15 crowd-pleasing books I find myself recommending all the time

This was the best kind of brain bender! In the opening pages of this time travel mystery, a British woman watches in horror from her window as her 18-year-old son stabs a man on the street. A horrific scene ensues, the police take him away, she spends the evening at the station in shock and agony. But then Jen wakes up the next morning, only to find that it’s not the next morning at all, but the day before the crime occurred. When she wakes up the next morning, it’s the day before that. Jen seems to be living her life backward, and—with the help of a physicist friend-of-a-friend—determines that the only way to break out of the time loop is to “undo” whatever event put her son on the path to murder. To do that she has to go far, far back in time, getting to the roots of her most important relationships. More info →

Moore’s 2024 bestseller is a family saga, missing persons tale, and 1970s summer camp story rolled into one. One August morning in 1975, a camper vanishes without a trace. But not just any camper: she’s the daughter of the wealthy family who owns this camp, and fourteen years before, her older brother similarly disappeared. As the family, the campers themselves, and the neighboring blue-collar town residents gather to search for the girl, everyone suspects the two missing children must be linked, but how? The mystery is a driving force, but Moore’s story is complex and carefully layered, with a large cast of believably drawn characters who add texture and nuance. A character-driven, compulsively readable literary mystery and a 2024 MMD Minimalist Summer Reading Guide pick. More info →

This poignant Maine novel centers three lonely people, two of whom are in their 60s, all connected by a terrible tragedy. Violet was just nineteen when, drunk and high, she caused the death of a beloved local teacher and was sentenced to twenty-eight months in prison. Harriet runs the book group at the women’s prison, where the inmates spend one precious hour a month finding comfort in tearing apart the classics. And Frank is the victim’s widower, who fills his time by volunteering his handyman services at the local bookstore. Along with many readers, I found this to be a deeply moving tale of redemption, second chances, and the power of books. More info →

This historical fiction set during the McCarthy era in 1950 Washington, DC takes place almost entirely in the Briarwood House, a women's boardinghouse run by a parsimonious landlord. The structure is interesting: we hear from each of the house's residents in turn, but just once, and learn of her dreams, disappointments, and the secrets she's keeping from her housemates. But the house has its own opinions on what unfolds within its walls: we hear from the house itself repeatedly throughout the story, beginning in the opening chapter when it tells us two people have been murdered there. Beautifully constructed and highly entertaining, with loads of appeal for fans of history, mystery, relationship fiction, the slightly magical, or more generally, a good story, well told. More info →

I’m a sucker for a Jane Austen adaptation, but even so the Wahala author’s decolonial reimagining of Mansfield Park surpassed all my (high) expectations. May’s update spans two decades from the late 1970s to the late 1990s and moves between Lagos and the U.K. (with an important scene set at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics). This emotional tale is by turns humorous and gutting: I read it with my heart in my throat. There’s so much to appreciate here: a coming of age story, a scathing social critique, and a love story of sorts about a life-defining first cousin relationship. This is an excellent pick for Janeites, but not just for Janeites: you need not have read any Austen to enjoy this retelling. More info →

In this nonfiction adventure-slash-history (and 2024 Summer Reading Guide selection), Fedarko and his long-time photojournalist pal Pete McBride celebrate the National Park Service centennial by embarking on a 750-mile end-to-end traverse—described by many as “the toughest hike in the world”—across Grand Canyon National Park, which Fedarko calls both the most visited and least understood park. During their year in the canyon, they come face to face with the grandeur and terror of their landscape: it gets so hot the glue on their shoes melts, then so cold their boots freeze solid overnight, and the pair endure more than one (absolutely terrifying and often nauseating) near-death experience. Along the way we meet the very few intrepid explorers who know the canyons best, as well as the Native people who've known it longest. More info →

This one's for your fans of "book club fiction": in this immersive dual-timeline tale, Wilkerson explores grief, trauma, and social justice issues through the lens of one family and its precious heirloom. Ebony “Ebby” Freeman, the twenty-nine-year-old daughter of an affluent Black New England family, suffers a painful and public romantic betrayal in the opening pages. She flees to France to heal but can’t escape the pull to untangle past events—both her recent humiliation and her still-unanswered questions from a trauma she suffered two decades prior. In an alternating timeline, Wilkerson lays out the history of the family’s heirloom stoneware pot and each generation that has possessed it, ever since it was first thrown by an enslaved master craftsman. I couldn’t wait to find out what would happen to Ebby and her ancestors. More info →

