Michele's Picks
The Mainstream Eclectic
(In no particular order)
Reading Style
I like to read a variety of books, separating heavy and light. I often get ideas from book clubs, either the one I belong to or Reese’s Book Club or from magazine reviews.
Literary Likes
01
Becoming by Michelle Obama
Genres: Memoir, Autobiography
Described by the author as a deeply personal experience, Michelle Obama's memoir talks about her roots and how she found her voice, as well as her time in the White House, her public health campaign, and her role as a mother.
02
The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd
Genres: Memoir, Autobiography, Spirituality
Sue Monk was a "conventionally religious, churchgoing woman, a traditional wife and mother" with a thriving career as a Christian writer until she began to question her role as a woman in her culture, her family, and her church. From a jarring encounter with sexism in a suburban drugstore to monastery retreats and rituals in the caves of Crete, Kidd takes readers through the fear, anger, healing, and transformation of her awakening.
03
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Genres: Fiction, Mystery
Perfect for fans of Barbara Kingsolver and Karen Russell, Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.
thrillers, plot twists, mystery, women's fiction, historical fiction, biographies, elegant and/or descriptive writing that sets the mood, escapism, books in which I learn
Literary Dislikes
heavy nonfiction, epistolary writing, slow/mundane stories
What's on my bookshelf
Books on deck to read next
The Splendid & The Vile by Erik Larson
All Adults Here by Emma Straub
The Huntress by Kate Quinn
The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan
04
The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Crime Fiction
While in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum. Near the body, police have found a baffling cipher. Solving the enigmatic riddle, Landon is stunned to discover it leads to a trail of clues and hidden in the works of da Vinci – clues visible for all to see – and yet ingeniously disguised by the painter. The Da Vinci Code combines relentless adventure, scholarly intrigue, and cutting wit, heralding a new breed of lightning-paced, intelligent thrillers.
05
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Genres: Historical Nonfiction, True Crime, Biography
With the subtitle, Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America, this historical nonfiction book is presented in a novelistic style, and is based on real characters and events. Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that 'The Devil in the White City' is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor.
06
The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris
Genres: Historical Fiction, Biographical Fiction, Love Story
A vivid, harrowing, and ultimately hopeful re-creation of Lale Sokolov's experiences as the man who tattooed the arms of thousands of prisoners with what would become one of the most potent symbols of the Holocaust, The Tattooist of Auschwitz is also a testament to the endurance of love and humanity under the darkest possible conditions.
07
Educated by Tara Westover
Genres: Memoir, Autobiography
Educated is an account of the struggle for self-invention, told from the POV of a young woman overcoming her survivalist Mormon family to go to college. It is a tale of fierce family loyalty and of the grief that comes with severing the closest of ties. With the acute insight that distinguishes all great writers, Westover has crafted a universal coming-of-age story that gets to the heart of what an education is and what it offers: the perspective to see one's life through new eyes and the will to change it.
08
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Genres: Mystery, Fiction, Thriller, Suspense
With her razor-sharp writing and trademark psychological insight, Gillian Flynn delivers a fast-paced, devilishly dark, and ingeniously plotted thriller in Gone Girl. On the morning of Nick and Amy Dunne's fifth wedding anniversary, Amy disappears from their rented McMansion. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media, the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer? If Nick didn’t do it, where is that beautiful wife? And what was in that silvery gift box hidden in the back of her bedroom closet?
09
Untamed by Glennon Doyle
Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Self Help
There is a voice of longing inside every woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good mothers, daughters, partners, employees, citizens, & friends. We believe all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, & underwhelmed. We look at our lives, relationships, & world, and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful. We hide our simmering discontent—even from ourselves. Until we reach our boiling point. Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both a memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It offers a piercing, electrifying examination of the restrictive expectations women are issued from birth; shows how hustling to meet those expectations leaves women feeling dissatisfied and lost; and reveals that when we quit abandoning ourselves and instead abandon the world’s expectations of us, we become women who can finally look at ourselves and recognize: There She Is.
10
The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Thriller
Rachel catches the same commuter train every morning. She knows it will wait at the same signal each time, overlooking a row of back gardens. She’s even started to feel like she knows the people who live in one of the houses. “Jess & Jason,” she calls them. Their life – as she sees it – is perfect. If only Rachel could be that happy. And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Now Rachel has a chance to become a part of the lives she’s only watched from afar. Now they’ll see; she’s much more than just the girl on the train...