I did posts recently on 50 chapter books to read to kids and 50 of the best picture books for kids. Those were fun and those were a hit! So now I thought it would be fun to share some of the best books for YOU! Or at least some of MY favorite books that maybe you will enjoy as well. I LOVE to read and spend a lot of time reading, so here are some of my favorites!
50 of My Favorite Books:
I’ve got to start off with what I think is my all time favorite-The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. It’s what I like to call a family history mystery. What happened in my mother’s past? It’s got mystery and love story and all of the details of the story weave together perfectly. I love this book and make all of my friends read it.
And as long as we are talking about Kate Morton, her books The Forgotten Garden and The Distant Hours are also amazing! They all fall under that same family history mystery genre and involve love stories as well. She’s a master at writing and I hope she writes more soon!
Now I’ve got to move to a few classics that many of you have probably read, but I can’t skip right now because they are just that good.
First, let’s talk about Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. If you haven’t read this book and you are the hopeless romantic type, read it now! I remember when I read this book that it was so powerful that it affected my mood throughout the day. I found myself sad and didn’t know why and then I remembered something that had happened in the book. That’s good writing.
Another classic that I love every time I read it is The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. A sweet and charming children’s book that is entertaining and beautifully written. It’s been a few years since I read it. I should probably read it again soon!
Here’s a book that is perhaps less well known, but one of my very favorites-it’s Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner. Now, I have some friends who feel just like I do and adore this book and others who didn’t love it, so I don’t know where you will fall, but there is just so much in this book to think about. It’s simply a story of two couples who form a deep friendship for life. It helps that part of it takes place in Madison, WI where I once lived AND that it’s a mostly true story so you can actually go see the places these people lived!
I just recently reread Mrs. Mike by Benedict and Nancy Freedman. I loved it the first time I read it years ago, but I really, really loved it this time. It’s a simple story of a couple living in the very far North Canadian wilderness and it is packed full of life lessons that can be applied to my own life now. Just beautiful.
Want a sweet and cheesy romance? Try Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson. I am warning you-it’s very sappy and it will make you swoon. It’s a very fast read-like 1 day and just silly and sweet. Sometimes you need that right?
And if you like this one, she’s got another one out that is also sappy, sweet and wonderful-Blackmoore.
There is one author that I just love-Lynn Austin-and she’s written about 20 books. I literally just go to the library and grab one of her books because I know I am going to love it. There haven’t been any I haven’t liked by her. These are more family history mystery type books and often go back through 3 or 4 generations of women telling their stories. I love them all, but I think my favorite by her was Eve’s Daughters.
I love a good memoir. Now this one isn’t a memoir because it isn’t a true story, but it feels like a memoir and it’s based on a historical experience. It’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. A sweet love story that occurs during WWII that also explores the difficulties of Japanese Americans in California during that time.
OK, I’ve got to throw two in here that most of you have probably read, but how can I not mention them?
First, The Help by 
Kathryn Stockett. A well written story that takes place in the South during the civil rights movement, it’s funny and sad and thought provoking and just a great read.
Do you ever read a book and you are just amazed at the talent for writing that the author has? That’s how I felt when I read The Book Thief years ago. It’s narrated by Death. Who thinks of that and what a unique perspective! It’s a holocaust story that puts a now spin on what you feel.
You know Charlotte Bronte and you know Emily Bronte, but did you know that there’s a 3rd, very much less well known sister? Anne Bronte wrote The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. It’s a book that will feel like a Jane Austen, BUT a large part of it is told from the perspective of a man, which makes it new and different.
Want a book that will make you see the world in a whole new way? Try Room by Emma Donoghue. I will warn you that if you are the type that doesn’t like sad stories this one is not for you, but for me it was an eye opening read. It would make a great book club discussion.
There’s a whole series of fantastic books about a woman who was a spy during WWII. The first is The Spy Wore Red by Aline Countess of Romanones and they are based on her real experiences. I love these books (there are 4 in the series). It was fascinating to see what goes on and the books were very entertaining as well.
There are a lot of WWII books out there and they can be sort of depressing, so I enjoyed The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer because it took a slightly lighter side of the war. It’s a quirky and cute story of a group of people living on an island just off England’s coast.
And of course, one more WWII story-The Hiding Place by Cory Ten Boom. If you haven’t read this one yet, you should. It’s her true story of her experience of hiding Jews during WWII. It’s so touching and uplifting in spite of being about that dark time in the world.