This epistolary novel takes place in the early 1990s but almost feels like it’s from an earlier era. The story begins when Frida, a young California-born aspiring war correspondent now based in Paris, writes to The Puget Sound Book Company in Seattle to request a book. Because Frida’s letter is chatty and full of youthful energy, the shop manager taps twenty-something Kate to respond—and a friendship is born. At the leisurely speed of international airmail, their conversations begin about their favorite books and soon expand into the realms of family, love, and career ambitions. This heartfelt novel veers into gritty emotional territory, yet I expect it will leave the reader feeling snug and secure, plus inspired to read copiously from the recommendations in these pages. More info →

This enchanting escape features grounded fantasy, found family, engaging romance, and all the welcoming vibes, making it a hospitable choice for a wide variety of readers. Sera could have been the most powerful witch in all of England but she lost her magic many years ago when she cast a forbidden spell. Now Sera desperately needs to get her magic back to save her great-aunt’s magical inn. To do so, she must cast an impossible spell, something she can only do with assistance from her friends and the dashing, grumpy magical historian Luke. This whimsical tale is at once action-packed and extremely cozy. (Open door.) More info →

This epistolary debut chronicles prickly seventy-something Sybil Van Antwerp’s life through the letters she writes to friends, family, customer service reps, authors she admires, and more. Sybil believes in writing as a way to preserve civility and document her life, one that we see has held a good amount of heartbreak that she is still working through. Even as she uses her writing to make sense of the past, her letters introduce new possibilities for her future as she corresponds with old colleagues and strangers, family members she never knew existed, and even would-be suitors. By the end of this book, you’ll wish Sybil was your pen pal. More info →

This narrative nonfiction reads like a real life historical thriller, detailing how 29 people escaped from East Berlin to freedom in the West by tunneling under the Berlin Wall at the height of the Cold War in 1962. I was stunned by how much I didn't know about German and local history, and utterly shocked to discover this escape was not only filmed but funded by the U.S. news outlet NBC. Merriman relied on interviews with survivors and Stasi documents to bring this true story to life. More info →

This truth-is-stranger-than-fiction true story follows Maurice and Maralyn Bailey, an eccentric couple who set sail from their native England for New Zealand in 1972, but whose voyage took a near-fatal turn when they were shipwrecked after a year at sea. It turned out a sperm whale had tried to surface beneath their vessel, and the impact cracked their ship clean in two. Their flares turned out to be duds, they were poorly prepared to survive on their life raft, they feared rescue would never come—but four months later they were spotted and saved by a Korean fishing vessel. The maritime episodes read like an adventure yarn, but Elmhirst's story begins prior to their voyage and ends well after, making this truly a story of a challenging marriage and not just one about their ill-fated sailing escapades and aftermath. More info →

Jones owns a destination bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia, and I imagine many readers will be drawn to this for the promise of inside bookselling scoop. And they won’t be disappointed! But the stories that really captured my imagination turned out to be about entirely different things: line dancing in a high school gym, the virtue of affability, a house with a pool. This feels like a long conversation with a good friend about the things in life that matter most, the kind of talk that leaves you feeling both grounded and inspired. This is a good pick for those seeking a relatable, reflective read that doesn’t gloss over life’s hardships but on-balance definitely occupies the “feel-good” end of the spectrum. More info →

When Jeff Chu was in his late 30s, he left his job as a magazine writer in NYC and became a student at Princeton Theological Seminary. While there, he encounters the "Farminary," a 21-acre working farm where students work the land and ponder life’s toughest questions. This memoir was borne out of his experiences at the farm. It’s a midlife reflection and evolution about what it takes to create good soil, both literally and metaphorically, his identity as a first-generation Chinese American, and what he learns about harvesting food. This felt like a thoughtful, tender conversation with a trusted friend: it's obviously for gardeners and nature-lovers; it would also be a great companion for those in search of their calling or pondering a more meaningful life. More info →

Baker Yossy Arefi offers 50 simple, delicious one-bowl cake recipes, making it easy to satisfy any sweet tooth cravings. This is a delightful and accessible little cookbook, one that Will aspires to bake his way 100% through. The whole family supports this project! Favorite recipes (so far) include Black and Blueberry Ricotta Cake, Grapefruit White Chocolate Cake, and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cake. We’re also big fans of Arefi’s Snacking Bakes. Either book would make such a fun gift, alone or paired with baking supplies—a pan, parchment liners, vanilla, chocolate chips, extracts, spinkles, turbinado sugar ... the possibilities are endless (and delicious)! More info →