book was perfection. I cried intensely.
– The Letter (Kathryn Hughes)
– The Secret Wife (Gill Paul)
– Dishonor (David Mike)
– The Butterfly Garden (Dot Hutchinson)
– Silent Child (Sarah A. Denzil)
The Power of One – Bryce Courteney
Friday Night Knitting Club – Kate Jacobs
A Prayer for Owen Meaney – John Irving
The Fountainhead – Ayn Rand
Wow, three of the four you have above are also my all time favorites. I still miss PK and Owen! (I listen to my books, a long commute)
A Prayer for Owen Meaney is my all time favorite book!
I received it as a gift from someone who knew I loved to read but not sure what I liked to read. Same person gave me The Power of One. She is now my source of must have books.
I received it as a gift from someone who knew I loved to read but not sure what I liked to read. Same person gave me The Power of One. She is now my source for must have books.
Some great books on this list! Another author I breeze through because their just that good is anything by Jessica gadziala. Check out her stuff if you haven’t already!
I loved “12 Million Black Voices” by Richard Wright,”The Prince of Frogtown” by Rick Bragg,”Stark” by Edward Bunker—ANYTHING BY EDWARD BUNKER—-“LOOK ME IN THE EYE” BY John Elder Robison. “Secrets of the Sideshows” by Joe Nickell, Britt-Marie Was Here, by Fredrik Backman.
The War that Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.
One of the best books ever.
Shifting by Bethany Wiggins and The Dragon’s Price by Bethany Wiggins. Both are so good but I could not put Shifting down and I have a hard time getting into anything else.
The Art of Racing in the Rain
You’ll need tissues for 1st chapter. If you love dogs, have ever been in love- you won’t put it down.
Great book! One of my favorites!
Loved the book and I also loved the children’s version!
I didn’t know there was a children’s version! Thanks for letting me know!
The Art of Racing in the Rain, is probably one of my all time favorites! Love dogs, loved the story, cried a lot.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern was so compelling that I read it for two days straight, hardly taking a moment to sleep!
“Bear Town”, by Fredrik Backman was amazing.
I really liked it, too! Really picked up steam as it went along. I’ve read all his.
One of my all time favorites too!! I wish she would write another book!
The book I couldn’t put down was and is, read it more than once, is Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers. Oh to be loved like she was!!!
Unbelievable book! I reread it each year. Life-changing.
We were liers – E Lockert
The Vanishing Year – Kate Moretti
Behind Closed Doors – BA Paris
The Stranger within & While you were sleeping – Kathryn Croft
Don’t you cry- Mary Kubica
Really like the good girl by Mary Kubica (didn’t read the one you mentioned).
Lords of discipline – pat conroy (an all time favorite)
Love all Kathryn Croft.
The Dollhouse- Fiona Davis
The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway
One of my favorites…clerk at B & N told me to read it.
The Kind Worth Killing and The Bronze Horseman! Thank you for the suggested reads!
“What’s an Adult?: No One Knows Anything and We’re All Going to Die” by Emily Regan. She’s like a female David Sedaris, so funny and yet there’s a lot of depth. A fantastic read for anyone who suffers from imposter syndrome and feels like they’re only pretending to be a grown up. I couldn’t put it down, I absolutely loved it.
I raced through Inconceivable by Tegan Wren. It’s a royal romance…a perfect vacation/summer read. ???
Would these books be good for a 16yo? Mainly avoiding graphic sexual content and super strong language?
The Help
Thanks so much for all these suggestions, what a helpful blig?
Can’t believe you didn’t have a Nicholas Sparks book on this list. Don’t think there is one that I wanted to put down and if I did all I could think about was getting back to it.
Just finishing The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve. It is fiction based on a true happening…a horrific fire in 1947 that burned much of coastal Maine. Excellent book! I highly recommend it!
Thanks, Linda. I love Anita Shreve! Her “Sea Glass” is one of my all time favorites!
Swans of Fifth Avenue
Remember Me
Girl on a Train, saw the movie first, book was awesome.
Janet Evanovich – Stephanie Plum Series, have been reading this series for over 17 years, still makes me laugh out loud!
All of Elin Hilderbran
My favorite book I recently read was The Shack. Also,saw the movie. Both are excellent.
The first book I remember reading in one sitting was The Color Purple. I had bought it the day before and that Saturday morning I picked it up to read a bit while having my coffee. I absolutely could not stop reading…no chores done that day!
Hi! I would love to try some of these books, but I was wondering if you can tell me which ones are “clean”. I don’t like graphic violence or sexual content. Are there some that don’t contain those things?
A new YA author J.M.Paul’s “Last” series (2) books.
Kroger has a blinking ad on your site that is driving me to comment about how FREAKING annoying it is. Horrible user experience, kick them off your ad program!
But thanks for the list. I would buy a few of them but my eyes are blinked by the rapid blinking of the ad. I will come back later! Some of them sound good.
LOL!!!!
