Need a new book to read? Add these books to read to your book list and be prepared to be blown away by adventure, current events, and action. There’s something for everyone on this constantly updated list of book recommendations!
Want to save this Idea?
Enter your email below and we’ll send this idea straight to your inbox (plus you’ll receive tons of fun weekly ideas from us!)
Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been an avid reader. It’s one of the major reasons I decided to major in English at college (reading was my kind of homework) and one reasons I ran a book review blog for a long time. Reading has always given me a way to escape from the real life stress and jump into another world that I can watch from a distance without having to be truly involved.
I used to be a huge fan of buying actual books but once I started traveling, I realized carrying a book or five in my bag just wasn’t practical, so I’m now an electronic reader all the way.
Updated book List
This month I’m in charge of picking out the book for our monthly neighborhood book club. I’ll admit I’ve been kind of living under a rock since March so books haven’t been a priority.
I asked my trusty friends on Facebook and the responses had me wanting to grab my Kindle and start reading right away!
Since I see people regularly ask what book they should read next, I thought it might be helpful to put together a book list for people who need a new book to check out!
Tip: I am planning to keep this post updated with the books on my books to read list! As I hear about new books, I’ll update this post. And as I read them, I’ll take them off and add my review to my GoodReads account so you can check it out there.
Tip!
Bookmark this post and come back to it if you ever need new books to read. It’ll be constantly updated with more books to read!
I tried to include a little bit of everything (other than non-fiction) since my reading tastes are eclectic, but if none of these books fit your tastes, you should check out some of the best Kindle Unlimited books too!
I’ve divided it by genre but don’t discount something if you don’t think you like it. Some of my favorite books ended up being these books like Divergent!
Thrillers
These are the books designed to keep you turning pages and hyped with anticipation. They’re called thrillers for a reason – they’ll thrill you!
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Lydia Perez runs a book store in Acapulco with her son Luca and her journalist husband. One day a man named Javier comes into Lydia’s bookstore and buys two of her favorite books. He’s charming and also the head of the newest drug cartel. When Lydia’s husband publishes a tell-all profile on Javier, none of their lives will ever be the same as Lydia and Luca are forced to flee miles and miles away from their comfortable home and existence they previously knew to the United States.
There’s nothing better to describe this one than copying over the summary from Amazon. An electrifying novel that takes place in sixty potent seconds—the time it takes a kid to decide whether or not he’s going to murder the guy who killed his brother.
Nola is supposed to be dead. Her body was found on a plane that mysteriously fell from the sky as it left a military base and her commanding officer verifies she’s dead. But Jim has just found out the truth – Nola is alive and on the run. Together, Nola and Zig will either reveal a sleight of hand being played at the highest levels of power or die trying to uncover the US Army’s most mysterious secret–a centuries-old conspiracy that traces back through history to the greatest escape artist of all: Harry Houdini.
A simple DNA test is all it takes. Just a quick swab and you’re matched with your perfect partner based on DNA. Five different people have received notice that they’ve been matched and are about to meet their own. But happily ever after isn’t guaranteed for everyone because soul mates have secrets, some more shocking than others.
An ex-agent for the US government is running for her life, with one chance to clear her name. That chance makes things even more dangerous than before, and she’s running out of options. This thriller from the author of Twilight and The Host shows why Stephanie Meyer is a best selling author.
Even if I don’t love every Jodi Picoult novel, they are all extremely well written and thought provoking. Her newest Small Great Things is an honest novel touching on modern-day racism. Ruth is an African American nurse who is reassigned from a newborn patient because the white parents don’t want an African American nurse touching their baby. Ruth is taken off the case, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress when Ruth is the only one around. Does she help the baby or obey rules?
The novel follows Jenna Gray, a mom who moves to a remote cottage to try and get over losing her child to a tragic car accident, and the pair of police offers who are trying to find the criminal in the hit and run accident. Said to be similar to A Girl on the Train and Gone Girl, this thriller follows their attempts to catch the suspect in this twist-filled story.
These books are all take place during historical events. Some are based on true stories, others take liberties with the history of the times. But they all share a sense of history.
My Dear Hamilton by Deckle Edge
After watching and listening to Hamilton, I’ve been fascinated by the story of Eliza. Dear Hamilton brings us the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton, written using thousands of letters and original sources, not just as a wronged wife at the center of a political scandal but also as a founding mother who helped shape an American legacy.
Can Helen Mason, a young woman whose husband was killed by Nazis during WWII, overcome her hate and bitterness when German U-Boat officer washes up on the beach in her town? Can these natural enemies find peace with one another despite their differences?
A novel written by the author of Me Before You, set in Depression-Era America that follows the stories of five women and their journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond. The five women are known as the packhorse librarians of Kentucky and journey to bring books to people who have never had any.
One lost little girl. One American soldier. And the true story of a female journalist who defied all rules while covering World War II to save them both.
Set in WWII, thousands of refugees are making the long trek toward freedom and salvation aboard the ship, Wilhelm Gustloff, when tragedy strikes. The thousands aboard must fight for survival in this historical fiction retelling of the greatest maritime disaster in history.
