You just finished reading a gripping novel and now it seems like nothing can possibly compare. Or maybe you’re stuck in a reading rut and just can’t seem to pick the next one. Finding your next perfect read can be daunting. With so many options and genres out there, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. But together, I’m sure we can get you pointed in the right direction!
First and foremost, take a break from the book-hunting, I know.. that sounds like the opposite of what I just told you but stay with me. Take a break and indulge in some guilty pleasures. Watch mindless TV, bake cookies or go for a run. By doing so, you’re giving your brain some time to reset, recharge and get excited for the next literary adventure.
Now that you’ve done that, let’s get back to books.
Identify Your Reading Mood
Before you start looking for your next book, take some time to figure out what you’re in the mood for. Are you feeling happy, sad, adventurous, or nostalgic? I wouldn’t want you to accidentally stumble upon a book that clashes with your vibe.
If you’re a fan of a particular author, find out what they recommend. Head to their social media accounts or website and see if they have a list of suggested reading.
Here are a couple of websites offering recommendations from:
James Patterson https://bookshop.org/lists/books-recommended-by-james-patterson
Stephen King https://www.simonandschuster.com/p/stephen-king-recommended-books
And Harlan Coben https://www.today.com/popculture/best-books-spring-harlan-coben-t282946
Try Browsing Bestseller Lists
Another option is to browse bestseller lists. Here are a few books from the New York Times Bestseller List that I most definitely recommend!
The Exchange by John Grisham
What became of Mitch and Abby McDeere after they exposed the crimes of Memphis law firm Bendini, Lambert & Locke and fled the country? The answer is in The Exchange, the riveting sequel to The Firm, the blockbuster thriller that launched the career of America’s favorite storyteller. It is now fifteen years later, and Mitch and Abby are living in Manhattan, where Mitch is a partner at the largest law firm in the world. When a mentor in Rome asks him for a favor that will take him far from home, Mitch finds himself at the center of a sinister plot that has worldwide implications—and once again endangers his colleagues, friends, and family. Mitch has become a master at staying one step ahead of his adversaries, but this time there’s nowhere to hide.
(Via amazon)
The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
I’m actually in the middle of reading this one right now. I have seen it all over, bookstores, Costco, amazon. When I saw it on Kindle Unlimited, I finally caved and dug in. So far, I’m not sorry I did!
Every day I clean the Winchesters’ beautiful house top to bottom. I collect their daughter from school. And I cook a delicious meal for the whole family before heading up to eat alone in my tiny room on the top floor.
I try to ignore how Nina makes a mess just to watch me clean it up. How she tells strange lies about her own daughter. And how her husband Andrew seems more broken every day. But as I look into Andrew’s handsome brown eyes, so full of pain, it’s hard not to imagine what it would be like to live Nina’s life. The walk-in closet, the fancy car, the perfect husband.
I only try on one of Nina’s pristine white dresses once. Just to see what it’s like. But she soon finds out… and by the time I realize my attic bedroom door only locks from the outside, it’s far too late.
But I reassure myself: the Winchesters don’t know who I really am.
They don’t know what I’m capable of…
(Via Amazon)
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
This has been on the best sellers list for 111 weeks straight, so there must be something to it, right?
Aging and reclusive Hollywood movie icon Evelyn Hugo is finally ready to tell the truth about her glamorous and scandalous life. But when she chooses unknown magazine reporter Monique Grant for the job, no one is more astounded than Monique herself. Why her? Why now?
Monique is not exactly on top of the world. Her husband has left her, and her professional life is going nowhere. Regardless of why Evelyn has selected her to write her biography, Monique is determined to use this opportunity to jumpstart her career.
Summoned to Evelyn’s luxurious apartment, Monique listens in fascination as the actress tells her story. From making her way to Los Angeles in the 1950s to her decision to leave show business in the ‘80s, and, of course, the seven husbands along the way, Evelyn unspools a tale of ruthless ambition, unexpected friendship, and a great forbidden love. Monique begins to feel a very real connection to the legendary star, but as Evelyn’s story near its conclusion, it becomes clear that her life intersects with Monique’s own in tragic and irreversible ways.