Another very uplifting story from a very difficult time is Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza. It’s about the Rwandan holocaust. It’s horrifying but she tells it in a very faith based way, making it beautiful and eye opening.
I find that a lot of my favorite books are for young adult readers. One that I really enjoyed is The Princess Academy by Shannon Hale.
Another fun, young book that I read a long time ago and loved is Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards. Yes, that is THE Julie Andrews. It felt similar to The Secret Garden to read. Simple, sweet and beautiful all in one!
I guess I better pop a little Jane Austen in here. I’ve read all of her books. Pride and Prejudice is of course amazing, but I’m going to say that Persuasion is my very favorite! If you haven’t read that one, I recommend it!
Well…those are some of my favorites. I read a lot and love a lot of books, but to me, those are some of the very best!
I would LOVE it if you shared some of yours in the comments. I am always looking for good books to read and it’s fun to see what others love as well!
Also, grab a free bookmark!
And…more a book tote!
Francine says
Thank you for this list! It has a number of my favorites on it, as well as a bunch of future reading material. 🙂
Crystal says
Great list of books!! I’ve read some and added some to my wish list. Thank you for letting me know that “Room” is a sad book because I don’t like to read sad books or watch sad movies. Thanks for the suggestion.
Jamie says
Thank you! I love recommendations. If you enjoy Julianne Donaldson, I would recommend Sarah M. Eden. I have really enjoyed hers!
Melissa says
Before even reading this post I knew I would have to leave a comment on my favorite read. There are so many to choose from but one popped into my head immediately when I read the title of this post… “The Book Thief” I was so glad to see that it is featured in your list! Thank you so much for writing this, I too have read some of them but am glad to add a few more to my wishlist!
Maria says
You and I have many things in common, but books are not one of them 🙂 I used to read the very emotional books (like Anita Shreve and Jodi Picoult), but I just can’t handle them any more. So lately I’ve preferred sci-fi and fantasy as much as possible, anything to pull me as far away from my own drama as possible 🙂 Some recent favorites: the Harry Dresden series by Jim Butcher; any YA dystopia such as Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, Divergent series by Veronica Roth, and the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld; steampunk like the Parasol Protectorate series and the Etiquette and Espionage series both by Gail Carriger, and the Ministry of Peculiar Occurances series by Pip Ballantine; Jasper Fforde’s Thursday Next series is amazing; some one-offs like Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett; and lots and lots of YA fiction – Percy Jackson, Kane Chronicles, Harry Potter (again and again and again), Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series, Tolkien, John Green, and Cassandra Clare.
Amber says
I’ve read a lot of those ones too-Hunger Games, Divergent, Uglies, etc.
Katie mackelprang says
ANY thing by Brandon Sanderson for the Sci first fantasy crowd! ,
Michelle Bloom says
The Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon… a lot of reading, 9 books I think, but TOTALLY worth it. Love, love, love….historical fiction, love story, sword fighting, a little something for everyone! Thanks for the list, lots I will have to check out!
maria ferreira says
Oi Amber!
Adoro Jane Austen e já li e vi o filme Persuasão, Orgulho e preconceito que adoro!!!!!
Li também, razão e sensibilidade, que é maravilhoso.
Vou colocar as tuas sugestões também na lista de minhas leituras.
Obrigada pelas dicas.
Abraço
Sarah Naylor says
What a great list!!! You’ve named many favorites of mine but I’d never heard of Lynn Austin, so Thank you! Here are some that I would add to the list… Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier, Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart, All Things Great and Small by James Herriot, A Countess Below Stairs by Eva Ibbotson, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith, These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner and too many by Georgette Heyer to name.
Amber says
I’ve read a bunch of those too!
[email protected] says
I love to see what other people’s favorite books are. I’ve not read many on your list. The Help is one of my all time favorites and I have The Book Thief, but haven’t read it yet. If you like memoirs The Glass Castle is one of my all time favorites. I love historical fiction too- The Red Tent, any book by Michelle Moran. The Other Boleyn Girl, Loving Frank and Pillars of the Earth are all good. So many books too little time 🙂 Thanks for sharing your favorites.
Susie says
Great list. I too love Kate Morton, her “Forgotten Garden” novel was so moving. She really gets the emotions across to the reader, very skilled and she belongs in this list with some of the “greats” of literature.
