Doing favorite lists are hard. Beyond difficult, because you have to consider several things into while choosing what puts it on. It’s so much work and at least for me I never feel quite satisfied with them. So, this is NOT a favorites list. I have only been reading avidly for fun since 2018. Which means I haven’t read THAT many books. According to Goodreads, I have read a total of 153 books in a little over 2 years. Still, I haven’t read enough to do an absolute all-time favorites list nor do I want to for the reasons I included above. However, I do want to share some books that I care deeply for/love and would recommend to anyone who’s into reading or who may be looking to get into it.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being by Milan Kundera

Tomas, a surgeon and serial adulterer who embraces “lightness.” He is willfully free of all heaviness, shunning labels and ideals, and he justifies his physical unfaithfulness (mere sex) on the basis of his emotional faithfulness.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being deserves all credit for getting me into reading books full time. I randomly picked it out and read it and realized that reading books can be pretty fun when you’re not being forced to. So I am entirely grateful for it for opening several doors for me.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

The story revolves around the lives of four sisters growing up during and after the Civil War. With their father off fighting the war, the girls face the hardships and constraints of poverty and social expectations.

Out of all the books I have been forced to read in school, Little Women is my favorite by far (followed by To Kill A Mockingbird). It’s lovely and truly one of a kind, everything I have ever asked for in classic literature book.

Brain on Fire: My Month On Madness by Susannah Cahalan

An autobiography/memoir about Susannah Cahalan’s battle with anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis also called Dalmau’s Disease. She vividly recounts her illness and recovery as she fought to regain her health and return to normality.

I mostly read fiction, but Brain on Fire was the first non-fiction book I read and it completely enthralled me. A fascinating true story, that I could not put down.

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

A mixed-race Chinese-American family struggles to make sense of their middle daughter Lydia is found drowned in a lake.

One of my most recent reads is Everything I Never Told You and I knew within just a few chapters that it’s going to one of the best books I will read all year. I loved it almost immediately, read it in two days. That’s how it took complete control of my interest.

We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

We Should All Be Feminists was adapted from her popular TEDx Talk of the same name. In it, Adichie argues that being a feminist means understanding and acknowledging the fact that sexism exists.

I’m a feminist and I’m proud to be one despite all the negative attenuation that feminists are constantly being put in. We Should All Be Feminists is a book that most closely shares my views and opinions on feminism and what it exactly means to be a feminist. Everyone should read this book.

In the Country We Love: My Family Divided by Diane Guerrero

The Country We Love tells the story of actress Diane Guerrero, focusing on her family’s deportment and the impact it had on her life.

I love Diane Guerrero because of her role on Doom Patrol and even a smaller one on Jane the Virgin, but more than just her roles I love Diane Guerrero as a person. Her autobiography is the best one I have ever read. I adored it almost as much as I adore her.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

A teenage girl who grapples with racism, police brutality, and activism after witnessing her black friend murdered by the police.

The Hate U Give is one of the most important and true to life books I have read. It becomes more relevant as the days go by. I am so grateful to have been able to read this book in my lifetime where stores like The Hate U Give can be told by the voices who have seen them firsthand.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reed

The story of the fictional Old Hollywood star Evelyn Hugo, who at the age of 79 decides to give a final interview to an unknown journalist, Monique Grant as she recalls her life and her seven marriages.

Remember how I said earlier, I don’t do favorites? Well, I can always make expectations and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is an expectation. If you were to ask me my favorite ever right now, it would be The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. I can’t explain it, I love everything about it and it’s everything I want in a book.

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reed

A gripping novel about the whirlwind rise of an iconic 1970s rock group and their beautiful lead singer, revealing the mystery behind their infamous breakup.

Sometimes reading historical fiction can be really boring and other times it can so good it becomes one of your favorite books that’s what happened with me and Daisy Jones & The Six. I loved reading about the 70s and rock & roll music. I read it in one day last March and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. I can’t wait to revisit it one day soon.

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

Roxane Gay collects original and previously published pieces that address what it means to live in a world where women have to measure the harassment, violence, and aggression they face, and where they are “routinely second-guessed, blown off, discredited, denigrated, besmirched, belittled, patronized, mocked, shamed, gaslit, insulted, bullied” for speaking out.

Not That Bad is the most devastating book I have ever read (the book I cried the most reading) and I will never be able to forget it. That’s all I can say about it.

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

My Lovely Wife follows a married couple with a unique way of keeping the spark in their relationship alive… serial murder.

One of my favorite book genres is the thriller genre and My Lovely Wife was an honest surprise as it ended up becoming one of my favorites in the genre ever. It was insanely gripping that it’s another one where I managed to read it in only two days.

Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

The fictional romantic relationship of an English prince and the First Son of America’s first female president, and Alex and Prince Henry.

Without a doubt, one of my favorite books of last year. It’s such a sweet and comforting book. I am so lucky to have had the pleasure of being able to read LGBTQ books and romances because it’s something that just didn’t happen back then. I am also grateful to be able to read books like Red, White, & Royal Blue along with the other books I listed above. No matter how cheesy it may sound, I can’t imagine not having these books in my life.

I hope I helped you find any books you may want to check out. I recommend them all. Happy Reading!