You need an ad block plug in or at least I think that is the proper term-
but I know EXACTLY what you are talking about and an add blocker allows you to control what is popping up or blinking or flashing or scrolling or flapping and squalling… and generally interfering with your ability to focus on the content that you wish to enjoy.
I wish you well, content warrior! Consult any teenager if you need further description of the JOY that is AdBlock.
If you use Firefox, Ad Block Plus is an awesome ad blocker. Chrome has some good ad-ons as well for blocking ads, but I’m not sure what they are called. If you are using Explorer, don’t lol. Try Firefox or Chrome.
One Second After and One Year After, by William R. Forstchen. Read each one in a day or less. Going to see what our library has from your list, I rarely buy books anymore.
“Maude” by Donna Foley Mabry. Over 13,000 reviews on Amazon.com and loads of them say the same thing about not being able to put this one down!
https://goo.gl/6a4nNG
I just bought this book on Amazon for Kindle. Looks amazing. Thanks!
I love “Pedaling Out of the Dark,” by Karen Hurley. It is a memoir about the author’s struggle with bipolar disorder, and how riding her bike across the country helped her. Her story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton. I simply could not put it down until I finished it.
I loved that one too! Some people in my book club had trouble keeping the characters straight but I enjoyed it.
though it was great too. My book club had a split experience with it as some couldn’t get past the length of it and gave up. But it was really interesting and well thought out.
I find all of Kate Mortons books like that, they’re all really good
I just finished The Secret Keeper by Katie Morton. I loved it. I was hoping to grab another one of her books for my vacation but couldn’t decide which one. I am staying away from The Lake House based on the description.
Did you read her “The Secret Keeper”?
I loved Maude! I also liked The Mortician’s Wife. Another great and spooky read is Graveminder by Melissa Marr, and anything Alice Clayton reads is instantly devoured by me. Great list–What Alice Forgot is great. Try Last Chance Saloon, I think you’ll like it.
Donna’s other books are great as well,,, especially The Manhattan Stories series. But,,, nothing compares to “Maude”!
Two books by Jeff Zentner: The Serpent King and Goodbye Days
The Mountain Betwen us!
I bought this book because of your comment. I loved it!!
I recently finished Dust Bowl Girls by Lydia Reeder which follows a small Oklahoma junior college’s women’s basketball team’s path to an AAU national championship. All of the women are dirt poor in the midst of the Great Depression. Many are Native American. It is a non-fiction book that reads like fiction. I appreciated the author’s mix of story-telling and bigger picture happenings in the world, particularly in regards to the role of sport in women’s lives.
“Shadow Riders” by Christine Feehan
I recently tried the book “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. its an award winning book. I could not get past the first 60 pages. I tried I really really did, but every time I went to pick it up I was dreading it. I made it to page 60 and declared it a good attempt.
On the flip side, years ago I read the book “Night Road” by Kristin Hannah. it was amazing, made me feel all the feels. I have recommended it countless times.
I prefer fast paced books, something that keeps me coming back for more. I don’t just want a nice story. I love supernatural, because hey their not people so anything can happen, I like mystery and yes I’m a grown up and I like a little smut. I will try almost anything (except horror) as long as there are strong characters that I like (I hated both the main characters in “Gone Girl and therefore ended up hating the book), I want to laugh, be excited, cry, be mad and happy all wrapped up in one!
I also hated “Gone girl”. Thought it was overhyped. Based on your recommendation I will check out “Night Road”.
Thank god other people hated Gone Girl. Those people were horrible.
I recommend Night Road consistently too. It’s a great read.
The Time Traveler’s Wife.
For all you who keep recommending Ove, I have to highly encourage you to read “The Curious Charms of Aurthur Pepper”. I LOVED Arthur, I had to wait a couple days to read another book after finishing because I just wanted to think about this book for a while and mourn the characters being over for me! I stayed up 2 nights way too late to read it just because I felt so good while reading the book.
I loved Arthur, too!
Sister, Sister by Sue Forten was a great way to spend time on a plane. The Twilight Wife by AJ Benner was one that I couldn’t put down!
The best book I’ve read recently is Fredrik Backman’s” My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry”
Layla Hagen- has a series about the Bennett family. Each book I have read in a day. It’s a romance but she invests u into the main characters and keeps you updated with the whole group. I love the series and each book individually
The Rosie Project drew me in immediately, and The Paris Architect kept me thinking about it after it was finished. Loving Frank made me do some research. All great reads.
Good recommendations! Thanks.
Bittersweet by La Toya T Haynes! Read in a day….unputdownable for sure. Love a good contemporary romance novel.
Thanks for the great list! Behind her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough was one of the best books I couldn’t put down and it had an amazing ending!
Can’t wait to add some of these to my list! My most recent “couldn’t put down” wa It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover. A story that needed to be told, and made me second guess myself in how I’d react to being in an abusive situation. It truly moved me.
The “Night Circus” was really good too. I agree with you on so many of your books “What Alice forgot” was my favorite.
Great read is 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Not a horror theme and totally compelling from start to finish.
