21 Great Book Recommendations Just For You Right Now!
“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” ~ Anna Quindlen
Book recommendations from an avid reader save you the time of searching for your next good read.
Reading for Pleasure
I love to read! I also love to share my book recommendations here, plus many more in a FREEBIE downloadable list, so keep reading on.
In honor of Mother’s Day Month and Organizing Your Self-Care, this is my gift to you: 21 titles of books I recommend reading.
My list is a varied one with something for most everyone: humor, thriller, and literature all with magical writing.
Organizing Entertainment
It may not surprise you that this professional organizer created and keeps an Excel spreadsheet “Master List: Books.” Within that spreadsheet I have two sheets, one for “Book Recommendations” and one for “To Read.”
I’ve belonged to my book club going on 9 years now. We 11 women are all avid readers.
Book Club Low Key Framework
This is how we organize our Book Club:
- Every September, each member picks a book and month to host book club at her home.
- July and August are exceptions as we host those at the beach.
- The hostess offers a smorgasbord of yummy eats, wine and non alcoholic beverages.
- Themes from the book inspire background music, special food and decorations.
- The hostess prints off book questions for discussion. She cuts and folds each question putting the papers into a basket.
- Passing around the “Question Basket,” each of us picks a question and reads it out loud. As a group we discuss the answer.
- We pride ourselves on actually discussing the books we read ;-). Still, we laugh a lot and keep it fun! No going back to English class, no thank you.
Inspired Reading List
I often mention my amazing clients who I love and who love me back.
When they read my post, “5 Tips for Hosting a Successful Book Club Meeting,” several asked me to share some of my book club book list. Thanks Lovelies for inspiring me to get this list out there.
By the way, the above linked post is a peek into my southern hospitality, from one of my turns as book club hostess.
It’s full of tips for hosting a fantastic book club gathering. The book: Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt {definitely worth a read!}
21 Book Recommendations….well,
I love you, so I’m making it 27 books not 21.
Bonus Book Picks
Here’s 6 bonus books – extra to the 21 books I recommend.
- A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
- I feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
- Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- *My Brilliant Friend (Book 1 of Quadrilogy) by Elena Ferante
*Love all 4 books…so sneakily that’s 29 books 😉
Click on the graphic below to DOWNLOAD
your complete list of 21 (Plus BONUS) book recommendations!
Organizing Fun & Downtime in your life creates space for joy.
Jul’s Xx!
P.S. Please share some of your book recommendations with me in the comments! My “To Read” list is one list I don’t mind getting longer.
For those of you who don’t yet know me, I’m Jul’s Arthur. I help women professionals & entrepreneurs STOP endlessly spinning their wheels stuck in anxiety and overwhelm with the chaos and stuff in their home, instead START simplifying, so everything has a place, they gain FREEDOM, CLARITY and easily step into their DREAM LIFE. I’m also the author of the book 25 Days of Holiday Organizing! Ready to trade in DIYing it for fast track results? I’d love to help you go from chaos to FREEDOM.
I love this book club idea! Actually, I just went to my first article club where a bunch of us got together to discuss articles, less investment time wise but the same good ol’ fashion fun!
Thanks Lane! Wow, never heard of an article club…what a cool idea. Sounds like fun!
Wonderful Jul’s! Love your book club recommendations, you’ve inspired me to go back to the book club I was part of years ago. Will be subscribing to get your list as I haven’t read any of the 5 you put in this blog post.
Lovely Angela! You’ve made my day learning that I’ve inspired you to go back to your book club! Enjoy the 21 additional book recommendations!
Great post. I love books. All kinds of books. There isn’t a room in my house that doesn’t have bookshelves and hundreds of books. Love your list. Thanks!
So glad you love my book recommendation list, Cathy. I love to read, I love books, but over the years, I’ve become a library convert. I rarely buy books anymore. I know one can have electronic books, and I do have some, but I still love to hold a hard book to hold and read. Well done you that you have your “library of books” organized on bookshelves.