It’s summer of 1960 and Evie is a lonely and thoughtful teenager who gets intrigued by a group of girls in the park. Evie is drawn into the circle of girls who turn out to be part of an exciting cult set in the hills and led by one charismatic man. Evie’s obsession with the girls continues until she moves closer to unthinkable violence, and making a life-changing mistake.
Two women in different worlds living their lives right before WWII. Caroline is New York socialite just looking for love and Kasia is a Polish teenager who is quickly seeing her carefree childhood fall apart in front of her very eyes. And Herta is an ambitious young German doctor trying to get out of her desolate life. When Hitler invades Poland in 1939 and sets its sights on France, these three women’s lives are set on a collision path.
These books are the ones that don’t necessarily have a genre – they’re just books that come highly recommended and make you think.
The Scent Keeper by Erica Bauermeister
Emmeline lives with her father on a remote island. He teaches her about the world by using her senses, teaches her everything except what the mysterious scents are that are stored in the glass bottles in their cabin. Emmeline’s world is rocked and she’s vaulted into the real world before she is ready where she has to learn about her identity.
Charlie Finn had to grow up fast, living alone by age sixteen. Highly intelligent, he earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. Charlie tries to separate relationships from work.
But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs, traveling to Central America where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter. Will their fated encounter present Charlie with a way to seek the redemption he thought was impossible — and free his heart to love one woman as he never knew he could?
Valerie is raising her bright and talented biracial son Xavier in a tight-knit neighborhood in North Carolina and things are looking bright as he prepares for college in the fall. Then the Whitmans – a family with money and a secretly troubled teenage daughter – move next door and build an outlandish home.
These two families quickly find themselves fighting over everything starting with an oak tree and a blossoming romance between the teens. Can they figure out a way to be good neighbors?
This is another one that Amazon summarizes it well enough for me to just share their description. For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl.
But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life–until the unthinkable happens.
Two girls are bound together by one thing – their father – but they don’t know about each other or their father’s other life until they find out their father has died in a plane crash. When it seems like they’ve lost everything, they find out about each other – worlds away yet intertwined forever.
While these books would be good to read by the pool or beach, they’re also great for reading at home or during the day. Love stories, stories that make you think, and books that might also fit on this romantic comedy books list!
Dear Mr. Knightley by Katherine Reay
Sam has always been a book lover so it’s no surprise that an anonymous benefactor offers to put Sam through school of journalism. But there’s a catch – she must write frequent letters to the donor detailing her process. Somewhere along the way her letters become more confessional regarding her relationships with others and Sam begins to finally embrace the person she was meant to become.
Hannah Martin is 29 and still has no idea what she wants to do with her life. One night she goes out with her friend Gabby and meets up with her high school boyfriend Ethan. When it’s time to go, Hannah has to decide whether to go home with Gabby or with Ethan. In concurrent storylines, Hannah lives out the effects of each of those choices and the book leaves you wondering how much is our life determined by our choices?
Dannie’s planning has paid off. She lands the job, accepts her boyfriend’s marriage proposal, and feels like she has everything together. But when she wakes up the next morning, she’s in a different apartment and married to a very different man. She spends one hour five years in the future before waking up again in her own home, but it’s an hour she cannot shake.
Lily’s life seems too good to be true when she moves to Boston to start her own business and feels a spark with the gorgeous neurosurgeon Ryan Kincaid. Things are going great until Atlas Corrigan, a blast from her past, reappears in her life and threatens to destroy the relationship and life she’s built.
A warm and witty novel about a struggling writer who must come to grips with her past, present, and future after she discovers that she’s the inspiration for a pseudonymously published bestselling novel.
Young adult books sometimes hit the hardest as the messages tend to be plain and straight to the point. From young adult dystopian books to books about teens trying to find their way in life, these books to read are really ones for any age.
Windswept by Kaitlin Bellamy
Touted as the perfect blend of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, this is the first novel in a new young adult fantasy saga. The wind has always spoken to Fox and as his power grows, he can no longer ignore his gift. He must learn to control his gift before it controls him.
The story of the queen of hearts before she became the queen of hearts. Catherine is a baker and a favorite of the unmarried King of Hearts, but she meets and secretly falls in love with the court joker.
After years of homeschooling, Mallory is back at public school for her senior year and having to deal with scars and people from her past. Mallory must make the choice between staying silent and speaking out, and I for one can’t wait to see what she chooses.
Eden was always the good girl, until she’s assaulted by someone she trusts. This novel follows Eden’s journey as she tries to find the path back to the way she used to be.
Jessie is a junior at a new ultra-intimidating high school and lost. A mysterious “friend” named somebody/nobody sends her an email and offers to help her navigate her way through the new school.
Want more fun ideas like this one? Enter your first name and email address in the form below to join the Play Party Plan community! You’ll receive weekly recipes, party ideas, games, and more directly to your inbox!
This is such a great list of books. I must admit I have been so busy that I have not read a book in a long time. I have never tried an Ereader but I bet I would love one!
We’re a family of readers so this is a great list for us. Looking forward to adding these to our reading lists. I’m not a tablet reader – funny story: my husband bought one for me several years ago. He took it to set it up and never gave it back. 🙂
The Nook Tablet 7 I could really use for sure for reading some of these books. I Let You Go sounds like something I would love to read for sure. Thanks for sharing the list of reads.
Leave a Reply