Spring Reading
Yes, yes, I know. I should be engaging in spring cleaning. But to me, spring reading sounds so much better. Nothing makes me happier than when people come to me for new reads, so I decided to round up six that are on my must-read list, as well as three that I firmly believe everyone needs to read. So, here's my spring reading list!
1. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben. Genre: Thriller
Former special ops pilot Maya, home from the war, sees an unthinkable image captured by her nanny cam while she is at work: her two-year-old daughter playing with Maya’s husband, Joe—who was brutally murdered two weeks earlier. The provocative question at the heart of the mystery: Can you believe everything you see with your own eyes, even when you desperately want to? To find the answer, Maya must finally come to terms with deep secrets and deceit in her own past before she can face the unbelievable truth about her husband—and herself.
2. Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Genre: Fiction
Ifemelu and Obinze are young and in love when they depart military-ruled Nigeria for the West. Beautiful, self-assured Ifemelu heads for America, where despite her academic success, she is forced to grapple with what it means to be black for the first time. Quiet, thoughtful Obinze had hoped to join her, but with post-9/11 America closed to him, he instead plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London. Fifteen years later, they reunite in a newly democratic Nigeria, and reignite their passion—for each other and for their homeland.
3. What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty. Genre: Fiction
So imagine Alice’s surprise when she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! She HATES the gym) and is whisked off to the hospital where she discovers the honeymoon is truly over — she’s getting divorced, she has three kids, and she’s actually 39 years old. Alice must reconstruct the events of a lost decade, and find out whether it’s possible to reconstruct her life at the same time. She has to figure out why her sister hardly talks to her, and how is it that she’s become one of those super skinny moms with really expensive clothes. Ultimately, Alice must discover whether forgetting is a blessing or a curse, and whether it’s possible to start over…
4. The Stranger by Harlan Coben. Genre: Thriller
The Stranger appears out of nowhere, perhaps in a bar, or a parking lot, or at the grocery store. His identity is unknown. His motives are unclear. His information is undeniable. Then he whispers a few words in your ear and disappears, leaving you picking up the pieces of your shattered world. Adam Price has a lot to lose: a comfortable marriage to a beautiful woman, two wonderful sons, and all the trappings of the American Dream: a big house, a good job, a seemingly perfect life. Then he runs into the Stranger. When he learns a devastating secret about his wife, Corinne, he confronts her, and the mirage of perfection disappears as if it never existed at all. Soon Adam finds himself tangled in something far darker than even Corinne’s deception, and realizes that if he doesn’t make exactly the right moves, the conspiracy he’s stumbled into will not only ruin lives—it will end them.
5. Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. Genre: Nonfiction
A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that "suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down." He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.
6. No One Knows by J. T. Elliot. Genre: Thriller
The day Aubrey Hamilton’s husband is declared dead by the state of Tennessee should bring closure so she can move on with her life. But Aubrey doesn’t want to move on; she wants Josh back. It’s been five years since he disappeared, since their blissfully happy marriage—they were happy, weren’t they?—screeched to a halt and Aubrey became the prime suspect in his disappearance. Five years of emptiness, solitude, loneliness, questions. Why didn’t Josh show up at his friend’s bachelor party? Was he murdered? Did he run away? And now, all this time later, who is the mysterious yet strangely familiar figure suddenly haunting her new life?
A few of my favorites; these are all must-reads!
1. 11/22/63 by Stephen King. Our protagonist is given the opportunity to go back in time and change the course of history—he can save JFK from his assassination. But every little change comes with a price tag. I love this book for many reasons, and I could list them all for you, but you'd be better off reading the book instead. A Hulu series inspired by the book was recently released, as well!
2. The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. I am seriously hoping this book is turned into a movie soon. Every friend of mine who has read this after I recommended it has absolutely raved about it. I love a good historical fiction work, and I also love a work that celebrates the female protagonist, and this one features not one, but two heroines. Set in Nazi-occupied France in WWII, this book will frustrate you, give you hope, and move you beyond words. Read my review of this book here.
3. The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins. Okay, so maybe I have a thing for thrillers. I finished this page-turner extremely quickly, and it was one that I couldn't predict. It's also hitting theaters in October, so make sure you read the book before you see the movie! Check out the trailer here.
Have you read any of these? What did you think? And what would you add to my list? Let me know!
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