Designed by: Treesa Mary
This list of book recommendations is just like a charity shop bookshelf – a beautiful jumble (but one that’s been carefully curated just for you).
From prized classics to daring books yet to be released, these are our top picks that you should add to your TBR this year. Unfortunately for any Sally Rooney fans, we won’t be featuring any of her works. But if you’re looking for your next favourite, read on!
- Green Dot by Madeline Grey.
With the release of the fantastic new Bridget Jones film, I know many of us are craving our next fix of some Bridget mentality. I think this is it! 24-year-old Hera starts a new job, with the attractive and older Arthur just across the desk.
Has the affair novel been done before? Yes.
But this is fresh, funny and, most importantly, relatable.
- What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver.
The title kind of gives it away, but this short story collection is on a notoriously popular topic – love. Offering short, digestible stories, each narrative in this book is packed with depth, emotion and rarity.
- Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson.
She wrote your favourite thriller as a teen (A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder) and she’s got your back now. Holly Jackson’s first adult thriller involves a girl who is brutally attacked and, with just seven days to live, must solve her own murder.
Intense, dark, and packed into one week, it’s a fast-paced read you will fly through. Keep your eyes peeled, it’ll be hitting the shelves on the 17th of July this year!
- The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark.
This is the wildcard of the list, but it’s one of my favourites. Perfectly treading the line between realistic and ridiculous, this book is skilfully funny. We follow the fascinating Miss Brodie as she teaches her group of schoolgirls – the Brodie set – intriguing life lessons.
Truly one of my favourite books, you connect with the characters, marvel at their stories and find yourself transported into the eccentric Edinburgh streets.
- Eden’s Shore by Oisin Fagan.
‘A writer out to do whatever the hell he wants’ writes the Observer on Fagan. With a staggeringly ambitious plot, this writer knows no limits. Angel Kelly finds himself stranded in an unnamed Spanish colony in Latin America after a failed expedition to Brazil. As a result, he is entangled in a game of cat and mouse on the world stage. As whole empires deceive and destroy each other, our protagonist is in the centre of pulse-raising action.
Eden’s Shore will land in your local bookstore on the 10th of April!
- Three days in June by Anne Tyler.
For those of us craving summer, this is a story of love and second chances softened by the sun. Gail’s world is turned upside down by the loss of her job, her daughter’s disturbing revelation and, to top it off, her ex returning with a foster cat.
We follow Gail as she tries to navigate the tumultuous events all before her daughter’s wedding. Summery, sweet and a true heartstring-puller, we root for a loveable protagonist trying to protect the people she cares most for.
- My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
Overspilling with Italian dramatics and passion, this book does not disappoint, transporting me back to many a family dinner with my Italian relatives. Lila is controversial from youth to adulthood and her best friend Elena watches the chaos firsthand. These two powerful women resist the patriarchy in very different ways.
This is the perfect coming-of-age story spiked with passion, violence and Mediterranean sun, and it’s 100% worth the hype.
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.
‘A masterwork’ writes the San Fransico Chronicle on this infamous story. This book transformed literature for me – it does more than I thought a book could ever do.
Following the lives of four young men as the bonds of their friendship are tested to their extremities, the story centres on Jude, our protagonist who struggles more than you can comprehend.
Banned for a time in the United States for causing readers extreme emotional stress (if that’s not enough to persuade you), this book is as far from an ‘easy read’ as possible. However, if you are up to the challenge, then read it tomorrow.
Yanagihara is an emotional genius, and this book is truly extraordinary. For me, nothing will ever knock it out of top spot.