Sue Murph says
So many of my favs too! Love Kate Morton…try The House at Riverton if you’re a Downton fan. A few more of my favs to consider…Secret Life of Bees, Maeve Binchy’s Circle if Friends, The Forgotten Key and Three Cups of Tea and a light summer read…Sullivan’s Island.
Amber says
I’ve read most of those and loved them!!
angela marcinkevich says
I would love a book mark and book tote how do I get one also my fav author is Kristian Higgins. I lord the help email me where I can get the bookmarker and book tote if I gave to sew one I don’t do it well thanks happy reading Angela M.
Nathaly says
I love so many on your list and can’t wait to read the ones I haven’t read yet. Going by what you have listed, I think you would enjoy I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, and Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale. I’m normally a historical fiction kind of girl, but I read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and absolutely loved it. Probably my favorite read so far this year is Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Roses by Leila Meacham is another one I liked. And These is My Words. Thanks for the great list!
Katie Mitchell says
Thanks so much for sharing. I love the Secret Keeper myself. Have you read The Forgotten Garden? It’s really good as well. Another really good author I would recommend is Susan Meissner.
Amber says
Yes. I love all of Kate Morton’s books
Susanne says
I’m writing some of those down now, some I’ve got waiting in my book pile and some I’ve never heard of so thank you for sharing those. A few of my favorite books are” Redeeming Love” by Francine Rivers. All her stories are very powerful., “The Midwife of Hope River” by Particia Harmon, “the Mountain Between Us” and “Wrapped in Rain” by Charles Martin (really anything by Charles Martin is really, really good!), and Not in the Heart” by Chris Fabry. “Sarah’s Key” by Tatiana de Rosnay is another powerful WWII story, “Story of Beautiful Girl” by Rachel Simon, “The Kitchen Boy – A Novel of the Last Tsar” by Robert Alexander, “Prayers for Sale”, “Whiter than Snow” and “TallGrass” by Sandra Dallas, and “The Silent Gift” by Michael Landon Jr. top my faves. I also loved “The Help”.
And I better stop now. Obviously I need to do my own post! 🙂
Ashley says
Hi Amber, I stumbled across your post via Pinterest and love your recommendations. Have you read anything by Susanna Kearsley? Every one of her books is phenomenal. It’s in that family history mystery genre and always has love stories intertwined, some that can even span centuries. I really think you would enjoy her :). I would suggest first reading Mariana or The Winter Sea, those give you a pretty good grasp of her writing style.
– Ashley
Amber says
I haven’t! I will check her out!
Rhonda says
I loved a lot of these books…. so I think you should check out one of my all time favorites. Called the Ladies Auxiliary. It is soooooooo good!
Amber says
The one about the Jewish ladies? Loved that!
Shara says
I also love Kate Morton. My sister works at a library and introduced me to her books. I have written down several of your recommendations on my summer reading list. Have you read Jan Karon? The Mitford series? They are so good (in my opinion) that I have read and re-read them.
Amber says
I read the first. I need to keep reading them!!
Peggy says
Just stumbled across your book list while exploring Pinterest! We’ve read many of the same books. I’ll try a few of the ones I haven’t. I’m always looking for the next good book to read! I’ll leave you with a recommendation too. You should read (if you haven’t already) “Saving Cee Cee Honeycut” by Beth Hoffman. Its a quick read but very enjoyable.
Amber says
Oh I loved that book too!!
Kelly says
I love most of the books you listed and the others are on my list now! My favorite this year has been Rules of Civility by Amor Towles. Do you have a Goodreads account? I’d love to follow you:)
Amber says
I do. Not sure how to point you to it though?
Sarah says
I’ve read many of the books on your list and of course I now have new books to add to my list! My favorites were The Book Theif and The Help. One of my all time favorite books is Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt… A few more suggestions would be: The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Johnathan Safran Foer, and the Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. Keep reading! 😉
Amber says
I just read The Language of Flowers this summer and loved it. And I am reading Extremely Loud and Incredibly close now.
Faith Umbleby says
I went to the library today and pulled this pin up and got the first book on your list (the secret keeper). Can’t wait to read it! I want to read everything on this list! And I hope you can give us a new list soon! 🙂
Amber says
Oh I hope you like it! Just love that book!
natalie says
I just finished The Orphan Train. A new favourite!!