(Via Amazon)
Look for Award-Winning Books
If you’re not sure where to start, look for books that have won prestigious literary awards like the Pulitzer Prize, the Man Booker Prize, or the National Book Award. These books are usually high-quality and worth the read, plus they’ll give you some impressive bragging rights.
Pulitzer Prize Winner: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich
In the Night Watchman, Louise Erdrich creates a fictional world populated with memorable characters who are forced to grapple with the worst and best impulses of human nature. Illuminating the loves and lives, the desires and ambitions of these characters with compassion, wit, and intelligence, The Night Watchman is a majestic work of fiction from this revered cultural treasure.
(Via Amazon)
Mary Higgins Clark Award Winner: The Cabinets of Barnaby Mayne: A Mystery by Elsa Hunt
London, 1703. In a time when the old approaches to science coexist with the new, one elite community attempts to understand the world by collecting its wonders. Sir Barnaby Mayne, the most formidable of these collectors, has devoted his life to filling his cabinets. While the curious-minded vie for invitations to study the rare stones, bones, books, and artifacts he has amassed, some visitors come with a darker purpose.
For Cecily Kay, it is a passion for plants that brings her to the Mayne house. The only puzzle she expects to encounter is how to locate the specimens she needs within Sir Barnaby’s crowded cabinets. But when her host is stabbed to death, Cecily finds the confession of the supposed killer unconvincing. She pays attention to details―years of practice have taught her that the smallest particulars can distinguish a harmless herb from a deadly one―and in the case of Sir Barnaby’s murder, there are too many inconsistencies for her to ignore.
To discover the truth, Cecily must enter the world of the collectors, a realm where intellect is distorted by obsession and greed. As her pursuit of answers brings her closer to a killer, she risks being given a final resting place amid the bones that wait, silent and still, in the cabinets of Barnaby Mayne.
(Via Amazon)
Goodreads Choice Award Winner: The Maid by Nita Prose
Molly Gray is not like everyone else. She struggles with social skills and misreads the intentions of others. Her gran used to interpret the world for her, codifying it into simple rules that Molly could live by.
Since Gran died a few months ago, twenty-five-year-old Molly has been navigating life’s complexities all by herself. No matter—she throws herself with gusto into her work as a hotel maid. Her unique character, along with her obsessive love of cleaning and proper etiquette, make her an ideal fit for the job. She delights in donning her crisp uniform each morning, stocking her cart with miniature soaps and bottles, and returning guest rooms at the Regency Grand Hotel to a state of perfection.
But Molly’s orderly life is upended the day she enters the suite of the infamous and wealthy Charles Black, only to find it in a state of disarray and Mr. Black himself dead in his bed. Before she knows what’s happening, Molly’s unusual demeanor has the police targeting her as their lead suspect. She quickly finds herself caught in a web of deception, one she has no idea how to untangle. Fortunately for Molly, friends she never knew she had unite with her in a search for clues to what really happened to Mr. Black—but will they be able to find the real killer before it’s too late?
A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different—and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.
(Via Amazon)
And Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: The New York Times, Washington Post, NPR, Oprah Daily, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek
Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing as an average woman. But it’s the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute takes a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans; the lonely, brilliant, Nobel–prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with—of all things—her mind. True chemistry results.
But like science, life is unpredictable. Which is why a few years later Elizabeth Zott finds herself not only a single mother, but the reluctant star of America’s most beloved cooking show Supper at Six. Elizabeth’s unusual approach to cooking (“combine one tablespoon acetic acid with a pinch of sodium chloride”) proves revolutionary. But as her following grows, not everyone is happy. Because as it turns out, Elizabeth Zott isn’t just teaching women to cook. She’s daring them to change the status quo.
Laugh-out-loud funny, shrewdly observant, and studded with a dazzling cast of supporting characters, Lessons in Chemistry is as original and vibrant as its protagonist.
(Via Amazon)
Still Not Finding Something That Strikes Your Fancy?
Maybe it’s time to break out of your comfort zone and try something a little different. Pick up a book that’s outside of your typical genre, or dive into a classic novel that you may have overlooked before. The beauty of reading is that there’s always something new to explore. If you’re a fan of mystery novels, why not try a fantasy book? Or if you enjoy romance, try reading a horror novel. Or maybe try one of these?