I love this! I love reading! Reading for pleasure, or something that is not work related is something I am trying to do more of.. but I feel like it is the first thing to get sidelined! I was in a book club once upon a time, but that got kind of sidelined because so many of the women were traveling it was unrealistic to keep up for many.. I really miss it!
Thanks so much for your comment Pam. I make a commitment to myself to read for pleasure every night…every if just a chapter of my latest book, usually a novel. As entrepreneurs we are getting bombarded with business information that even if of value, is not of value if it robs us of a life of reading for pleasure. The work related information will be there, but the time you gift yourself to read for pleasure will not, if you don’t make it sacred…okay, I shall step off my soapbox 😉 I just feel like life without reading for pleasure and getting wrapped up in a story, is a dull life.
i really love the framework for your book club, jul’s! and i’m eager to dive into your list. i am another avid reader. (actually i’m more of a book addict. the guys who helped load and unload our shipping container – first in the u.s. and then in italy – lost their friendly smiles after they’d carried all 100 boxes of my books! they’re not all unpacked yet, but just walking by them and knowing they’re there makes me happy.
Those books are special to you and because they make you happy, they were worth packing and taking with you to Italy. One of your rooms in your Villa will surely be a library! I hope you enjoy my book list and thanks for your comment!
Hi Jul’s,
This list is well-timed. I have been pretty busy and reading is such a love of mine. Literature is one of my favorite ways to experience humanity and to better understand the humans. So thanks for this.
I actually JUST last night started Hillbilly Elegy because I needed a new read. It seems timely given the state of American culture right now. I’ll report back if it’s great.
I’m going to add 4 epics to this already amazing list. These are great for the winter months when sometimes you just want to lose yourself in a world: The Lonesome Dove, The Neapolitan Diaries (4 book series), Shantaram, East of Eden.
Thank you Darling Helaina! I loved East of Eden by John Steinbeck and The Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty, so I am adding both to my list. Thank you for those forgotten titles! I never heard of The Neapolitan Diaries (or is it The Neapolitan Novels by Elena Ferrante?) nor Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts, so than you for those recommendations. Love learning new books to read from a fellow lover of reading!
Great book list and the quotes. I cannot wait to read all of these wonderful books, and I love the idea of book club low key framework. You have built such a wonderful community for book lovers to discuss the books, interact with like-minded souls and enjoy the fun times. Book and wine at a cozy home on a cold winter night is the best!
Aww so glad you loved my list and post. Even I can’t believe I’ve been in the same book club for over 9 years…and some of them it was 12 years for the founding members. The low key aspect is what keeps me in the group. I was an award winning English major…lol though my poor typing and fast mind might seem to belie that…oh the embarrassment of reading a post or comment I’ve left and seeing “hear” when I meant “here”. But yes, reading is a huge pleasure of mine! Happy reading Lovely, Erin!
Wonderful! I can’t wait to read the full list, I wonder how many books you ladies have read over the years!
Over 111 books! Did you download the list of 21 titles? The 5 in the blog post were bonus…the 21 await in a single freebie so you can have it in your electronic files or print it out. Enjoy!
I felt immediately in love with Anna Quindlen quote! You have inspired me to think about joining a book club or to start one – I just have to follow the instructions in your post, thank you!
Lol…Marta, I love book club because I read books I’d never otherwise discover. Really you can make your own book club instructions and run it anyway you want! We just like to keep it low key informal with yummy food and drink. Passing the questions about the book for each person to read keeps participation up and allows for us to discuss the book. We discuss our lives too…it’s truly social.
Jul’s, I LOVE the book club framework!! So good!!! I am also a fan of Nora Ephron’s “I Feel Bad About My Neck,” this one made me laugh so hard. Thanks for adding even more great options to my growing “must read” list!! GREAT post!!
So glad you liked it! Those 5 were just a tease for the next 21 book recommendations. It’s so fun to discover next reads from avid book lovers. Thanks so much! Happy reading!