For someone who loves reading, I suck pretty hard at finding good books. I can’t just go to a bookshop and pick up something that looks entertaining. I don’t get much time to read, so I can’t stuff around with shit books. They have to be pretty amazing and quite highly recommended from several sources before I’ll add them to my reading list.
My book recommendation sources come from three places. My mate Fi, who has an incredible track record of recommending interesting books (she reads at least one book a week), the Chat 10 Looks 3 Facebook group and that algorithm in the Kindle store that suggests books you might like based on the ones you buy and read.
I know people always want the newest and latest thing but I wrote recently about how people often ignore recommendations and I decided it was time to pop together a list of good fiction books I’ve read in the last few years. If you haven’t read these, get on it in 2018, please.
1. You and Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes
I read this book a few years ago now and it’s one of the most fun and batshit crazy books I’ve ever read. Caroline Kepnes is a relatively new (and young!) author and she’s just at the beginning of her career. She’s definitely one to watch. Without going too far into it, You is a black comedy about a murderer. It’s hilarious and grim at the same time. A bloody good read and there’s another book Hidden Bodies you can read immediately after and I’m pretty sure there’s a third book about to be released. You is also being made into a movie, that’s how legit this recommendation is.
2. Little Big Lies by Liane Moriarty
You’re probably so sick of hearing about Liane Moriarty. I was until I got over myself and finally read one of her books and now I’m hooked. They’re the best ever holiday page-turners. I read two of her books between Christmas and New Year. I read Little Big Lies after I watched the series but I don’t think it really matters which order you do it in. Both are ace, and both deserve your attention and time. I read What Alice Forgot and The Husband’s Secret over my Christmas break they’re both great too.
3. Anybody Out There? by Marion Keyes
This is an oldie but I really, really love it. It’s probably my favourite Marion Keyes book and I’ve read just about all of them. If you’ve never read a Marion Keyes book, do yourself a favour and read them. At least start with the Walsh sister books, which are loosely based on Marion Keyes own family. Watermelon, Rachel’s Holiday, Angels, Anybody Out There? and The Mystery of Mercy Close. There are five Walsh sisters and they each get their own book in the series. It’s worth it just for Mammy Walsh, their mother who is a freaking crack up. These books are so popular you can find them for a couple of dollars in most secondhand stores and I’m yet to stay at a coast house that doesn’t have at least one Keyes on the shelf.
4. The Girl On The Train by Paula Hawkins
This is another of those ‘Oh my god I can’t BELIEVE you haven’t read it!’ books but with good reason. It’s a rollicking thriller about an alcoholic woman whose husband left her for another woman. Unemployed and drinking daily, she spies on their house from her train that passes by every day. She witnesses some goings on in the house a few doors down from where her husband lives with his new wife and she becomes involved in a missing person case. This is one of those fabulous twisty style novels where you get to the end and you have no idea how you ended up where you did. A fab holiday read.
5. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes
This was recommended to me by the Kindle store and I really enjoyed it. It’s definitely a fiction book but it’s kind of in the faction genre as it refers to real life events with accuracy like 9/11. This book is about a high-level spy who has to track down a Saudi Arabian terrorist who is planning on starting a bio-war with the United States. This one is much heavier than the others I’ve recommended but I found it a particularly interesting read in our current world climate. It’s not a light read by any means but it’s pretty engaging.
6. The Girl With All The Gifts by Mike Carey
Hot tip: Read the book BEFORE you watch the movie. The movie is great but the book is better. I can’t say anything about this book because it will ruin it and after you read it you’ll know why. It’s a fairly short book and it’s not an effort at all. It’s certainly a scary book but it’s also very beautiful and sweet. You’ll have to read it to believe me.
7. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
This book is beautiful. It’s written from the point of view of a man who has odd habits and is very particular in his ways and it chronicles his journey into the dating world. It’s a very sweet book and one of those lovely stories that stays with you and helps you to understand people who may be a bit different than you.
8. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
This one has a very similar feel to The Rosie Project. It’s technically a murder mystery book but it’s written from the perspective of a boy with special needs. I always love a book that gives an insight into how other people’s brains work. It’s always a good reminder how different we all are to each other.
Full disclosure: I didn’t love this book as much as most other people but it’s still definitely worth a read. The first half is brilliant, the second half goes in some really weird directions but it’s still a total page turner and a fun book to read. Plus when you’re done you can watch the movie and it’s pretty bloody good. Ben Affleck and Rosamund Pike will do that to a movie.
What excellent fiction books have you read recently? I’d love some more recommendations!
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