Howdy y’all! I have been absolutely devouring books lately, and I wanted to bring to you some of my latest recommendations. There is nothing as good as curling up with a page-turner on a rainy day. But, half the struggle of starting to get into a book is finding one! If you’re like me, you watch the same shows and movies and read the same books over and over again for the predictability and ease of choice. One of my New Year’s resolutions was to break this habit, and I’ve found that reading has been the best way to start. Here are my favorite non-committal page-turners that have gotten me back into my love for reading.
Fiction
- The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley: A New Years reunion of a group of old friends from Oxford takes a sinister turn. Set in a remote estate in the Scottish Highlands, we hear from various characters. Heather and Doug, the lodge workers, Miranda, the center of attention, Katie, the quiet one, and Emma, the new friend, talk us through this volatile trip. I loved the setting Foley created and the twists and turns kept me guessing until the final page.
- The Guest List by Lucy Foley: A couple’s wedding celebration located off the coast of West Ireland goes dark. A murder, a storm, old secrets, this whodunnit novel has it all. Told from the perspective of the wedding planner, the bride, the plus-one, the best man, and the bridesmaid, the mixed points of view add a layer of uncertainty and secrecy. A great one-sitting read that will have you captivated until the end.
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: This book broke my heart and stitched it back together just to break it again. Set in North Carolina in the 1950s and 60s, the story follows Kya as she navigates through living in isolation in the marsh. A coming-of-age murder mystery that focuses on class disparities and race, this book felt like an upgrade of a book you’d have to read for a high school English class.
- Bunny by Mona Awad: Although I am still reading this, I had to include it in this list. Eccentrically written, I cannot put this book down. It is unorthodox, it is weird, it is unusual. There is a blurring line between what the reality is and I look forward to seeing how this book ends.
Non-Fiction
- Savage Appetites by Rachel Monroe: This was my first non-school non-fiction book I’ve read this year. Savage Appetites revolves around four archetypes of women who are aligned and captivated with true crime. They include the detective, the victim, the defender, and the killer. While it does read like a long opinion article (which makes sense as Monroe is an investigative journalist), I found it an interesting change of pace from the podcasts I usually listen to.
- Pandora’s Jar by Natalie Haynes: Another book that I’m still reading, and another I cannot wait to finish. Pandora’s Jar looks at the women in the Greek myths and why they are commonly villainized throughout these stories. Pandora, Jocasta, Helen, Medusa, and Eurydice are just a few of the women and stories that Haynes explores.
