Yesterday I officially said “goodbye” to my twenties and said an enthusiastic “hello” to my thirties. I always thought that turning thirty would be a difficult or emotional transition. But instead the wise words of Nick Miller from New Girl resonated with me: "I like getting older. I feel like I’m finally ageing into my personality” haha.
I thought I’d mark crossing the threshold into this new decade with a piece recommending thirty of my all time favourite books. I’ve also managed to split these thirty books into five (somewhat) distinct categories, which was also cool to see how my reading has evolved since first becoming a reader.
I hope you’re able to find something that intrigues you! And I apologise in advance for making your TBR any longer!
[This piece gets cut off on email, so you will need to read it on the Substack app or on your desktop.]
my first true love: fantasy books
I think at heart I’ll always be a fantasy reader — it’s the genre that made me fall in love with reading and first ignited my dream to become a writer. There’s nothing better than escaping into the sweet embrace of a fantasy story, especially one that delicately weaves magic into our own world or gives us characters that become like our friends. The first fantasy I ever truly loved was City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. I remember constantly thinking about Clary and Jace as I sat in school, so excited to pick up the next book in the series.
From there I soon became obsessed with The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater due to its more quiet story, soft magic system and intriguing cast of characters. It reads like a love letter to the magic of small towns and the power of found family. I then read Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas, instantly falling in love with the grand, sweeping story of one of the strongest heroines in young adult fantasy: Celaena Sardothien. I really want to reread this series soon as I haven’t read each book since they were initially released.
While I don’t read as much fantasy as I did growing up, I’ve recently fallen in love with Caraval by Stephanie Garber, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake and Masters of Death by Olivie Blake. I recommend you read all of these books.
my deepest obsession: dark academia books
My first little venture outside the world of young adult fantasy was into the deeply obsessive, sometimes eerie genre of dark academia. Yes, I definitely fell victim to the dark academia trend that took over the internet — but it’s also the genre that intrigued me enough to step outside my reading comfort zone for the first time. It’s also where I first fell in love with stories that didn’t include even an ounce of magic.
I adored perhaps the two most well-known books in dark academia. Firstly, The Secret History by Donna Tartt, which is honestly a masterclass in writing and storytelling. Every sentence has been written with purpose, catapulting you into a prestigious university filled with obsession, ambition, paranoia and untrustworthy characters. And secondly, If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio, which has a slightly similar premise, but follows Oliver who retells the events from ten years ago when one of his fellow theatre students was murdered and the events that followed. It beautifully entwines Shakespeare with a ‘whodunit’ mystery. Both of these books are the epitome of the dark academia genre.
But I’d also strongly encourage lovers of dark academia (and anyone who loves disturbing books) to read These Violent Delights by Micah Nemerever. It’s a story about two obsessive young men who do horrible, violent things to each other in the name of proving their love before going too far in their pursuits.
Getting into the dark academia genre also inspired me to try reading classics. I’m still a newbie, but I definitely loved The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde the most.
my weird little loves: strange and unsettling books
After devouring as much dark academia as I possibly could find, I began perusing stories in book recommendation lists titled “literary fiction for beginners” and “strange books for strange people”. I even started looking into dipping my toes into horror and mystery/thriller books.
The book that truly made me fall in love with strange, unsettling reads — and then became my favourite book to ever be written — was Bunny by Mona Awad. It felt like a weird, drug-induced fever dream or at least a more bonkers version of Heathers. It’s also the book I probably recommend the most in this newsletter and get the most excited over others reading. I also loved Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh and My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh. Moshfegh is a truly talented writer and effortlessly gets into the minds of women who are incredibly unlikeable. And because I love Moshfegh’s work, I was then recommended Boy Parts by Eliza Clark. This was such a strange, uncomfortable story that I recommend to anyone looking to start reading the more disturbing side of literary fiction. Just make sure you check the trigger warnings of all these reads.
On the more terrifying, darker side of literary fiction is Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica. This book is about the legalisation of cannibalism due to a plague and will honestly make you want to poke your own mind’s eye out. Perhaps I’m being a little dramatic, but honestly this book is very heavy and uncomfortable. But at the same time it’s so brilliantly executed and is definitely a book that will stay with me forever. I also really loved the mystery/thriller, Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn, as so many plot points and some very specific sentences made me feel uneasy as I was reading. And my favourite horror book so far is The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, which perfectly captures the psychological descent the main character experiences as the haunted house begins affecting her.
my newest love: raw and devastating books
At the same time I began exploring weird literary fiction, I also began reading more books that left me feeling emotionally devastated.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara affected me so deeply, all the way down to my core. I’ve never worried about a group of main characters so obsessively before, wondering about them even when I wasn’t reading, feeling desperate to return to them. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides and My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell are two more books that are like that — but at the same time beautifully and painfully capture the complexities of girlhood and growing up. The main characters felt so lifelike, making me want to reach inside the pages and hug them. I also loved Cleopatra and Frankenstein by Coco Mellors because the author captured the raw, complex humanity of her characters. The book is a spectacularly written character study of two entirely different people whose impulsive marriage affects everyone in their families and social circles. It’s a reminder that we don’t go through this life alone and we have the power to create change in others for the simplest, smallest reason. I also loved that the book’s ending wasn’t really an ending at all, but a chance at a new beginning all over again.
I was worried about reading Normal People by Sally Rooney due to everyone on social media loving it, but I ended up devouring it so feverishly that I couldn’t stop thinking about Marianne and Connell for weeks. Their on-and-off relationship was so heartbreaking at times, but I loved how real and raw they were. And Beartown by Fredrik Backman was perhaps the biggest surprise. I’m not into sports at all. But somehow I became so invested into the world of hockey in this small town that I felt like a resident of Beartown myself. Both of these books are similar to Cleopatra and Frankenstein because they also remind us that our actions have consequences and our decisions aren’t made in a vacuum or isolated way from everybody else.
Daisy Jones and The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid also became two books that I loved with my entire heart. Not only were both of these stories so riveting, making me believe that these fictional histories truly happened and breaking my heart when I realised they weren’t, but the characters were all so devastatingly human that I was hooked from beginning to end. These are honestly books I wish I could read for the first time again.
my soft romantic side: romance books
I’ve never been much of a romance reader, but I was converted into one through reading the absolute queen of romance: Emily Henry.
Book Lovers by Emily Henry, Happy Place by Emily Henry and Funny Story by Emily Henry are three of my all time favourite romance books. I’ve found that her female protagonists are so much more complex and full realised than other romance heroines that I’ve read so far. The stories also have more layers to them, which add to their emotional weight. Think themes like growing up, sisterhood and rediscovering who you are. I’ve laughed and cried and laughed again so many times that inside these books I’m sure you’ll find little tear stains on most of the pages. For anyone looking to fall in love with romances books and not sure where to start, I recommend reading any of Emily Henry’s books.
However I’ve also really enjoyed Magnolia Parks by Jessa Hastings. These books remind me a lot of Gossip Girl (did anyone else binge these in high school?). The Magnolia Parks Universe probably shouldn’t be described as a romance series though, as the relationships depicted throughout the series are pretty toxic and at times problematic. But I really recommend this series if you’re looking for a guilty pleasure read about rich people with their rich people problems — yet you might find they are more emotional and heartbreaking than you think…
This was such a fun piece to put together — I loved reflecting on my favourite reads since becoming a reader after devouring City of Bones. It will be interesting to put together piece like this in another year and see if my reading tastes and favourites have changed much.
Have you read any of these? Tell me in the comments! If not, I hope I was able to persuade you to pick some of these books up.
Until next time,
- Madeline