On the list of things we love, books are definitely near the top. With this in mind, we are always either making booklists like this one or this one or finding great booklists. After writing a bunch of booklists, we notice that there are some authors we can count on to bring great writing, killer story-telling, and compelling characters every time. So here is our latest list of great books grouped by authors we love. You can thank us later.
Noah Hawley
Currently writing, showrunning, and producing the series “Fargo” while writing killer novels on the side, Noah Hawley can pace a story like the award-winning TV writer that he is. He also populates his books with relatable real characters and sprinkles some crackling dialogue on top. Crack one of these open and enjoy!
Every member of Erin’s family devoured this book this summer. The premise: a plane crashes, and there are only 2 survivors, one of them a young child. The promise: a story that unfolds with a few surprises full of characters you care about and a mystery you are interested in solving. You will stay up late to read the backstories of the people on the plane and find out what happened to the ill-fated flight. Fascinating and entirely unputdownable, this is a book on everybody’s must read lists this summer so move it to the top of yours.
Erin remembers reading this book and seeing Hawley’s screenwriter roots bubble up through the pages. Check out the premise: A renowned rheumatologist finds out that his son is accused of murdering a presidential candidate. So very made-for-TV, right? Well, look deeper at the promise: a well-developed story that explores the challenges of modern parenthood and a literary rumination on the extent to which our characters and fates are shaped by nature, nurture, and plain old dumb luck. It’s a knock-out of a book.
Elizabeth Strout
We both love every opportunity to worship at the altar of the inimitable Strout and these two books illustrate perfectly why.
This simple and unassuming story is a powerhouse of story-telling. Lucy is recovering in a hospital bed when her estranged mom comes to visit. However, Lucy is no ordinary protagonist and Strout is now ordinary writer, so the results are literary fireworks. Small but mighty, this slim novel packs a lot of extraordinary into a tight, narrative thread. The perfectly rendered imperfect relationship between Lucy and her mother is a reader’s dream: nuanced, fully realized, and ringing with truth. This one is a keeper.
Sometimes an author creates a character that can actually breathe off the page. Olive Kitteridge is that character and the axis upon which the enchanting little world of Crosby, Maine turns. The thirteen personal narratives that come together to create this story are compelling in themselves, but their power comes from the connection to Olive herself. Strout, for her part, can animate the ordinariness of life. We aren’t pulled in because this book is so extraordinary, but because it rings with truth and resonates with beauty.
Rainbow Rowell
We share a huge author crush on Rainbow Rowell. Rowell never fails to surprise, entertain, and stun us with her craft and cleverness. She can also give you that rare stomach flip. Here are two of her books we just love.
Nothing warms the heart faster than a love story, and this one charmed us both. It’s a story of first love peopled with characters so real they could walk right off the page. Eleanor and Park are high schoolers the way we remember them and know them now. Funny, sweet, vulnerable, flawed, and deeply striving for love, acceptance, and independence, they are characters to cheer for, and you will. Erin walked around like a teen in love while reading it and couldn’t stop shoving it into the hands of any unsuspecting reader she could find. Don’t let the Barnes and Noble sales rack fool you: this is not a teen romance in the same way that War and Peace is not a book that concerns Russia. It IS a 24 hour read. Tops.
Following the wonderful Eleanor & Park and Fangirl, there were huge expectations for this book, especially because favorite characters from Fangirl show up again in this story. Even in a book about magic, Rowell proves she is still so very much the literary real deal. Before you start to call this book Harry Potter for big kids, you have to know that this book is its own brand of special. How do we know? Over 500 pages disappear in a flash before your very eyes. This is Rowell at her best. The results? Magical.
In a nutshell, this is a tale of two girls who have both been left alone in the world by fate. Their stories are the backbone of the book: one taking place in the here and now, the other in flashback. While this book more solidly belongs to Vivian and her experience on the orphan train, Molly’s modern day tale of abandonment anchors this historical novel and lets us not forget that we still struggle with how to handle the children left behind.
Erin gobbled this one right up. She even took it backpacking on the Appalachian Trail. Nothing says “must read” like a willingness to cart those extra ounces up and down a mountain. In any case, the novel opens as stay-at-home mom Allison’s life is about to go off the rails. She goes to her childhood best friend’s book signing one night and has a little too much to drink. Mere hours later, she is involved in a fatal accident in which a child dies. The air you take into your lungs in the big gasp in the beginning takes this whole well-paced novel to be released. This may not be high literature, but it is a captivating read that makes you think. Like we said, you are gonna want to take big bites of this one.
Erin laughed, cried, and ignored her kids for three days to finish this piece of book crack in the big, sloppy gulps it demands. You know from the beginning that there has been a terrible tragedy at the local school’s Trivia Night, because Moriarty leaves little crumbs at the end of each chapter. But that’s not the story here. This is NOT another legal thriller. A big, sprawling character study of modern moms, it may be. An ironic, funny take on modern parenting, it definitely is! It’s also a rollicking good time. You’ll laugh and cringe at just how right Moriarty gets all the characters hanging out in the school parking lot. A great read for fall while still reminiscent of that last joyful moment of summer indulgence.
Poor Alice is having a hell of a day: when she comes to on the floor of a gym and is whisked off to the hospital, she discovers that she is not in fact 29, crazy in love with her husband and expecting her child, but actually 39 with three kids in the midst of a divorce. The chasm between where she is and where she was is the story itself. Moriarty asks the question: what happened to our lives while we we were busy living it? Then she lets Alice navigate through the world that attempts to answer it. The journey is a great read that gets you thinking about the nature of marriage and finding one’s own way. Written with humor and warmth, this is a satisfying and enjoyable read.
