5 Fabulous Fiction Books You Need to Read

I've been reading a lot lately, and I'm sure I'm not the only one! If you're looking for a few recommendations for your TBR pile, I've got you!

Where'd You Go Bernadette

Maria Semple

A really fun, nonlinear story told in a non-traditional way. The majority of the information about the characters and their activities are learned by reading notes, emails, an emergency room bill, signage, receipts, and other forms of communication. Traditional dialogue and narration ties each together, but it is a fun and fascinating way to find out how a daughter puts together the pieces of her eccentric mother’s disappearance. Set in Portland, Antarctica, and a few places in between, you really experience the settings through different characters’ point of view. Full of great characters with humor, complexity, emotion, and reality (and some really great female characters!) this book was extremely fun to read and kept me turning the pages to find out what piece of Bernadette’s life we would uncover next!

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Dark Matter

David Crouch

I literally read this entire book in one day, which speaks to its ease of reading, it’s wildly interesting plot, and it’s pace of storytelling. Dark Matter explores the multiverse of possibilities that exist all around us using quantum physics as it’s base. The author does a superb job of explaining what I imagine to be some complex scientific theories and experiments in a fun, fascinating, understandable way. The characters have depth, humor, and multifaceted personalities which get to be explored in different situations (in different versions of reality) as we travel through the multiverse. It has enough action without being a “thriller,” enough mystery without being a “whodunit,” and enough fiction without being “fantasy.” It rides the line of each making it a very accessible read enjoyable for just about everyone! Seriously, one of the best books I’ve read in a long time.

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Behind Closed Doors

B. A. Paris

This one is a fast-paced, gripping account of what is happening inside a very private, very secretive marriage of a seemingly perfect couple. Categorized as a “psychological thriller” I would consider this more emotionally wringing because we care so deeply for the main character, Grace, and her sister and cannot believe what we are reading about Grace’s home life and marriage to Mr. Perfect - Jack. Not going to lie, there’s some dark, messed up parts of the plot. If you’re into tv shows like Criminal Minds and Law & Order SVU, this is that kind of story. While there’s no blood and gore, there is some exploration into the darker side of humanity. But the ending - the literal last few sentences of the book - is one of my most favorite and most satisfying endings of a book.

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Jane Eyre

Charlotte Bronte

I'm going to mix it up a little bit by throwing a classic in here! I know, I know, classics aren't for everyone, but hear me out.

For a book published in 1847, by a woman, about a woman, we can definitely say this novel was ahead of its time. And as a head-strong, independent feminist I can stay it still holds up in 2020! It’s an incredibly written story of a young woman finding her way in the world, finding herself, and finding out about love. Seriously, some of the most impressive usage and arrangement of the English language I have ever come across. Combined with a really cool story and a badass central character? Yes, please.

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How to Stop Time

Matt Haig

Ok so you’ve heard of the rare condition where a person ages super rapidly - a small child has grey hair and brittle bones and essentially went through the aging process really fast. If you haven’t heard of it, now you have. Well, the main character in How to Stop Time has the opposite condition. He ages extremely slowly. To the point where he can live for hundreds of years. So his story is wildly interesting to read because we flashback to different points in history, but they are his actual lived experiences. People may think they want to “live forever,” but this story examines the reality of living for hundreds of years and not aging, while being part of a secret society of people with this condition, and trying to navigate participation in society, having relationships, and family dynamics. It’s an exciting and fun read with enough action to be entertaining while not being too intense.

Did any of them catch your eye? I hope so!

If not, don't worry, I'll be back in a few weeks with another list featuring some of my favorite book series. What are some of your favorite books? Head over to my social media and let me know!