My Most Recommended Books

One of my life's greatest joys is recommending books to friends, family, and acquaintances on the internet. Here are a few books I recommend over and over.

Hello! Welcome back to Words on Words, where readers discuss what we love about literature. Today we’re talking about the books I’ve been recommending most often lately.

William Sidney Mount | Boy Reading

I frequently toy with the idea of getting rid of social media so I can better focus on my writing (don’t we all? But who among us actually does it?) The primary reason I want to stay is that I love discussing books. Even though I have a whole newsletter dedicated to books, I find the most candid discussions and requests still happen for me on Instagram.

Nothing warms my heart more than someone requesting a book recommendation from me. Not long ago, a friend messaged me while at the bookstore and asked if I had any recommendations. The bookstore didn’t have the first book I suggested, but she purchased the second one. Another friend asked if I had any recommendations and I gave him three. Shortly after, he went to a bookstore and purchased all three of the books I recommended. Yet another friend recently texted me with the most relatable complaint: are indie bookstores always that much more expensive than Amazon? To which I said: Yes! It’s a hard pill to swallow, but we pay $10 extra per book because we love indies and we never want them to go away.

All this to say, recommending books is my second favorite pastime — after reading of course. I tailor my recommendations to the person asking and the vibes they’re looking for, but there are definitely some books I recommend more frequently than others, a handful of which are below, all of which are literary fiction because that’s the genre I am most interested in.¹ (If you’re looking for super high-paced, page-turning novels, this may not be the list for you.)

My most recommended novels

Under the Tamarind Tree by Nigar Alam | 2023

This was my favorite historical fiction book I read last year. It’s a debut novel by author Nigar Alam and it takes place during Partition, or the division of India and Pakistan. Alternating between 1964 and 2019, Under the Tamarind Tree tells the story of four friends who witness a death together. Their dark past resurfaces as these friends’ paths cross in the present-day storyline. Alam, who was born in Pakistan, illustrates a gorgeous — if sometimes heartbreaking — picture of her home country and its struggles during Partition, a time which, before reading this book, I knew next to nothing about.

Read Under the Tamarind Tree for: important history, a gorgeous sense of place, and dynamic friendships.

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead | 2021

What I like about this book is three-fold:

1. It’s about a female aviator in the 20th century who circumnavigates the globe;

2. The writing is exquisite. I underlined probably 100+ sentences;

3. The scope is impressive. The amount of research the author must have done to write this book is mind-bending, plus it’s all woven together in breathtaking prose.

Great Circle was shortlisted for both the Booker Prize and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. The only surprise to me there is that it didn’t win.

Read Great Circle for: an epic saga, a fascinating protagonist, and flawless writing.

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara | 2016

This one is for the very brave, slightly masochistic readers who are interested in a slog of torment and anguish. Not a good sell, right? But people — myself included — go bonkers for this book. It is the most depressing book I have ever read, and it includes just about every single trigger warning a story could possibly warrant. But it yanks so strongly at your emotions that, try as you might, you cannot stop thinking about it, even long after you finish it. The four main characters — Jude, Willem, JB, and Malcolm — are portrayed so acutely they’re nearly three-dimensional, which makes one of the character’s self-destructive habits all the more painful to read about. But it is a holistic, honest portrayal of male friendship, and there is bountiful love and beauty within its many pages.

In the book Beatrice and Virgil by Yaan Martel, there is a scene where Virgil, the monkey, explains to Beatrice, the donkey, what it’s like to eat a pear. Just like Beatrice can’t truly understand a pear until eating it herself, a reader cannot understand A Little Life until opening the book and immersing themselves in the text. (Just remember to check the trigger warnings before you do.)

Read A Little Life for: a release of pent-up tears, a reminder that your life is great, and for a truly impressive, complex plot-line.

Open Throat by Henry Hoke | 2023

This is my go-to recommendation lately, but it is definitely not for everyone (it’s narrated by a gay mountain lion, which requires readers to suspend all of their disbelief). If that makes you want to run in the other direction, I would understand. Understand, but beg you to reconsider.

I dedicated a post to this book because it was that meaningful to me. From the article:

The mountain lion — who calls Los Angeles “ellay” because all they know (this narrator goes by they/them pronouns) is what they learn from hikers around their home — pays witness to humanity in a way I have never seen before. They talk about how people are always looking down at their phones, hiking but not talking or observing. They consider the homeless encampment nearby as their town, their community — even their people. They are protective of these people, too, not judging them for being without a home. In fact, the mountain lion doesn’t know they are homeless. How would they? Those in the encampment have the simple things in life they need: food, water, community.

I’ve recommended this to friends, to my husband, and even to a Barnes & Noble bookseller who hadn’t read it yet. It is a far departure from anything I typically read, and I enjoyed every word of it.

Read Open Throat for: simple truths about humanity, a daring writing style, and an unforgettable story.

Elena Ferrante | 2002 - 2014

This is not a book, this is an author. As an unabashed Ferrante fanatic, I am often asked which book someone new to the author should start with. Here are my thoughts on where to begin:

• The Neapolitan Quartet is her most commercial work, appealing to huge audiences (the series was adapted into an HBO original). Were it not four books totaling 1,693 pages, I would recommend readers start here; it’s where I started. These books tell the decades-long story of two girls and their tumultuous friendship beginning in childhood and lasting through adulthood. The entire series is wonderful, but if it’s intimidating, the next two books are quite short.

• The Days of Abandonment — Ferrante’s debut novel — is a hazy, griefy book about a woman whose husband announces casually over dinner that he is leaving her. She goes wild, barely able to take care of herself, let alone her three dependents: two children and a dog. It’s short (192 pages), but it’s challenging in subject matter and tone. Ferrante’s books are translated by Ann Goldstein, and the prose flows with precision and musicality.

• The Lost Daughter — I recommended this to someone who wanted to get back into reading, and it turns out it was the only book she read that year. This was not a good recommendation! I should have known better. This, along with The Days of Abandonment, is good for people who like the discomfiting; who are comfortable sitting in discomfort. It’s not for you if you need a gateway book to bring you back to reading (you’d be better off with nonfiction or a commercial read). This is a bizarre story about a woman vacationing by herself and meeting a family at the sea, which spurs memories of motherhood for her. Maggie Gyllenhaal directed Netflix’s 2021 adaptation of this book.

Ferrante has many other books, but these are the ones I commonly suggest readers start with if they’re new to this author.

Read Elena Ferrante to: immerse yourself in rough-around-the-edges places like Naples, Italy, insights into complex female relationships, and searing prose.

Like the bizarre protagonist in Open Throat, like the frank candor of Elena Ferrante, literary fiction is not going to be everyone’s favorite. But it’s my favorite, and these are the books I most commonly recommend for people looking for an artful, beautiful read.

Now it’s your turn: What would be in your list of your most-recommended books? Have you ready any of these I listed?

If you enjoyed this, please share it with someone!

What I’m reading: World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down by Christian McEwen and Motherhood by Sheila Heti.

What I’m listening to: Somebody’s Daughter: A Memoir by Ashley C. Ford.

What are you reading? Listening to? Loving? Thank you for reading! Love,

Thank you to Putnam for my copy of the Under the Tamarind Tree. It is a fave!

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1. I plan to write posts for nonfiction and upmarket/commercial fiction as well.