Irena’s Children was an amazing read and I could not put it down. It’s history, but read like a novel. Loved this book.
I am just amazed anyone can finish a book in an afternoon!!! ?Takes me days and even weeks to finish even the most interesting books. You ladies are amazing
Loved One in a Million boy by Monica Wood
Goodness Falls by Ty Roth is a great one-afternoon read! One of my favorite books!
We Were Liars by E. Lockhart is also an excellent book; I read it in two days.
I read Of Sand and Ash and cant stop thinking about it. Beautifully written and both a romance and a history lesson.
The audiobook for Eleanor & Park is fabulous, too!
I just read I am the messenger by Markus Zusak. It was such an interesting plot, and kept me thinking for days after I’d read it.
The goldfinch I highly recommend also birdsong and last but not least blink x
Oooh this looks goood! I’ve read What Alice Forgot and Eleanor & Park and they were compulsive reads so I trust you! Haha. Will check some more on this list. Great post!
afomaumesi.com
Susan Meissner (A Fall of Marigolds) is a new favorite author of mine. I read her book, “A Charmed Life” and I was hooked!! She does her research and weaves it beautifully into her story! A Fall of Marigolds is on my night stand, it’s my next book.
They must all be good because my library was out of ALL of them! I did end up picking up another Susan Meissner book titled “Lady in Waiting” and it did NOT disappoint! It was so good I could not put it away! Loved these suggestions!
Try reading: “Cop on the Scene: Life and Death on the Street” available on Amazon. Ride in the squad car from the comfort of your favorite reading chair.
Once you pick up “Gracie Wild Adventures” you will not only read it to the end but, you will want to read it again! It is a story about rescuing a baby wild blue jay and the family that raised and released him. He comes back everyday as the Mom has Ovarian Cancer. As the author says by the end you will wonder just who saved who! It is available on Amazon and kindle too.
The library at Mount Char. Love it every time I read it.
Would like list of good books!
Up From The Blue, Brain on Fire, Reconstructing Amelia, Me Before You
Pick any A.G. Riddle book if you found that one sci-first intresting. His sci-fi novels have this awesome Clive Cussler feel to them and will definitely keep you in suspense.
Wanna quick read? Try “A Wish Facilitator’s Desire” by FVKarch — a very short fairy tale. Great for a quick read on a portable. A fun little tale about the adventures of a Wish Facilitator.
Then, if you are feeling brave, try his “Ravings of an Internet Madman” also by FVKarch, but get the hard cover. You’ll want to fold down pages and underline things. It’s the transcription of a four-and-a-half hour conversation with a bizarre stranger who answers, well, everything. There’s history, physics, aliens, a love story so strong it brings men to tears, philosophy and in the end the answer to EVERYTHING. It’s very Zen. 🙂
Self serving, I know, but I yam what I yam.
How about The Couple Next Door!
The day of the jackal n in a vain shadow
Wow. You weren’t kidding! It’s 2 for 2 for me (Veronica Mars and Sea of Tranquility – I also added the second Mars book for added measure). You have excellent taste. Can’t wait to reas the rest!
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah should be on this list too!!
Every single book by Colleen Hoover! Her books are just that good! You walk away and you feel like you’re missing part of a movie or putting a pause on the good part in your life. She really drags you into them and connects you with the characters. (Ugly Love is also a TV series that was very well put together)
Highly reccomend her books 🙂
AGREE with so may of these! Eleanor and ark was so moving for me, especially!
I’m trying to pick one of these for my book club. Now I don’t know which one. But to add some others I’d agreee with Nightengale and also add The Girl Left Behind by Jojo Moyes and I loved Love, Rosie for a light and funny read.
I was excited to find this list- I have it on my fridge!
So far I liked You let me go ( a lot!)
And You will know me, enjoyed as well .
for some reason, I seem to be in the huge minority on this one… But I could not finish Sea of Tranquility, I don’t know why-
Maybe simply because I just like more of a suspenseful type of book? Plus I mostly listen on audio , so maybe that contributed.
Seemed everyone loved that book but me.i gave up halfway or more through – will take a break –
I got distracted and ordered
Not a Sound,by Heather Gudenkauf which is very good so far, but then I will return to the list !
Also Seabiscuit and The Art of Racing in the Rain are on my list !
Thanks for the great ideas !!!
Before the Rains by Dinah Jefferies was absolutely Un-put-downable! Loved all of it.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders. I read it a few weeks ago, and now I want to re-read it slowly to savor it.
I haven’t read any of these books (yet) and have no idea if they are of a single genre and my suggestions are completely out there..The only books, I have read, re-read, and re-read again are Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles – The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear. Just love love love them
Fredrick Backman’s A Man Called Ove was my most recent can’t-put-it-down novels. I bought it for a plane ride; I was up early and thought I would read and sleep, but that was before I read the first chapter. Beautiful book! I finished it six hours later as we landed. I started telling my family all about it, only to find they had been passing around their copies to each other and friends.