All in Popular Books
Although Buckeye was on many ‘favorites’ lists at the end of 2025, I feel like it is still somewhat flying under the radar. Many friends to whom I have mentioned it as a favorite in recent months have never heard of it. So let me be (perhaps) the first to tell you that this book is a sweeping, modern classic and not to be missed.
n the handful of books that seem to be everywhere at the moment, Belle Burden’s Strangers surely ranks in the top five. As often seems to happen, when I picked it up and started to read, the book was being discussed everywhere. In Strangers, Burden tells the stunning story of her 20-year marriage and how one morning early in the COVID-19 pandemic, her husband walked out and left her and their children forever.
Thanks to non-stop social media recommendations and the book’s silly cover design, I didn’t expect The Wedding People to have so much emotional depth or narrative finesse. However, it ended up being my favorite read over the winter holidays. So if you’re like me and get skeptical when a book is ‘too’ popular, don’t let that stop you from reading Alison Espach’s delightful novel.
Two friends recommended The Correspondent to me and it was one of my favorite books of 2025. I’ve since learned that its journey to becoming a bestseller mirrored the experience I had. The book wasn’t picked for any celebrity bookclubs or placed on anyone’s most-anticipated books list. Maybe because the novel consists entirely of letters and emails, some readers were scared away. But, wow, for those of us who took the plunge, what an incredible book!
With our matching names and home states, I have always supported Lily King’s books, and a little clue in the dedication makes me think we also both have a daughter named Eloise! King reliably balances an inventive and surprising plot with a romantic view of her protagonists and an insightful perspective on human nature. Heart the Lover is the latest in her wonderful collection.
Like so many Reece Witherspoon book club picks, The Last Thing He Told Me is a gripping and entertaining read. While I wouldn’t call it great literature, I absolutely could not put this book down and highly recommend it as a perfect book to take to the beach this summer.
Wow! Huge thanks to my friend Pam who gave me The Frozen River as a gift. It is one of the best historical novels I have ever read. I had never heard of Ariel Lawhon until now, but am already on the hunt for all of her previous books.
are you there god? it’s me, margaret. is the iconic story of a young girl on the brink of adolescence who moves from New York City to the suburbs.
I wasn’t sure what kind of reading I was going to be able to handle during the high-anxiety week of the election, which ended up an emotional and difficult week for my family, as well. Tiny Beautiful Things is formatted as letters and replies from an online advice column. And although I didn’t have the energy to contemplate becoming a better version of myself, reading lots of short pieces was easier for my brain than one long book would have been.
I might not have found this clever debut novel about time travel if my friend Jane hadn’t recommended it. Then after I’d finished reading it, I saw that it was on Barack Obama’s summer reading list!
I thought Michelle Obama’s first book Becoming was absolutely wonderful. (Read review here.) So, I am quite sure that when I realized she’d written another book, I would have bought it pretty quickly. I’m baffled as to why it took me until now to read it. If you haven’t yet read The Light We Carry, treat yourself and read it sometime soon.
was intrigued and a bit skeptical when people kept reporting that they loved Gabrielle Zevin’s new novel about the world of video games and gamers. Maybe that’s why I thought I should start by reading her breakthrough novel, The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, recommended years ago by my friend Pam. I absolutely love that book and can recommend it highly to you L & L readers. After finishing Fikry, I decided to take the plunge into Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. And I want to enthusiastically endorse this book, as well.
love when I get around to reading a popular book before the buzz has subsided. Not only is this Reid’s 2022 bestseller, but she’s in the media this month because her earlier novel Daisy Jones and the Six has just been released as a TV show on Amazon Prime. While Daisy Jones was not my favorite (too whiny, read my review here), Carrie Soto is well worth a read.
Appearing on many recommended reading lists in the past year, I definitely found that Crying in H Mart lived up to the hype. Although Zauner might not be the most skilled writer, she presents her story so truthfully and vulnerably I found I couldn't help but be drawn in.
I was fascinated by the idea that Hillary Clinton had paired up with Louise Penny, a famous detective story writer, to co-write State of Terror, her first fictional book. Turns out the two women had formed a real friendship years ago, so when a friend suggested they team up and that friend had worked with Bill Clinton and James Patterson on two thrillers they co-wrote, Hillary agreed. State of Terror is the gripping political thriller resulting from that partnership.
Sally Rooney faced a huge challenge in writing her next book after Normal People, the bestseller published in 2018 that won the British Book Award for Book of the Year and was made into a mini-series on Hulu in 2020. I think Beautiful World, Where Are You is even better than Normal People.
I know I am late to the Sally Rooney party, but I am thrilled to have finally joined. (And I will read Normal People as soon as it comes off the library wait list!). Conversations with Friends is witty, sexy and intelligent without any heavy-handedness. I enjoyed reading it, but it did not feel fluffy or light.
Normal People is the most poignant coming-of-age novel that I’ve read in years. Rooney’s beautiful, spare writing style and her ability to bring to life very real characters who interact in believable ways makes this story one I’ll remember for a very long time.
I’m going to come clean and admit that I did not know this book was fiction until two days into reading it. I decided I should listen to the music of the band I was reading about, but all I could find was a Spotify playlist made by Random House with music of other artists that they thought were similar to Daisy Jones & The Six.
Thirty-five years after writing her dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood has given us the ultimate gift of an absolutely fabulous sequel in The Testaments. Although I read The Handmaid’s Tale many years ago, I was able to jump right into The Testaments because I’ve been following the Hulu television series of The Handmaid’s Tale.