Barbara Kingsolver
Oh, Barbara Kingsolver, you complete us! We kind of love everything she writes, but these books delight our book-loving hearts while also giving us thoughtful reads that keep us thinking long after we turn the last pages.
There are other stories like this one about eating locally, about families trying to live on their land, about treating the environment well, but Kingsolver’s gifted narrative skills elevate this book to the next level. Not just a memoir of her family’s year of eating locally, this book is a deeply entertaining and obsessively readable gem full of delectable recipes and equally delicious sidebars. Our science-loving hearts appreciate the sound and deep research that anchors the book, but even more precious and appreciated is the very tone and tenor of this book. Never once does it devolve into smugness or snobbery, a pitfall of the genre.
This one will get your pulse racing and the thermostat moving in the right direction.Three interwoven love stories fill out the deeply moving and wildly beating heart at the center of this novel. As always, Kingsolver draws you into the natural world framing the events taking place during this hot, hot summer. As you might expect, the result is less natural history course and more, well, prodigal. Bring a tall glass of cool tea to sip while reading just to bring the temperature down.
Sue Miller
Oh, Sue Miller. We just love her. She brings us stories that don’t just entertain but make us think.
This book about two women on opposite sides of the marital timeline but facing similar issues within them is no exception. Miller can craft a conversation like nobody’s business, but its her adept pacing and characterization that make her novels little living, breathing things. In this case, she has breathed life into the very concept of marriage itself and in turn created a fascinating, fun read. No small feat, but one we will gladly take.
Sue Miller is so good at creating characters that you forget you’re reading and feel yourself looking around for your new friends. Anyway, this is a story in a story too, and this approach gives you just the distance you need to see these characters clearly. Billy, the playwright, is grieving the loss of her lover who was killed in the attacks of 9/11, and she works out her feelings in her play about a man waiting to hear if his wife has been killed in a terrorist attack on the famed train, The Lake Shore Limited. These characters will drag you into their world no matter where you may be sipping your drink.
Tana French
We are just gonna come right out and say it: Tana French never disappoints. If you haven’t fallen in love with her books yet, then you are in for a treat. Not only can this Irish writer pace a novel to keep you begging for more, but she is THE master of language. Her beautiful storytelling will keep you mesmerized for hours.
Dang, this book has a killer set-up. In 1984, three kids don’t make it home for dinner. One of them is found clinging to a tree with blood-soaked sneakers. Fast-forward to present day and that found child is the lead detective in a copycat crime. French writes the hell out of this story, so there are rich characters, stunning complexity, and likable characters. The best part? There are three more great novels (with familiar characters) to read right after you finish this one (and you will want to, believe me!) Lose yourself in her fabulous characters and richly imagined worlds and get ready to buy us a drink for introducing the two of you!
You will not be disappointed in this detective tale of a teen boy murdered at a prestigious boarding school. But there is a caveat: if you are a true fan (one that has read all her novels and waits with baited breath for each new book), this one won’t take top billing in the special brand of mystery detective thrillers she has created. But that’s not to say that you shouldn’t read it: there is still much to love in this novel. First of all, familiar characters are back in Frank Mackey, his daughter Holly, and detective Stephen Moran. Second, like always, French is the master of this genre in so many ways. She paces her stories so well and her characterizations and her plots are memorable and special.
Curtis Sittenfeld
Right off the bat, Erin has to disclose that she is a huge Sittenfeld fan. Prep , American Wife, The Man of My Dreams —liked ’em all, but this is an author that you love or hate, so read these recommendations with that in mind.
“It would in retrospect appear to be a stop on a narrative path that was inevitable, but this is only because most events, most paths, feel inevitable in retrospect.” This story of a president’s wife, based on the biography of Laura Bush, is a gem of writing and story-telling. It also feels like something important to read right now in this political climate. The questions asked, the curtains pulled back, the psyches laid bare, the story told—it all fits just right and Sittenfeld is a master wordsmith as well as killer storyteller. You will not be disappointed.
In this novel, Kate (AKA Daisy) and her twin sister Violet have the gift of sight, ESP. It’s a gift that Violet celebrates and Daisy (now known as Kate) hides under a bushel basket. The story centers around Violet’s premonition that an earthquake is coming that is going to devastate the region and the fallout of her announcement for both the media and their relationship. Sittenfeld peppers all of her novels with pop culture references, and this book is no exception. It makes reading a little like finding gems in the sand: a delightful surprise in an already pleasurable experience. Also, CS nails the complexities of the family bond. Her characterization has always been a strong suit, and she reveals in the Violet/Daisy bond why family can not only be great but also grating as well.
So there you have it, a booklist for book and author lovers alike.
Our book club pals who vetted most of these pics and keep us honest about our reviews
With 37 hilarious and relatable essays that showcase the foibles of ordinary women trying to be perfect, it is just as great whether you are hanging our poolside, by the beach, or even just the doctor’s office.
In a nutshell, this is a tale of two girls who have both been left alone in the world by fate. Their stories are the backbone of the book: one taking place in the here and now, the other in flashback. While this book more solidly belongs to Vivian and her experience on the orphan train, Molly’s modern day tale of abandonment anchors this historical novel and lets us not forget that we still struggle with how to handle the children left behind.
In this novel, Kate (AKA Daisy) and her twin sister Violet have the gift of sight, ESP. It’s a gift that Violet celebrates and Daisy (now known as Kate) hides under a bushel basket. The story centers around Violet’s premonition that an earthquake is coming that is going to devastate the region and the fallout of her announcement for both the media and their relationship. Sittenfeld peppers all of her novels with pop culture references, and this book is no exception. It makes reading a little like finding gems in the sand: a delightful surprise in an already pleasurable experience. Also, CS nails the complexities of the family bond. Her characterization has always been a strong suit, and she reveals in the Violet/Daisy bond why family can not only be great but also grating as well.