Dirty 30 by Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum, Trenton’s hardest working, most underappreciated bounty hunter, is offered a freelance assignment that seems simple enough. Local jeweler Martin Rabner wants her to locate his former security guard, Andy Manley (a.k.a. Nutsy), who he is convinced stole a fortune in diamonds out of his safe. Stephanie is also looking for another troubled man, Duncan Dugan, a fugitive from justice arrested for robbing the same jewelry store on the same day.
With her boyfriend Morelli away in Miami on police business, Stephanie is taking care of Bob, Morelli’s giant orange dog who will devour anything, from Stephanie’s stray donuts to the upholstery in her car. Morelli’s absence also means the inscrutable, irresistible security expert Ranger is front and center in Stephanie’s life when things inevitably go sideways. And he seems determined to stay there.
To complicate matters, her best friend Lula is convinced she is being stalked by a mythological demon hell-bent on relieving her of her wardrobe. An overnight stakeout with Stephanie’s mother and Grandma Mazur reveals three generations of women with nerves of steel and driving skills worthy of NASCAR champions.
As the body count rises and witnesses start to disappear, it won’t be easy for Stephanie to keep herself clean when everyone else is playing dirty. It’s a good thing Stephanie isn’t afraid of getting a little dirty, too.
(Via Amazon)
The Woman in Me by Britney Spears
In June 2021, the whole world was listening as Britney Spears spoke in open court. The impact of sharing her voice—her truth—was undeniable, and it changed the course of her life and the lives of countless others. The Woman in Me reveals for the first time her incredible journey—and the strength at the core of one of the greatest performers in pop music history.
Written with remarkable candor and humor, Spears’s groundbreaking book illuminates the enduring power of music and love—and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms, at last.
(Via Amazon)
Friends, Lovers and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry
This book was amazing, but his death was seriously, a big terrible thing. It still seems so surreal that he’s gone, and this book, makes it all the more sad.
A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK by Time, Associated Press, Goodreads, USA Today, and more!
“Hi, my name is Matthew, although you may know me by another name. My friends call me Matty. And I should be dead.”
So begins the riveting story of acclaimed actor Matthew Perry, taking us along on his journey from childhood ambition to fame to addiction and recovery in the aftermath of a life-threatening health scare. Before the frequent hospital visits and stints in rehab, there was five-year-old Matthew, who traveled from Montreal to Los Angeles, shuffling between his separated parents; fourteen-year-old Matthew, who was a nationally ranked tennis star in Canada; twenty-four-year-old Matthew, who nabbed a coveted role as a lead cast member on the talked-about pilot then called Friends Like Us. . . and so much more.
In an extraordinary story that only he could tell―and in the heartfelt, hilarious, and warmly familiar way only he could tell it―Matthew Perry lays bare the fractured family that raised him (and also left him to his own devices), the desire for recognition that drove him to fame, and the void inside him that could not be filled even by his greatest dreams coming true. But he also details the peace he’s found in sobriety and how he feels about the ubiquity of Friends, sharing stories about his castmates and other stars he met along the way. Frank, self-aware, and with his trademark humor, Perry vividly depicts his lifelong battle with addiction and what fueled it despite seemingly having it all.
Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing is an unforgettable memoir that is both intimate and eye-opening―as well as a hand extended to anyone struggling with sobriety. Unflinchingly honest, moving, and uproariously funny, this is the book fans have been waiting for.
(Via Amazon)
Or Maybe Try a Library?
Finally, take a trip to your local bookstore or library. Browse the shelves and let your intuition guide you. Sometimes, the most unexpected book can end up being your favorite. Plus, you’ll be supporting local businesses and the joy of browsing physical books is unparalleled.
Finding your next favorite book should be a fun and exciting adventure, not a stressful one. Take your time, experiment with different genres, and don’t be afraid to try something new. Remember, the beauty of reading is that it can transport you to worlds you’ve never imagined before, so take the time to explore and enjoy the journey. Happy reading!
You can get any of these books here on Amazon. Or get one for free when you sign up for a free trial from Audible.
Until next time, well.. you know what to do! Keep it brash, keep it bookish and keep it true to you!
