I have always enjoyed reading, however over the past few years I've actively set reading challenges on Goodreads and made an effort to read consistently. To find out how I managed to read over 80 books in a year, click here. Goodreads is a great tool for readers to keep track of the books they've read, as well as their ratings and reviews, and this list is complied of all of my 5-star ratings.
One thing to bear in mind is that my ratings on Goodreads probably won't be consistent. If I haven't read a thriller in a while then pick one up that I enjoy, I might rate it higher than I would do if I've read several thrillers in a row. Similarly, a book that I loved as a teenager, I might not rate highly were I to read it as an adult. I am also aware of the phenomenon of rating things higher if you've devoted many hours to them, hence take my ratings with a pinch of salt.
FICTION
A Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles
This book is about a count who is sentenced to life in a hotel, the Metropol, and follows his journey. This was actually the last book that I read (at the time of writing), and I'm already looking forward to reading it again. It encompasses many different aspects of life, and the storyline was gripping throughout. The characters were well-developed and felt real, and it was interesting to see the impact of Russia's history over the course of the book, from wine bottles having their labels removed to citizens being sent to the Gulag for petty crimes. There were also a lot of references to other famous works, including books such as Crime and Punishment (which I'd recently finished), films such as Casablanca, and ballets such as The Nutcracker, which I always enjoy in the arts.
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
This book made me cry like no other; it's a heartbreaking tale of two boys and their friendship over time. The story is set in Afghanistan, where the boys enjoy a rich friendship as children, however after a certain event occurs, everything changes. Their country undergoes many horrors, with the Taliban taking over and many children becoming orphaned.
From the beginning, Amir longs for his father Baba's approval, which seems to come naturally to Hassan, the son of Baba's servant. There are a lot of passages that are extremely difficult to read, but the book is very well-written and it made me reflect on humanity and relationships in general. This book is littered with injustices, pain, and devastation, but no book has made me feel such strong emotions from anger to hopelessness to pride as this book. If you can get through it, I'd very strongly recommend it.
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair - Joël Dicker
Psychological thrillers are one of my favourite genres to read, however after reading a few they often become predictable and boring. This book, however, has everything I want in a thriller, with many plot-twists throughout, and loose ends which all come together in the end, leaving me shocked in many aspects. The story follows Marcus Goldman, an author who is trying to cure his writer's block through visiting a mentor of his, Harry Quebert. Harry then becomes accused of the murder of 15-year-old Nola Kellergan after
admitting that they had an affair, and so Marcus launches an investigation of his own to find out the truth. This fast-paced novel is a gripping read and kept me guessing throughout. I read it in 2 days and I hadn't felt as satisfied with an ending since reading The Girl on the Train.
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid
This book follows the ageing movie star Evelyn Hugo as she finally reveals her life story to a specifically chosen, but unknown, journalist, Monique Grant. Her story is one of glamour, scandals, and tragedy, and is definitely worth the read. Initially, I was undecided whether to rate this book 4 or 5 stars as I rarely rate fictional books 5 stars, however given that I couldn't put this book down, I decided to go with the latter. This was a very captivating tale with multiple dimensions from domestic violence, to sexuality, to racial identity and fame in Hollywood. I enjoyed the format of the interview and there were a lot of plot twists which kept me guessing until the very end.
The Girls - Emma Cline
This book is loosely based on the Manson family and their crimes; it follows the journey of Evie Boyd, a teenager in California during the 60s, where she is mesmerised by an older girl and drawn into what becomes a cult. To be completely honest, I don't remember much of this book as I read it as a teenager, however I remember thinking that it was unique in its portrayal of the young female psyche exploring new curiosities, experiences, and insecurities.
THE CLASSICS
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
Throughout my high school years, I always thought that 'The Classics' were very dull and out-of-touch. That is, until I read To Kill a Mockingbird. This was the first book that I'd read at school that actually made me feel something and impacted me. I remember feeling so angry at the injustices throughout this novel, however also hopeful that more people could be like Atticus. This novel is about life in Alabama during the Great Depression (an era which I'm very interested in) and explores prejudice, courage, and humankind. This is a classic for a reason, and I recommend that everyone read this book at least once.
The Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath is also set during the Great Depression and follows the journey of one family as they migrate from their farm in Oklahoma to the promised land of California. This book alternates between chapters about the landscape and chapters about the journey, and although I found the landscape chapters a bit dull, the journey was so captivating and impactful that anything other than a 5-star rating was out of the question. I learnt a lot about the Gold Rush and America's history, as well as the injustices bestowed upon the 'Have-Nots': unfulfilled promises, a sense of hopelessness, and desperation. In contrast, it also shows the resilience, kindness, and strength of seemingly unimportant humans and is well worth the read.
Animal Farm - George Orwell
Animal Farm was the first Classic that I read out of choice (as opposed to for an assignment), and it kindled my interest in Politics. As you can probably gather from my last couple of book choices, I get very frustrated when I see blatant injustices, and this book definitely didn't lack them. Based on Stalinist Russia, this satirical novel follows society's march from revolution against tyranny to totalitarianism, where “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” This timeless novel depicts human nature, including greed and the desire for power, in a comical way that will stay with you long after you've turned the last page.
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
This dystopian novel explores a society where all desire is fulfilled. From birth, classical conditioning causes each of the various classes to think in a certain way and 'know their place' so that everyone is happy and controlled. There is no violence or fear, and pills that induce happiness are available should anyone deviate from the norm. What would anyone have to complain about if everyone's happy, right? Wrong. In Orwell's 1984, violence and fear control society, whereas happiness and pleasure control it here - and neither have freedom. This book really made me question what makes a happy and functioning society, and should be added to your to-read list immediately. I'll leave you with this quote: “But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness. I want sin.”
NONFICTION
Moving on from fiction, we have my biggest category of favourites: non-fiction. I have been enjoying non-fiction more and more as I age, as I feel that I learn a lot from it, and I plan to re-read all of these books several times throughout my life.
How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
This book is very quick to read and the logic behind it is very simple. The traits mentioned are things that most of us appreciate in others, and yet so few people act accordingly. This is definitely worth the read; the advice is fairly easy to apply, and makes a massive difference in relationships with both old and new friends.
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind - Yuval Noah Harari
Harari spans the whole of human history from ancient empires to the ethics of future man-made superhumans and everything in-between, drawing on insights from various disciplines to answer the questions of how we got to where we are. I learnt more about our history as a species in this one book than I did throughout all of my formal education and I loved how Harari focussed both on the global picture, as well as individual societies. This is a must-read.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century - Yuval Noah Harari
Following on, this book (also by Harari) focusses more on the present challenges that we as a species face, and how to go about overcoming them. Harari's perspective is like no other, and his ideas are expressed in such a coherent and well-articulated manner, with the addition of pop culture references throughout, which provide useful analogies. Admittedly, the title didn't appeal greatly to me, but having read Sapiens, I decided to give this book a go and ending up actually preferring it! This book will definitely make you question your beliefs and is highly recommended.
Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World - and Why Things are Better Than You Think - Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
As the title suggests, this book follows world trends and uses scientific evidence to prove that many aspects of life have improved globally and that in fact, things aren't as terrible as we perceive them to be. Rosling shows that although there are still societal gaps (such those in poverty, those without access to technology, and girls without an education), most people's perception of these gaps are much bigger than they are in reality. This book made me feel somewhat optimistic about the state of the world and how much we as a species have achieved (and will hopefully go on to achieve).
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain - David Eagleman
Rarely does a book profoundly impact your life, however this one did just that for me. I read Incognito the Summer before applying for University, and following it I changed my undergraduate degree option from Biology to Neuroscience. This book truly piqued my interest in the brain and I became fascinated by how our minds work, as well as why we do the things that we do. This book gave me purpose for the following three years, and it provides a great introduction into neuroscience.
Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell is one of my favourite writers and I find both his content and style very engaging. Funnily enough, I happened upon this book after seeing one of my friend's stories on Instagram, and since the premise sounded interesting, I gave it a go. From Bill Gates' success story, to why most ice hockey players in Canada are born between January and March, to the stereotype of Asians being good at maths and its relation to paddy fields, to why being an American born in the 1830s increases the chances of you being a billionaire, to how long summer holidays disadvantage the disadvantaged, this book provides a wide range of insights into our world and the success stories, or outliers, in history.
Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics - Tim Marshall
Since starting university, I'd developed a real interest in world history and international relations, however I didn't have a thorough grasp of either. The only time I'd studied International Relations was during a two-week LSE-UCT course in Cape Town, where I realised that my fundamental understanding of geopolitics was lacking. This book was extremely interesting and provides a great starting point to understanding why some countries are more successful than others, as well as the reasons for various international conflicts. I'd strongly recommend reading this to gain a new perspective on current events as it helped me to reduce my ignorance on global politics, especially when it came to under-reported countries.
AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
Last, but not least, we have autobiographies. I used to think that I didn't enjoy autobiographies, however I've recently discovered that actually they can comprise some of my favourite reads, provided that they are well-written and entertaining.
Becoming - Michelle Obama
I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book at all. I don't read many autobiographies and knew barely anything about Michelle Obama prior to reading this book, but I assumed that this book would be filled with politics and be extremely unrelatable. Nonetheless, it had been recommended by a couple of friends, so I decided to give it a go. Boy, was it worth it! I ended up loving this book - it made me feel so happy and fulfilled that I watched the film straight after.
I was pleasantly surprised by Michelle's story and even found myself relating a lot to it at several stages in the first two sections. I related to her wanting to impress throughout university and her career, her ambition, her admiration of her older brother, her love of travel, her feeling of being unrooted in two 'homelands', her unsureness of her corporate career, and her love of Hamilton amongst other things. This book did exactly as (I assume that) she intended; showing her as a regular person in extraordinary circumstances. Her experiences as the former FLOTUS are intriguing, for example not being able to go on regular dates in public with her husband or open the windows in her bedroom, and the scrutiny she received when putting an arm around the Queen as a friendly gesture. This book made me laugh and cry and invoked a great admiration for Michelle, as well as others in her position. This book was filled with quotes that I loved and was thoroughly highlighted by the end (something I only do very sparingly and only with books that I find great value in). "Becoming is never giving up on the idea that there’s more growing to be done."
Educated - Tara Westover
Being interested in both education and religion, this book seemed right up my alley. It follows Westover's life from her childhood in Idaho, where her family prepared for doomsday, to her studies at Harvard and Cambridge. Her coming-of-age story is truly fascinating and provides a unique perspective into what an education is and how it can be used to transform one's ideas and mindset. This book is both shocking and empowering, and I'd strongly recommend it regardless of what genre you usually read.
This Is Going to Hurt: Secret Diaries of a Junior Doctor - Adam Kay
Although this book was very entertaining, it actually taught me a lot about medicine in the UK and was truly shocking. The best way that I can describe this book is that it put me off studying medicine. This memoir shows the intensity of working in the NHS and how it can truly impact medical professionals' personal life and relationships. I found that I had to constantly remind myself that this wasn't fiction, as some of Kay's experiences were absolutely absurd and shouldn't be demanded in any profession. Nonetheless, this was a heart-warming read and should be read by everyone who isn't a medical professional.
Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood - Trevor Noah
Lastly, we have Born a Crime by Trevor Noah. Similarly to This Is Going to Hurt, this is both a shocking and heartwarming memoir. It follows Noah's journey from apartheid South Africa, where interracial relationships were forbidden (hence the title), to fame. Noah manages to depict stories in an utterly engaging manner and I couldn't put this book down. At the same time, Noah conveys the struggles for many in South Africa, and I learnt a lot, from why escaping poverty can be extremely lonely to why Hitler isn't a shocking name to some. This story is both heartbreaking and inspiring, and is definitely worth the read.
Interestingly, I always used to say my favourite genre to read was psychological thriller, however over the years I've found that this is inconsistent with my ratings. My favourite books tend to be ones that have changed my mind set, stuck with me, and taught me something new. All of the books on this list are ones that I aim to read several times over and they teach me about different aspects of humanity. I also grew up thinking that I wasn't interested in various topics, such as history or geopolitics, however through books and films I've found that actually I am interested by a lot more than what they taught us in school.
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