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The time of year is upon us where it’s acceptable to spend the whole weekend laying on the sofa under a blanket with your favorite TV shows, books and a bottle of wine or mug of hot chocolate. Nobody’s judging, it’s the end of the year! The time of year where everything gets more thrilling and riveting because everyone’s spending more time indoors. It’s true, books that are being released at the moment seem to be all the more alluring.
More page-turning than ever before, more chilling, exciting, and juicy. The best books to read at this time of year keep you away from the cold outdoors and make you want to read just one more page. This roundup of addictive books will definitely keep you going until Christmas.
1. The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
Clare Cassidy is a literature teacher who’s become a little obsessed with Gothic writer RM Holland. The dark tale fascinates her so much that she starts a biography on his life, and teaches classes in the house he used to live in. Her daily journals are threaded with mentions of him, alongside all the things she’s been going through. But fantasy and reality collide when Clare’s colleague and friend Ella is murdered. A line from an RM Holland story lying next to her body.
The police are convinced this is the key to unlocking the mystery. Clare is afraid that the killer is someone she knows. She turns to her journal to write down her fears when she notices someone else has been writing messages to her in the diary. And they have something to say that will change Clare’s life…
The Stranger Diaries available here
2. Normal People by Sally Rooney
Normal People available here
Hailed as the Salinger of the Snapchat generation, you know this book is going to be moving and profound. Normal People is an exploration of love. Marianne is a loner and an outcast, she is from a very wealthy family and struggles to find common ground with her peers. In contrast, Connell is popular at school and has lots of friends. Connell’s mother is Marianne’s family cleaner. When they meet, the pair are drawn to one another.
Marianne persuades Connell to go to Trinity College in Dublin with her, the book follows their relationship throughout this period. Sally explores the political climate and what it means to be in love. How relationships change us, and how we change ourselves because of them. This book is dark, deep, witty, and demanding to be devoured in one day.
3. Becoming by Michelle Obama
If you need one recommendation of non-fiction to read this winter, let this be it. Michelle Obama is one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. This memoir shows how Michelle came to be, how she grew up on the South Side of Chicago, to her years as an executive trying to create the perfect work-life balance. She gives us full access to her life inside the White House, confides in us her mistakes, disappointments, and failures, and shows what it truly means to be a powerful woman in the 21st century.
Due for release on the 13th November, so not much has been revealed about the stories inside, but it’s been heralded as a deeply personal and insightful story. And it’s always so interesting to get a peek into the life of the Obamas.
Becoming by Michelle Obama available here
4. Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane Moriarty
Nine Perfect Strangers available here
Liane Moriarty had such a hit with Big Little Lies that it’s only fitting that her next book is a page-turner. Nine perfect strangers amps up the tension with this book about a resort promising total transformation to nine perfect strangers.
Nine stressed-out city dwellers take the opportunity to relieve themselves of their mental and physical baggage, to embrace some self-care, to think about themselves and get to know each other. It sounds idyllic, miles from anywhere, no phones, no cares in the world. But it’s Liane Moriarty, so of course, it’s darker, and deeper than any of the resort’s guests could have ever imagined.
5. My Sister The Serial Killer By Oyinkan Braithwaite
Korede is bitter about her younger sister. She is the favorite, and the prettier one. The only problem with her sister Ayoola is her murderous tendencies. Her third boyfriend in a row has turned up dead. Korede is practical. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood. The trunk of her car is big enough for a body. She stops Ayoola from posting on Instagram when she should be worrying about her “missing” boyfriend.
This is how their relationship works, not that Korede ever gets any thanks for helping her sister out. But when Ayoola sets her sights on the man that Korede is in love with, Korede needs to take a long look at what her sister has become and decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her. This is a funny and dark book about sisterhood, with a little bit of murder thrown in. Released on the 20th November, just in time for you to sink your teeth into over the Christmas period.
My Sister The Serial Killer available here
6. Judas by Astrid Holleeder
Judas available here
This is the only book on the list written by an author who’s currently in hiding. Astrid’s Willem Holleeder is one of the most notorious criminals in contemporary history (a quick Google will tell you why). He always ruled over his family and threatened death to anyone who betrayed him. Astrid lived in fear, as a lawyer she served as her brother’s unwilling confidant.
This book is her chance to take power over him. He was charged for his involvement in multiple assassinations. Including his brother-in-law. Thanks to the testimony of his family. This is Astrid’s story of what it was like to live with a criminal mastermind. To betray him. To act as a double agent, and to help take him down. This book is an instant best-seller and a fascinating read. You need to get a copy of this, it’s hard to believe it’s not fiction.
7. Nobody Cares by Anne T. Donahue
This collection of essays hits the nail on the head for anyone in their twenties and thirties. With essays like ‘Anxiety, You Lying Bitch’ and ‘Why Don’t You Drink?’ Anne shares her insights on life so far, from screwing up, growing up, and finding out who she really is. Described as reading like a late night phone call from your best friend, if you need some reassurance that you’re not alone and it’s all normal, Anne will definitely give it to you.
It’s nice to switch up this list of creepy psychological thrillers with something a bit more down-to-earth, so Anne’s book is a must-read if you want to be picked up, understood, and feel like you’ve just made a new friend.
Nobody Cares available here
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