Today is the 5-year anniversary of my college graduation. It has me feeling nostalgic. Prior to my graduation, I didn't have time to read anything that wasn't required by a syllabus. Once I graduated, my rarely used Audible account was working over time, as I started listening to Audiobooks constantly in the car. My commute from Seattle to the suburbs went from long, to even longer as I "grew up" and found a house in a neighborhood where my husband and I could afford to raise our dogs. While in college, I only knew about YA fiction, as that was my main source of entertainment from middle school on. As I started to read for fun again, I found that I just didn't know what I wanted to read. So, I started reading everything that I could put my hands on and quickly found that psychological thrillers, drama, and saccharine* sweet romance novels are the cause of the phrase "leave me alone I'm reading", my husband, coworkers, and fellow commuters hear.
*Footnote (well knee note, because this isn't the bottom of the page, I hate when authors use "saccharine sweet" as a description. Just say saccharine, or sweet, or pick a different phrase please.)
In the last 5 years, I've purchased 89 audiobooks, 82 eBooks, and who knows how many print books. Below is my list of the top 10 books I've read since rediscovering my love of reading - all of them get 5 stars. No ifs, no ands, and no buts.
10. The Boys' Club - Erica Katz - Read in 2021
As a woman in a male-dominated field, this book hits home for me. It underlines the fear I have of entering a "boys club" industry and made me hyper-aware of my woman-ness in my workplace. You see the main character spiral out of control and her battle with her self-respect, and also with wanting to win. I'm pretty sure I quit my last job about a few weeks after reading this. I vividly remember sitting in my car on the way to work, realizing the sheer amount of microaggressions just because the book pointed them out to me. All that said, this book inspired a short story I wrote not too long ago and has stuck in my head for quite some time.
9. Antisocial - Jillian Blake - Read in 2018
Ok, so a YA novel made it to my top 10, sue me. It's a quick read, just under 300 pages. A diverse cast of characters married with a scandal. I love it. This also sparked a short story inspiration and I keep going back to this novel 4 years later.
8. The Knock Off - Lucy Sykes and Jo Piazza - Read in 2017
This book is hilarious. Revenge is sweet and ambition wins. I hold this book close as this is one of the first books I read out of college and it got me looking for books similar to it (although not many of them made my top 10 list!).
7. Happiness is for Beginners - Katherine Center - Read in 2019
This book introduced me to Kathrine Center, another of my trusted authors. I read this book during the peak of a depressive state in my mental health and it made me cackle with laughter for the first time in a long time. A romance that is cute and you hope for after a hard break up.
6. Pretty Things - Janelle Brown - Read in 2020
Twists! I love twists! Grifters! For some reason, I love books about grifters. Not only is the plot interesting, a grifter meets a "rich bitch" influencer and you can only imagine what ensues, but the writing is so good. You're thrown into the world and you feel like you're there.
5. The Keeper of Happy Endings - Barbara Davis - Read in 2021
Cozy. Heartwarming. Lovely. A charming story. Wedding dresses and true love and complex characters and a twist at the end that will only be caught if you're paying attention. I wished this book were longer only because I wanted to live in the world Davis built.
4. Local Woman Missing - Mary Kubica - Read in 2022
This book is terrifying. I had to stop it a few times because it was too intense. It was complicated and so descriptive. No one in this book is your friend. The characters are fascinating, and relationships are so, so messy. Read this if only for the thrill.
3. The Good Girl - Mary Kubica - Read in 2020
The second of Kubica's books. After looking over my 4 and 5 star ratings again, I've come to notice that Kubica might be my second favorite author. The Good Girl gives you hope that Mia will be okay, and that Colin isn't as bad as he seems. You fall in love with Mia and Colin together, but in the end, it isn't a happy ending, it's a realistic ending and although there is justice, your heart will be aching.
2. Everything You Want Me To Be - Mindy Mejia - Read in 2018
I might be in the minority in liking this book after reviewing the Goodreads reviews. But this book is haunting. This was one of the first books that I found that wasn't YA that I actually really liked. Here's what I liked about it - no one was rooting for Hattie or the teacher. I read this once a year, and every year I come away with the same uneasy gross feeling that makes me realize that Mejia did a great job at writing a story that affects you. It's not meant to be a feel good book, it's meant to make you feel uneasy and ask questions and be suspicious. The happy ending isn't for any of the main characters, but instead for a side character, who in the end, isn't really getting a happy ending either.
1. Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir - Read in 2021
You might notice that Andy Weir is the only male novel in my top 10, not for any reason other than I just don't reach for novels by men. If you know me personally, you also know that Andy Weir is my favorite author of all time. You might be saying, "Rose, where is The Martian?" don't you worry, The Martian is my favorite book, and I'm going to quote Kanye here, OF ALL TIME - and one of the few books I read for fun in college. [We don't talk about Artemis]. Project Hail Mary is so unique, and so human. It made me feel the same way I felt while reading The Martian, devouring each page. Do you ever have those experiences that you know will never feel the same when you relive it? That's Project Hail Mary for me. I envy anyone who reads it for the first time, because it's just. so. good. Every single person I've recommended this book to, has loved it. AND there's rumor that my all time movie star crush, Ryan Gosling will be playing the MC in the movie adaptation - and we thought it couldn't get any better.
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