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My Favourites: 7 Books I Recommend to Everyone

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My Favourites: 7 Books I Recommend to Everyone

  • About Me, My Favourites
  • books, favourites, reviews
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Hey, you — have you read...

My problem with the question ‘what have you read recently’ is that I read a lot — and it’s mainly manuscripts, all with publication dates of 6-24 months away. 
 
As someone who reads dozens (!) of books a month, I don’t actually talk a lot about reading. I wasn’t lying: I really am a bookworm (and a foodie, and a merciless flirt — but those are things for another day).
 
While I read a real depth and breadth of things for work, at home I’ll read just about anything too — as you’ll know if you’ve ever bought a book off my wishlist! I like literary fiction, I like crime, I like historical fiction, I like romcoms, and I’ll dabble in genre, too.
 
Basically, what I’m saying is: bring me your favourite book, and I’ll read it for next time I see you — whatever it is, I’m no snob. I’ve never cared what anyone else thought of what I’m reading. I have good taste, in literary terms, but I’m open to enjoying anything done well — this is the philosophy I apply to every area of my life, and it’s why you’ll never see me turn down a quick and dirty burger. (Three star Michelin? Hell yes. Big Mac and fries? Just as much hell yes. Extra pickles, please and thank you.)
I love to recommend a book to someone I like, and I love to give a book away to a friend. I often joke that my bookshelves hold nothing that I actually like, because if I love reading something, I give it away to someone I love.
 
So here are seven books that I have loved (and given away) over the years; books which stick in my mind, which come back to me when I’m least expecting it, and which always make me think. 
 
These books can be read and enjoyed by pretty much anyone, of any background, and of any reading taste — have you read any of them?
Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus (2022)

This book is enchanting — I devoured it in one sitting. It’s dark, unusual, funny, beautifully written. The screen adaptation (on Apple tv, starring Brie Larsen) is also brilliant, and really does justice to the spirit and style of the novel, which is high praise coming from me.

The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak (2005)

Books about WW2 are many — but this is my favourite, for its clever narrative tricks and poignant-but-not-schmaltzy core. If you somehow missed it (do you live under a rock?) then read it, and try not to weep.

I Am, I Am, I Am, by Maggie O’Farrell (2017)
A memoir told in stories of the author’s brushes with death, this is for a fascinating look at a life. The first story, especially, gives me chills whenever I think of it; each part is thought-provoking and intimate, and the whole is a deeply contemplative and satisfying read.
Dog Boy, by Eva Hornung (2009)
Based on the real-life street  children of Moscow, this is a dark but rewarding book about humanity, about children, about dogs. Engrossing and heartbreaking. I hope to never read this book again; I hope also to never forget it.
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel (2009)

I love historical fiction, and this Booker-winner is an amazing example of the literary end of the genre. Mantel’s Cromwell is interesting, complex, layered, funny — and yes, hot, ok. I fancy him. (I wasn’t a huge fan of the tv adaptation with Mark Rylance, which I found lacking in the humour of the text, but I know people who really enjoyed it, so maybe give it a go if you’re curious.)

The Broken Shore, by Peter Temple (2005)
I love this literary crime novel by Miles Franklin-winner Peter Temple. The evocative setting, the — plus, it opens with poodles.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari (2014)

This lengthy tome is a surprisingly quick read for something so informative. I loved the well-researched, well-written whole history of everything in human history, the makings of our world today, the insights into our current times.

Fancy reading any of these? Let me know if you do!

Rachel

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