Thea says
Great list! A handful of the books you picked are some of my favorite books to read and reread (The Hiding Place, Crossing to Safety, Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion), so I’m excited to check out some of your other recommendations. Have you read Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson? If you like Crossing to Safety, you might enjoy all Robinson’s books (but especially that one).
Amber says
Oh good to know! I haven’t read that one yet.
Rachael Burrows says
The Bronze Horseman trilogy by Paullina Simons, The Tea Rose trilogy by Jennifer Donnelly, The Lost Wife by Alyson Richman, any book by Sarah Jio, A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams, All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Dooer, The Nightingale and Winter Garden by Kristen Hannah…just to name a few :)!
Nancy McKeen Jacoby says
Thanks for the list. I’ve read a lot of them and will definitely check out those I have not. One classic that should go on the list is Gone With the Wind. One of my all time favorites is Water for Elephants: A Novel by Sara Gruen. She has a new book out. Any novel by Geraldine Brooks is outstanding. Some of her titles are: March (about the father of the Little Women); Caleb and Year of Wonder: A Novel of the Plague. She really knows how to tell a story.
Marlene Russell says
Hi to Everyone: thanks for your suggestions. Will copy but would appreciate a list of just names of authors and titles. I like to read your list and descriptions but it is rather a waste of paper. Also will copy the comments. I am unable to read books now but thoroughly enjoy audio books If you know whether one of your books is available in audio would greatly appreciate knowing that. As for my recommendations I love all Jean Auel boos (Clan of the Cave Bear +++), you can not go wrong with Dianna Gabaldon’s 13+++series (Outlander) you will fall in love with Jamie. Ken Follett’s terrific books. I will send a further list soon. Now if anyone reading this, has read a book in the Jane Austen style could tell me it’s name I would be so greatful. I begin with the heroine being uprooted as her companion dies. She sets out for her sisters place and is kidnapped en route by a bunch of children who work for a dwarf in a mountain area mining (think was gold or coal) Eventually she escapes and is rescued and decides to rescue the kidnapped children and opens a family home to school them. That’s all I remember. Please Help??
Ali says
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet takes place in Seattle, WA not California. The west coast isn’t all the same… But I love that book! And the Hiding Place has been a favorite of mine since I was in middle school
Julia says
I am a librarian at an elementary school. It is the best job in the world. I get to be around my favorite things; books and children! I am very greedy when it comes to books. I always have at least 20 checked out from the library at the same time. This way in case I don’t like one I can move on to the next. I have read many great books recently and put aside many not any good and why the heck was it even published books as well. Many of the books you mentioned are also treasures of mine. I discovered a hidden gem by Frank Cottrell Boyce. It is side splitting funny but at the same time charming, sweet, and poignant. Another book is The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. If you want to read an adult book (I admit I had to put this aside periodically because it was so heartbreaking) then read Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. Don’t forget Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.
Laura says
Wow, love so many of these books especially all of Kate Mortons
my all time favorites, The Tea Trilogies by Jennifer Donnelly, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn,
A Prayer for Owen Meanie, The Book Thief. One great classic that I loved was Gone with the Wind, if you haven’t read it you MUST! I have made many notes with everyone’s favorites – thank you
Cristina Lazaro says
Hi there ! Thanks for the suggestions… You should read Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan ( joy luck club) it is long but soooooooo good and will have you reading
Amber says
I love Amy Tan. I will have to try that one!
Katie mackelprang says
Sounds like you’re right on track with our bookgroup as we have read and loved most of these! The Rent Collector, What Alice Forgot, Beauty Shop for Rent… fully equipped inquire within, Sands by Kevin L Neilsen, Winter Queen by Amber Argyle, Alchemy by Sheena Boekweg, The Princess Bride (yes, the book), These is my words, An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan, and anything by Gail Carson Levine or Brandon Sanderson!
Amber says
I just finished What Alice Forgot! And I know I have read Gail Carsen Levine-just can’t remember what
Katrin says
Oh my goodness, yessss! Our Favorites Lists are very similar. So glad others love Crossing as much as I do. I could reread To Kill A Mockingbird and A Tree Grows in Brooklyn every year. Have you read 84 Charing Cross Road?
Thanks for sharing this post! 🙂
Amber says
No, but it sounds like I should if we have such similar taste in books! Writing it down now!